Winter in the Olympics is fierce, and frigid, and phenomenal. We bundled up and braved the winds to wander among these frozen trees. One of the pictures even has a frozen communications tower hidden among the trees. Can you find it?
An Autumn Haul
An Autumn Hall
Fall of 2021 was a beautiful one, but it wasn’t just the fall color that I enjoyed capturing. The clear air, the return of rain and mist, and the fresh snow on our summits was one for the books.
Tahoma / Mount Rainier with colorful subalpine meadows
It’s not just the colors of fall leaves that leave me breathless. Clear, cool mountain air that returned even before our lesser peaks had a blanket of snow was so incredibly welcome.
Mount Baker and a beautiful mountain ash shrub
The return of the rain
Shuksan Rocks Squares
I absolutely love how these turned out. The varying color on the rock near base camp was striking.
Juniper Dunes Wilderness
A late winter visit to a very unique wilderness area. According to the Bureau of Land Management, the wilderness now measures over 7,000 acres and the entire landscape is fenced in and surrounded by private property with access only allowed through the most accessible wilderness gate at certain times of year. Even at times of year when access is allowed, respect of the property owners and their cattle is a must.
It was quite a breezy day, par for the course at this spot as I understand it, which meant blowing stand and difficult photography. Sand and cameras don’t mix particularly well (usually it’s the camera that loses the fight) and moving foliage presents a fun and frustrating challenge. I still managed to walk away with a few photos, generally taken at fast shutter speeds.
Juniper berries
Waves in the sand
A namesake of the wilderness, the western juniper tree
Afternoon light on the dunes
Sunset over a landscape dotted with juniper trees
We brought ski goggles to keep the blowing sand from getting in his eyes
Last year’s yarrow
Looking Back at 2020
It wasn’t the year we expected, well made plans were put on hold. But nature was there reminding us, perhaps more of us than years past, that seasons keep changing, flowers keep blooming, and leaves keep falling.
Here are a few of my favorites taken this year, from the snowy mountains to the San Juan Islands
Snoqualmie Pass
The Mountain Loop
Mount Rainier National Park
Paintbrush
Cascade Foothills and Mountains
The Tatoosh Range
Mount Rainier
Madrone Trees on Orcas Island
Orcas Sunset
Mount Rainier and Fall Color
Glowing Autumn Larch Tree