| We had our usual Halloween festivities with lights, ghoulish decorations and our no-contact trick or treating. This year we had 68 trick or treaters. That's much better than last year's 36, but nowhere near 2019's 138 or 2016's 197. One thing we noticed was that there were fewer older kids, but we're glad we didn't disappoint those who did come. |
 We did up a Halloween mantel. |
 That's Lenore in her web with a glowing brain in a cauldron behind. |
 Our shaman with our glowing skull |
 Our web for contactless trick or treating - hey, whole candy bars |
 As evening fell |
| September 2021 | October 2021 | November 2021 |
Keywords: halloween
| It's mid-October, so we've been watching for signs of Halloween. |
 Our mantel is getting spooky. |
 We bought this pepper at Chi's. It sure looks like one of those sugar pumpkin Halloween candies. |
 We aren't sure of what is going on here, but it has a definite Halloween feel to it. |
| We were up at Hurricane Hill again to check for signs of winter. There were clouds in the mountains and the hills were shrouded with mist. The next post down is just pictures of the fall color and the gray, but here are some photos showing signs of winter. |
 Good views near the trailhead, but we hiked into the clouds. |
 The trail |
 Alpine foliage hunkering down for winter |
 A first bit of snow |
 As we ascended into the clouds |
 A variety of colors |
 The summer colors have faded. |
 Some color in the valley |
 Rising into the clouds |
 More snow |
 More color |
 Restoration work by the trail |
 Dark green and bright colors |
 The last of the fall foliage |
 Still some bright red |
Keywords: hurricane hill, winter
| It had been sunny the day of our previous trip to Hurricane Hill, but this time it was gray and cloudy. As we ascended, the clouds grew thicker, and there was a bit of drizzle. The colors were spectacular and heightened by the mist. As they often say, show, don't tell, so just look at the pretty pictures. |
 A peek at Mount Olympus |
 Mist ... |
 ... and more mist |
 Looking down |
 The summit |
 Lost context |
 More texture |
 More color |
 A bit of snow |
 A telephoto view of the forest to the north |
 Alone in the clouds |
 Another field |
 A slope |
 An air of mystery |
 More mystery |
 A tree with two birds |
 Two robins |
 As we descended |
 Mist and hills |
| After heading up to the Elwha Gap, we took the short side spur to Madison Falls. It's a short, easy, paved path to a pleasant little waterfall just minutes from the parking area. There was plenty of autumn color too. |
 Along the trail |
 A first peek at the waterfall |
 Madison Falls |
 Some autumn color |
 More color |
 That color again |
 Misty skies and mountains |
Keywords: autumn, elwha, waterfall
| We took a short walk along the Elwha River starting at Madison Falls where the road ends. The mountains were misty and topped with early season snow. The autumn foliage was near its peak. We walked past the mule camp and around the bend for some good views of the river recently nourished by the seasonal rain. We stopped at the gap in the road cut by a hearty new Elwha tributary. |
 Misty, snowy mountains |
 Some fall foliage |
 Foliage hidden in the forest |
 Bright yellow and bright green |
 The river |
 Another view of the river |
 More color change |
 Autumn is here. |
 Further up the river |
 The might Elwha |
 The gap |
 Downriver at the gap |
 Upriver at the gap |
 A vertical view, even more dramatic |
 The road showing its age |
 Bright red |
 Bright yellow |
 The mules - We always say hello. |
 The Elwha from the parking area |
|
10/10 - Marymere Falls and Barnes Creek Now that it's rainy season, we decided to head out to Marymere Falls and head up along Barnes Creek for a bit. The walk from the Barnes Creek parking area to the falls is pretty easy. We crossed Barnes Creek and headed up the hillside to the Marymere Falls overlook. A tree had fallen and damaged the fencing, but the view of the falls from the lower overlook was great. The drought has broken. We climbed the steps to the upper overlook, admired the falls for a bit, then headed down.Rather than heading straight back to the parking lot, we took the Barnes Creek Trail proper. This is a much more rustic trail that follows the river and offers some great views. The devil's claw was brilliant yellow and the river almost sapphire blue. We didn't go all that far, just up to a little spring that cross the trail a ways down. Then, we headed back. |
 For Halloween, the spooky maple near route 101 |
 The forest track |
 Another bit of trail |
 Marymere Falls from the lower overlook ... |
 ... and from the higher |
 Some tree damage |
 Barnes Creek |
 A peek at the creek |
 Fall color along the trail |
 Another river view ... |
 ... and another |
 Leaf color |
 More color and the river |
 This is probably peak fall foliage around here |
 The little spring coming forth, as they do |
 Mushrooms |
 More forest |
 Another creek view ... |
 ... and another |
Keywords: barnes creek, marymere falls, waterfall
| This is just some stuff we've seen while driving around. |
 An ad for pet cremation, not a law firm that does wills for pets. It's right next to a veterinary clinic. |
 Secure Destruction - Is this for Halloween? |
 More destruction; the skeletons are back. |
 We always look forward to these guys around Halloween. |
 Happy Halloween |
Keywords: halloween, sequim, port angeles
| We were originally planning another hike, but the sky was so blue and the day so pleasant that we had to get back to Hurricane Hill while the road is still open. The road from the lodge to the Hurricane Hill trailhead often closes before Hurricane Ridge Road. It was fairly busy, but it was definitely shoulder season. We had to park at the nearer picnic area, but that just added 15-20 minutes to our hike. |
 The view |
 Hillsides and distant clouds |
 Fields of gold |
 A cloud rising from a river valley |
 Another field with mountains |
 The view north, clouds over the strait |
 Mount Baker |
 Another field, on the side spur |
 Color contrast |
 Restoration work on the trail |
 Some baby plants ready for their new home |
 The side spur |
 Another bit of the side spur |
 Cliffs to the north |
 Clouds to the west |
 A field of red and gold |
 Another mountain view |
 Mountain slope |
 Bright green |
Keywords: hurricane hill, hurricane ridge
| There were definite signs of autumn and winter coming up at Hurricane Hill. |
 Our first frost of the season |
 More frost |
 And yet more frost |
 Frost in the shade |
 Dry flowers |
 A golden field |
 Autumn color |
 Autumn color below |
 Another richly colored field |
 And another colored field |
 Corn lilies, now mere skeletons |
 Green, gold, red and blue |
 Another field |
 Another view below |
 A blue grouse |
 Red, green and white |
 Dramatic foliage |
 More drama |
 Even the walk from the picnic area to the trailhead showed signs of fall. |
Keywords: autumn, hurricane hill, winter
| The salmon are making their way up to Sol Duc Falls. We stopped on our way up to the falls to watch them leap at the Salmon Cascades. On our first visit, there were just a few of them, but, on our most recent visit, there were lots of them. They're hard to photograph. It's a matter of shutter luck, but we managed to get a few pictures. We also took the short walk out to the falls ourselves. It was on foot. No leaping up streams for us. |
 The Salmon Cascades, a narrow stretch of the Sol Duc |
 A salmon leaping |
 Another leap |
 Compare this picture to the one to the right. |
 This is what the river looks like without the salmon. |
 Green at our feet |
 Sol Duc Falls and autumn color |
 The cascade above the falls |
 Another view of the falls |
 Green scene |
 Red berries |
 An old log |
 A rocky creek |
 Mushrooms, probably toxic |
 More mushrooms |
 It's mushroom season - Avoid these. |
 More mushrooms to admire visually |
 The trail |
 A last blue berry |
| Now that it is raining again, after a long dry summer, we returned to the Little River Trail. Since the trail follows the Little River, it is at its best in the rainy season. The best part is about 35-40 minutes out where the trail leaves DNR land and enters the national park. We were not disappointed on our last hike. The river was lively, the trail smelled of rain and there were drips and droplets about. |
 A portal |
 False [mock] Solomon's seal late in the season |
 A bit of the river |
 A green scene |
 Another bit of river |
 One of the foot bridges |
 The Little River aflow |
 A bit of autumn color |
 Devil's claw |
 Another stretch of river |
 Did we remark on the rich green? |
 Another bit of trail |
 An inspiration to us all |
 Wet leaves |
 Forest trail |
Keywords: little river, autumn
| September 2021 | October 2021 | November 2021 |