July 2019August 2019 September 2019

08/23 - Marymere Falls

We haven't been getting out to Marymere Falls lately. The construction on route 101 along Lake Crescent with its 45 minute delays has discourage us. We took advantage of a pause in the work to take the 50 minute falls loop. It was a bright sunny day, and the forest was beautiful with the bright illumination. There were a good number of others out visiting the falls which were relatively quiet as one might expect in the late summer.

The wide walk to the falls

Another view en route, dark trees, bright sun

The bridge

Water in the canyon

The falls

A view of the falls from the upper overview

Pyramid Peak visible through the trees

Keywords: lake crescent, marymere falls, summer

08/22 - Klahane Ridge - High Summer

Once again we put on our hiking boots, grabbed our hiking sticks and hauled ourselves up to Klahane Ridge by way of the Switchback Trail. We didn't set any speed records, but we made it. The climb was sunny with a blue sky, but by the time we made it to the ridge, clouds were rising from the sea and shrouding peaks and valleys. We rested a bit and watched the clouds rise with the warmth of the day. By the time we made it back to the parking lot, the sky was mostly blue again.

It was a late summer hike. The lupines and larkspur were long gone. Vegetation was thick, but only a handful of flowers remained, mainly in microclimates. Many plants had gone to seed, but the yarrow was near its peak.


Clouds and Mount Olympus

Brilliant sun

Another bright scene

Two butterflies

Those two again

A last bit of phlox

More clouds at the ridge

Clouds seeping in from the north

A view of the Olympic Mountains

Asters

Another spectacular view

Larkspur and paintbrush

Late summer blooms

A view from on the way down

A bit of the trail now that the sun had returned

Paintbrush

A hawk we had seen soaring earlier

A last few lupines

More paintbrush

Keywords: flowers, klahane ridge, summer

08/15 - Late Summer Little River Trail

We were back on the Little River Trail, and it was obvious that summer is passing. There were fewer flowers and a lot more berries. The mushrooms were up and about. It's a nice easy trail and a good way to track the seasons.

The trail

Another bit of trail

Thimbleberries

Spooky pipes

More spooky pipes - Halloween must be nigh.

Devil's claw berries

Possibly a chanterelle

Last bit of Pacific dogwood

False solomon's seal berries

The Little River

More of the forest trail

Another bit of magic forest

Old wood

More pipes

Onward

Ghost mushrooms

More devil's claw - Maybe Halloween really is nigh.

A rock face

Little mushrooms

Keywords: little river, summer

08/10 - Sunset in Seattle

Some friends of ours were celebrating their anniversary on the top floor of one of the Insignia Towers. These two 40+ floor towers had been holes in the ground quite recently, but now they were full of homes, offices and amenities. One of the amenities was a roof top dog walk. Another was the party room where we celebrated our friends' anniversary. Yet another was a roof top lounge where we took these pictures of the setting sun.

An iconic Seattle scene

South Lake Union

The Olympic Mountains

The harbor

South a bit to downtown - You can tell it is Seattle because of the crane visible near the left edge.

Keywords: seattle

08/08 - Seattle Walks

We were in Seattle recently, and we did what we always like doing when we are in a big city, we walked and walked. One day we walked back from Ballard to Fremont to South Lake Union. This isn't the most photogenic walk, but we did get a close up of a heron perhaps six feet from us on the footpath. The other day, we walked along Alki Beach in West Seattle and soaked up the beach town ambience with big city views. We saw another heron, and we saw a wild tomato plant of all things.

Aurora Bridge

Fremont Bridge too

That heron, unperturbed

Seattle still has a working harbor close to downtown.

Alki Beach

That beach town ambience

More ambience

A bit further east

A wild tomato plant

Another heron

A view of Seattle

Keywords: seattle

08/06 - Obstruction Point - The Hike

We went out to Obstruction Point again and took our usual walk along the ridge. Most of the snow had melted, and there was just a touch of late summer color - a bit of red and a bit of gold - creeping in.

There are more pictures of flowers and marmots in another post.


This is actually a view from the start of Obstruction Point Road at Hurricane Ridge.

The trail

The little lake one sees descending the staircase

The stone staircase

Distant mountains with melting snow

Another bit of trail

Yet another bit under a big gray sky

The Olympic Mountains

Three recently melted lakes below a cirque

More of the trail - Can you guess which side is the north face?

Another view with a bit of autumn color

Distant mountains in the cloud

A peek at the big mountains

Still another bit of trail

Another spectacular view - The whole trail is like this.

Keywords: obstruction point, summer

08/05 - Obstruction Point - Flowers and Criters

Here is that post full of flowers, marmots and a butterfly mentioned in the next post.

A happy marmot - Look at that smle.

Another happy marmot - Look at that banquet of lupines.

A resting butterfly

Late phlox

Pink paintbrush among others

Another assemblage of flowers

Some lupines, some snow

More phlox

Some asters among the rocks

Rock plants

Flowers and scenery

Dark headed grasses

Lupines and snow, again

Seen by the trail

Harebells

Keywords: flowers, marmots, obstruction point

July 2019August 2019 September 2019