Kaleberg Archive for October 2023

September 2023

October 2023

November 2023

10/31 - Seattle Morning The next morning, we were up early. We had a great view of the morning sunrise and Mount Rainier.	Mount Rainier
Seattle view	Not quite full daylight
Three antennae	Bluer sky
Cranes: it must be Seattle.	Still early light
View from a window	Another view
Framed view	Mount Rainier aain
Almost day light	Day light

Keywords: mount rainier, seattle

10/29 - Seattle Evening We made a quick overnight trip into Seattle. Our hotel room had a great view, and there is definitely something about city lights at night.	View from our room
Another view	Evening in the city
Guess where we ate.	More city night
Quiet streets at this hour	Buses still running
More night in the city	More lights
Another street	So much to see
From our room after dark	City view at night - It has to be Seattle. Note the construction crane.

Keywords: seattle

10/28 - The Dungeness Dike in Bright Sun It was really sunny out at the Dungeness Dike today, but it was a good day for bird watching. The autumn colors are coming in, and there were a fair number of fishers out for cut-throat trout. Is this a sign that the restoration is going well? We hope so.	Lens flare over the Dungeness River
Look, no lens flare!	A kingfisher
Another view of the marsh	More of the marsh
A mystery bird	Another view
More lens flare	Less lens flare
A caterpillar of a different color	Some fall color
And more color	Yet more golden leaves
More of the scene	An owl just before flying away
View from the dike	One of those mock birds one spots from a distance

Keywords: dungeness

10/22 - Along the Elwha We took a short hike along the Elwha, so this will just be a quick report. It's as pretty as ever. The mules are still around. The fall colors are coming in.	Some of the mules resting in the sun
A view down at the Elwha from along the detour	Down by the Elwha
Mushrooms	In context
Another bit of the Elwha	Where the detour returns to the road
More of the Elwha	More of the mushrooms
Some snow in the mountains	Some fall foliage
A bit of the trail	Some autumn leaves

Keywords: elwha

10/20 - Marymere Falls and a Bit of Barnes Creek We didn't want a really long walk, so we went out to Marymere Falls and followed the usual falls loop, but we also headed upstream along the Barnes Creek Trail for a little way. The recent rains have perked up the falls, so it was well worth the climb to the viewing platforms. Barnes Creek was also good to see with the fall colors coming in and lots of mushrooms.	Mushrooms on a log
The forest	Barnes Creek from the bridge
More of Barnes Creek	Marymere Falls
Marymere Falls from the upper level	The trail
Barnes Creek and signs of autumn	Another view along the creek
Ferns and a fallen tree	Mushrooms
Another view	Another look at the creek
Changing colors	More little mushrooms
Yet another look at Barnes Creek	And before we left

Keywords: barnes creek, marymere falls

10/18 - Morse Creek West There's a tricky curve along route 101 where it crosses Morse Creek east of Port Angeles. The road turns and descends, then it turns more and rises again. There's a parking lot for the Olympic Discovery Trail where it crosses Morse Creek at the lowest point of the curve. We often head west from there following the trail down to the strait and then along the water. The trail heads into Port Angeles and continues west, but we don't get that far. We get down to the sea and enjoy the scenery and salt air, then we head back. It's a good place to watch the leaves change. There are a lot of maples along the way, so the trail gets covered with lots of leaves. It's hard to say when we have peak foliage. This isn't New England. Still, it's near its peak now and will soon be passing.	That's the Girl Scout Wall, a retaining wall painted by a group of Girl Scouts some years back.
The trail lined with leaves	More of the trail
Ghost foliage on the dike by the strait	Some of the last coin flowers
A sunnier view	More fall color
Yet more	One of the "art" bicycles
The art of fallen leaves	A darker section

Keywords: flowers, morse creek, port angeles

10/18 - Little River Trail We waited for the rains to start before getting back to the Little River Trail. That way we can hear the river roaring as we follow its path. We were pleased to see the new parking lot a bit farther down the road. It should be easier to park safely on busy days. They redid the start of the trail a bit, but once the initial descent start, it's the familiar trail. The theme for this hike seems to have been mushrooms. There were lots of them. The theme for this year seems to be frogs. We've been seeing and hearing quite a few of them. There was a real tiny one at the base of a tree. Now that the rains have come, we'll be getting back to Little RIver more often, though it will soon be too cold for amphibians.	The theme for the hike
Some color change	Green and black water
More mushrooms	Yet more
The early autumn forest	The Little River
More of the river	Yet more
The trail	There's always something to look at.
We have to find out what those red things are.	Are they a fungus?
More mushrooms, definitely a type of fungus	And yet more
Some tiny mushrooms	More of the forest, with mushrooms
Can you spot the frog?	A blurry closeup
An old stump	Another fork of the river
Another view	Looking upstream

Keywords: little river

10/17 - First Snow on the Mountains

This was the view from the Safeway parking lot. There was snow on the mountains. It didn't last long, but it's another sign of winter coming. (Also shown, the electric blue trim on the electric car charger, another sign of things to come.)

Keywords: winter

10/16 - Sol Duc Falls We took a quick trip out to Sol Duc Falls. We didn't go much farther, but we enjoyed the easy hike from the trailhead to the falls proper. En route, we stopped at the salmon cascade, a narrow stretch of the river where the salmon have to leap dramatically to continue upstream. We saw seven fish all told. It's really a matter of luck, but we were clever this time. We had seen six salmon making their magnificent leaps and then, for a fair while, nothing. So, one of us cleverly said in a loud voice that the fish were likely to hear, "That's it for today. I guess there are no more fish coming." No sooner than we had uttered the magic phrase, one more salmon took its great leap. Then, we headed on to the trail. The forest was suitably dark and green, and there even the minor streams by the trail were gushing nicely. There was spray at the falls, dramatic fall colors and the Sol Duc River racing and plummeting down the falls and under the foot bridge. It was as impressive as ever.	The salmon cascade
That's where the fish leap.	Still watching for a fish
The forest	More forest
Greens and browns	More of the trail
Fall foliage	One of the trail workers
Sol Duc Falls	Another view of the falls
Our spirit animal	Along the trail
Some green, some brown, some mushrooms	More mushrooms
The spirit of the forest	The forest recycles itself.
Another bunch of mushrooms, probably poisonous	The mules heading back for more gravel
More mushrooms	A mushroom forest
The mule team loaded with gravel	Bringing up the rear

Keywords: salmon, sol duc

10/14 - Marine Drive Early during the COVID pandemic, the national park was closed, so we started taking walks along Marine Drive in Sequim. We follow the bluffs, watch for birds and enjoy a spectacular view of the strait.	A typical view
A close up of Mount Baker	Colors
One of the eagles	One of the herons
The heron in context	Autumn color

Keywords: birds, marine drive, sequim

10/10 - Elwha to the Gap We took a short walk from the Madison Falls parking lot to where the Elwha River cut off Olympic Hot Springs Road. The fall colors are out and the river is running higher as the autumn rains pick up. We were pleased to see that the mules were still in residence. When they leave, it's a sure sign of coming winter. It was an easy walk, but it was all we were up to.	The Elwha crossing Olympic Hot Springs Road or what's left of it
The Elwha	The Elwha again
Another look at the Elwha	Olympic Hot Springs Road continues.
A mandarin duck	Mountain mist
More mist in the mountains	A look back at the river
These trees were barely saplings just a few years ago.	Fall colors
More color	The forest
The road	The mules
Fall color seen through the forest	Across the river

Keywords: autumn, elwha

10/05 - Dungeness Highlands Most people explore the spit when they visit the Dungeness Reserve, but lately we've been exploring the highlands. We head inland along the coast, then cut across the road and follow the main bridle path. We make our way to the overlook with a great view of the Olympic Mountains and a picnic table. This almost completes a loop, but it isn't a very long loop, so we turn around and head back the way we came instead. On our last visit, the color was autumn with bright yellow and red leaves, golden grasses and blue sky, blue mountains and the blue of the strait as backdrops. There are parts of the hike that remind us of northern California, but it's definitely a North Olympic Peninsula scene.	A last bit of fall color here
The green tunnel is still green.	The thicket
Autumn fields and distant mountains	A pathway through the grasses
Another field	That field with mountains and sky
More fall color and another tunnel	Another field and mountains
Yet another field	Golden leaves
Gold and the hills	View from the picnic table
Slightly hazy mountains	Another thicket
Another field again	A golden field
The path across	Passing through
More autumn and the mountains	Some more color
A passing snake	The strait

Keywords: autumn, dungeness

September 2023

October 2023

November 2023

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