Kaleberg Archive for Keyword: spring, Page: 3

05/17/18 - Sol Duc Falls And Beyond We braved the construction on Route 101 along Lake Crescent and were pleased to only be delayed perhaps twenty minutes on our way west. Our goal was the Sol Duc Falls trailhead where we made our way first to the falls, in full spring rush, and then onward and upwards to the bridge over Canyon Creek. We almost climbed 1000'. Deer Lake was another 600' or so, but we had climbed all we could. There was no snow on the trail, though we did see patches of snow in the woods. We did see lots of trilliums and lots of running water in the Sol Duc River, in Canyon Creek and seeping from the rocks and pooling on the trail. It's a beautiful but tiring trail. We returned to the car happy but exhausted. We encountered another twenty minute delay on the way back, but we considered the extra time on the road well worth it.	Sol Duc Falls
A trillium	A curtain of drips
Some unmelted snow	Another trillium, artfully arranged
Canyon Creek	A double header
Canyon Creek again	A minor waterway
The forest	Even more trilliums

Keywords: lake crescent, sol duc, spring, trillium, deer lake

05/07/18 - Even More Trilliums This is the time of year we post pictures of trilliums. They are a sure sign of spring, and by this time of year, we are eager for a bit of spring.	A trillium
More trilliums	Yet another trillium
That's right. That's the High Line in New York City.	Definitely the city
Along the Hudson	Another Hudson view
Just a little fishing village, with trilliums	Typical New York City - health advice from a truck

Keywords: spring, trillium, new york city

04/28/18 - Trilliums on the Lake Angeles Trail Between winter conditions and road repairs, we haven't been hiking the Lake Angeles Trail lately. We finally made our way back, and were pleasantly rewarded. The trail is as beautiful as ever, the trilliums were starting to bloom, and aside from some gravel stretches, the road wasn't much of a problem.	The little stream, one view
A trillium	Another trillium, just getting ready to bloom
Yet another trillium	Another view of the little stream

Keywords: lake angeles, trillium, spring

04/26/18 - Spring Comes to the West Elwha We took a walk west of the Elwha River and saw definite signs of springs. There were trilliums in bloom and columbines in profusion. Spring is here.	One of the many trilliums
Water crossing the trail	More trilliums
Old forest, signs of moisture	Another trillium
A columbine	More columbines
The boardwalk	More flowers
The Elwha River coming ...	... and going

Keywords: elwha, spring, trillium

04/09/18 - Bennington Lake in Walla Walla It's that time of year again, the Cayuse spring release. It wasn't very spring-like, but we headed out to Walla Walla anyway. Usually, all the fruit trees en route are full of blossoms, but this time only a handful were. It has been a slow spring on both sides of the Cascades. In Walla Walla, we made a point of walking around Bennington Lake. It is very different country from where we live. There were dry grasses and old seed pods and wide open agricultural land with mountains only in the distance. The Army Corps of Engineers had closed the sluices, so the lake was low and the side stream was dry. We assume they know what they are doing.	Dry grasses
Distant mountains	Very different from the Olympic Peninsula
This is where one fords the feeder stream for Bennington Lake. It was just about dry.	The closed gates
A view with some water	Agricultural land
Dried berries	Dried seed pods
Bare trees	Lovely country

Keywords: spring, walla walla

03/21/18 - Cherry Blossom Special We had been following the action on the webcam. The buds were starting to open. It was too much to resist. We Kalebergs just had to be in the quad where it happens, so we headed into Seattle, up to the University of Washington and onto the quad where the cherry trees were at peak blossom. These were big old trees, gnarly and dark with a cloud of pale pink flowers about them. The quad was full of people there to enjoy the blossoms and the late start of spring.	Cherry blossoms
More cherry blossoms and admirers	Admirers and cherry blossoms
An old gnarled branch	More CBs
CBs	Dark bark
Another branch	More CBs
Did we mention cherry blossoms?	I guess we did mention cherry blossoms.

Keywords: flowers, seattle, spring

03/17/18 - The Elwha Again

Given what the park service is up against, the lack of an immediate plan to get Olympic Hot Springs Road open again is not surprising. The Elwha River now has a full fledged tributary running through what was once the Elwha Campground. A temporary bridge is possible, but we haven't even seen the spring melt. The older temporary bridge is still in place, but one can imagine a running battle with the park service building temporary bridges and the Elwha River finding clever new ways to branch around them.

Meanwhile, the mule camp is being relocated. If you've ever taken Whiskey Bend Road, you might have noticed the mules in the field near the start of the road. They work for the park service, but the old mule camp is no longer reachable by road. Yes, the mules could walk in, but it's much easier to deploy mule power if you can get all your mules in a truck or two and take them where they are needed. So, their new seasonal home will be the field just past the Madison Falls parking lot. We probably won't be seeing much of that bobcat who hangs around there. Mules have an ornery reputation.

A river still runs through it.

River meets road.

Another view of the river

Fencing for the mule enclosure

Spring flowers - finally

Keywords: elwha, spring

02/26/18 - Winter Garden at the Seattle Arboretum We've been having a bit of winter weather. Even in Seattle, there was snow on the ground, and the temperature seemed to be stuck on much too cold. So, we dropped by the Joseph A. Witt Winter Garden in the Arboretum. Here, there was snow on the ground, but there were also flowers in bloom. There were all sorts of witch hazel, some scentless, some spicy, some sweet, and there were hellebores and a few hardy cherry blossoms. We're sure that spring is out lurking somewhere, but until winter ends, we'll make the best of it.	Cherry blossoms
A rhododendron	A snowy scene

WItch hazel	Another witch hazel
Brightly colored grasses	Cyclamen in the snow
Azaleas	At least the pond wasn't frozen.

Keywords: flowers, seattle, spring, weather, winter

04/30/17 - Russian Easter We Kalebergs recently held our annual Russian Easter party to welcome in the belated spring. Given the cold spring, it is no surprise that the real Russian Easter was some time back. Now that the green leaves are returning and the weather has grown milder, we filled our champagne pool, broke out the blini, boiled up the pelmeni and allowed ourselves to rejoice at the end of winter. We even burned Moscow to fight off the monster Napoleon.	Champagne
A spring-like spread	Truly Russian, at least in spirit
Moscow in flames	Defending Mother Russia from the monster Napoleon
Take that you French, and your French brandy	Routing the invaders

Keywords: russian easter, spring, weather

04/22/17 - Elwha River Trail - Part 1 With Olympic Hot Springs Road open again, we've been heading up to Whiskey Bend and revisiting the Elwha River Trail. We've already made it to the overlook before the second canyon on the way to Lilian Camp and down past Michael's Ranch for a look at the Elwha River. The trails are still a bit muddy, but lots of people are about celebrating the area's reopening. We've been celebrating this year's crop of trilliums and are looking forward to a great hiking season.	A trillium
A view from the overlook	A tree down across the trail
Another trillium	Another bit of trail
One of the many streams	Yet another trillium
Those yellow violets	The trail is beautiful on a sunny day
Our first slug of the season	Mysterious alligator leaves

Keywords: elwha, spring, trails, trillium

04/03/17 - Whiskey Bend Road is Open We headed out to Madison Falls hoping for a little walk along the Elwha River. To our surprise, the gate on Olympic Hot Springs Road was open. To our further surprise, the bathroom at the ranger station is now both handicapped accessible and beautiful. To our even further surprise, Whiskey Bend Road was open. We made our way up the twisty one and a half lane road and took the Elwha River Trail for a ways. The last time we did this was a year and a half ago, and the trail was only open for a week. The trail was as beautiful as ever, but we kept expecting to run into a ranger telling us that we had gotten in by mistake and would have to leave. We felt we had sneaked in. The trail is in great shape, though we only made it a bit past Michael's Cabin, heading up on the trail to Lilian Camp. The day was sunny; the greens were brilliant. We had glimpses of snow covered mountains. It was great to be back. P.S. We're hoping the trail stays open, and that they open the road to Olympic Hot Springs soon. Meanwhile, the Spruce Railroad Trail is still closed, and the latest word on reopening is in July.	The Elwha River Trail
Wonderful light	Michael's Cabin
Much less green than we expected	Another bit of trail
A friendly fungus	A glimpse of the river
A glimpse of snow covered mountain	One of the streams
Yet another view of the trail	A waterfall on Whiskey Bend Road

Keywords: elwha, spring

03/28/17 - Skunk Cabbage, at Last Spring has been coming slowly, but on our last walk along the Elwha River we saw our first skunk cabbage of the year. It's about a month late, but better late than never.	Spooky trees
Save this for Halloween	Skunk cabbage, at last
More skunk cabbage	Aren't you glad your browser doesn't support odors?
A side creek	The forest
More forest with spooky maples	Another view
The Elwha	The Elwha again

Keywords: elwha, spring

03/12/17 - Elk and the Elwha With Olympic Hot Springs Road closed, a lot of trails have been unreachable, so we've taken to walking the closed road from the closure at Madison Falls. The river is still beautiful, and the high country still beckons. We hope the park service manages to reopen the road at some point. There was a herd of elk by the road on our way to Madison Falls. There were quite a few of them. As we move into spring, then summer, they'll be heading up to the high country. For now, we'll take advantage of the photo op.	An elk farm
Some elk	More elk
A horse watches the elk suspiciously	Even more elk
The mountains	Off the Elwha
The Elwha River	Another view of the Elwha
An artsy view of the Elwha	Lately, our favorite view of the Elwha

Keywords: elwha, spring, trails

02/24/17 - Along the Elwha We took advantage of the bright sunny day to take a walk along the Elwha River from the Madison Falls parking lot. The sun was brilliant, and the day was brisk. They've closed the road again thanks to fresh flood damage, so we walked what is now a familiar route. The river is as beautiful as ever. As a bonus, there was a field of snowdrops not far from the parking lot, so we stopped and took some pictures of this early sign of spring.	The damaged road, in case you were wondering why it is closed again
The Elwha River	Another view with almost silvery trees
The mountains	Old maples, gnarled and mossy
Another view up the Elwha	Roiling waters
Misty mountains across the way	A view downstream
Snowdrops ...	... and more snowdrops

Keywords: elwha, spring

12/26/16 - The Elwha River and a Bobcat Like many, we have been waiting for Olympic Hot Springs Road to reopen so we can return to the trails out of Whiskey Bend and revisit the hot springs themselves. To see how things were going, we parked at the Madison Falls parking lot and walked along the road, now closed to motorized traffic. The river was winter beautiful with snow on the hills and a cold gray light. The new temporary one lane bridge is in place and a fair bit of work has been done on the road. We had some wonderful views of the river itself, but then, on our way back, we saw something else, a bobcat in the open field not far from the parking lot. We had seen a bobcat here before, but only briefly as it bounded away in the distance. This bobcat was closer and calmer. We were barely 50 feet away, close enough for an excellent view. It was a real treat in the face of a snowy winter and with so many trails closed in the park.	The Elwha River
Another view of the river	The river and snowy mountains
Across the river	The new bridge
Yet another view of the Elwha	Across the bridge
Through the woods	The bobcat
A closer view	And an even closer view

Keywords: elwha, olympic hot springs, spring, trails, winter

06/10/16 - Volunteer Park Conservatory One of our favorite places in Seattle is the Volunteer Park Conservatory. We missed it on our last few visits. It closes at four, and sometimes it is closed when they are updating the plants on display. This last trip, however, we had the perfect spring conservatory experience. Everything seemed to be in bloom.	The Conservatory
Berries	A flower
Carnivorous …	… and friends
Also in bloom	Even the cactus
Another cactus …	… and another
An orchid display	An orchid close up

Keywords: flowers, seattle, spring

03/23/16 - Elk and the Elwha

The road to the Elwha river hiking areas washed out some time ago. There are plans afoot to reopen the area, but so far there is only a temporary pedestrian bridge. Missing the area, we decided to do a bit of exploring, so we turned off 101 onto Olympic Hot Springs Road.

On our way to Madison Falls, the end of the undamaged road, we noticed a field full of elk, so we stopped and took a few pictures. Elk are usually pretty calm and easy to photograph. In general, amateurs should avoid trying to get dynamic elk action photos. Leave that to the professionals.

Keywords: elwha, spring

03/20/16 - Spring on the Spruce Railroad Trail We were out on the Spruce Railroad Trail along the north shore of Lake Crescent recently. We had a great view of Storm King with its upper reaches dusted with snow. There was also a lot of water flowing into the lake on the various little streams the trail crosses. Even better, a sign of spring, our first skunk cabbage of the year.	Storm King
One of the many streams	Another of the many streams
The trail	Our first skunk cabbage of spring

Keywords: lake crescent, spring, spruce railroad, storm king

02/05/16 - Lake Crescent It is still winter, but here and there we see signs of spring. There were hints, just hints, on the Spruce Railroad Trail along Lake Crescent.	A view across the lake of the Barnes Creek valley
Signs of spring?	A living rock wall
More signs of spring	Another view of the lake

Keywords: spruce railroad, spring, lake crescent

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