These photos are from the Upper Duckabush area of the Olympic National Park. I really liked the Elephants Head … this was the only time I had seen it. Getting low to capture it allowed me to also get the ridgeline in the image, which really gives it a lot of context that would be missing otherwise.
The image below is a more typical mossy streamlet running through the alpine area. I enjoy the rich greens of the various varieties of mosses … a visual feast.
Bristle Cone Pines are some of the oldest living things on the planet. The oldest are thousands of years old. The ones that grow in the more harsh environment live the longest. The harsh environments mean slow growth and that makes them tough. There’s a good life lesson there.
Washington State isn’t known for a lot of fall colors. The flora isn’t primo and the weather usually doesn’t cooperate. But vine maple provides a lot of color on a reliable basis. Just in a smaller dosage than (for instance) the forests of New England.
The Olympic National Park is great habitat for many types of fern. One of my favorites is the Maidenhair Fern. A nice mix of delicate and elegant.
The typical fall colors are red, yellow, orange and browns (more browns around the Pacific Northwest, I’m afraid). Once in a while there is a splash of color that is jarring. This image shows some pond scum (algae of some kind) at the Nisqually-Billy Frank Jr National Wildlife Refuge in one of the beaver dams. Quite dramatic.