The weather in Western Washington is notoriously cloudy and damp. Some people struggle with the lack of sun. But I am okay with that … I see the trade offs, including mountain ridges with clouds and/or mist. These were taken looking west from Hurricane RIdge in Olympic National Park across the Elwha Valley.
The mountains across the valley is the Bailey Range, which run down the center of the Olympic Mountains. The view is from Hurricane Ridge, where there is a visitor center over 5000 feet. The valley full of clouds is the Elwha River … one of the huge success stories in salmon restoration. Two dams that were erected in the early years of the 20th century, without the required salmon ladders, were removed which opened up miles of prime salmon habitat. There used to be 5 species of salmon plus steelhead that called the Elwha home, and some of those have returned … hopefully the rest will eventually follow.
Dungeness Spit State Park is located just north of Sequim on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula. The lighthouse at the end of the spit is an 8 mile walk (one way) … and the signage warns to make sure you are aware of the time and tides. At high tide you may be forced to work your way through a maze of driftwood, slowing your progress dramatically. If the weather is clear, the views can be spectacular … including looking towards Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park.
Another view from the top of Blue Mountain, this one looking west towards Hurricane Ridge and Mt Angeles (you can see the roadcut running from the right middle of the image across to the left skyline … Hurricane RIdge is just at that point. This is Olympic National Park. Mount Angeles (Port Angeles is at the bottom of the road) is between the two tallest groups of trees. Tree, Mountain, Tree is a pretty typical (and probably trite) photo motif that my friend and I joke about. But it still works.
This young buck was not shy, because it has lived its life in the National Park, where there isn’t any hunting allowed … so humans aren’t recognized as ‘the enemy’.