This is the northwest corner of Fort Worden State Park where it runs into North Beach County Park. The folks that refuse to buy a State Park parking permit park there to walk into the trails in the Fort. The land visible on the other side of the water is Vancouver Island.
Just playing around with an image of a dried rose.
The Olympic National Park opened up the Staircase Rapids Loop Trail on July 8th for the first time since the fire in 2025 devastated the area. The valley of the North Fork Skokomish was one of my favorite locations and I went to take photos of the area on the 8th. Each set of photos shows the same location before and after. Some images aren’t exact matches … but I did as well as I could with the images I had. The Staircase Loop Trail leaves from the Staircase Ranger Station, runs 1 mile (1.6 KM), crosses the river (on a bridge that was protected from the fire) and returns back to the parking lot.
I saw this small group of geese taking off at the Nisqually Natural Wildlife Refuge (AKA Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge) just east of Olympia, WA. There were thousands (?) on the ground there, but these five seemed to have a group of their own.
A reminder:
I have a book available on the Kindle site. It is a memoir titled 60 Years of Hiking in the Olympics. It has over 100 photographs and covers more than 100 different hikes and backpacks. I have it priced to share at $2.99 (US).
Here’s the link (Click the “Get Book” button):
These pilings always intrigued me. Especially the daffodils (at least that’s what they look like here) that are growing in several of them. Did someone plant them? How did they do that? from a canoe, maybe? They are in Capitol Lake in Olympia, WA … and how are they growing? Did dirt get added to the cavities, or are they just growing in rotting wood?
Questions with no answers from your blogger.
One answer to an unasked question: the shadow is of a railroad tressle.
I have a book available on the Kindle site. It is a memoir titled 60 Years of Hiking in the Olympics. It has over 100 photographs and covers more than 100 different hikes and backpacks. I have it priced to share at $2.99 (US).
Here’s the link: