The old picnic table sits near the beginning of the East Fork Quinault Trail that runs up to the Enchanted Valley and Anderson Pass in Olympic National Park. The road used to continue to this point, but it is now trail. The table sits so close to the trailhead that once folks are ‘loaded up’ there isn’t much interest in taking a break at this point. So it’s abandoned to the moss and lichen and time is working its magic.
One of the challenges of camping/backpacking in the Olympic National Park is keeping food away from mice, jays and ground squirrels or chipmunks. While the park requires bear-proof containers or elaborate hanging rituals to keep food away from the black bears, the same containers also protect your food from the smaller critters like the Townsend’s Chipmunk shown here. (in some areas raccoons and crows are even bigger pests)
Just a couple of flower photos to brighten up the last few days of (calendar) winter. Both Bear Grass and Tow-headed Baby are relatively common wildflowers in Olympic National Park. Tow-heads are an anemone that have gone to seed (aka western pasque flower). Towheads are found in mountain meadow areas, but bear grass is found at most elevations.
I was walking the beach on Marrowstone Island (just Southeast of Port Townsend, WA) the other day (late February 2023) and saw this kayaker out enjoying the sunny weather (but it was chilly). I had a nick view of Mt Rainier behind him, so took the photo. When I got back to my car, he was loading up his kayak and I was able to get contact information to get him a copy of the image. I was glad to get one to him … it brought back memories of being out in my kayak in mid-winter.
I am pleased to share that I have 7 images that are hanging in the Grover Gallery’s Teaching Artists Show from March 2nd to March 26th 2023. Below are the images of mine that are hanging. First the grouping, then the individual images. The Grover Galley is located in downtown Port Townsend (directly across from the Rose Theater).
