My friends are coming to town, so we’re going to drive down to Crater Lake this week. In honor of the beauty, enjoy some photos from the time I visited last fall.
I went early to watch the sunrise over Crater Lake - still as glass!
The lake remained still ast the sun continued up the sky
That water looks brilliantly blue!
As beautiful as the lake is, the forest surrounding the lake is also quite remarkable. No matter how you drive in, it’s spectacular.
When I lived in Olympia, I took every guest who visited to Mount Rainier National Park. I went so many times in 2023, and I’m grateful for each of those visits. I first visited the park back in 2018 on one of my random long weekends to the PNW while living in Texas. I thought today we could go back and look at some of my favorite photos and places throughout the park. Can’t wait to get back in 2024.
This one time I got in my car at 11 pm and drove to Big Bend to see the spring blooms and and to get a couple of hikes in for March. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I had heard the bluebells and other desert flowers were in bloom. The weather looked good, so I took off.
I hiked up the Lost Mine Trail Head and had some great views as the sun peaked over the hills and started shining brightly. Piñon pines, views for days, layered mesas… heaven!
From there, I drove through the park and did some of the Chimneys Trail. On this trail, I saw so many cacti blooms. The ocotillo are some of my favorite. Damn, I miss the desert.
My trip didn’t get me home until almost 24 hours after leaving. Reviewing the photos and reliving the moments has me missing the desert badly. There are some things I miss about Texas, and this is definitely one of of them.
Back in October 2018, I visited Mt. Rainier (Tahoma) for the first time. I met a friend though a Twitter chat and he agreed to show me the mountain. I met up with him, we drove out towards the park and saw the mountain at sunset. From there, we camped nearby so we could get into the park early the next day to watch the sunrise over the peak but not before visiting the park at dark. I’ll never forget the magical sights from this trip. Enjoy some photos - and if you’re going, try to see it in different lights!
My first, up-close view that wasn’t from the freeway (at sunset, nonetheless)
The view of the summit at night, glowing in the moonlight
Just before the sun rose
First light on the summit
THE GLOW of the sunrise is hitting the sky
Full daylight - the mountain reflecting
And a bonus, of me in the sunset glow
Today I’m looking back at my brief day trip to visit North Cascades National Park. I’ve created a post on it already, found here. Today I’m going to highlight some of the plants and fungi I found along the Cascade Pass Trail. The clouds may have prevented me from seeing the views, but my I was able to focus on the ground a little more.
The trail climbed steadily, and I was continuously blown away by the lush greenery through the mist. The Pacific Northwest is truly magical and it’s easy to see why my heart can’t rest until I make a return.
The trail had huge drop offs and that may make some nervous. I took it as motivation to slow down, pay attention, and enjoy the moment.
This week I go back to Rocky Mountain National Park. I haven’t been there since 2014, and I really need to get back. This was a little spot called Lake Irene that was a quick walk from the main road. I hope you can find the forest, even if it’s just through this post! Enjoy and happy Forest Friday!
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