Rialto Beach, Extreme Low Tide Day 1

 

Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park   July 11 2010

Hole in the Wall Hike

Northwest Washington Coast                                                          

Day 1

One of 2 parts

This is a hike I have been dreaming of doing for 3 years. I visited Rialto Beach back in September of 2007 in hopes of seeing the low tide and to find the “Starfish Rock” (a large boulder covered in starfish) that I had seen on another website. We tried to get there early enough but didn’t quite make it. Even though we missed it I was fascinated by this beach and vowed to come back for an overnight hike on a day when there was an extreme low tide. There are only about 3 really low tides of the year, so 3 years later (yes it took 3 years! I was pregnant during one of those years so cut me some slack. : ) I finally had the chance to make this journey I have been dreaming about.  If you want to read my previous blog entry on Rialto Beach here is the link.   Rialto Beach Hike.

Rialto Beach Hike, Extreme Low Tide – Day 2

Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park

Hole in the Wall Hike

Northwest Washington Coast                                          Day 2

 As soon as it was light I  got up and walked to the beach to watch the tide begin to go out.  I skipped breakfast since I was so eager to get to Hole in the Wall and again, it was another incredible experience for me. I saw a couple of early morning hikers and I watched the surf  gradually lowering to reveal tons of rocks that weren’t there the day before. My hiking companions decided to sleep in since we didn’t get much rest during the night. So once again I was on my own to explore this amazing place at such an incredible low tide. The sun was coming up creating beautiful colors and the beach had a touch of early morning fog. It was going to be a perfect day!

Round Lake State Park, Idaho

Round Lake  State Park

Near Sandpoint Idaho

 Sunset from the Tromp the Swamp hike.

I asked my husband to find a state park in Northern Idaho near Silverwood theme park for our family vacation. I mentioned Priest Lake assuming that he would reserve one of their 435 campsites on the lake since it is so large and popular. When he told me he reserved a campsite for 3 days at a place called ‘Round Lake’ I was pretty annoyed. I gave him one thing to do and he found the smallest campground at a lake I had never heard of.  🙂 It was too late to change it, so I decided to make the best of it. I must say now that I was incredibly suprised at how beautiful, serene and awesome Round Lake was.

Picture Lake Path/Heather Meadows

Picture Lake Path/Heather Meadows

Mt. Shuksan/Mt. Baker

Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie Forest

 

 Picture Lake/Mt. Shuksan

 I headed up to Mt Baker/Mt. Shuksan for a day of photography with a good friend of mine. The drive was long and slow, but the view and experience of being in and around those majestic mountains made the time it took to get there well worth it. We drove from Lake Stevens and decided to take the scenic and what we thought would be the quick route, Hwy 9. It was a beautiful drive but if you figure in the reduced speed and the amount of curves it takes a little bit longer. I calculated on google maps that it takes about 20 minutes longer using hwy 9 rather than I-5.

Back to Fir Island

Fir Island, Skagit Valley Washington

Hayton Bird Reserve

1/17/08

My good friend brought me to Fir Island last year for a day of photography, and after a very successful day I knew I would have to return again. I live only a short distance from Skagit, so when the weather is cooperating I can easily drive up and see what is waiting for me. The snow geese are present from late fall to April, but the best time to go is after mid January when hunting season is over. For more details you can refer to my past post from last year. There are some incredible snow geese shots you might enjoy. FIR ISLAND 

 

Seattle Times Photos of the Year

As I was checking the weather at Seattle Times I noticed a link to the Seattle Times Photo of the Year winners. As I browsed through the top 10 “honorable mentioned” photos, commenting to myself about how great some of them were, I was shocked when I came upon one of my own photos!!

My photo of the “Crawling Sun Starfish” won an honorable mention award!! I am so excited. Mine was one of 10 photos that made the list.   Check out the link: Seattle Times Photos of the Year. I would have never known either if I hadn’t been checking our crazy weather.

Spencer Island

Spencer Island

Everett Wa.

(Spencer Island Butterfly) **This photo was accepted into the Washington State Photographer’s exhibition.**

Up until a few months ago I wasn’t even aware that Spencer Island existed. I must have driven by it hundreds of times while on I-5 or Hwy 2 and never knew that within the city of Everett existed a beautiful island inhabited by all kinds of birds and wildlife. Spencer Island is situated on the Snohomish River estuary. This is where the salt water from Port Gardner Bay and the freshwater from the Snohomish River meets. The first time I visited we took the trail that goes to the south of the island. I wasn’t too familiar yet with my whereabouts so I just chose this trail because I found the directions on a map. However, there are two ways to access Spencer Island. Both start primarily from the same area but this particular way (I’ll call it the south trail entrance) takes the long way around to the island. It was a nice walk and the Snohomish River is rushing past alot of the way. There were lots of waterfowl and we were able to see an Osprey flying to its nest. It’s about a 3 mile loop.

Old Sauk River Trail

Old Sauk River Trail

Darrington Wa.

Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest

 

It was 80 degrees, the mountains were out and the sky was blue. It was the perfect day for a hike. I found this hike in a book and decided it was ideal for our little group. It’s an easy 6 mile round trip trail, but you can turn around at any time. This was our friend’s first hike, so it was a good choice for her first hiking experience. Nothing strenuous and the length could be as long as we wanted.

 

Fisherman Sunrise

Sunrise on Lake Cassidy-Seattle Times

**My “Fisherman Sunrise” photo was chosen for publication in the Seattle Times for Thursday July 17th 2008 in the NW Weekend section and at Seattletimes.com.

This photo was taken at Lake Cassidy in Lake Stevens Wa. I will be posting more photos and information about this cute little lake in a few days.

Snoqualmie Falls

Snoqualmie Falls/Trail

Snoqualmie, Washington

                                                                                                                                              

I have been visiting Snoqualmie Falls since I moved here in 1989. The falls have always held a special place in my memory, and every time I go I am taken back to a time when all of the Pacific Northwest was new and exciting to me. I was 18 and my best friend and I would hike down the trail and race each other on the rocks to see who could get closer to the falls the quickest. I often wonder how we did that without ever falling. Such fond memories. My husband and I went on one of our first dates here as well.