Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Thursday, November 14, 2013

Enter the Hoh and Quinault Rain Forest...Well Sort of~



Well, if you are following my journey, you already know that this was our longest destination point...the Pacific Rain Forests, and Olympic National Park, in Washington.
My husby drove 500 miles plus a day for 5 days to reach Washington and this was day 6.
We were heading down the lane that takes you into the gates at Hoh Rain Forest and this particular morning, I must confess, I was sick at my stomach. 
I had watched the morning news, only to realize that the government SHUTDOWN was still in force and that this day, I would miss out on my long awaited 43 year dream of entering Hoh, Queets and Quinault Rain Forest. 
Chances are extremely slim, that this journey will ever come about again...
Just look at the colours unfolding in the image above, glorious beauty.
I hope that you will be sure to view the post prior to this one as well, for they go hand in hand on this journey made last month~


Remember to double click on the image, to view a larger slide show of the images shared
 

 I am linking up with Stewart at:

   Wild Bird Wednesday

        (http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/)

I will also be linking up with Sylvia at:
SkyWatch Friday


I invite you to check out more 'Skywatch Friday' posts from around the world at:

http://skyley.blogspot.com/

A Common Raven rests upon a moss covered branch outside the gates~ 



The wondrous layers of colour and textures just took our breath away~  
 
 


Even snails and slugs grew larger here. 
An Oregon Junco is a subspecies of the Dark Eyed Junco and this was the only one that I saw, but hey, it was a bird...yea.
OK, did I go around the gates, did I step around them and defy the law...I will never tell.
Here I am with our 2 Long Coat German Shepherds.
9 month old Silveit to my right and 5 year old Meaka to my left~




Each of the images showing these trees and ferns and mosses, just totally mesmerized me.  I so wanted to just take off and wonder a bit, but this is also bear country and other wild things and so I did not dare risk any chances~
 
 


I would so appreciate a good ID on these birds in flight.  
The images were cropped, as the birds were far out and we were not allowed on the National Park beaches either...sigh!
I thought possibly White-winged Scoters, Wigeons, Scaups?
My guide does not show all of the possibilities in flight.
Thanking Phil Slade for proper ID...yea...White-winged Scoters~



Well at least Ruby Beach had a couple of pull offs to be able to at least stop and view some of the beauty, even if you could not poke your toes in the sand~




And then, there they were...we had not been able to view any whales along the coast so far and even though they were far away, they were there...yea!
I checked on Bing and Google and I am pretty sure that these would have been Gray Whales~


 A Common Raven perched atop driftwood at La Push~


We have now made it down the coast to Quinault Rain Forest area and yes, we cannot get in here either...the whole SHUTDOWN was absolutely miserable for many reasons, of which do not get me started, sigh, you would never hear the end of it~
 
 
 


A Pacific Northwest Song Sparrow~
 
 
 

We drove pretty far back on the loop and then came upon a couple driving toward us.  They had gone 6 more miles in and said, it was not worth the trip back in mostly a muddy dirt road way.  
It was us stopping to speak with them, that I heard a rush of water.  
It was not a large waterfall by any means, but there was just something about the timing, that really made me happy.  
We were missing the larger picture, but we were also viewing the smaller ones, and I had to smile~



Another little Pacific Northwest Song Sparrow in the Hydrangeas~




26 comments:

  1. Wow- awesome photos of a gorgeous place that I hope to someday get to see in person. It's on our list...but it may be a few more years. That shut down was ridiculous!

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  2. Like a fairytale, wondrous landscapes and details!
    What a shame, that government shutdown. To interfere with people's lives like that, despicable - I am so sorry you got into the middle of the muddle.

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  3. I started to follow you because I like the photos you showed, I was not dissapointed this week, beautiful makes me want to be there.

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  4. beautiful forest with ferns and moss. i liked the photo of you walking your two pups. :) and the driftwood is really pretty!

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  5. Oh my - what can I say? This was a wonderful set of collages/photos of so much beautiful scenery, etc. What a trip!

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  6. I know it is a total and complete bummer that you could not get in to the Park etc. (and I can't even find the words to say how stupid that shutdown was, talk about don't get me started...)...but really you guys did see some scenery that rivals what you would have seen the Park (I think. It has been years since we've been there. But the green mossy pictures and the waterfalls that you show, really those are like the pictures in my mind if I think about that area.

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  7. Seriously, what a 'sterling' post!!! And fabulous images in your collages...love the moss, the water, the animals...the park entrance...everything. And to have your trip during the government shutdown....I would be bawling.

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  8. So much beauty and such incredible captures!! I feel the same way as Anni, government shutdown is the PITS!!! I would be bawling, too! Thanks for sharing these, Mary!! Have a great weekend!

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  9. Great photos and post for SWF!Have a nice weekend.

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  10. So sorry that your views of this magnificent place got cut short:( But still you have lovely images. A good size waterfall too!

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  11. Love The nature ... Here are wonderful shots.

    Greetings by Heidrun

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  12. Now that looks like something out of Lord of the Rings! What a gorgeous forest! The raven silhouettes on the mossy branch are fantastic!

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  13. A lovely array of things you might see.

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  14. Such a shame that your trip coincided with the shutdown Mary. It must have been quite heartbreaking and a great temptation to explore behind those signs - I am sure you didn't and that those wonderful images of the mossy forest and waterfalls were taken from the gate with a very long lens! I'm going for White-winged Scoter too.

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  15. Mary, I was so mad about the shutdown and the politicians just made me enough more angry. Your photos are lovely, the lushness of the forest is just beautiful in your photos. Wonderful collection of birds, I love the cute Junco. Great post, thanks for sharing.

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  16. I'm so sorry the shutdown spoiled your plans! But the rainforest photos you DID get are magnificent.

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  17. o that´s a fairytale forest. Love it!

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  18. Beautiful shots of the place. I liked that growth on the tress.

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  19. amazing pictures of the forest despite the shutdown Mary. What a disappointment - but your views are wonderful anyways. What an amazing place. I love your images. They remind me a bit of the forests of Tasmania, an island state of Australia.
    Have a wonderful week and thank you for stopping by my blog this week. We are both showing pics of our travels!

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  20. I am so sorry that you weren't able to get further into the rainforest. The photos you got of the forest and the sea coast are just beautiful.

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  21. Wonderful photos! I have to agree, these are straight out of Lord of the Rings or a fairytale.

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  22. This is truly a magical place. I actually used to work and live on the outer coast of Olympic National Park. I loved it... very wild and free. I studied sea otters... followed their movements... watched what they ate and where.... conducted surveys... interpreted what they did in a 24 hour period.... and just learned whatever i could from them.

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  23. Wow! Beautiful photos of a gorgeous place!
    Greetings from Holland

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  24. Wow! Beautiful photos of a gorgeous place,Mary!
    Greetings from Holland

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