For those of you who have been following my journey from Kentucky to Washington and back, we are now on the Northwestern rim of Olympic National Park.
As for those who may not have been following this story unfold, we had planned to get into Olympic National Park and other national parks, but the government SHUTDOWN kept us out.
We had to continue forward, or lose a whole lot of money on reservations made well in advance.
As I have been doing the past 3 weeks, in order to share all of the 282 mosaics I created for my blog, I will share 2 posts from journey at a time each week, until completed...
only 4 weeks to go ;)
Please try and view both posts published each week, I appreciate it very much~
Remember to double click on the image, to view a larger slide show of the images shared
For those who may have watched the "Twilight" movie series, as my 3 daughters did, many of these images were taken near Forks, Washington and also La Push, where much of the movies were filmed.
Below a Sea Otter comes with it's buddies to get a closer look at me, my husby and our 2 pup-cubs~
Both this post and the next, you will see some of what I saw, and also have to wonder about what I missed.
For 43 years, I had a dream of viewing the Pacific Coast Rain Forests.
These 2 posts will show what I was able to enjoy, on the wrong side of the gates, yet beauty was most assuredly present there too.
Thanking Phil Slade for proper ID of Gulls!
Above Glaucous Gulls fly over and water reflections glimmer below~
La Push is home to over 5,000
Quileute Indians.
We were able to visit their beach on their reservation, and yet all beaches that surrounded their home, we were not allowed due to the SHUTDOWN.
We had planned for months to visit the other beaches where there were many sea birds, Seals, Sea Lions and Whales...we missed it all.The haystacks that we could see were very pretty, and yet, yes, we missed the greater ones as well.
Below Gulls and Pelicans fly in and about these huge formations~
One of my favorite scenes, which gave me great pause was this simple pasture of cows grazing.
It was on the lane that leads to the rain forest and there was just something very special to me about this image~
The trees below are just a tease of what is to come in adjoining post.
This is just a sampling of what we might have viewed on the other side of the gate.
The fragrance of these beautiful conifers, and the tree moss was absolutely amazing.
I just wanted to capture the air in a bottle and bring it home with me~
I am so used to seeing Brown Pelicans in Florida, but to see them in the colder part of the most Northwestern part of the US, was pretty neat.
Such a difference in the weather and the temperature of the waters~
The Autumnal colors were quite different then those that we have in the East, but oh so magical.
Below, is the little group of 4 Sea Otters that came to check us out~
the rocky cliffs are so beautiful - especially with the trees growing out of them. the otters would be very neat to see, too.
ReplyDeleteHow did I miss this? It's a wonderful post full of great critter, birds, and scenery photos!
ReplyDeleteLook at those sea otters! They are so cute. Your tree collages , I think it was the first group, look like paintings -- like fine art. I love all your pictures...almost too much beauty to take in all at once. I do wonder about why pelicans would choose to be in that cooler climate. Or maybe those are the lucky ones and they feel better than the ones that are here in Florida, who knows!
ReplyDeleteHi Mary,
ReplyDeleteHave just arrived from your most recent post, where the scenery and wildlife is utterly amazing! Decided to comment here, as the seasonal colours are exceptionally vibrant among the thickly forested landscape reflected on the water, gifting us with second helpings of nature's spectacular, seasonally infused, rich recipes; a most satisfying palette!
Poppy
I love the reflections of those trees! Birch, perhaps? Gorgeous photos!
ReplyDeleteYou had to endure more shutdown torture Mary but depite this your images and collages are quite beautiful with the colours and textures of the (silver birch?) trees and greenery. What a thrill to see a family of Sea Otters like that, and I noted your in-flight Glaucous Gull too, a splendid shot.
ReplyDeletewow those white trunked trees are amazing - what fantastic photo opportunities. They would look so good on a huge canvas for your wall.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful post, a lot of interesting things to study!
ReplyDeleteFabulous post! I love the otters. They're adorable.
ReplyDeleteWonderful images from your trip, Mary! The birds, otters and the birch trees are all beautiful. Have a happy week!
ReplyDeleteWonderful series of photos! I was actually just recently thinking about your blog, and wishing I had saved a link to it, because I love how you frame the photos. I can't remember what this style is called, though.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pleasure to see all of your nice photos i this post, Mary!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment.
No, I have not been blogging so much now, maybe you saw I have become a proud grandmother! Our oldest son and his fiance got a little babygirl, and it's so amazing! Maybe it's because we have four boys! :)
Hugs Pia