Road Trip Within a Road Trip! ~~ Willapa Bay, Washington

Wow, so I kind of fell of the face of the Earth when it came to keeping up with my adventures here!  It really warmed my heart when I checked in the other day and saw that my much-neglected blog still had traffic!  So I felt motivated and, yes, happy again to edit some photos and post some adventures!

We'll return to beautiful Washington State and my road trip of last summer.  Check out the sights and adventures we had in Southwestern Washington by clicking the links below:

Sights of the 1st Day and Family Time!

Technically, This is Oregon! Multnomah Falls & Columbia River Gorge

Elk, Eagles, and Ocean!

Grays Harbor Walk, Swimming at Wynoochee, and Sunset in Olympic National Forest

I wanted to spend some quality time with Angela since she had been working hard due to family illness while I was there and I hadn't really got to spend much one-on-one time.  So I basically kidnapped her and took her out of her comfort zone to visit the Willapa Bay and the National Wildlife Refuge there.

It's about an hour and a half drive south and the day was gorgeous.  Some of the towns along the way are so picturesque that I need to do more exploring with my camera next time.

We reached the Wildlife Refuge and were welcomed to the spacious parking lot by a resident barn swallow.

I was so impressed by the facilities at this place.  I'll be honest, We didn't see any birds besides the swallows, but the scenery and hiking path is top-notch.  Fun, informative, and gorgeous.

There is a small visitor center/office where you can stamp your Refuge passport if you're into that sort of thing (which of course I am) and a level, paved path with art strewn about.

I inquired in the office about a few things and was told that the artwork was all donated by university students, which I think is so cool.  And these are talented, creative students!  Almost as talented as Mother Nature whose amazing creations were out in full force such as this gorgeous foxglove (with tree bokeh in the background).

I had to sneak a shot of my beloved niece, Angel, on the path ahead of me.  Hope she doesn't kill me for this!!

Just ahead of Angela and to the left was a small pond that was beautifully reflecting the surroundings.  I was overjoyed to see a red salamander swimming lazily nearby!

More of the clever artwork could be seen as we headed further down the paved path.  I absolutely adored this little bridge with it's jumping frog border.

And every direction you looked had large, metal cutthroat trout swimming not in the stream that ran alongside the path, but in the trees above.

As I mentioned, the paved and level path which meanders through the little meadow, past the pond, and under the trees beside a little stream.  This path is a very short in and back (non-loop) path.

However, there is another trail that requires a bit more exertion and we decided to try it out.

It is appropriately called the Cutthroat Climb.

You can see that the trail basically leads straight up the hill by virtue of it's very own "salmon ladder"...and that's just the beginning!

We climbed for a bit and then got to a level section.  Just as we were regaining our breath, we saw a real salmon ladder up ahead.

I wasn't quite ready to tackle it and took a moment to set while Angel took a photo.  The forest is just gorgeous...please focus on that.  haha

It was at this point that we began to speculate that the creators of this beautiful and fun National Wildlife Refuge had designed it so that you really realized how difficult it is for salmon and cutthroat trout to swim upstream and through salmon ladders when needed in order to heed their instincts to spawn.

There were also other things in this forest that captured our eyes and imaginations!  Especially when we came to a fork in the road...errrr...tree.

And saw this amazing ring of branches glowing in the sunlight.

We also came upon a curious sight.  A tree with a hole in the trunk where two trees grew together.  Previous humans (presumably) who had passed before us had picked sticks off the forest floor and placed them in the whole.  Of course we added two of our own. 

The forest floor is an amazing thing if you take a moment to stop and smell the (tiny) flowers.

OMG is that a polar bear?  No, I'm em"bear"assed (not literally thank Heaven) to admit that it's just me, pretending to be a bear coming out of a cave.  lol  Sorry.

Speaking of bears, am I the only one who thinks this looks like a bear or sloth got stuck and the tree grew around it? 

Just me?  Okay...
Maybe the 'shrooms had something to do with it. 

Another amazing thing about this trail is that there is a labyrinth about halfway through.  I just love labryinths and wholeheartedly believe in walking them any chance I get to clear my head and pray my heart out about things that are bothering me. 

I didn't take a photo of it because I was too busy walking it.  And then Angela and I spent the next little bit having some serious conversation which I really appreciated being able to do face to face. 

We finally made it back down to the little valley where the parking lot and HQ was and headed back down the paved path. 

On the way, I saw an adorable robin in the bushes.

It's kind of hard to see in there but never fear!  He came flying out a minute later with a juicy blackberry in his beak!

And then he proceeded to gulp it down!

Wow, that's a gullet-full.

More stunning art!

And then I went into the visitor center to ask a few questions and just above the door was a comfy-looking swallow's nest. 

By the time I got my passport stamped and my questions answered, mama bird was back in the nest.

After finishing up our walk, we decided to head over to the peninsula on the other side of the Bay to buy some presents for the fam.  We decided on Oysterville Sea Farms.  Probably because it was the first one we came to.  But it was a good choice. 

There were some smelly piles of oyster and clam shells which looked picturesque as first glance.  But didn't smell very good.  haha

The building itself was gorgeous against the amazing sky.  The tide was low so the Bay wasn't the most beautiful at the moment, but it didn't detract from the photos or view.  

After we bought some wine and oysters, we headed back to Monte.  And saw this beauty peeking out at us behind some trees.

There were a lot of cool, old buildings which I would like to go back and explore more fully.  I'd like to learn the history and also go to some beaches and hike around Leadbetter Point State Park.  

We got back to Montesano just in time for wonderful sunset with the crescent moon hanging over the sweet pea fields. 

I spent a little while sitting outside with Robert and Angela and then headed back to Westport to get some sleep on my last night in Washington. 

xoxo

Nikon D3300

New Year's Eve - Going Out in Supermoon Style at Yosemite National Park

The last Supermoon of 2017 fell on the last day of the year.  I'm not much of a party person anyway, so when I heard that the moon was set to rise approximately 1 hour before sunset and directly between El Capitan and Half Dome in Yosemite, I knew I had to be there.  

I made the roughly 3.5 hour drive to the park (luckily I have a National Park pass so didn't have to pay the entrance fee) and made it up to Tunnel View just in time to take the last parking space in the first lot!

There were so many photographers lined up, but most of them were hoping for a gorgeous Yosemite sunset.  I got a primo place in line and sat on the cold, stone wall to wait.  Of course I had to take some photos!  The view is amazing!

This photo shows Tunnel View in all it's glory.  You have El Capitan on the left, Half Dome in the middle and Bridalveil Falls near the right.

There was a really nice photographer who had an amazing camera that he purchased in Europe.  He was using Polaroid type film and hoping to capture the tableau in a similar fashion to Ansel Adams.  

He mentioned to me that when Ansel Adams was trekking all over Yosemite before it was a national park, there were no trails and no digital cameras!  He carried a 100 lb pack, 50 lbs of which was camera equipment. 

As I mentioned, there were photographers lined up on either side of me, including a dumb dude with a drone that he flew down the valley messing up some other photographers shots.  There were a lot of complaints around me (and I called him dumb because it's illegal to fly drones over National Parks and he could have been arrested). 

He was somewhere far down the line to my left.

And cool camera guy and more were to my right.

Here's a closer look at Bridalveil Falls. 

And the only little bit of snow I saw was up much higher, behind the vista. 

There were so many planes flying over!  I'm assuming it's a favorite thing for pilots to point out to their passengers and all of the contrails really added to the clouds!

More Tunnel View!  The moon was actually starting to rise at this point, but we couldn't see it.  

I decided to try a capture of Half Dome Ansel Adams (black and white) style. 

I loved the clouds!

And then, FINALLY, it happened!

The Man in the Moon!

I'll probably create some composite shots later, but I was really happy to get quite a bit of detail in both the landscape and the moon itself. 

And here she is in all her glory.  Beautiful.

I love the next couple because you can see the stars and still see some detail in the landscape.  

Okay, and this one is a semi-silly one.  But let me tell you a little story about it's weirdness.  

I have long had the idea to do a "cape series" because I like mystical looks and thought it would be fun to incorporate a model in a cape at some of my night shoots and maybe even some day ones!  

But I didn't have a model to go with me, so I decided to throw on the old cape (which was in my trunk from another shoot) and set my timer and take a running jump onto the stone wall to get a shot for my cape series.

Well, first two attempts I didn't get far enough into the picture.  And on the third attempt, I guess this old, fat chick was tired!  I made it up onto the wall, but almost pitched forward into the great abyss!  lol  Luckily I was able to catch myself and not fall and righted myself just as I heard the shutter click.  haha!  Good times.  Also luckily, there were only a few people left who laughed at the crazy old lady in the cape, jumping up on the wall. 

By this time, I was freezing (all that exercise not withstanding!) and decided to hit the road.  However, on my way out, I was amazed at how beautiful Yosemite Falls looked in the glorious, bright moonlight, so I pulled over again and risked getting eaten by a bear to try to get some shots.

I like this second one with the traffic.  lol  

Okay, now I was REALLY frozen!  My feet especially so I decided to head out for real this time.  My only stop was when a beautiful eight-point buck decided to leisurely cross Highway 120 in front of my car.  What an altogether magical night!  BranDee and Jill, you really should have joined me ladies!!  I wouldn't have almost killed myself jumping on that wall!  

xoxo

Nikon D3300