Lake Crescent & Sol Duc Falls

I am linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Good Fences
I hope you can join in on the fun and share your fence scenes and pretty skies.

I am sharing some images from Day 4 of our trip to Washington state.
I mentioned on a previous post, it was great to wake up in the morning and see a clear sky, this was a shot of moon before heading out for the day's exploring.

After a day of driving the previous day to Cape Flattery we decided to spend the next day hiking to the waterfalls not far from Port Angeles. I am sharing a Lake Crescent sunrise and a couple of waterfalls we visited while in the Olympic Nat'l Park.

Lake Crescent sunrise on our way to the waterfalls.

As we drove along the the lake, we would pull over and check out the colors of this sunrise.

One of the few birds I saw during our hike to the waterfalls was this Hairy Woodpecker.

On this day we hiked to 3 waterfalls, the Sol Duc Falls was the first one and to me it was the prettiest. All the websites I visited spell the waterfall name Sol Duc and not the Soleduck that is listed on the sign for the park?

I like how the Sol Duc Falls separates into 3 tiers or I call them channels or chutes. Plenty of fences around to keep peeps or hubby safe from falling off into the falls and gorge. Sol Duc falls seemed to have the most water out the 3 waterfalls we visited on this day.

Above images are of the Merymere Falls. After leaving Sol Duc Falls we drove to the next waterfall above called Marymere Falls. This waterfalls is located near the Lake Crescent Lodge. The trail to the falls starts at the Lodge's parking lot.

Above scenes are from Madison Falls. Madison Falls was our last waterfalls to visit on our way back to Port Angeles.

This cute pup was with a friendly lady we met at the falls, soon after hubby sat down the cute doggie walk over to hubby and sat next to his leg.  Dogs seem to like hubby wherever he goes  :)  I seem to take photos of every dog I see while on vacation.

I hope you enjoyed the sunrise and the Sol Duc, Marymere and Madison Falls. Thanks for stopping by for a visit and for your nice comments. Have a happy day and weekend ahead.

To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and check for more fence shots at Tex's Good Fences

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences and thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.    I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead..

Cape Flattery, Washington

I have a list below of memes I am joining for this week. They are all fun memes to participate in...I hope you can join in with the fun  and check out some of the participating posts. Special thanks to all the wonderful host and their memes.

This past week blogland has lost a sweet blogger Pat @ Bailey Road she was a nature lover, dog lover and a great photographer. Pat will be missed.  Rest in peace, Pat. My prayers go out to Pat's husband and family.

On Oct 3rd of our Washington State trip we drove to Cape Flattery it is the north westernmost point of the United States and is also part of the Makah Reservation. It is where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets the Pacific Ocean. I think I have mentioned before it hardly rains during my vacations, hubby is amazed with my luck. We did have rain one day during our stay at the beach but 1 rainy day out of 9 days is not bad.

Cape Flattery Lighthouse is on Tatoosh Island, Makah Bay are on one side and Neah Bay is on the other side of the Cape.

There is a hike through the forest, some of the trail was on a boardwalk. To see Cape Flattery you must purchase a pass from the Makah Indian Reservation to visit this site. The trail is 1.5 miles round trip.

It was a beautiful day with a clear blue sunny sky.

The coastline scenery around the Cape Flattery is gorgeous, we could see some sea caves from above.

At times we watched 2 gray whales, we could see their spray, body and tails coming out of the water.

Above some of the wildlife we saw while we were at Cape Flattery. Top Row: various gulls, Surf Scoters, Cormorant. Middle Row we saw two Gray Whales. Bottom Row is the Black Oystercatcher. Cape Flattery is at the northern boundary of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. It was a couple hour drive from Port Angeles but the visit to Cape Flattery was well worth the drive. I hope you enjoyed my post and images. As always I appreciate your visits and nice comments. Thank you! Have a happy day and new week ahead!

Thanks for visiting my post and as always I appreciate your comments.

Thanks to Judith our  host of Mosaic Monday

Thanks to Mersad for hosting Through My Lens.

Thanks to Monica for hosting NF Trees

Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes

Thanks to Sue for hosting Wordless Wednesday

Thanks to the hosting team of Our World Tuesday!

Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday

Hoh Rainforest, Olympic Nat'l Park

I have a list below of memes I am joining for this week. They are all fun memes to participate in. I hope you can join in with the fun and check out some of the participating posts. Special thanks to all the wonderful host and their memes.

Sharing our visit to the Hoh Rainforest, Olympic Nat'l park. After leaving the beaches the sky cleared up as we headed inland to the Hoh Rainforest and river.

 The Hoh River was formed thousands of years ago by glaciers. Look at the blue color of the river, just gorgeous.

I just missed getting a shot of an American Dipper here at the river. It did not stay still for long.

There are some tall Western Hemlocks, Sitka Spruce, Douglas fir trees and lots of moss and ferns in the Hoh Rainforest. Some of the trees in the Hoh Rainforest can grow up to 312 feet tall and 23 feet in diameter.

These trees growing in a row are growing from a fallen tree called a nurse log, providing water and nutrients as they decay.

Some of the fall colors on the Spruce Trail in the Hoh Rainforest. Some of the trees are the big leaf maples.

The fall colors were beautiful along with all the green ferns and moss on the trail.

Some of the ducks (mallards and merganser) seen near the Hoh Visitor center.

I hope you enjoyed this short visit to the Hoh Rainforest. As always I appreciate your visits and nice comments. Thank you! Have  a happy day and new week ahead!

Thanks for visiting my post and as always I appreciate your comments.

Thanks to Judith our  host of Mosaic Monday

Thanks to Mersad for hosting Through My Lens.

Thanks to Monica for hosting NF Trees

Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes

Thanks to Sue for hosting Wordless Wednesday

Thanks to the hosting team of Our World Tuesday!

Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday

More from Olympic National Park

I have a list below of memes I am joining for this week, and to save time I am doing one post for all. They are all fun memes to participate in...I hope you can join in with the fun  and check out some of the participating posts. Special thanks to all the wonderful host and their memes, I hope you have some time to check them out.

This was our 2nd full day in Washington state, it was a long day driving to two beaches and a visit to the Hoh Rainforest. All of these places are considered part of the Olympic National Park.

The tall trees that border Rialto beach, some look ready for the waves to come and claim them.

The first beach we stopped at is called Rialto Beach, the driftwood was actually whole trees washed up on the beach. Some of the roots were taller than we were when we stood next to them. I am pretty sure the birds flying over were the Snow Geese, a closer look at my photo you can see they were white with black edges on the wing tips. It was a cloudy day but only a little drizzle, it did not stop us from doing what we planned.

The beach at Rialto is made of stones and lots of washed up trees and driftwood.

Above are some scenes from the second beach called Ruby Beach, this beach was my favorite. I love the seastacks, the forest, and the ocean. Bird sightings included the Savannah Sparrow, various gulls like the California Gull, Cormorants and Brown Pelicans and the Bald Eagle.

A pretty Savannah Sparrow kept me company while hubby walked further down the beach.

Seastacks, driftwood and stone sculptures and cliff with the pine and fir trees all pretty scenes from Ruby Beach.

Above the cliffs with some caves, a seastack with Cormorants and Pelicans, an Eagle on the beach, seastack with trees and driftwood roots that look like a sculpture. I hope you enjoyed our visit to the Olympic National Park beaches.


As always I appreciate you visits and nice comments. Thank you! Have  a happy day and new week ahead!

Thanks for visiting my post and as always I appreciate your comments.

Thanks to Judith our  host of Mosaic Monday

Thanks to Mersad for hosting Through My Lens.

Thanks to Monica for hosting NF Trees

Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes

Thanks to Sue for hosting Wordless Wednesday

Thanks to the hosting team of Our World Tuesday!

Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday

Dungeness Spit

I am linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Good Fences
I hope you can join in on the fun and share your fence scenes and pretty skies.

I hope I will not bore my blogging friends with some of our trip images. Even though I link up my post to the parties, my post is a way my hubby and I can look back on and enjoy the memories of our trips. On the the second day of our Washington trip we spent the afternoon at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and a hike on the Dungeness Spit. The Spit is the called the world longest natural sandspit. The trail to the end and the Lighthouse is 5 miles one way. It is home to 250 species of birds and 41 species of land animals. I am sharing some various scenes and birds during our hike at the Dungeness Spit and a Skywatch from the area.

Top row above is the Common Loon, Surf Scoter, two Surf Scoters. Middle row Green-winged teals and a Savannah Sparrow. Bottom row are the Horned Grebes and some Gulls.

Above is a larger image of the Common Loon seen at the Dungeness Spit.

Hiking on the Dungeness Spit is best during the low tide. The Lighthouse is not even in sight on this photo.

A view thru the driftwood, many large trees have washed up on the Dungeness Spit.

The mosaic above is for both my Skywatch Friday and Good Fences entry. Views of the sky and Strait, a coastguard heli, various fences along the cliffs.

The trail along the scenic coast with a distant view of the Dungeness Spit. The sky was beautiful, love the view of the Strait of the Juan De Fuca and to the far right you can see a fence to protect peeps from falling off the cliff.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit and for your nice comments. Have a happy day and weekend ahead.

To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and check for more fence shots at Tex's Good Fences

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences and thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.    I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead..

Hurricane Ridge, Olympic Nat'l Park

I have a list below of memes I am joining for this week, and to save time I am doing one post for all. They are all fun memes to participate in...I hope you can join in with the fun  and check out some of the participating posts. Special thanks to all the wonderful host and their memes, I hope you have some time to check them out.

I guess some of you noticed I was missing from the blogging world, hubby and I visited Washington State and the Olympic National Park for 9 days. Using a Port Angeles hotel as our base we traveled all around the Olympic Peninsula. On Sept 30th we flew from Maryland to Seattle arriving by noon we drove to Sequim had a quick meal and then checked into our Port Angeles hotel. On the same day we still had to time to drive to the Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park.

Above are some of my first views of the park were the birds and critters. The American Robin, Red-breasted Nuthatch,  Gray Jay, one of my Washington state lifers the Varied Thrush, the black-tailed deer and a chipmunk.

Our shadows on the trail..The subalpine forest is a transitional zone where trees grow smaller due to the weather.

The sign above list some of the mountain peaks, the highest summit in the park is Mount Olympus at 7980-foot.

Above views from the Hurricane Ridge visitor center and the overlooks.

The hazy international view from the trail is the city of Port Angeles, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Victoria British Columbia.

Views of some pretty reds on the mountain side and the subalpine firs.

The Red-Breasted Nuthatch one of my favorite birds, it has been a few years since seeing one in my yard. I hope you enjoyed this visit to Hurrican Ridge and the Olympic National Park. I have so many photos from our trip and visit to this park. Thanks for visiting my post and as always I appreciate your comments.

Thanks to Judith our  host of Mosaic Monday

Thanks to Mersad for hosting Through My Lens.

Thanks to Monica for hosting NF Trees

Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes

Thanks to Sue for hosting Wordless Wednesday

Thanks to the hosting team of Our World Tuesday!

Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday