sharing my thoughts through words and images
On our second day trip to Crater Lake a week later, the weather was considerably different. There was a heat advisory in effect and the sky was very hazy with lots of thunderstorms moving through the Cascades. Unfortunately, we did not get an early… Continue Reading “Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway Part III Vol. 2”
The next leg of our journey exploring the entire Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway took us to the amazing Crater Lake National Park. We picked up the byway in Fort Klamath and traveled Route 62 to the turn off for Crater Lake. The byway circumnavigates… Continue Reading “Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway Part III Vol. 1”
In between more lengthy posts, I’ve decided on a new strategy that will allow me to share more photographs regularly without a lot of time devoted to prose! I’ll be posting random, whimsical photographs both old and new. The Smoothstem Blazing Star is providing… Continue Reading “Capricious Captures 7.27.22”
Several weeks ago we decided to embark on another section of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway. Our goal was to explore Lassen Volcanic National Park. While I recommend spending more than one day here, that’s all we had so we made the most of… Continue Reading “Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway Part II”
From a distance, the Lava Beds NM landscape looks fairly barren and harsh. But, up close and personal, there are many wildflowers blooming right now along the trails and roadways. On my travels in and around Gillems Bluff the other day, the sagebrush and… Continue Reading “Lava Beds Desert Bloom”
I noticed this sweet, diminutive flower blooming alongside the Big Nasty Trail near the Lava Beds National Monument border with the Modoc National Forest. This is a native annual plant found throughout the west. Apparently, it has also been present in Vermont – my… Continue Reading “Lava Beds May Wildflowers”
I found this gem growing on the banks near the Point Reyes Lighthouse in Point Reyes National Seashore. In early March, this plant was just beginning to bloom. It was a foggy, misty day and the flowers and foliage were covered with water droplets!… Continue Reading “Coastal Bush Lupine”
I found this little gem growing in patches in the hillside meadows surrounding Lake Mendocino in California. As the botanical name suggests, the flowers are two-toned – blue and white. The plant is native from California to British Columbia and reaches a height of… Continue Reading “Miniature Lupine”
I first noticed this plant last week during our slow ascent up the Pacific Northwest coast from Northern California. We pulled into the Lewis and Clark National Historic Site in Astoria, OR to take a short break from driving before continuing on to our… Continue Reading “Salmonberry”
One of my main chores after returning home from a 6-month workamping position is garden maintenance. My front perennial garden suffered some serious neglect this summer and I dove right in and started weeding and cutting back overgrown and messy plants. The grasses are… Continue Reading “October Photo of the Day 10.25.21”