The Yakima Canyon

The one thing you have to appreciate about Washington state is the variety of the landscape. On the west side of the Cascade Mountains it is literally a rainforest, moss hangs from the trees. Along with that there is Ocean beaches, mountains, the Olympics and the Cascades, Puget Sound, and the green. With the amount of rain that falls here in the Pacific Northwest, lets just say it is not green for nothing.
However drive across the Cascades and the landscape dramatically, green turns to brown, tress turns to sage brush, it has a rugged beauty all its own.

These are photos taken in the Yakima canyon area, as you can see it is a dramatic change, and it is a three hour drive from the Seattle Metropolitan area.  In future posts I have more eastern Washington photos to put up. 
 

Mt Si

After hiking Rattlesnake Ridge it was time to hike Mt Si. Mt Si is one of the most popular hikes in Washington State, on any given sunny northwest Sunday afternoon the parking lot is filled to overflowing. Part of the reason being it is close to a major metropolitan area, and the views on a clear day the views are quite spectacular, as you can see from these photos

Hiking Rattlesnake Ridge

This winter and spring I spent a lot time hiking Rattlesnake Ridge near North Bend Washington. The trail is Ten miles long, Starting at Snoqualmie Point trailhead; and ending at Rattlesnake Lake. Snow was at the higher elevations when I started hiking, and could see the seasons change.

Saddle Mountain Wildlife Refuge

Saturday was a clear day here in the Pacific Northwest, I drove to Yakima to visit my son Neil. We did what we like to do best, explore and take photos. We drove to the Saddle Mountain Wildlife Refuge that is on HWY 24 between Yakima and Othello. The roads of on refuge were passable;however, Neil drove his Subaru places I would think twice about. That adds to the excitement, we had a great time. Here are some photos.

We drove into Othello to eat dinner, there we saw a sign to the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge which north of Othello. Neil looks at me

"well what do you think Dad?"

"interesting we may have to come back another time".

Fungi, Ferns and Moss

The forests of the Pacific Northwest are green with ferns and moss this time of year, it seems at times a green hue is emitting from them. Along with that, more signs of spring are evident each day, so looking forward to the coming of spring!

Signs of Spring

As everyone knows living in the Pacific Northwest it has been a cold and very wet winter. We have passed the shortest days of the year now, its staying light a little bit longer each day. While out walking on the East Lake Samamish trail today, and for a time, the rain stopped, the sun broke though the clouds. Along the trail I kept noticing buds on the trees, so you see spring is coming,