The flowers in Western Washington are the most lush and colorful I’ve ever seen. Spring is a long riot of shapes, smells and colors that starts late February and goes until May.
Blue Morning Glory
Daffodils
Scilla
Apple blossoms
Iris
Red flowering currant
Flowers at Pike Place Market
Peonies
Dew Cap
Rose
Every spring the Tulip Festival comes to the Skagit Valley. Some years are rainy and the flowers glisten with water droplets, other years the sun is out and the white clouds and blue sky are a perfect back drop for the colorful blooms.
Roozengarde has a lovely display garden.
If you go just as the tulips are blooming you can catch the last of the daffodils.
Lovely shapes
There are many varieties.
Cut tulips for sale.
Ready for market
Through the barn window.
In the field.
The Palouse is one of the most beautiful areas of Eastern Washington. The undulating hills and contrasting colors are a photographer’s dream.
Blue, brown and gold
Lake Bennington
Palouse sunrise
Flying in to Walla Walla.
Curves
Full moon and a smoky sky
Red barn and a coming storm
Storm over Wenatchee
Eastern Washington is a huge and gorgeous stretch of land that this short post can’t begin to cover. Coming from southern Arizona the desert landscape, brilliant blue open skies and the muted colors feel like home. Several times when I went forest fires were in full force and the air was filled with smoke.
Wheat fields stretch for miles.
Truck dwarfed by a giant grain elevator.
Near Yakima
House under a smoky sky.
Wild sunflowers
Horses on a windy plain.
Church on the back road to Dayton.
Carefully trained apple trees.
If elves existed they would live on the Olympic coast. The swirling mists, glorious deep green forests and sculptured rock provide endless opportunities for interesting photos.
Heading to the Olympic Peninsula on the ferry this seagull followed the boat.
Ruby beach
Second Beach
Pebbles
Into the shimmering mists.
Sunset on Rialto beach.
Alfred planning route on Oil City trail.
Mystery beach
Ruby beach once the mists cleared.
From June 2015 to December 2016 I had the opportunity to work with the State Department of Health in Olympia, WA. This was an area I hadn’t explored much so each week I looked for a new place to visit and go for a walk.
The campus around the State Capitol is filled with beautiful gardens, a walking path around Capitol Lake and excellent vista points.
Capitol building
Dahlia garden
Capitol
The Mima Mounds are right outside of Olympia. They are low dome-like mounds with uncertain provenance. There are walking paths and a tower for a wide vista.
Mima Mounds
Mima Mounds
Priest Point park has walking paths, a rose garden and a saltwater trail.
Trails
Millersylvania Park has boating, great walking trails and lots of camping opportunities.
Millersylvania Park
On the road to Millersylvania from Olympia.
Woodard Bay is a great place to kayak or walk the trails. It’s a nice place to watch the moon rise or the sun set.
Woodard Bay
Canoeing on Woodard Bay
Tolmie State Park has shoreline and amazing walking trails that lead deep into a deciduous forest.
Tolmie Park
The waterfront in Olympia has great walking paths, excellent restaurants and is another good place to watch sunsets.
Olympia waterfront
St. Martin’s Benedictine University is just north of Olympia and filled with walking trails and lovely historic buildings.
Saint Martin’s University cemetery
My all time favorite place to go walking is the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Nature Preserve just 20 minutes north of Olympia. I talk about this in another post.
Happy walking and I’d love to hear about your favorite trails!
Established in 1974, the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is a biologically rich delta formed when the freshwater from the Nisqually River mixes with the saltwater of Puget Sound.
While working in Olympia I had the opportunity to make multiple trips to this amazing place and every time I visited the combination of tidal waters, light, bird life and color was different.
Here are some of my favorite pictures. It’s well worth the visit if you get the chance!
Spring
Fall
Old Barn
Winter Sunrise
Nisqually Clouds
Goslings
Snow
High Tide
Woman in Red
Seagull and Moon