This week’s photo challenge, brought to us by Ann-Christine, is to do a photographic review of 2018. As I looked over the files from all of my travels this year, I found it really hard to just pick a few favorites. I’ve done a lot of traveling this year! How do I narrow it down?
So many sunsets, like the feature photo of the lighthouse at Pt. Arena on the Mendocino Coast. I had a lot of red rock adventures, revisiting old favorites like Arches and Zion National Parks, and discovering new amazing places, Like Gold Butte and Vermillion Cliffs National Monuments.
Then there’s water. Incredible waterfalls and beautiful seascapes were hallmarks of my travels. The falls in Yosemite were peaking after a week of flooding rains when I passed through in the spring. Autumn found me deep in the rain forests of Olympic National Park. Great waterfalls there, too. Nothing like a waterfall to bring you serenity and inner peace.
As I looked through my photos, though, I was struck by just how many of my favorite images were foliage. Trees were big for me this past year, both literally and figuratively. I got to know the redwoods a little better when I spent the month of February in Mendocino County, California.
Springtime flower hunting introduced me to a new favorite, the Redbud trees of the Sierra foothills. I couldn’t get enough of these beautiful flowering trees and I was amazed that I’d never seen them before. The area where this image was taken burned in the fires over the summer. I’m thankful I got to see them before they were destroyed.
I spent my summer back home in beautiful wonderful Alaska. My summer image is not a tree, but a flower. I found these unusual albino fireweed blossoms in the middle of downtown Valdez, Alaska.
Fall found me back in the big trees, the old-growth forests of Olympic National Park. Although I loved, and was awed by, these giants it wasn’t the size of the trees that captured my camera and my soul this time as much as it was the fertility of the rain forest- the thick moss covering and hanging from every inch of bark, especially on the Bigleaf Maple trees
For me, 2018 was a wonderful year. I’m hoping 2019 will prove to be yet another year full of wonder, with plenty of opportunities to be immersed in the natural beauty of our Mother the Earth. I’ll leave you with one more favorite. Happy New Year!
What a fantastic year! Your photos are to me delicious – I share your feeling for Mother Earth so deeply…and trees are close to my heart. Hope you will have another astonishing year, 2019!
Thank you! I love your photos, too!
What a beautiful gallery for 2018!
Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Perfect!
My heart smiles looking at your photos Dianne. I’m especially drawn to your trees as I find them truly a magical part of the natural world. Thanks so much for participating in our challenge!
Thank you, Tina.I enjoy your challenges!