I’ve always been more of a mountain girl than an ocean girl. I did spend a couple of winters in the Florida Keys in my early 20s. It was too flat for me. I got homesick for vertical topography.
Wild Waves at Point Pinos, CA
Since then, other than one winter in Hawaii, I’ve made the mountains and the deserts my home. Although I’d occasionally visit the coast on my way somewhere else, I never really spent much time there.
That changed a couple of winters ago when I took up petsitting. I’ve finally had a few opportunities to live near, and get to know, the shore and its many moods, spending quality time on the Pacific Coast beaches in Washington,Oregon, and California.
I’ve learned to love the sea in its many moods –
calm
Ruby Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington
or wild,
Crashing surf at Point Lobos, Central California coast
sunny,
Seal Rocks, Oregon
foggy,
Beach 4, Olympic Coast, WA
or stormy.
God rays at sunset, Long Beach Peninsula, WA
I like the big waves of winter a lot. I could watch them for hours.
I love watching big waves.
But what I like the best are the sunsets. Sometimes I shoot generic sunsets – just sky, waves, and sand.
Sunset on the Oregon Coast
But often I try to find a silhouette the foreground to set off the sunset. Sometimes I use nature-
Long Beach Peninsula sunset, WA
sometimes not.
Pigeon Point Lighthouse, CA
When was the last time you caught a sunset at the sea?
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.
Waterfall in Yosemite
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.
Redwood tree on the Avenue of the Giants
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.
Brilliant pink Redbud blossoms along the Merced River.
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
Late afternoon sun backlights a maple tree in Olympic National Forest
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!
