Rich's Travel Photos: 2014

Six THEM Guys hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in Southern Washington State.

This bridge, spanning the Columbia river, is the southern-most part of the PCT in Washington State.

Feb 27 & 28 Oregon Coast: Dunes and Cape Kiwanda

We continued driving up the Oregon Coast and stop occasionally to marvel at the natural sculpture in the surf.

(BTW: You may enlarge any image by clicking on it.)

The dunes seem to stretch back away from the ocean for a mile.

Back on the road and heading north, the highway was temporarily blocked for construction, so I stepped out of the truck to take a picture of a light house.

I couldn’t pass by Cape Kiwanda without climbing the giant dune on which I had learned to fly a hang glider more than twenty years ago.

Coincidentally, the tide happened to be way out, exposing the sea life living in tide pools at the base of the large dune.

We hung out on the beach for one more sunset, the grand finale of our trip.

Thank you for taking the time to check out my blog. I would enjoy reading any comments you are willing to share about the blog in general or about specific images.

Wishing safe and interesting travels to all,

Rich

Feb 23 & 24, 2014 Pacific Coast, Half Moon Bay

We had a great bike ride on a path that parallels the beach. I was having such a good time, I forgot to take pictures!

At the end of the day, we sat on the slope to the beach watching the sun go down.

Photo by Ann R.

Feb 25 & 26, 2014 Redwood National Park, Elk Creek

We drove along the Avenue of Giants and saw magnificent Redwood trees, some over 300 feet tall. The signage tells us that the “champion” trees can grow 370’ tall, have a 16’ diameter, 52’ circumference, and can live to be 2200 years old! What a humbling experience to walk in their presence!

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It feels so different to be in the Redwood Forest after spending most of this month in the desert. Even though we are still in California, the tall trees, green leaves, abundant sword ferns, cloudy skies, the darkness of the deep woods and now a drizzle turning to rain, all remind us of home. We so enjoyed the warmth and dryness of the dessert, but we realize we also miss our home environment.

The scale of these giant trees is difficult to capture.

En route from the south end of the Redwood National Park to the north, we stopped in Crescent City and checked out the stormy coast. (click panorama to enlarge it)

Feb 22 & 23, 2014 Pacific Coast, El Capitan State Beach

We have headed west to the California coast. It is good to see some greenery and water. At the end of a long day of driving, we had an amazing sunset.

The cool, 60° air was delightfully refreshing. We each put a throw on our lap and enjoyed sitting out in the evening light.

Before departing the next morning, we took some time to explore the rocky beach.

Feb 21, 2014 Anza Borrego, Palm Canyon

The day started out cloudy, which made it difficult to take photos. However, I just can’t help myself when I have a camera in my hand and I see bees nearby.

Today, we took a 6 mile hike from the visitor center to Palm Canyon Oasis. We started out across the flat sandy dessert floor before climbing into Palm Canyon.