Water

Oxbow Autumnal Sky

We felt extremely lucky to capture a few fall color images this year. There was a rather large wild fire on the Idaho side of the Grand Teton, and the smoke filled the valley. But, for 1 day the winds shifted and blue skies prevailed. Grand Tetons is often overshadowed by its big brother to the north, Yellowstone. But we feel that the Tetons, offers more landscape and wildlife photographic opportunities.

The Mill

Truly an icon of Colorado, the Crystal Mill stands the test of time. Many visitors make donations so the mill can receive annual maintance. With out those donations, this amazing structure would decay due to the harsh winter conditions.

Tunnel Vision

The original Scripps Pier was built in La Jolla between 1915 and 1916 as a 1,000 foot long facility for acquiring clean seawater for campus labs and Birch Aquarium. Ellen Browning Scripps provided all of the funds necessary for its construction. It was rebuild in 1988 and is now used to launch small boat and diving operations for scientific research. While the top of the pier is usually closed to the public, some events like guided walks on the pier are available in summer months.

Magic Waters

The cascades are a neat place to enjoy fall colors and rushing waters. The Sol Duc River gets its name from the Quiluete Native American word meaning “magic eaters” or “sparkling waters.” The river originates in the northern Olympic Mountains and takes a meandering course westward to the Pacific Ocean.

California Jewel

Despite the word “jolla” sounding Spanish, it’s not a real word. The Spanish word “joya”, which is similar in pronunciation to jolla, translates to Jewel. Historians believe that sometime in the 19th century when Spanish colonials arrived on the land, they accidentally called it joya. The name has stuck ever since. The Kumeyaay, native people who lived in the area for an estimated 3000 years, called the area “Kulaaxuuy” which means Land of Holes.

Golden Gate from Fort Point

Second Beach

Haystack at Second Beach

Origin Unknown

Emeralds

Off Limits

This waterfall is truly amazing, especially from the bottom of the falls which is supposed to be off limits and only viewed from a platform. The platform was built to allow the environment to recover from excessive foot traffic at the base of the falls.

Low Tide

Morning Glory

On the coastal boundry of Lake Clark National Park a morning shower gives way to a spendid sunrise over tidal flats.

Almost Paradise

This interesting and short waterfall is located just up river from the popular Ruby Falls. While this is part of the Paradise river, it is just outside of the Paradise area of Mount Rainier. On this day the entire Paradise area was in the clouds. The fog, which can be seen in the trees behind the falls, at times was so thick, visibility was as low as 100 feet.