Junuary

While summer has officially begun in the Pacific Northwest, it quite doesn't feel like one yet, especially when compared to the halcyon days of June last year. But I am not complaining as the rainy days have kept the temperatures cooler and landscape in spring-like conditions well into summer. I still get psyched about seeing puffy clouds march endlessly into the horizon, and colorful wildflowers showing off their blooms well into June.

While hiking recently along the Columbia River Gorge, I captured a few photos that symbolized the fresh conditions that the wet Pacific Northwest has been having.

Columbia River Gorge
WA USA

Journey of Time

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Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.

- Henry David Thoreau

It seems we are all involved in a rat race, chasing a mystical dream in our daily lives: money in the real world, fame in the virtual world, and popularity in the social world. But what we actually need is time in the physical world. Our short lives are but a scintilla of light in the forward journey of time, and to be able to not just make a mark on it, but to experience that journey in the fullest should be the dream we should chase.

How are you chasing that dream this bright weekend?

Columbia River Gorge

WA USA

Remnants of a Fire

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The rain beat a gentle tattoo on the roof of the house, reminding me that stranglehold of the winter storms hadn't truly melted away by the middle of spring. And with that, I was expecting a dreary hike in the mountains under gloomy grey skies, visibility marred by low-flying clouds and the characteristic misty drizzle of the Pacific North West. But that was not to be.

An atmospheric sky meandered high above, it's fast moving clouds dragging fleeting patches of shadow and light along the bright waters of the Columbia River. In the distance, crepuscular rays beamed down onto the rolling landscape, an endless series of mountain ranges stretching to the horizon. Tiny wildflowers were starting to embrace the warmth of the spring sun, braving freezing winds and occasional cloudy skies.

The bright and cheery scene was, however, marred by the blackened slopes on the southern side of the gorge, remnants of one of the most damaging wildfires in the Pacific Northwest - the Eagle creek Fire. It will take decades before the south side heals back its lush self.

It was a with a heavy heart I visited the Columbia River Gorge, and despite the giant scar, she was still beautiful.

Dog Mountain
WA USA