Its perhaps the last week for the blooming tulips out in the Skagit valley. It is a a bit earlier than other years, perhaps aided by a few warm days last month. But it was as colorful as ever.
Did you get to see the blooms this year?
Chasing the Light
The recent Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) event last week populated the airwaves and social media with stories of possible auroras visible as far south as Oregon and California. However, it was all for nought, as the electromagnetic storm weakened significantly before nightfall on the west coast. While Alaska and northern Canada witnessed spectacular displays of the aurora, it was far more quieter down south.
Here is a snap of a spectacular display from last year, captured around the same time. While the entire night wasn't as colorful, there were brief moments where the pillars of heaven reached down to illuminate the earth.
Quincy
WA USA
Watered Down
I was quite surprised when I learnt that the state of Washington may have the largest number of waterfalls in the lower 48, including this icy falls near Snoqualmie Pass, but I reckon that the most beautiful falls in the Pacific Northwest reside in the state of Oregon. Between the multitude of falls that tumble down the walls of the Columbia Gorge, and those scattered across its state parks, Oregon has no dearth of falls. And thanks to the volcanic basalt rocks that frame many of the falls in this state, Oregon offers photographers a bounty of photogenic falls to capture.
Here are a couple from that state, which while similar to each other, are still unique in their own way.
Pacific Northwest
Winter escapes
In a PNW winter, the high summits of the Cascades or the Olympics beckon us to hike through wooded lowland trails, cross deep banks of snow, traverse icy ridges and reach rocky summits. And if you are lucky, you would be the first person of the day to break trail. When the conditions are right, the PNW rewards you with a remarkable experience: traversing through powder snow under bluebird skies to guide you to panoramic vistas of icy peaks, sun-kissed summits and rocky ridges. Higher up, conical edifices of conifers that braved the winter storms dot the soft embankments of white, resembling ancient creatures traversing slowly through the snow.
This year is quite unlike any other. With higher than average temperatures, the snowline and snowpack have receded to historically unprecedented levels. Whether it is a temporary quirk of nature or a symptom of a longer-term climactic pattern, the coldest month in the PNW has proved not to be. So here are scenes from prior years of the blue and white jewels of the PNW.
National Parks of Washington
USA
Winter Blues
It is going to be a frigid weak ahead. Icy winds from the north will push the mercury to below freezing in the latter half of the week. And it is likely going to result in conditions that create this scene over the weekend.
How are you going to prepare for the cold wave?
Olympic National Park
WA USA
Aftermath of a thunderstorm
The thunderstorm reason usually passes by the Palouse region a bit before the summer seasons. During the summer, one is typically greeted by bluebird skies over the rolling green fields. However, that is not particularly conducive to photography.
I wasn't hoping to get great weather in a trip earlier this year, but I was a bit more lucky with the weather patterns. Even though it was late June, cumulus clouds continued to roll over the region, an aftermath of a wet weather pattern. That lead to a nice pattern of shadow and light over lush wheat fields.
Palouse
WA USA
Rolling Greens of Palouse
The velvety greens of Palouse have me salivating for a trip to eastern Washington in summer. It is a landscape remarkably different from the urban scenes of Seattle, the lush forested landscape of the PNW or the snow-capped summits of the Cascades. And in the right light and location, Palouse really shines.
Steptoe Butte State Park
WA USA
A Long Climb
There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. To get there, you have to push yourself, one step after another, and seek out the mountains to master and the nadirs to cross.
Mount Rainier National Park
WA USA
Lights Out
One of the perks of living in the PNW, or so I thought, was that I would have easy access to see the northern lights. But lightshows like the one yesterday are few and far inbetween, and it is hard for the weather to cooperate as well. Thankfully, it cooperated yesterday and I snagged this. While not as impressive as my previous glimpses of the aurora in Iceland, it was a pretty sight at a place very close to home.
This scene shows the deep red pillars that appear when the intensity of the ionic storm becomes particularly strong.
Anacortes
WA USA
Rainless Sky
Sometimes I just stare in wonder at what nature can create. On a rare sunny winter day in the Olympics range of Washington, a small cloudburst empties itself into the thin dry air. I found myself drawn in to its inverse pattern created by the pyramidal mountains of the Olympics
Olympic National Park
WA USA