Hello friends! As this newsletter heads out the door, I am on my summer vacation. Where am I exactly? Well, glad you asked. A friend told me about a fun bike ride in Pocatello, Idaho called Spinderella. A women’s only bike ride through the hills surrounding the city. Prince Charmings come to our rescue when we have a flat or need a repair. Sounded like fun so I registered a few months ago and began planning my trip. My first stop is outside Baker City where I found a lovely campsite overlooking a reservoir and the Elk Mountains last year. After the ride, I’m heading back to the Sawtooths for a couple of days to scout locations for a possible photo tour/workshop. Then off to Montana. Here my plan will be to visit Big Hole National Battlefield and Bannock Ghost Town before heading up to Conrad to stay with friends and put my feet up for a couple of days (I also want to scout locations here too). Gas prices have me a bit worried, but they would worry me if I was staying closer to home. Might as well head off on an adventure to see new sights and plan for a more hopeful future.
These Past 3 Months:
Speaking of futures, the last few months have been fun and productive. At the end of March, I joined my sister and her granddaughter plus two of their dogs on a hike to Lena Lake. We were looking for the old boy scout camp on one end of the lake and the remnants of a structure on the other end. Kristi found the camp, and we decided to return another time to look for the structure. We think we know where it was, we just need to get down there. I made a video that you can see here: Lena Lake. I thought I had fully charged the DJI video camera before the trip, but I guess not as the battery was very low at the lake. This version of the DJI camera does seem to go through battery life quickly so I need to make sure I take an extra charger with me even on short trips. There is also a battery extension that came with the kit (adds weight) that I’ll have to try out at some point.
The beach cleanup was in April and I was joined by 27 Mountaineers to clean up Shi Shi Beach on the northwest coast of the Olympic Peninsula. The morning was perfect and only got better as the day progressed. Sea mist filtered through the trees as the sun rose and the light rays were phenomenal! We all stopped to get photos of mist, forest, and sun. The next weekend found me headed to Orofino, Idaho for our company board meeting - our CEO likes heading to the areas we work in so we can explore the resources we help protect. Here, we work with the Army Corps of Engineers at Dworshak Dam near Orofino. Among the features of the dam is a conference room in the middle of the expanse where we get bird’s eye views of the valley below and the massive lake above. After the meeting, I decided to head down to Joseph, Oregon for a weekend stay at Wallowa Lake State Park. I had plans to explore the area more - walk in Zumwault Prairie, check out Hell’s Canyon, that sort of thing. But after scouting the prairie for possible photo subjects, I woke the next morning not to a pretty sunrise but a flat tire. I am so very grateful mom taught her daughters how to be self sufficient so I could change a tire in the middle of nowhere (not really nowhere this day, but you get the drift).
I travelled once again for work to the Oregon Coast in May. The visitor center at Cape Perpetua went through a renovation during the winter and their grand re-opening was in mid-May. I was able to fly down for the festivities. That was a fun trip. I got to visit a friend in Eugene before driving my so-called economy rental (a Toyota Tacoma that I needed a step stool to get into) out to the coast and up to my hotel in Yachats (pronounced YA-hots). Of course I took my camera. I discovered on a previous work trip that everything I need for an overnight trip can be put into the spare compartment of my Mind Shift Gear camera bag. No, I don't have a sponsorship with them, but I’ve been a fan of their products for about 20 years now. Anyway, one highlight was that I had no idea so many Pacific Rhodies were in the forest south of the Cape - I will have to return to Carl G. Washburn State Park again in May when I have more time to explore the wild rhodies twisted among the shore pines. I did get a few images but the light was so harsh during my drive that the images will take a bit of finessing in Photoshop.
May closed out with a backpack trip up the North Fork Quinault River for Memorial Day. Kristi’s granddaughter joined us again and was excited (or so I thought) to head out into the woods. She has since decided backpacking is not fun. She’s 11 and at the height of desiring social connection with friends. Staying out in the woods for a whole weekend with two old ladies away from friends can not be that fun. I’m a bit disappointed, but at the same time grateful that we were able to take her with us on a few adventures and she was able to see a bear last year. This trip she saw a female grouse act wounded to draw us away from her nest (the nest was next to the trail) and we also shared our camp with a wild bunny. And now I head to Idaho and Montana.
Photo Thoughts:
I may have talked about this before, and if I have, it’s a good lesson to keep in mind - when things don’t go according to plan. At the beginning of the leadership class I helped facilitate through the Mountaineers, we always drew a picture of the perfect leader: right-sized head, over-sized ears, a radar attached, and plan A, plan B, & plan C in their back pocket. As you know, not everything goes according to plan. You drive to a viewpoint for the perfect sunset only to have no clouds in the sky or the whole sky is one big cloud blocking any light and color. Having an alternative plan (plan b) before you get to your location or even think of one (plan c & d?) on the fly can help save the trip and your mood. As I mentioned earlier, I woke up in the middle of a photo trip with a flat. I wanted to go explore but was nervous about driving around on a donut tire over rough roads where I might get another flat. With sketchy cell service, that just felt like a risk I wanted no part of. What does a girl do? She makes the best of a situation. I stayed local. I explored the Wallowa Lake State Park. I explored the town of Joseph. And I never once got angry with the situation. I found hidden treasures in the landscape and town. The above image of painted cans made into planters of flowers a few years after their prime has become one of my favorites from the trip. I spied this vignette of the town as I meandered through main street checking out the shops filled with souvenirs and ice cream. Sundays are quiet in Joseph as most of the tourists have left for home and many of the shops still open had locals leaning against counters chatting about their neighbors with a few employees restocking shelves. On Sundays, the town becomes muted in a sense, a rest before the crowds return. I saw in this display both the serenity of the down time and the anticipation of a robust season. The image may not be the grand landscapes I was hoping for, but it still captures the soul of my visit to Wallowa Lake and the town of Joseph.
Looking Forward:
As I mentioned above, I am on the road at the end of June scouting out locations for a possible photo workshop and just generally looking at pretty things in Idaho and Montana. In July, I have three backpacks of varying lengths. The first is over July 4th weekend where my sister, our friend, and I will be exploring the Buckhorn Wilderness on the Olympic Peninsula. A week later, I’ll be joining friends at Shi Shi Beach and Point of Arches during low tides to photograph the seascapes and sea creatures. Then a quick weekend trip back to the peninsula to mentor a prospective Mountaineers backpack leader on his 1st backpack lead. It’s more procedural than appraisal as he’s a leader for other activities and has excelled at all of them.
August has another backpack with a friend - this time in the Cascades which are closer and easier for me to get to. A few years ago, I promised myself to explore the Cascades more yet I keep heading out to the peninsula so it will be a nice retreat to see new landscapes. My company also has a board meeting in August where we will be travelling - to what destination this time, who knows? September will see another backpack into the upper reaches of the Olympic Mountains - to a route we tried back in 2020 but were unable to complete. It has taken us that long to get it back on the books.
Throughout the summer, I’m working on plans for putting some oomph into my business (business plans, writing, videos, mentoring, marketing …) as I will need to support myself in retirement somehow. If I have a foundation set in place when I retire, hopefully I can live a simple life filled with the things I love. Nature, I love nature.
Recommendations:
I thought I would add some recommendations for you - things I found interesting or useful over the past few months.
YouTube Channel: Have you discovered my sister’s YouTube channel yet? Her videos are filled with hiking and natural history.
Podcast: I’ve been listening to The Photowalk podcast for a couple of years now and always find an inspiring tidbit within the interviews and listener letters. I like listening as I head out on my weekend adventures.
Non-Fiction Book: I‘ve been working my way through Writing Wild by Tina Welling. The ideas and connections have been bubbling to the surface of my conscious mind and I’ve been more productive in my writing because of it.
Fiction: I picked up When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen and translated by Alice Menzies because Frederik Backman recommended it. This is a story about a man’s end of life, both uplifting and heartbreaking. Buy a box of tissues when you buy the book.
Book Update: I’ve received an advance copy of the Emerald City Trail by my friend Peter Hendrickson and it’s freaking amazing. This is the book I photographed last summer and fall. You can pre-order your copy at Mountaineers Books.
As always, you can follow me on Instagram, FaceBook, and YouTube. You can help support my adventures by buying me a cup of coffee too.