Our second site had the best sunrises and sunsets. That incredible October light. All these images were made from our lovely lakeside campsite. My girls look good in the evening light.
The girls and I set out on a road trip the end of last month. It was supposed to be nearly three weeks long but instead it was five nights. Luna has an inflamed achilles tendon and is unable to walk much at all so we mainly stayed near our campsite or went for drives. She was ok with that and Sky was happy since we camped next to two different lakes and we got to visit some friends too. I was the unhappy one. I need to be able to get out and move. I tried leaving Luna in the camper but then she barked. She really, really wanted to go and explore but it was impossible. Ken was working from home the next week so we returned to the Methow (not a bad place to be) so Sky and I could go hiking.
We did stay in two new (to us) campgrounds and that was fun. The autumn light was marvelous! Wonderful sunsets and sunrises and one rainy afternoon. One campground is definitely a place to return to. The other one is surrounded by the effects of the summer’s wildfires. I should be used to burned trees by now, right? Here are a few images from the first campground.
Sky and I enjoyed a short hike yesterday with friends. Luna had to stay home. She has an inflamed Achilles tendon and we hope that with rest and ice, it will improve so she can join us on the trails again.
The aspens were stunning and views of the area burned in the recent Cedar Creek fire were pretty unsettling. It was easy to see how that fire could have gotten into the valley and been far more destructive. The firefighters did good work.
Now that it is almost officially fall, it looks like fire season might be over in our little corner of the world. We hope.
I did not do much photography this summer. Most days were filled with smoke and it was often unbearably hot. Much of the public land was closed and our main access to the North Cascades, Highway 20, was closed.
Here are a few images of the summer. Most from home. But some from Pearrygin Lake, before they closed it to the public. We got to see LOTS of firefighting aircraft. Our friend from Montana even got to visit the valley to drop water from a big bucket attached to a huge helicopter. We were able to visit him at the airport one day when he wasn’t flying. The little fire boss planes are pretty amazing the way they fly in formation, scooping water and then dumping it on the fire and the giant retardant jets are a sight to see when they fly low over the fire spilling their contents to halt the spread of flames.
No houses were lost and no one died in our fires. We are grateful for firefighters, on the ground and in the air.
After a long hot summer of smoky skies and temperatures often exceeding 100 degrees and major public lands closures, our world is beginning to return to normal. The smoke is mostly gone and the forest fires are nearing containment. Temperatures are moderate and sometimes there is a feeling of fall in the air. No one is complaining about these changes. We still worry about covid and masks and who is vaccinated or not but that is all out of our control.
Since Luna can only tolerate short hikes on cool, preferably cloudy, days we have to pick and choose where and when we go. This four and a half mile hike was quite pleasant and the sun gave way to mostly overcast skies so she could enjoy it. Sky was ecstatic to be out in the woods with a lake as our destination. She also enjoyed picking her own huckleberries. I did too, only picking as many as I could eat along the trail. Luna was happy to smell all the smells and drink from small streams. She doesn’t seem to get in front of the camera much anymore. I will have to work on that.
There were a few flowers – fireweed, gentian, pearly everlasting, asters – and lots of mountain ash berries as well as the huckleberries. Some of the fireweed had aphids and if you look close, you can see the ants ‘farming’ the aphids. Quite a bit of color after our dreary summer. It was a relief. Also, lots of ferns, devil’s club and a few mushrooms, most past their peak.
My Everyday Photos 