Fall in the Gorge I

I love the fall. It's a great time here with fast moving storms and color. Whenever things look promising and I can get away, I'll head to my closest playground, the Columbia Gorge. It's also amazing how fast things can change in an hour near sunset.

When I first arrived and walked to the Columbia River near Beacon Rock State Park, elk tracks were along the shore, and a family of eagles was hovering over Pierce Island just to the east.

Looking east, with fall colors, eagles and changing clouds

 Moments later, to the west, the sun emerged again to display some amazing colors in the clouds. A strong, low, blue-gray cloud formed overhead, twisting and turning in the wind just above me.

Beautiful warm west light and cool blue light from the north

After the display was fading, the color to the NE near Beacon Rock was developing, so I ran with my gear and tripod over slippery, moss covered stones to a better vantage point with Beacon Rock and Hamilton Mountain.

Fast fading color to the NE

The warm colors receded and darkness approached quickly. A dead Turkey Vulture was in my path along the shore. It seemed fitting to see another cycle in nature. Clouds were still on the move, so I headed nearer to Beacon Rock. Silver Salmon were jumping as I set up the tripod and took some longer exposures of the dynamic motion as darkness approached.

Darkness approaches in the Gorge

Second Beach Light

The rain and clouds of autumn on the Olympic Peninsula make it a guessing game when to go out and attempt to capture the beauty of the coast between storm fronts. At our cabin at Lake Crescent, there is no internet access, so those fronts are even more elusive. Weather can also vary quite a bit location to location, and change in a matter of an hour.

The main players at Second Beach are the sea stacks, from large tree covered mini islands to just the bare rock towers, and the very long slope of beach. At very low tides, you can walk nearly a 1/4 mile from shore. Sunset is most dramatic. At this time of year, one can be quite alone here.

The north end of the beach, with it's famous sea stack, is a beautiful and active area. Luck was with me, for after searching for sea otters earlier this year, two appeared in this channel. I was away from my camera, and they disappeared in minutes after spotting me. The last photo was taken just before leaving.

 Last Light

 Afterglow and Cirrus Monster

Fading light on the beach

Olympic National Park, Klahhane Ridge

I always try to return to the Olympics in October. It's one of the most mist/fog/cloud filled times of the year. It's also not too cold (yet) and the snow just graces the upper peaks.

The clouds in the lower valley were very thick, so driving had to be at a slower pace, but I was greeted with clearing skies on arrival to Hurricane Ridge.

It was a wonderland of swirling clouds, light wind with occasional vistas peeking through. Just a few folks at the Ridge, unlike the hordes in the summer. The clouds continued to clear as I hiked towards Mt. Angeles. Unlike last year (see post), there were no deer or mountain goats around.

Rainbow light surrounds my shadow in the mist

The views from this area are some of the finest in the Olympics. Many of the Park's highland features are visible from this Ridge, with 360 degree views. Most of my shots in this post will concentrate on the variations as the sun set.

Looking back towards Mt. Carrie and Mt. Olympus

A close-up view of Mt. Olympus, later in the day, near sunset

A view of the ridge, The High Divide and beautiful evening clouds

Moon Glow and last light

It was a very slow decent driving down, as the fog was so thick at times I could only see the strip on the side of the road!

Oregon Coast Storm

With careful study of weather reports and satellite photos, it looked like there were would be a good opportunity for interesting storm photographs. Waves from the NW were reported in the 25-30 foot range. After the cold front, the clouds looked like they could be interesting.

On the way, my step-daughter called to let me know about elk that were just off Highway 101 near Cannon Beach. Always a joy to see.

A fleeting family portrait

After meeting her and the elk, the next stop was Hug Point. The waterfall there is very beautiful, but the tide was very high, and I thought it might be interesting to explore the falls from behind. It was a foaming, frothy area in front of the falls, with large logs being tossed about like toothpicks.

Hug Point waterfall at high tide

When the waves are this large, they break far offshore. In order to see them closer, deeper water near shore was a requirement. There is a beautiful spot south of Hug Point to observe and photograph, so I headed there. A squall was approaching, getting out there quickly was of the essence.

Large waves and approaching squall

The squall hit and I retreated to the woods until the rain, hail and wind passed. I returned and waited for the sun to make a brief appearance. It was getting close to sunset.

Sunshine, waves, and foam with the squall now retreating

The sun retreated behind the clouds of the next squall. Took some photos as darkness, rain and lightning approached. Made it back to the van just before serious rain fell. Some lightning was also present, but too random to photograph. Also better to be on the safe side.

Thundering waves in diminishing light

More Photos of this storm here>>