Although I love to take out-of-town guests to Rowena Crest with its overlook of the Rowena Loops and the Columbia River, my favorite loop is across the river at Maryhill, where a whole section of highway was closed down years ago and has been maintained for foot and bike traffic. | Download the masterlist of my 50 favorite spots in Oregon. Link in bio.

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Although it was only a week or so back that I posted an image of Sahalie Falls, I found another version on my phone and wanted to share this one, too!

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More than three years ago, I skipped over this image, and it's been sitting in my folder of unused photos ever since. But this last week I decided to revisit the remnants of rainy-day hikes. I remember the roar of the water here, the light rain that was falling, how short our stay before heading to Moulton Falls and a hike at Bells Mountain. It was a good day.

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I have various alerts set up so I'll get a notification if someone features my images anywhere on the web. I like to see where these photos have gone and what they're doing. A close-up of a lighthouse (an image a lot like this one) was used on a photography blog as an example of how NOT to frame an image of a lighthouse. It made me feel famous :)

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I have various alerts set up so I'll get a notification if someone features my images anywhere on the web. I like to see where these photos have gone and what they're doing. A close-up of a lighthouse (an image a lot like this one) was used on a photography blog as an example of how NOT to frame an image of a lighthouse. It made me feel famous :)

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Is there any better or more beautiful place than the Oregon Coast? | Images from Brookings, Cape Blanco, and Port Orford #OregonExplored #Oregon #OregonCoast

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We were visiting family in North Carolina and hoped to get some strong mountain sunsets, so they took us up to Max Patch, where we spent several hours listening to birds and waiting for golden hour.

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We planned our three-day visit to Samuel H. Boardman more than a month in advance, so we had no idea how much rain we'd face while there. It was helpful to remind ourselves every morning that the weather is part of the experience. | #OregonExplored #OregonCoast #SamuelHBoardman

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One of my favorite surprises is finding a plant-friend, one I recognize from home | #succulent #OregonCoast #OregonExplored

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Wisdom in one of its many forms | #OregonExplored #CoastalTrail #OregonCoast #corvid

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Every bridge we cross is a reminder that someone came before us and labored to make our hike easier than theirs. I can't think of a better way to live.

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A visitor from out of town asked me over the weekend, "What's your favorite photographic subject?" And my answer, of course, was, "Trees!"

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It's amazing to me that anyone can just walk into this place. It's a quiet place. With a violent history. Just one of thousands of sites across the state where the early presence of Chinese citizens has been almost completely smoothed over.

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The very first time I visited this place, I spent more than 40 minutes on the rocks at the base of the falls, and my camera had completely fogged up by the time I was done. During this visit, I kept a bit more distance between the water and me. And I stayed longer.

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Last week, we met a family along the trail at Cascade Head. They had traveled up from California for a wedding. We encouraged them, if they had time, to drive a bit farther and visit some spots in the Gorge. We make this same recommendation to everyone we meet. Truth be told, we don't get ourselves out there enough! | #oregonexplored #columbiagorge

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I wanted to show how massive that log is, so I pretended to walk through for perspective. If you zoom in, you might be able to see how awkwardly I'm frozen in place, trying to make sure the photo comes out clear | #oregonexplored #oregoncoast

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We try to get out for a hike somewhere at least once a week, but sometimes we don't have time to drive much farther than the other side of town | #oregonexplored #portland

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Just another spot on the side of the road | #oregonexplored

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The hike's really not that far, but we came at the end of November, and much of the trail was already covered in ice and snow. So it took a lot longer than I'd planned for us to make it to the platform. Would I do it again? Of course! | #oregonexplored #oregon #toketee

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My first time here was in the summer, and we returned in winter. Now I just need to see and feel both spring and fall at this place. I need to hear what it's like when it rains | #oregonexplored #oregon #umpquanationalforest

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We used to do all our winter hikes without chains, spikes, or walking sticks - and I remember how dicey it was, sliding over ice-crusted stones, easing myself from one point to another as I tried to find the right frame for each image without risking my life (or injury)! We know better now. And even late into June, I still pack a pair of spikes every time we decide to climb. Because you never know. You just never know. | #oregonexplored #oregon #sahaliefalls #koosahfalls #mckenzieriver

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Human beings make art - that's just what we do. And even though graffiti is a controversial form, I was encouraged by this abandoned building where trees are growing, where people have been, where the gift of art has been planted. It was the reminder I needed that "The whole world is a garden." | #oregonexplored #oregon #vernonia #garden

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We spent all morning and into the early afternoon, looking at the water, watching for fish and birds. It was so quiet that day, the only sound a distant knocking echo as someone somewhere worked on a pre-winter construction project

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Walk with me around the lake. Pay attention to the path, the changing textures of the earth along the trail, and the trees

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I try to limit my Saturday hikes to climbs of a thousand feet or less, but there are days when we tackle much steeper trails. There's just something about emerging from the forest and finding yourself at eye level with a cloud or two, looking out over a valley or a rise covered in trees

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Although it's not yet the season, I'm already looking forward to the bright monochromatic details of autumn | images in this series are all from Lost Lake in Mount Hood National Forest

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We stopped here twice, and I tried to pay attention to the flow and feel of the water through dozens of images. Back in 2019, I posted my favorite version, but I've been going through unused photographs in my backlog and thought it was interesting to see the different treatments here side by side.

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