Skagit Flats, Oct 2011

I headed up to the Skagit Flats this weekend. I didn't know it was the start of hunting season so I was pretty surprised to hear so much gunfire. The Snow Geese have arrived in the valley but not unexpectedly they tended to fly higher than usual. I don't know if I like any of the high angle shots of the geese but I'll post later if I find anything worthwhile.

As I was driving around there was a large flock of smaller birds spanning across the roadway. I set up my gear and hoped they would come closer if I was patient enough. Unfortunately they stood off and never came closer than 60 or 70 yards. At first it was hard to tell what I was looking at. Eventually I started catching glimpses of red and yellow and soon realized it was a flock of Red-winged Black Birds. Here's my favorite shot of the flock. I think it has an almost 3D, psychedelic quality. Click on the photo above to see a larger image.

Redwoods & OR Coast, Part 3/4

We were up early on Sunday morning since we had reservations to take a jet boat ride up the Rogue River. We had booked the 104 mile trip with Jerry's Rogue Jets. It was a chilly morning but there were still about 60 people loading onto two of the 42-passenger jet boats. The trip would leave at 8am and go 32 miles up-river with a stop in the town of Agness. We then continue up another 20 miles before turning back for a lunch break in Agness. The final 32 miles from Agness to Gold Beach would get us back around 3:30 pm.

We weren't expecting much as far as wildlife shots but were pleasantly surprised almost immediately. Shortly after pointing out an Osprey nest we saw one soaring just above us. Our boat driver whose name was Tom, was a veteran of the river having driven the jet boats for almost 34 years. Not only was he extremely knowledgeable about the river and its wildlife, he maneuvered the boat with more skill than most people driving cars.

A number of Egrets and Great Blue Herons could be seen along the shoreline. Unfortunately the Egrets were never close enough for a reasonable shot even with my telephoto extended to 400mm lens.

At first we didn't recognize this heron until he unwound his long neck. A number of times we had small flocks of Common Mergansers flying near the boat. According to Tom, when the mergansers fly closer to the water he's unable to keep up with them. Often we would see these birds fly past us without seeming to strain. At every sighting of wildlife Tom would slow or stop and in some cases loop back around so we could all get a good look.

Up around another bend and we came across this deer. Even when the boat slowed to almost a stop alongside him, the deer just was watched us and didn't bolt into the forest. We came upon a family of River Otters. We watched them glide along near the shoreline before quickly popping out and into the underbrush. The dark shadows of the far bank and I only managed this shot with a slow shutter speed of 1/40 of a second. At various points on the ride Tom would announce "IT'S TIME FOR A SPIN!" He'd gather up speed and then throw the boat into a hard turn so we'd spin almost a full 360 degrees. It was an added roller-coaster ride bonus. Checkout these YouTube videos here and here.

Soon Tom pointed out an eagles nest and as if on cue, we spotted a juvenile Bald Eagle perched on a high tree. Below the eagle was an American Crow. The boat slowed down and ""backed up" at one point and I couldn't figure out why. Other passengers were pointing toward the rocks and eventually I spotted a couple of turtle sunning themselves. We soon caught up to the other jet boat and as we neared it Tom informed us the other boat had spotted a black bear. Higher up on the steep bank the young bear was grazing and slowly working his way downstream. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to get a good photo because of the lighting conditions.

We soon came to an area known as the Devil's Staircase which marked the turn-around point for our trip. Tom announced that we should be coming up to an area were that black bear should be based on the speed and direction he was heading. Sure enough we spotted the bear swimming across the river and coming out on the sunny shore. We motored up and followed this young Black Bear for about 5 minutes. The bear would occasionally glance at us but slowly made his way along the shoreline. At one point he stopped and just watched us. After the lunch stop in Agness the final 32 miles back to Gold Beach went much faster. We had already stopped at numerous places on the way up and afer the noon meal most of us were mellowing out. Of course that didn't stop Tom from throwing in a few spins to keep us awake.

Soon enough we were back in Gold Beach. As there was still plenty of daylight we headed to a place called Jot's Resort. We had stopped at a dock there to pickup and drop-off other jet boat passengers. In the morning and the afternoon we had seen a Brown Pelican on the shore nearby. Sure enough the pelican was still there. We had just started photographing the pelican when he started going through some contortions. Suddenly a something peeked out of his bill. The more he contorted more of the previously stashed fish appeared. Then with one big gulp the fish disappeared. As we are wont to do, we got fascinated with this animal and spent a lot of time trying to get the perfect shot. I could swear he was putting on a show for us as he hopped from rock to rock and unfurled his wings. This dock had a fish cleaning station and it the gulls congregated all around it waiting for the fishermen to toss fish scraps into the river. Here's a Thayer's Gull patiently waiting for the next session of cleaning. We headed further north from Gold Beach and came across this one lane road to a secluded park area. We had barely gone 10 miles and we encountered a drastic change in the weather. Gone were the mild, sunny conditions at Gold Beach to be replaced with a chilly fog back enveloping the coastline. We spent another night in Gold Beach and headed out shortly after sunrise. When we had boarded the jet boats the previous day we saw the remains of a boat nearby. We were to learn that these were the decaying remains of the Mary D. Hume. We had great conditions as the golden morning light was beautiful, the tide was low and exposed more the boat, and the still waters allowed us to capture amazing reflections of the once proud steamer. So our plan this day was to make our way up to Bandon, OR for lunch. From there we would drive east then south back to Medford for our flight home. Again there were many pull-outs and viewpoints for photos. We could have spent 3 times as long travelling up and down Highway 101 and still not fully explored all the opportunities for views and photos of the amazing California and Oregon coasts.

Below are Redfish Rocks. I wanted a different take on this scene in Port Orford. Closer to Bandon we went off Highway 101 to the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. A layer of fog and what appeared to be maintenance workers dissuaded us from hiking closer to the lighthouse. I didn't notice it at first but you can see a worker silhoutted by the beacon. http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=125 We had read that Bandon was a great place for access to sea stacks and a beautiful beach. Even with a misty layer of sea spray the beaches and rock formations lived up to our expectations. With digital pictures being "free" we were able to experiment trying to capture the exact photo of the waves crashing against the rocks. With mid-afternoon upon us we had to put away our gear, grab lunch and make our way back to Medford, OR. Of course we had to bookend our trip by pulling into Medford with low-fuel light flashing. Although it was a quick 5 day trip, we got to see a lot of what northern California and the southern Oregon coast had to offer. We felt as if we had barely scratched the surface and it has left us with a desire to come back again to explore the area in more depth.

Redwoods & OR Coast, Part 2

We were up early to catch the morning "Golden Hour" of light. With heavy fog hugging the coast we didn't have many options. Eventually we were able to get some nice shots of the Battery Point Light House After breakfast we were back on the road. This time we back-tracked a bit to The Trees of Mystery. Even though we expected a bit of a tourist trap, The Trees of Mystery was a childhood memory that Wendy wanted to re-visit. Of course any self-respecting tourist attraction must have a gaudy road-side structure. In this case it was a giant Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. There were some interesting points. This set of trees arranged in a semi-circle was refered to as the Cathedral Trees. I have to admit it was impressive to see such large trees grouped together. Apparently they perform wedding ceremonies at this spot. This is an interesting case where one tree is growing at an angle and is embedded in the trunk of another living tree. After a run through the gift shop (free samples of homemade fudge!) we headed back up Highway 101. Again multiple stops for photos. After a while some of these rock formations start to blend together. I was lucky with this next shot as a couple were on top of the rock and provide perspective. Crossing over the Oregon border we neared Brookings, OR. A small sign said "Oregon's Largest Monterey Cypress". This tree was set just off the highway and you could easily drive right by it. Gold Beach, OR was to be our destination for the day. Having arrived by mid-afternoon, we checked into our hotel and went back south on 101 to visit viewpoints we had passed on the way up. Eventually we ended up at Meyer's Beach just south of the town of Gold Beach. This beach has some amazing sea stacks. As the tide was going out we were able to walk up to a number of these huge rock formations. There were a few sea birds in the area like this Black Oystercatcher. A few Brown Pelicans in the distance. Just above this beautiful beach was this house that must have had the most amazing view. With the tide receding and a fairly clear sky, we had high hopes for our sunset photos. This is my best self-portrait to date. The setting sun peeking around a sea stack. As the sun was setting we could see a layer of low clouds on the horizon. So much for our crystal clear sunset photos. But we made the best of the situation.

Redwoods & OR Coast, Part 1

We took a short trip to Northern California and the southern Oregon Coast. We flew into Medford, OR, stayed the night and drove down to Redding, CA and across to Garberville, CA. The weather was beautiful and traffic sparse. We ended the day with a bit of anxiety as we pulled into Garberville with the low fuel light on for the last 15 miles of the drive. The next morning we headed out to Shelter Cove. As on most roads we were to encounter, the drive was on narrow, twisty, hilly, and very fun roads. What traffic we did come upon seemed more than willing to pull aside when we caught up to them.
A short walk from the parking area and we were in the cove amongst rugged, jagged rock formations. Even before we got down to the cove we could hear sea lions nearby. Most were 100 yards or so from us and at first seemed to blend in with the rocks. But once we caught sight of them we could see quite a few lounging in the distance. We never got very close but they definitely knew we were there. We witnessed an interesting behavior as we watched and photographed the sea lions. They seemed to sense when the next wave would come upon them. Then they would raise their heads and tails as if they were doing their morning stomach crunches. I used to think a seagull was a seagull. They all looked pretty much the same to me. But as I dug a bit deeper I found that ornithologists have identified quite a few separate and distinct species. I became a bit obsessed with determining the exact type of gull I was looking at. This one is a Heerman's Gull. Along with various gulls, Cormorants are plentiful on the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts. I think the Turkey Vulture has got to be one of the ugliest yet magnificent birds in nature. They have an impressive wingspan and distinct silver-gray flight feathers. But that featherless, wrinkled head makes it hard to mistake the Turkey Vulture for any other bird. It seemed that everywhere we looked Turkey Vultures were present. On the road between Shelter Cove and Redway we came across columns of stacked rocks. How could anyone stack and balance these huge boulders? Actually this stack of rocks was only 18 inches tall. But it's still a cool thing to see.

From Shelter Cove we made our way up along the Avenue of the Giants On one level I think that the Redwoods are just a bunch of big trees. But as you stand amongst these giants you can't help but be impressed by their sheer size and majesty. I't almost impossible to convey the scale of these trees. Seeing Wendy beside one of the "smaller" specimens helps you gauge their relative size. Of course some people can't appreciate such natural beauty. A geeky dad came up with a way to keep his daughter interested: Anthony Herrera

We didn't see ewoks either but I think there was someone lurking in the background. After numerous stops and a quick tour at the Visitor's Center it was back onto Highway 101 and heading north. Even though it was getting late in the day, we did stop at number of outlooks for photo opportunities. I had read that there was a large herd of Roosevelt Elk near Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. It would be prime viewing as the elk were in the midst of the rutting season. As we got near the state park, there was a road sign that said something like "Next left for Elk Viewing." We thought it couldn't be that easy. Sure enough as soon as we turned off 101 and onto Davison Road there was a herd of 30-40 elk in an open meadow.

As we were getting our cameras out we could already hear bugling coming from less than 50 feet away. We saw a younger male approach one of the females. Almost immediately we heard more bugling and the harem bull stepped out and made his presence known. Although it's not quite so intimidating when you have a clump of grass in your antlers. The younger males quickly gave way to the harem bull. By this time there 15-20 cars pulled over. Everyone seemed respectful and stayed on the roadway. While the elk were aware of our presence they were comfortable enough to come with 30-40 feet of us. One of the younger bulls approaching a female. As the bulk of the harem passed by we noticed one of them had a passenger. The harem bull soon followed. The sun was quickly setting and we still had to make it to Klamath to find a place to stay for the night. We started packing up our gear when suddenly the younger bulls started play fighting. We couldn't pass up this opportunity. We were in for a surprise when we got to Klamath. None of the hotels, motels, or inns in the area had vacancies. With darkness coming quickly and a very twisty stretch of Highway 101 up ahead, we set off for Crescent City with hopes of some place to stay for the night. After the previous nights anxiety about gas now we had the possibility of not having a room for the night.
As the last light dipped below the horizon, the first motel we came upon already had a No Vacancy sign lit. Things were not looking good. As we turned into the next place, another vehicle pulled in right before us. I imagined that there was one room left and they beat us to it. Luckily they had a number of rooms available and we were set for the night.