Flowers of Mt. Rainier National Park

The alpine gardens of Mt. Rainier glow with life and color during the fleeting months of summer that grace so fleeting the emerald ridges that sheer like verdant knives against the achingly blue mountain sky. Beargrass, Indian Paintbrush, and Avalanche Lillies wave their heads in the brisk wind that gusts across the high Tundra of the Pacific Northwest, a reminder of the cold of the sleeping winter, and a promise of snow to come.

Beneath Bright Water - An Aquatic Adventure in the Pacific Northwest

 The cool green surface of a woodland pond, the shining glory of a mountain stream, the flecks of dazzling sunlight glinting from the wave tossed waters of a mountain lake, the life giving waters of the Pacific Northwest are superficially sterile and lifeless. However, dive mere inches beneath the befuddling mirror of their mirrored exterior and you will find yourself in an alien world full of wonder and strange, unearthly life.

Wild Winter Paradise - Snowshoeing at Mt. Rainier 2020

Rippled fields of translucent snow coat the alpine tundra of Mt. Rainier National Park. Paradise lies frozen over, buried beneath a dozen feet of ice like the harbinger of some distant future ice age when glaciers once again reclaim the flower meadows and charge down forest valleys towards the sea.

Oystercatchers on the Oregon Coast

Among the tide pools and pounding waves of the wild Oregon Coast dwell many species of coastal birds. Of these species, few can match Black Oystercatchers for sheer personality with their fascinating antics, vivid orange beaks and bright yellow eyes. They embody the wild spirit of the Pacific Northwest.

Paynes Gulch Falls

Soar up and over the towering walls of Grand Coulee, the awesome heart of the Channeled Scablands, a mazelike network of canyons etched into the expanse of the Columbia Plateau by the violent torrents of the Missoulla Floods. From these soaring rock walls pour the spray of melting winter snow, Paynes Gulch Falls, which tumbles from such height that the fineness of its outpouring glimmers in a cascade of translucent rainbows lit vividly against the ocher sunset hues of the coulee walls.

 

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes flock to the fields and vibrant marshlands of the Lower Columbia River. Here near Vancouver Lake and Ridgefield National wildlife Refuge, these majestic birds wheel in the sky beneath the looming icy peaks of St. Helens, Adams, and Hood that tower over the low foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

 

Giant Pacific Octopus

Like some alien from a distant planet, the Giant Pacific Octopus glides through the water in a mind bending display of twirling arms and shining eyes bright with inhuman intelligence. This leviathan of the deep will dwell here at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium until it is fully grown, at which time it will be release into the wild ocean depths of Puget Sound.