My 12 Favorite Images from 2015

What an amazing year 2015 was. I spent most of the year touring the various state parks of Washington, research for my book. Visiting new parks and old favorites opened my eyes to just how remarkable my already beloved Washington truly is. With every park, I became more inspired to research more, go further and share what I've experienced with my friends. Here are 12 of a few of my favorite images from the year, although it was hard to narrow it down. (They're not in any particular order.)

1. Day Lily in Rain - This lovely lily was found at Peace Arch State Park in Blaine. It had been a pretty dry summer here in Washington but when I reached the U.S. Canadian border I discovered where all of our rain went. It was a fun afternoon running around photographing rain splattered flowers in the gardens.

2. Joy - Weekends spent at the beach with my cousins is always a joy. Here three of them are gleefully jumping in the waves at Grayland State Park.

3. Umatilla Rock at Twilight - While exploring Dry Falls/Sun Lakes State Park, I admired this view of Umatilla Rock reflected in Vic Meyer Lake. Later, Zillah and I made our way back to the shores and waited for the vibrant blue of twilight.

4. Cama Beach Cabins - I spent a quiet weekend in a cabin along the beach at Cama Beach State Park. At twilight I ventured out for an image of lit cabin windows against the royal blue sky.

5. 3-on-3 - This summer Kent sponsored a 3-on-3 basketball tournament for all ages. One court was reserved for a small group paraplegic players who gave the game their all. Even more impressive was the one woman who played with and against the guys. She never backed down, never gave up and had the respect of her fellow players.

6. Sand Dollar in Sea Foam - Beaches have been an inspiration in my life since my youngest days. I search out the beach for serenity and to remind myself of my place in this world. Small vignettes of sea creatures and sea life are easy for me to bring home to give me peace in my normal life.

7. Kayaks on the Lewis River - Sometimes special places come from the most unexpected places. Paradise Point State Park is no exception. Located under I-5, one would wonder if there is anything photographic here. But hike the trail up river and you come to this overlook. It's a reminder to always keep your eyes and creativity open no matter what.

8. Meadowrue - Meadowrue is a delicate forest flower with male and female plants (left is female, right is male) growing close to each other in shaded areas. The female flower reminds me of fireworks and the male flowers remind me Chinese lanterns. The trouble with photographing the flowers is that they quiver at even the slightest thought of a breeze and since they grow in low light, they can be difficult to capture.

9. Contemplation - Hiking with my sister this summer on our training to climb Mt St Helens, we hiked out to Pratt Lake. It was one of those days that was just perfect - perfect light, perfect weather, perfect hiking partners. I was able to photograph my sister looking out over the calm lake, contemplating her coming climb (I didn't make it).

10. All Lines lead to Mt Rainier - There wasn't a lot of snow this past winter at mt Rainier, but there was enough for a snowshoe or two in the upper meadows. The winds had carved beautiful curving lines the led straight to our state's mountain. Who could resist the photo opportunity?

11. Sunset over the Palouse - With the dry hot summer we had, wildfires scorched hundreds of acres of tress and far too many homes and businesses. And the smoke was devastating to Eastern Washington with several days where the air quality was so bad as to be deadly for people with breathing problems. Even by October, the smoke still hadn't cleared but then sunsets like this only happen when the air quality is bad. Good tidings from bad.

12. In The Rays - Finally, after so many time driving by the Oregon Coast Aquarium I was able to visit this past Thanksgiving. What a remarkable place - go if you ever have the opportunity. While walking through the underwater passages, I captured this Ray swimming through the rays of the sun. Makes me smile every time I see it.

On to 2016. May your New Year be filled with adventure and beauty. H

Washington State Parks: Palouse Falls

Palouse Falls is so well-loved by Washingtonians that it is our official state waterfall. It is also well-loved by photographers. And it's not hard to see why.

There is drama in the landscape here. The walls of the canyon, carved from the land by the Missoula Floods expose rugged columnar basalt. The Palouse River winds through the canyon first dropping over the upper falls, a plummet of about 20 feet. It looks to be almost a set of rapids in comparison to the 198 foot drop of the park's main attraction, lower falls. It then meanders through curved canyons until it reaches its confluence with the Snake River.

Most people and almost all photographers come for the views of the lower falls as it plunges into a deep bowl. From the view points along the short rim trail, you can photograph the gentle rolling Palouse hill landscape in contrast with the rugged canyons. Even a snapshot gathers applause.

A wide angle lens is used for the sweeping vistas one can get from the view points. These images show the contrast between the surrounding hills and the deep canyons, hidden from view until you reach the rim.

But don't put your telephoto lens away. Details of the canyon such as the castle rocks that stand guard at the edge of lower falls can be isolated from the scene. And there's a lot of beauty in the details of Palouse Falls.

Late afternoon can bring a special show to the falls. Stand at the far north end of the rim trail, where the rim is blocked and you can see a rainbow near the base of the falls. You may not want to move as it shimmers in the spray of the falls.

As with most waterfalls, seasonal changes can be quite dramatic. Winter and spring rains can have the waterfall gushing over the edge and summer's droughts can reduce the falls to a trickle. The meadows of the park can also have varying changes for the seasons with flowers blooming in the spring and summer and dried grasses in the autumn.

There is a darker side to Palouse Falls State Park, a sad story of the misuse by the people who love it so. This past October, park staff erected a fence blocking entry to the north end of the park and with it blocking access to the upper falls and some of the more iconic views of the falls.

Why? Because visitors couldn't respect the park or the land.

Social trails criss-cross the north end of the park and once visitors got to the view of upper falls, they'd climb down the basalt walls to the canyon floor, sometimes getting stuck and needing rescue. Vandalism was also occurring regularly to park machinery in the area. Park staff decided the best way to protect the park and the visitors was to close off that section of the park.

The only authorized trail in the park is the rim trail. All other trails including the one to the base of lower falls are social trails. Please be careful if you decide to hike this trail as it is not maintained as it is not an authorized trail. Maybe with more funding and staffing it could be safer to hike, but if that trail is also misused staff may need to close off that section of the park too.

Palouse Falls State Park is a camping park but for tents only. All campsites are walk-in campsites. There are train tracks that go through a small canyon just west of the entrance and yes, trains travel through there during the night. So if you do camp out, take ear plugs.

Getting there: From highway 26 in Eastern Washington, head south on highway 260/261. Drive 6.5 miles and turn left staying on highway 261 (highway 260 continues straight). Continue on highway 261 for 8.5 miles to Palouse Falls Rd and follow the step road to the park.

The Bobcat

I had my choice of shaded spots to park my car so I chose a shadier one. But I feared as the morning lengthened, the shadows would shorten leaving my car and my after hike snack to bake in the sun. I nudged the car as close to the barrier as I dared. The day was already warm so I stripped off my legs of my pants and left the coat in the car adjusted my ball cap and left the parking lot.

A couple of days before while hiking the Point Tomales Trail, I chatted with a woman who had espoused the beauties of the trail out to Arch Rock. It was like walking through Middle Earth, she said. So green, so lush that she expected elves to walk out of the woods and greet her. Sounded marvelous and even though I had planned to hike the trail, I grew more excited to make the journey.

The trail at one point had been a road but had since been decommissioned. For most of the trip, the Beaver Valley trail is wide with a gradual incline to Divide Meadow and slowly descends down to the junction with the Arch Rock Trail.

It was at Divide Meadow where I saw it.

As I started my way down, I spied an odd shape next to the trail. It's shape similar to a sitting cat. Knowing Point Reyes has feral cats, I began a one-sided conversation with what I believed to be a cat.

It turned it's head towards me as I asked "Are yo a good kitty or are you a bad kitty?" Spying the tufts of hair on the tips of it's ears and a on its cheeks, I knew it was more than a mere cat. I was staring at a bobcat. My heart leapt.

I continued to talk to the beautiful feline as I slowly approached, crossing to the other side of the wide trail. Finally, it stood up and trotted into the tall grasses of the meadow showing me its short tail and large feet.

My head was spinning. A bobcat! I had seen a bobcat! And never took out my camera.

The rest of the trail was just as my previous acquaintance had described - lush greens that reminded me of home - to a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I easily sat on the overlook, my only company a bold sea gull who came to investigate me. I thought how lucky I was to have seen such a beautiful animal.

My way back seemed so uneventful. I got back to my car and thought I should report the sighting to the park. The ranger I spoke to was just as excited as I was about the incident.

Every now and then, something happens on the trail that makes me remember why I love being in the wilderness.

Must we go through this again?

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a leadership conference hosted by the Mountaineers in Seattle. I looked forward to the event of speakers and networking - on of the speakers is a idol of mine, John Graham, who wrote the book on Outdoor Leadership. Through his book I began to understand the type of leader I wanted to be. Other outdoor leaders and educators would also be presenting and I was expecting a day filled with sharing information and refining our goals and objectives within ourselves and our activities.

I wasn't wrong. Each of the speakers I was privilege to listen to spoke with passion about their vocation and a desire to share what they knew. However, not all of them came prepared.

One presentation entitled Training Trainers and Coaching Coaches looked to be right up my alley. Excitedly I sat down to hear what words of wisdom the two speakers had for us. Within the first 5 minutes I knew they were going to be wasting my time and if I hadn't sat down in the front of the room, I would have quickly escaped.

They were sea kayakers. Not that there is anything wrong with sea kayakers as I am a novice one myself. But they spent most of their presentation talking about the specifics of gaining skills within the sport.

Ummm, how does this related to training trainers or coaching coaches?

Not to say they weren't experts in their field and have had years training kayakers and trainers and coaches. In fact, they were quite knowledgeable. Within the framework of their field. Try to expand out of it and they were lost. I actually began to feel sorry for them and so did other members of the audience who spoke up to try to help make the connections.

There are a few things they could have done to better prepare themselves for the presentation or to know whether or not to do it. And these are the same things you can do when invited to speak.

1. Ask questions. When asked to give a presentation, ask a barrage of questions about the venue, the organization, the audience. What does the organization represent? How big of an audience will you be speaking to? Who are you speaking to? What is there experience with this topic? Why do you want me to speak? How much time will I have? A/V equipment, will you run it or me? Do I need to bring it or you? Get as many details as you can so you can frame your presentation better.

2. Start your planning and writing with a topic. Your topic is why the organization asked you to speak. You're the expert. Based on what you know about your audience, you should be able to frame the topic/subject to help the audience better understand your presentation. Make it relate-able to THEM! You are not up there for yourself, you are up there for them.

3. And practice. Practice. Practice. Grab a few experts in the topic and ask them to listen and give you feedback. Grab a few novices in the topic, ask them to listen and give you feedback. Ask a few folks who know nothing about the topic, ask them to listen and give you feed back. Each time you are practicing. But also don't ignore the feedback. If someone has advice to make the presentation better, use it. Work with it. Then practice some more.

These are simple ways to give an audience the presentation they deserve. I wish more speakers would go back to the basics. I'm hoping you will.

Wilderness Symphony

Have you ever listened to the concert in a woodland meadow. In the evening when a stillness covers the world, night time creatures begin to stir, making their presence known by voicing their songs.

An owl hoots and is answered by another in the distance. They are the base to my evening's theme.

Soon they are joined by the chorus of frogs heralding spring or crickets warmed by the summer's day. Singing through the night hoping that their song entices a mate to come closer. I want to come closer, sit in the middle of the chorus and let their song lift my heart towards the sky.

The cicada's vibrating rhythm adds the soothing percussion to help you drift to sleep. My thoughts begin to wander into a dream, stepping lightly through the meadow fireflies lighting my way.

Just as I touch my sleep, an elk begins the haunting flute-like call bringing his mates to him and warding off competitors. Another across the meadow responds to his warning. A third lets them know that he too is there. Waiting. Yearning. Challenging. Their voices float over the meadow. Undulating. Caressing. One drops as another lifts.

I succumb to the lullaby and sleep to dream.

There be Ghouls Here . . . and Zombies

It was a dark and stormy night . . . ok not so stormy, we had stars shining in the heavens and speaking of shining the moon was also nicely bright. What we did have was ghouls and goblins and zombies and clowns. Yes my friends, clowns - the scariest creatures around.

What was all this, you might ask?

It was the first ever Haunted Fort at Fort Casey State Park.

This past weekend I volunteered as a guide for the park's Haunted Fort which benefitted the lighthouse restoration.

The guides dressed up in costume and escorted groups through the zombie infested yard to Battery Turman where the real excitement began. This is not to say there weren't screams prior to showing up at the "evil carnival" The zombies and ghosts heard plenty of screams along our walk past axe-man, the sarge and the zombie picnic.

But at Battery Turman, staff and volunteers had created a beautiful mix of anticipatory scares and frightful surprises. And with each group running out of the rooms there was joyful laughter following screams and tears - laughter assuaging fears. I couldn't help but laugh myself, in unison with their joy of fright.

In the end, the Haunted Fort raised $10000.00 for restoration of the lighthouse.

I'm looking forward to next year's Haunted Fort.

Heidi's Hotspots: Mt Rainier National Park: Burroughs Mountain

It's a difficult task to find a photo location on Mt Rainier that isn't spectacular.

When I start to think of my favorite places or places to recommend to friends, my brain starts with the obvious - Paradise. Paradise is located on the south slope of Washington's iconic mountain and is bewitching throughout the year. One of the bonus points for Paradise is it's location. The light is almost always favorable any time of day, any time of the year.

It has to do with the mountain facing the sun so as you're creating your images, the sun is at your back. It's easy to spend a day, a weekend or more photographing the scenes and beauty around the paradise area.

On the other side of the mountain, is the Sunrise area which is beautiful in it's own right. And yes, as the name reflects sunrise and early mornings are the best times of day to photograph this side of the mountain. As mid-day approaches and into the afternoon, you end up photographing into the sun.

And yet, this hot-spot is on the north-ish side of Mt Rainier where the light isn't almost always wonderful. Nor is it accessible all year.

You come here in the morning during the summer and autumn (the road usually opens around July 4 and closes after the first significant snowfall), hike out past Frozen Lake and up to 1st then 2nd (and if you have enough UMPH left) then 3rd Burroughs and you will see views hearkening back to the ice age.

Views from 1st Burroughs reach northward from Berkeley Park just below you to Fremont lookout then the Cascade Range north to Mt Stuart, Glacier Peak and Mt Baker. Don't forget to look at your feet. This is alpine tundra up here. The alpine spring brings out the low-lying color of delicate flowers.

Continue up to 2nd Burroughs to look down into the glacial moraine of the Emmons Glacier. Bring a long lens to zoom in on the crevasses, deep and plentiful near the toe of the glacier. Also bring a coat for the ever present wind gets cold even on hot summer days.

Third Burroughs brings you all that much closer to the glacier for a vision of what the northern continent looked like during the ice age.

All in the shadow of the mountain. The closer you get, the harder it is to photograph the whole mountain even with a wide angle lens. Yet, dare I say, you'll be focusing in on the mountain's details to such an extent you won't really mind.

Oh, one last use for that long lens - goats. Rarely have I been to Burroughs Mountain without seeing goats. Dozens of them.The white specks in the image above are goats (guess who didn't bother with her long lens on that trip). And I've seen the odd bear in the area too - a cinnamon colored one.