Proxy Falls

This is Proxy Falls, another frequently photographed waterfall along HW 242. The beauty of this fall comes from the multitude of smaller rocks, almost like "stairs" which guide the fall's direction rather than the usual, large gush of water. Make sure that you visit early in the day--this shot was taken around 5pm, much too late to avoid the sun's shadow. I have to say, this one is much better in person.

Haceta Head Lighthouse

Haceta Head Lighthouse on a very windy day. My other picture of the lighthouse up close didn't turn out as well. I could barely keep my body upright :) I bet this would be the money shot on a calmer, sunny day.

Ripples in the Sand

The wind constantly changes the landscape of the shore near Florence. The mix of dune-like sand and hills along with the trees in the backdrop make for nice scenery.

Just north of Haceta Head area

Shoreline just north of Haceta Head on our way back home Sunday evening. The views continued to get better as we drove north past Haceta Head Lighthouse. Excellent pullouts abound for getting out of your vehicle to take pictures!

Cape Perpetua Viewpoint

This is the view of Cape Perpetua on the Pacific Coast atop a drive-in viewpoint. Almost looks like we're taking shots from a helicopter!

Benson Lake

This alpine lake was one of the most clear and blue lakes I have seen in Oregon. It has few visitors given that it is about 1.5 miles in from the trailhead. For the experienced camper, you could hike your gear in but be careful of the bumpy terrain. From the trail, if you scramble up the side of a rocky bluff you can overlook the lake and see great views of all Three Sisters and Broken Top. The picture 2 photos after this one is of Jon atop this bluff.

Coastline at Florence

Ansel Adams wannabe

He is so into photography...

Pacific Ocean pictures

In the following picture potpourri you'll find Benson Lake located in central Oregon along OR 242. Also included are Proxy Falls and the beautiful Pacific coastline along HW 101 around the Haceta Head Lighthouse area, Cape Perpetua, and Florence.

Monkey Face

Another infamous photo opportunity for Oregonians, this is Monkey Face. The top of one of the monoliths at Smith Rock that looks like the face of a monkey. I can't wait to get Jon's pictures back because he has a shot of me standing right in front of the face where the people are standing in this picture. Look close, the people are standing on the cliff at the right-- so mini! Looking down was like being on the top hill of a roller coaster at Cedar Point (all the mid-westerners know what I mean).

Monolith

This is a view of a monolith as we curved around the backside of the trail at Smith Rock. This picture stood out to me because the backdrop of the largely agricultural town of Redmond contrasts nicely with the view of the monolith and the Cascade Mountains in the far back. Though you could barely make them out in my pictures, from this view you could see the entire Cascade range.

Another View

This is another view of Smith Rock area from the summit of Misery Ridge. Great photo oppotunities-- looks almost like an arial shot.

Smith Rock

View of Smith Rock-- a rock climbers paradise. This is the view from the trailhead. It's about an 8 mile hike around the entire park, and we watched climbers ascending the various monoliths as we hiked. We decided to take the beefy, most-difficult ascent to "Monkey Face" monolith. It was 96 degrees this day. Ouch. We almost ran out of water even with our Camelbaks on.

black hole

Ok, so you're probably wondering why I have a picture of a hole on here. Let me explain. Jon and I visited the Lava Butte vicinity, the day we were returning to Portland from Newberry Crater Monument. We decided to hike the "Lava River Cave." Now most people aren't crazy about hiking in the dark, underground, but we're simply not normal. This view was taken as Jon and I finished the mile-long hike of an old lava tube, as we approached the exit (or entrance) of the cave and finally saw light again. It was by far one of the freakiest things I've done. We did not bring adequate light in-- you are supposed to use a lantern!! Jon and I were one of the only souls in the place, and we thought we could just use our headlamps to see. I guess we knew it would be pitch black, 42 degrees, and bats around, but we forged on anyway. As we were stumbling around in there-- thinking that bats would fly out at us at any minute, we were astounded by the beauty of this tube. The tube was created when lava poured down from an ancient volcano. The edges of the lava flow cooled faster, and thus the tube became smaller as it went. The last 300 feet of the cave was so small, that we were literally crawling on our hands and knees to make it to the end. Clostrophobics need not try this. At some points in the cave, the ceiling is as much as 60 feet tall. At the point where the cave goes under highway 97, the ceiling of the tube is 50 feet thick. The entire time we were wondering how this hike was safe to the public as we saw large boulders that look they just fell. Then we saw a group of middle schoolers, so we figured we better finish!!

Crying out for water

This twisted and contorted tree is beautiful in its own right. When the lava poured into this Lava Cast Forest, it burned the trees so quickly, that it left hollow impressions in the lava, "casts" of where the trees once stood. This tree is much like the others in this strange forest, it was petrified as the water was "squeezed" and twisted out. Lava Butte Vicinity, Oregon.

View from atop Paulina Peak

This is a geology wonderland. Jon and I are standing atop Paulina Peak. Ahead is the view of the Newberry Crater. Newberry Crater National Monument is different than Crater Lake. Here you have many volcanoes that erupted and then formed craters. In this photo you actually see where a large volcano erupted, then collapsed forming a huge caldera. Within the caldera, in the middle, you see a couple smaller volcanoes that later erupted, collapsed, and formed smaller calderas. The smaller calderas separated what was once one large lake into two smaller lakes, Paulina and East Lakes. Our campground that we stayed at was on the shore of Paulina Lake, on the left. These two alpine lakes contain relatively shallow, crystal clear waters.

Obsidian Flow, anyone?

The giant Obsidian Flow, located in Newbery Crater National Monument. It's a giant lava flow, folks! Another side note: Obsidian is glass-like and reflects the sun's light. It was used by Native Americans to make arrowheads!

Haystack Rock

The infamous to Oregonians, Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon. Haystack Rock is one of a series of sea stacks that were formed by volcanic activity and erosion along the Oregon shoreline. This particular stack is a preserved marine and bird "garden" which means that you can wade in its tidepools but you may not climb the rock.

View across from Falcon Point

This is what the Oregon coast looks like in the Manzanita area. This view is taken from Falcon Point, across a small inlet of the Pacific Ocean.

Don't move a muscle!

Jon and I hiked to Falcon Point from our campsite at Oswald West State Park, in the Manzanita area just south of Cannon Beach, Oregon. From the point, you get a great view of the Pacific Ocean. Behind Jon is a surfer's paradise-- a cove next to our campground that opens up into the great open water.

My going-away party

Here is the Bay City, MI clan that said goodbye to me the day before I boarded my plane to Portland, Oregon. You are all missed!!

Wolves!

On our way up to Whitefish Point, Upper Peninsula, my family and I were able to stop by a woman's house that has raised wild wolves. She has three in all, though only one was "people friendly" enough to lick our hands through the fence. Very cool to see what real wolves look like. The woman did not acquire the other two wolves early enough in their lives, thus they are much more "wild" in nature and do not appreciate visitors as much! By Michigan law, people can not raise and keep wild wolves in captivity, but since this woman already had the wolves when the law was passed, she was able to keep these but have no more.

Tahquamenon Falls, Paradise MI

This is a glimpse of the awesome Tahquamenon Falls, located near Paradise, Michigan. This is the upper falls, there are also several smaller lower falls and hikes in this park.

Baby cub playmate

This 6 month old cub was trying to get at the Now-&-Later's in my short's pocket!

Getting up close and personal at Oswald Bear Ranch

The next few pictures are of bears and cubs from Oswald's Bear Ranch, located in Newberry, MI. My family and I watched these adult black bears chill out in the hot June sun.

Becki and I at Muinising Falls

My sister Becki and I posing in front of Muinising Falls, Michigan. June, 2005.

Pictured Rocks National Park, Upper Peninsula, MI

This is a photo I took of a portion of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, located in Munising, Upper Peninsula, Michigan. Visited there in June with my family just prior to leaving for Oregon.

Finally able to post new pictures!

Hey everyone! Now that the dust has settled a bit with my new move to Portland, I'm now just getting my pictures up from this summer. Today I'm posting pictures of my trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula with my family, and pictures of Jon and I at Cannon Beach, Newberry Crater Monument area, and Smith Rock.