McKay Falls and the Scotts Mills Fireman Statue

I have been wanting to revisit McKay Falls ever since I discovered it last year when I went to explore the Scotts Mills County Park that it is located at. As the Autumn colors have yet to burst onto the scene, I will be coming back in the morning later in the month for a better picture, but for now, I had to deal with a bad lighting angle which led be to wade into the cold water to get a better picture...

After that little photoshoot, I stopped at the Fire Station in town on my way out because I noticed a fireman statue. I photographed it from two angles and have yet to decide which one is my favorite--in one, you can see the flag pole behind the statue but the axe isn't shown that well; in the other, you can see the axe, but it looks like the statue has only three fingers on his left hand...

Silver Falls State Park June 22nd Hike

Yet another trip to Silver Falls State Park, this time with some of my relatives from California, hence the humorous title "California Tourists" under the first picture as I couldn't think of anything better...

California Tourists

 Indian Hellibore

Within the Foxglove

First Prints and the Salem Shutterbug Photo Contest

Earlier today, I headed over to the Shutterbug store at the Lancaster Mall in Salem to print off what I considered to me the best 8 pictures I have so far. These photos include three waterfalls of Silver Falls State Park (South, Lower South, and Middle North), a landscape (South Fork of Silver Creek), two plants (Common Camas and Oregon Iris), and two animals (a Townsend's Chipmunk and a Red-winged Blackbird). As I was walking through the mall, I noticed that the Shutterbug was having a photo contest that ends June 30th.

After I printed off the pictures I wanted, I decided to enter since I didn't have anything to lose and I got the three pictures that I entered for free. I entered the Lower South Falls for the "action" category, South Falls for the "landscape" category, and the Townsend's Chipmunk for the "general" category. The other category was "portrait," and as I don't have much experience in that category, I will not be rushing to get a picture of someone. If you happen to live near Salem, check out the contest and see which pictures you like. There are quite a few talented photographers that entered the contest.

Silver Falls State Park May 20th Hike

Once again, I headed out to Silver Falls State Park this morning with the idea of checking out the Upper North Falls and the Campground Nature Trail. As I was on the Nature Trail, I also recorded the sounds of various birds and a babbling creek. The compilation of the two (pictures and audio) will give you a sense on the idea I am working on--that is to create a video of what the park has to offer that includes many pictures, several short video clips, and audio of the natural sounds. Unfortunately, since this video makes the pictures look good only small, I will still be posting them like normal below it.

 Upper North Falls

 Red Elderberry

 Invasive Yellow-flowered Lupine

 Common Camas

Pacific Rhododendron

Silver Falls State Park May 14th Hike

As much as I love to go hiking, my right hip and my out-of-shape lungs just won't let me hike long distances as fast as I did a few years ago when I got done with a 6-week Geology field camp for my degree. During the class, we were hiking 7-12 miles a day over hilly and often steep terrain. As much as I would love to make a backpacking trip to Jefferson Park (on the north side of Mount Jefferson), I doubt it will happen anytime soon. In the meantime, I am breaking up the Trail of Ten Falls (the main trail at Silver Falls State Park) into segments that I can do within a certain amount of time without over-stressing my bad hip. Today I took the trail that loops from Winter Falls into the canyon, past Twin Falls and North Falls, and back out of the canyon. I also took a detour to see some of the waterfalls I saw last week to get some short videos of them. I will post them later. Now, the only waterfall I have left to see in the park this year is Upper North Falls...

 Baneberry

 Menzie's Larkspur

 North Falls

 White Fawn Lily

Winter Falls

Silver Falls State Park May 6th Hike

I decided that I was getting a little tired of seeing roughly the same scenery at the park, so I went on a longer hike on the Canyon Trail from South Falls to Winter Falls as I wanted to see more of the waterfalls. As much as I like learning the names of each plant so I can be a self-taught naturalist, I am getting a little bored of seeing the same plants and same scenery...

 Blue-eyed Grass

This picture came with a name

Drake Falls

Frenchie Falls

 A cascade that I call "Little South Falls" due to its size and proximity to South Falls

 While my favorite in Autumn, Lower North Falls has too much water at the moment to look pretty.

Lower South Falls

 Menzie's Larkspur

 Middle North Falls--definitely my favorite during Springtime.

 Vanilla-leaf--aptly named for the vanilla-like fragrance from the leaves.

Winter Falls--so called because it receives most of it's water from rain and snow

Silver Falls State Park April 29th Hike

I left early this morning so I could see more wildlife before they find a place to hide. By getting there within minutes after the gates opened, I was able to see some of the deer and a chipmunk that call the park their home...

 Chickweed Monkeyflower

 Columbian Black-tailed Deer

 Fairyslipper (Calypso Orchid)

 Lower South Falls

 Oregon Dark-eyed Junko

 Pacific Bleeding Heart

 Pinedrops

 Small-flowered Forget-me-not

 Spring Azure (moth)

Townsend's Chipmunk

Silver Falls State Park April 22nd Hike

This time, instead of walking a few miles on relatively flat ground, I hiked into the canyon toward Lower South Falls...

 Hooker's Fairybells

 Lower South Falls

 Short Oregon Grape

 Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary

 South Falls

South Fork of Silver Creek