2023 in Photos

2023 has drawn to a close.  And that means it's time for my most favorite blog post - Linda's year-end review in photos.  Can you believe its a tradition I've continued for 13 consecutive years?  Doesn't seem that long ago it was 2011 and I was penning my very first annual recap!  

This year I managed to stay healthy enough to enjoy lots of hiking and skiing.  Although I didn't write any posts about it, 2023 was a banner ski season here in Oregon.  (I logged a record 17 days at Mt. Bachelor alone.)  Even though this year I chose not to do a hiking challenge, I still completed 53 walks in the outdoors.  Not too shabby!  With the COVID threat finally lessened, I also traveled internationally to the beautiful country of Ireland (a definite highlight of 2023) and visited four U.S. National parks.

So now it's time to share with my readers the annual photographic recap you've come to expect.  As with previous years, I've chosen one image to represent each month from my experiences in 2023.  These aren't always my finest photographs, but the ones I've deemed best depict memorable moments of the year gone by.  Every image was captured on the month the event actually happened, not when I finally got around to writing about it.  And as a special surprise, you'll even see a couple pictures that haven't made it into the blog.  (Until now that is!)

So here we go again - presenting Linda's Lens 2023 in Photos:

January

Waterfall action at Silver Falls State Park

It's no secret I love photographing waterfalls.  In early January my hubby and I took a hike along the entire "Trail of Ten Falls" at nearby Silver Falls State Park.  Since hubby doesn't join me all that often on my treks, it was nice to show him one of my favorite places to see waterfalls.  I really liked the above image of Lower South Falls.  If you look carefully you'll see my hubby to the right of this cascade's watery curtain, dwarfed by its mighty flow.

February

Celebrating a milestone birthday on the slopes

I didn't blog about this, but in February I reached another milestone birthday.  And you know me, I always try to celebrate birthdays on the ski slopes!  My buddy Kim and I traveled to Central Oregon's Mt. Bachelor resort, where the skies were blue and the snow soft and plentiful.  As I did on my last milestone b-day, I borrowed Kim's princess hat helmet cover and made a spectacle of myself.  Here's my favorite selfie sporting this celebratory attire.  Could my smile be any bigger?

March

Cherry tree blossoms along Portland's waterfront

One of the sure signs of spring is when the cherry blossom trees along Portland's waterfront bust out their lovely pink blooms.  When I worked downtown, it was easy to walk over during my lunch break for photos.  But post-retirement, I never seemed to go there at the right time.  This year that all changed as I convinced my neighbor Cheri to join me on a borderline rainy day.  Our gamble paid off - not only did the skies stay dry, the threat of rain meant less people (the park becomes horribly crowded during peak bloom.)  Although most of my images were stereotypical pics of the pink trees in a row, my favorite shot turned out to be this zoomed-in photo of the blossoms.

April

The Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland

The highlight of 2023 was a trip with my buddy Kim to Ireland.  We spent 11 days in the Emerald Isle, taking in as much of the country, culture, and Guinness as we possibly could.  I'm in love with the scenery and people of this stunning, green republic - so much so that Kim and I have both agreed a return trip is definitely in order.  I took over 5,000 photos on my camera alone (not counting cell phone pics) so it was difficult to choose just one image that best represented this grand adventure.  But finally I selected the above selfie that Kim snapped at the Rock of Cashel.  Every day we'd take several selfies from the places we visited.  Kim was much more adept at this special skill, but by the end of our trip I got pretty good too.

May

Wildflower explosion in the Gorge

A wetter than average spring season produced the best Columbia River Gorge wildflower bloom in years.  Home from Ireland for mere days, I fought jet lag and a horrible cold to get out there and photograph it.  This image from Chatfield Hill had probably the highest concentration of wildflowers I've ever seen here.  A great welcome home gift!

June

Yellowstone National Park

More adventures of Kim and Linda!  In late May/early June we embarked on another trip, this time a drive to South Dakota, where I showed her around the Black Hills and Badlands.  On the way home I detoured to Yellowstone National Park, where we spent a fabulous two days seeing as much of the park as we possibly could.  Such an amazing place!  We had several wildlife sightings, saw Old Faithful erupt three times, and visited so many geysers.  It was Kim's first visit to Yellowstone and it had been many years since my last trip.  I enjoyed revisiting the place through a newcomer's eyes.

July

Cape Flattery, Washington

Over the July 4th weekend, hubby and I camped at Olympic National Park.  We've been here twice before, but it's a big park and there was more to explore.  One place we visited for the first time was stunning Cape Flattery, the most northwesterly point in the lower 48 U.S. states.  A long distance from anywhere in the park, its stunning seaside cliffs were totally worth the 4-hour roundtrip drive.

August

Paradise Park, Mt. Hood

Not only were wildflowers prolific this spring, the summer bloom high in the Cascade mountains was pretty amazing too.  I spent the month of August chasing the peak, hiking several popular trails in both Oregon and neighboring Washington.  It was hard to chose just one favorite, but I finally decided upon this year's visit to Mt. Hood's Paradise Park.  This trail is stunning every summer, but this year's wildflowers were some of the most vibrant and bountiful displays I've ever seen here.

September

Twin Lake, Crazy Mountains, Montana

So much happened this month that I just couldn't pick one photo - so instead you get two!  First, hubby and I traveled to Montana in early September to visit our son.  The highlight of this trip was a hike on the Big Timber Creek Trail in the nearby Crazy Mountains.  We journeyed to one of the Twin Lakes, where my son and hubby practiced their fly fishing skills.  The lake was nestled in a valley ringed by craggy peaks - a most picturesque setting.

Mt. Rainier view, Naches Peak Trail

My second September highlight came later that month when I made the trip to Mt. Rainier National Park to check out both the wildlife and fall colors.  (Yes, I realize I just blogged about it, but this visit was worthy of the yearly highlight reel)  I had some great wildlife encounters and was lucky enough to capture them on memory card.  And the autumn leaf hues were amazing, especially along the Naches Peak Loop.  Good thing I went when I did, as snow fell the following week and covered everything.

October

Golden Western larches on Mt. Hood

In early October Pacific NW hikers and photographers go ga-ga for the lovely golden larch trees.  These unique conifers have needles that turn a yellowish color in the fall, much like their deciduous cousins.  Although the highest larch concentrations are in neighboring Washington state, I discovered an ample supply on Mt. Hood's eastern slopes.  My exploratory hike here coincided with peak color.  A most memorable autumn day!

November

Columbia River view above Oneonta Gorge

After thinking there wouldn't be much of a fall color show in the Columbia River Gorge this year, come November the entire area suddenly erupted into the most vibrant of leaf hues.  During that glorious first week of the month, I hiked three different trails.  Each one was as stunning as the next - as a matter of fact, it was hard to chose just one representative image.  But the eventual winner was this shot of colorful bushes lining the steep slopes above Oneonta Gorge.

December

Sunset on Cannon Beach

This year, I didn't take many photos in December.  Due to family commitments and rainy weather, my camera sat in its bag a lot.  But mid-month I made a quick trip to Cannon Beach in hopes of capturing a nice sunset.  Although it wasn't the most spectacular I've ever seen, the setting sun did give the sky a lovely orange hue.  And it felt good to be outside enjoying nature once again.


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Thus ends another year of chronicling my photographic adventures.  Although I didn't recap every one of my outdoor excursions on the blog, I tried to hit the highlights.  Nowadays blogging to me sometimes seems like a chore - choosing and editing photographs and thinking of something interesting to say takes a lot of time.  So I don't post as much as I did in the "early years."  However, I do enjoy looking back on the entries I've written from memorable trips and favorite hikes, and find I'm always thankful for taking the time to document these endeavors.

So yes, I'll be hanging out in this space for awhile longer.  As always, thanks to all my followers for viewing my photos, reading my narrative, and especially for leaving comments.  Although I keep this blog mainly for my own entertainment, it does feel good to know others get enjoyment from my postings.

As with every year-end review, I have high hopes for the next 12 months.  I've planned some ski trips and another big international excursion.  And of course I'll return to my favorite hiking trails and wildflower patches here in the Pacific NW.  So I hope you'll stick around and see where 2024 takes me!

Happy New Year!