2025 in Photos

And so 2025 bites the dust.  Another trip around the sun completed.  Twelve months of trips, hikes, and skiing days captured on my camera's memory cards.  That can only mean one thing - it's time again for the Linda's Lens photographic year-end recap.

As my regular readers know, in December I pick twelve photos, one from each month, that I feel best captures the important life events from said past year.  They aren't always my best or favorite photos, but often ones that that trigger fond or bittersweet memories.  Over time I've done several different formats of these "best photo" posts, with varying criteria about what type of image qualifies for the yearly summary.  But for the past several years I've stuck to presenting the images taken from the month they were captured, not the month they appeared in my blog.  And since my postings always lag real life events, some of these photos haven't yet made it into the blog.  That is, until now.

So pull up a chair, grab a beverage of choice, and enjoy the 2025 edition of Linda's Lens year in photos!

January

One of many ski days

2024-25 was a stellar ski season.  It started with abundant snowfall in November, and I logged my first ski day on the unbelievably early date of the Monday before Thanksgiving.  The fun continued throughout December, January, February, March and into April with several trips to the local ski areas - both on Mt. Hood and Mt. Bachelor.  I'm lucky to have a bunch of good friends to ski with, and last year I added another to my list- a recently retired co-worker named Deneen.  Being a much better skier than I, she pushed me to try more difficult runs and ski longer into the afternoon.  I ended the season with 42 days on the slopes - a new personal record.

February

Frozen waterfalls in the Gorge

My February photo log is full of either skiing or bird photos and not much else.  But there was one memorable day mid-month where temperatures dropped low enough to cause all the waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge to freeze.  Being a waterfall lover, I bundled up and headed to the Gorge to capture this rare event.  I spent a frigid morning clicking the shutter and then wiping the icy water droplets from my camera lens.  In such a cold, wet environment, it didn't take long for my hands and feet to freeze, and this limited the number of cascades visited.  Despite the cold I witnessed some beautiful ice sculptures, all courtesy of Mother Nature.

March

Purple spring wildflowers

By March, early spring wildflowers begin to appear in the eastern reaches of the Columbia River Gorge.  Although winter, and skiing, were still going strong on Mt. Hood, I did manage to carve out a couple of days for hikes to check out the blooms.  One of my favorite early spring trails is the Labyrinth, on the Washington side of the Gorge.  Vibrant purple flowers called grass widows were prolific along this trail (you can see a few in the foreground of the above image) as well as stellar views of the Columbia River and surrounding landscape.  This image is bittersweet because in July a huge wildfire ripped through this area, blackening everything in its path.  However, despite the damage, I'm hopeful that the ash-enriched soil will produce an extraordinary wildflower bloom next spring.

April

A trip to Maui

In mid-April, with ski season winding down, and my hubby's retirement nearing (not to mention our 40th wedding anniversary in August) I booked a trip to Maui to celebrate.  Hubby and I enjoyed the beautiful weather, stunning scenery, and friendly locals that the Hawaiian islands are known for.  The highlight for me was driving a winding road up to the 10,023 foot summit of Haleakalā Crater in  Haleakalā National Park (my 23rd NP visited so far that year.)

May

Pygmy owl in the forest 

May was a bad month for me.  A hike near Mt. St. Helens resulted in my backpack tumbling down an extremely steep slope into an inaccessible ravine.  I lost my wallet, cell phone, prescription sunglasses, and gps unit, plus many other treasured outdoor items.  A week later after hastily replacing the most important things lost in the accident, I traveled to see my parents and spent a week with my mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's.  As many of you know, it's difficult to see a parent's health decline and it was a tough visit.  Also during this time, my hubby had to travel internationally for work and experienced a couple of issues I had to help resolve.  Back home in late May and feeling down, I forced myself to go for a hike at a local state park.  Walking through the forest, I began to hear hooting.  It took a few minutes, but I was able to locate the source of the noise - an adorable pygmy owl in a nearby tree.  This rare wildlife sighting really uplifted my mood and gave me hope that my luck had finally turned around.

June

Copenhagen, Denmark

Happily, my worst month was followed by my best month.  The most favorite and memorable event of the year occurred in June when I traveled to Scandinavia with my good friend Kim.  Our third Rick Steves tour, this one was Kim and I's favorite.  We explored the countries of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway and loved each one.  Kim and I were joined by two ladies - Debbie and Alicia - who we'd met on our 2023 Ireland tour.  The dynamics of this group of four women made the trip even more fun.

My friends and I on the ferry to Ærø island

After taking thousands of photos, both by phone and camera, from this 2-plus week tour, you can imagine it was a difficult task to pick just one image to represent this fabulous vacation.  So I didn't!  Instead you get two - a photograph of the brightly colored buildings of Copenhagen's Nyhavn District and a fun selfie of my friends and I riding the ferry to Denmark's Ærø island. 

Recapping this trip took up a good chunk of my 2025 blog posts, but now that it's finally finished I'm glad I put in the effort.  I really enjoy returning to my previous travel recaps and will treasure this latest rendition.  Even though most of these posts were super-long, they act as an electronic scrapbook created just for me.  (Maybe someday I'll turn them all into real books.)

July

Beargrass superbloom on Mt. Hood

Back home from my travels, in July it was time to hike!  This summer the Mt. Hood area had a superbloom of beargrass, the poofy white plant that grows in alpine environments.  These beargrass superblooms don't occur regularly, only every 3 to 10 years, so when it happens, I get out to photograph it!  Surprisingly the best display of beargrass was on the slopes of my local ski area, resulting in several fabulous wildflower hikes.

August

Maple Pass, North Cascades NP

August was a month of exploring new trails.  I finally made it to SW Washington's Goat Rocks Wilderness, a place I'd long wanted to see.  And later that month I made the long drive to visit my 24th National Park - North Cascades NP in north-central Washington.  I hiked the spectacular Heather - Maple Pass loop and it was simply breathtaking!  There were so many beautiful mountain trails, I'm definitely heading back up here in 2026.

September

Peter Iredale shipwreck at sunset

My hubby is an avid fisherman.  However I don't share his enthusiasm, so he usually goes by himself.  But one week in mid-September, wanting to hit the fall salmon run on the Oregon coast, he booked accommodations and invited me to join him.  While hubby was fishing, I toured around the northern Oregon coast with my camera.  Staying so close to the beaches, it was easy to capture sunsets and sunrises without a lot of driving time.  I especially liked the colorful sunset I captured near the Peter Iredale shipwreck at Fort Stevens State Park.

October

Spectacular fall colors in Leavenworth, WA

My buddy Kim and I had long talked about visiting the charming, Bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth, located in the Central Washington Cascades.  Passing through on my way to North Cascades NP gave us both the motivation we needed to finally plan a trip.  Luck was with us - not only did our late October arrival coincide with a lull between busy seasons, we also hit peak fall color.  I took some of the best autumn leaf photos of the entire season.  I think visiting Leavenworth will likely become a yearly tradition.

November

Twister Falls, Eagle Creek trail

The Columbia River Gorge's Eagle Creek trail is my favorite Gorge hike.  The ultimate destination is breathtaking Tunnel and Twister Falls, reached by a 6 1/2 mile one-way trek.  I hadn't visited these waterfalls since 2017, a few months before a devastating wildfire decimated this area.  Although I'd hiked the Eagle Creek trail many times after it was reopened, I'd yet to make it all the way to Tunnel and Twister Falls.  After an unexpected rainy day foiled my friends and I from reaching this destination, two weeks later, my hubby and I tried again.  And this time we succeeded!  Finally seeing these two spectacular cascades was so worth the long, round-trip hike.

December

The Ornament trail

I wrapped up my 2025 hiking season with a trek to special place - the Christmas Ornament trail.  Hidden deep in the Columbia River Gorge, this short path is where colorful decorations dangle from mossy tree branches.  I recruited two friends to accompany me and we had a fantastic time, even adding a few baubles of our own.


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This year brought a lot of joy - plenty of ski days, memorable hikes, another amazing international trip, my hubby's retirement (hooray!) and a vacation to Maui.  And as of the end of this month, I'll have been retired for five years.  When people say time goes faster once you've retired, they're not kidding!

However, there's also been a bit of sadness for me in 2025.  My mom, who has suffered from Alzheimer's for the past several years, seems to be deteriorating more rapidly.  A sweet, kind sister-in-law was recently diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.  These incidents reminded me that life and good health are precious commodities, and you never really know how many days you have.

So in 2026 I resolve to "do it now" and not put off activities because of chores, less-than-perfect weather, traffic, or plain old laziness.  The clock is ticking and I'm not getting any younger!  Time to start checking things off the ol' bucket list.

As always, thanks to my readers for continuing to follow and comment on my little blog.  I maintain this page for my own pleasure as a sort of online scrapbook.  I'm always surprised and pleased that there are others who enjoy my photos and musings.  I hope you'll all stick around to see what 2026 has in store for me.

Happy New Year!!

2024 in Photos

Time just keeps flying by.......how is it December 31st already?

And yes, this means it's time for another edition of the "Linda's Lens" year-end photo recap.  As my regular readers know, I've developed a tradition of highlighting my most memorable images from the year gone by in a final post.  As is my custom, I choose one photograph from each month of 2024 that I feel best represents that month's noteworthy event.  Because I'm always behind on posting events, some of these photos have never appeared on the blog until now.  Of course, some months had several great photos to choose from, and others had me searching for one worthy image.  So, as it is every year, the choices are never easy.  

But now it's time to throw back the curtain, and unveil the twelve photographs that made the cut.  Here are the images I felt best captured my life in the year 2024:

January

Steamboat, Colorado

This year, my buddy Kim and I purchased IKON passes, which enabled us to ski at several North American resorts.  Our first big trip occurred in mid-January, when we flew to Steamboat, Colorado, one of our all-time favorite places to ski.  I had three glorious days on the slopes, and I made as many runs as my legs would allow.  Not only is this resort known for stunning scenery, the charming town of Steamboat Springs was a wonderful place to explore.  (Check out my post about this ski trip.)

February 

Kayaker on the Wilson River

In between winter rainstorms and days on the slopes, I managed to get in a couple of hikes this month.  One of these was a fantastic ramble along a portion of the Wilson River Trail in the Oregon Coast Range.  I love the Coast Range forests in winter - the bare, mossy trees and huge ferns are spectacular.  But while enjoying a break along the river, my friend and I got to witness an unusual sight - two kayakers tumbling through the rapids.  Of course, I had my camera ready to capture all the action.  (For more photos, check out my post about this hike.)

March

Harbor Seals at Yaquina Head

March was one of the months where it was difficult to choose just one photo, because lots of memorable things happened.  But I finally whittled it down to an image I made from a trip to Newport, on the Oregon coast.  I hadn't spent much time here in quite awhile, but when my neighbor Cheri invited me to accompany her on a trip to photograph some of the local wildlife, I jumped at the opportunity.  We saw all kinds of birds - a peregrine falcon, loons, and a flock of Harlequin ducks.  But the harbor seals resting on the rocks at Yaquina Head produced my favorite images of the day.  I was so enamored with Newport that I returned a couple of months later for more exploration.

April

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

There's so many things to photograph in the spring months - migrating birds, wildflowers, spring skiing.  Adding to this list is the annual Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival, where huge fields of tulips color the landscape.  This year I decided to wake up early for sunrise.  Not only did I capture some beautiful skies, I also caught the launch of four hot air balloons.  What a perfect photo op - I loved this image of the balloons photographed as they drifted over the tulip fields.

May

Aurora Borealis over Montana

While visiting my son in Montana, I was witness to an unusual event - the Aurora Borealis.  On May 10th, an extremely strong magnetic storm from the sun hit earth's atmosphere, producing colorful auroras all over the world, as far south as Florida.  My son and I parked on a hill above his town and watched in awe as ribbons of colors danced in the night sky.  It was an incredible thing to see, and something I won't soon forget.  (For more, check out this post.)

June

Peak rhododendron bloom near Ramona Falls

Commence summer hiking season!  One of my favorite treks is taking the Pacific Crest Trail to Ramona Falls during the rhododendron bloom.  This year, I actually got the timing right and hit peak flower season.  There's nothing better than traversing a trail lined with huge pink blossoms.  The weather wasn't great - I picked a rainy day for this excursion, but the cloudy skies provided an added bonus as they made the colors absolutely pop.  (Check out this post for more images.)

July

Green heron babies at a local park

I spent a large amount of summer days walking through local nature parks in search of wildlife to photograph.  One of the best places I found was surprisingly the urban park nearest my home (see my post about this place here.)  Not only was there always some type of bird to photograph, this year it appeared the local green herons chose the park to make their nests.  One nest was right next to a very busy paved path that circled the lake.  I had front-row views of four fuzzy green heron babies and enjoyed photographing their antics as they grew into adulthood.  (See my post about the green heron babies.)  As an added bonus, I met quite a few local wildlife photographers.  I joined a great community of photo enthusiasts, some of whom I now run into every time I visit. 

 

August

Wildflowers at Mt. Hood Meadows

Mt. Hood Meadows ski resort is my winter happy place.  But surprisingly during summer months, its slopes transform into a wildflower wonderland.  In the past few years, the resort management has established many hiking trails and now it's one of my favorite places to hike.  This year the wildflower bloom here was off-the-charts amazing - the best I've seen for a long while.  I made three separate fabulous treks here to enjoy the amazing landscapes (See my post here.)

  

September

Gimmelwald, Switzerland

The big event of 2024 was my September trip to Switzerland.  I've been slowly recapping my journey through multiple blog posts, and I hope to finish up in the next couple weeks.  There were so many images to sort through that choosing just one to represent this fantastic tour proved to be a monumental task.  But I finally narrowed down my top photograph to this lovely scene in the storybook village of Gimmelwald (which if you've been following my trip recaps, you'll see again shortly.)

October

Joshua Tree National Park

In late October, I journeyed to Southern California to help my aunt celebrate her 85th birthday.  While visiting, I rented a car and drove out to bag another nearby National Park, Joshua Tree.  Although I'm not much of a desert person, I did enjoy the wide-open views, and of course the fascinating, spiky Joshua Trees.  A blog post about this trip is upcoming, so stay tuned!

November

Eagle Creek Trail, Columbia River Gorge

Early November is when Portland and the nearby Columbia River Gorge reach peak fall leaf colors.  In my opinion, it's the very best time to hike the Gorge trails, and I did just that, hitting as many as I could before the leaves fell away.  My favorite autumn hike is none other than the majestic Eagle Creek Trail, and it won the prize for "memorable November moment."  Although my chosen image doesn't show much leaf color, I loved this capture of Eagle Creek, framed by mossy branches and dying leaves.

December

Early ski season!

Usually every autumn, I anxiously wait for snow to fall in the mountains so I can ski again.  For several seasons, the white stuff has been slow to accumulate, and for the past decade I haven't hit the slopes until well into December (last year my first ski day wasn't until January.)  But not in winter 24-25, my first ski day was the Monday before Thanksgiving.  I think it's been at least 25 years since I've skied in November!  And not only were the resorts open, they were boasting a whopping four foot base.  As you can imagine, I've been a very happy skier this month, logging 9 days on the slopes already, and it isn't even 2025 yet!  Maybe I'll go for a personal record of ski days in a season this year?

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Happily, I've managed to stay healthy in 2024, and enjoyed many skiing and hiking trips.  I traveled to three National Parks, one for the first time, and also visited five other ski areas besides my two in-state favorites.  I also journeyed overseas to the beautiful country of Switzerland.  I made many trips to see family and also enjoyed a few local excursions in the Pacific NW.  My yearly activity tally (so far) stands at 28 ski days and 60 hikes.  Not too shabby!

As always, I look forward to the coming year for more of the same of my favorite outdoor activities.  After my close call with a brain abscess emergency three years ago, I'm thankful for every day I get to spend on this earth, and wake each morning grateful to see another sunrise.  

Thanks to my readers who have stuck with me for all these years.  I mainly blog to keep a record for myself, so I'm always touched (and a little amazed) when others reach out with comments.  I'm glad others enjoy my photos and ramblings.

Here's to a continuation of my skiing, hiking, and photographic adventures in the coming year.  Onward to 2025!

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!

2022 in Photos

Well, we've all survived another trip around the sun.  For me it meant one more year of hikes, photography, and visits to cool places.  I'm nearly two years into retirement and still loving every minute of it.  Although COVID wasn't as much of an issue in '22 as the past two years, it was still out there - but unlike '20 and '21 it didn't stop me from doing stuff.  What did stop me - stupid plantar fasciitis on my left foot.  This persistent aliment shot a big hole into most of my hiking plans for the summer.  So I did what I normally do when faced with a roadblock - pivot!  Instead of hiking I turned my sights on photographing birds and had fun discovering new places to find my feathered friends as well as learning how best to capture those quick little buggers on my memory cards.

And now with 2022 drawing to a close, it's time for my annual "year in photos" blog post.  As my faithful readers know, this is my most favorite entry to write.  I compose this post mainly for myself, but also hope that anyone who views it will get as much enjoyment as I do creating it.

Once again, I've gathered together a collection of photos that I feel best represents the year gone by.  As per usual, these aren't necessarily always my best shots.  Some have been chosen because they represent memorable happenings of 2022.  Each image has been chosen from the month it was created.  And - surprise - you might see some new photos that didn't make it onto my blog.  That is, until now.

So let's get to it, and unveil the Linda's Lens top 12 photos from 2022:  

January

Mt. Hood at sunrise

For many days last winter I dreamed of capturing a snow-covered Mt. Hood at sunrise.  The only problem - I really like to sleep in.  For several evenings I would determine that tomorrow would be the day and set my alarm accordingly.  But when it buzzed the following morning, I'd just shut the alarm off and roll back over - later regretting my laziness.  Finally, one morning in January the planets aligned, and I was actually able to pry myself from my warm bed and drive along snowy roads to the Timberline Lodge parking lot.  Through frigidly cold and very windy conditions I witnessed an amazing sunrise that made all that effort worthwhile.  (Note to self - I really need to do this more often!)

February

Wooden bridge at Moulton Falls Park

I'm always on the hunt for new places to hike.  Although over the years I've covered most of the local trails, at the beginning of 2022 I was bound and determined to find some "new-to-me" hikes in the area.  An online image of a picturesque wooden bridge over the Lewis River at SW Washington's Moulton Falls Regional park inspired me to check this place out and get a photograph of my own.  After hiking a rough trail through second-growth woods, I emerged next to the mighty Lewis and was able to find the vantage I desired.  The green water and wintry foggy forest did a great job of capturing the mood of this beautiful place.

March

Grass widow blooms mean spring is here

One of the things I love about March - the wildflowers start blooming!  The farther east one hikes in the Columbia River Gorge, the greater their chances of spotting early blossoming beauties.  The first flowers to emerge from winter slumber are always the lovely purple grass widows.  In March, I took a wonderful hike with friends Debbie and Barry to the labyrinth, an interesting area of unique rock formations and sweeping gorge views.  Not only did we see hundreds, if not thousands, of grass widows sprouting everywhere, we were also lucky enough to spot an entire flock of colorful Lewis Woodpeckers.

April

Dueling goslings

This April, along with flowers, I focused on photographing the many birds around my home.  In the spring there's lots of "birdy" activity in NW Oregon.  One can find several different species in just about any park or preserve.  Not only were birds migrating, many were looking for mates, and once mates were found, raising their young.  At my local "duck pond" the resident Canada geese flock had just hatched several broods of tiny, yellow goslings.  Early one morning, I was lucky enough to capture two of these adorable fluffballs fighting over a worm.  Such cuteness!

May

Sunset at Bandon Beach

The year just wouldn't be complete without at least one visit to my favorite place on the Oregon coast - scenic Bandon Beach.  In May, I introduced my good friend Kim to this magical place.  So many things to photograph - unique sea stacks, tidepool creatures, birds (of course!), a cool lighthouse, and a sweet mama harbor seal with her pup.  But the main reason I return here every year is for the amazing sunsets over the ocean.  And once again the Bandon skyline didn't disappoint.

June

Cedar waxwing

This year June wasn't a great month for me.  Plantar fasciitis plagued my left foot, forcing a near-standstill to all hiking activity.  Luckily my neighbor Cheri got me out photographing birds, a definite sanity saver.  I added a bunch of "new to me" birds to my photographic catalog, including this beautiful Cedar waxwing, spotted at the local park.

July

Rhodie time!

In July I began attempting shorter hikes, but most of my camera's exploration came from driving tours, such as the one I made up to Mt. Hood to check out the rhododendron bloom.  Having missed it last year, I was determined to make up for lost time.  There's nothing I love more than seeing these gorgeous pink blooms brightening the forest.

August

Humpback whales feeding in Glacier Bay

August was awesome.  Hubby and I took a trip to Glacier Bay, Alaska.  Boy, oh boy was there a lot of photo subjects to be had!  We fished for halibut, toured Glacier Bay National Park by boat and foot, and kayaked Icy Strait.  But by far the highlight for me was a most excellent whale watching trip into Glacier Bay.  Our ship's captain had many years of experience and knew right where to go.  Not only did I witness a pod of humpback whales bubble net feeding several times, one whale breached right in front of the boat!  An amazing experience I won't soon forget.

September

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

After a trip to South Dakota to visit family, I detoured north to check another US National Park off my list.  Although I didn't hold high expectations for Theodore Roosevelt National Park (it was in North Dakota, after all) the place ended up blowing me away.  Not only was it drop-dead beautiful (pro tip - go in late September to catch the stunning fall colors), the place was full of all kinds of wildlife, from buffalo to wild horses.  I'm glad I took the side trip and explored this little corner of the west.

October

The Mighty Metolius in autumn

October was a grand month.  I spent many days outside in search of autumn leaf color.  A doggy sitting gig with my grandpuppies had me spending 10 days in sunny Central Oregon.  It was fun to explore a different part of my state during the annual fall seasonal change.  Lots of hiking trails were covered, with my most favorite being two separate trips to the mighty Metolius River, my vote for the prettiest water body in Central Oregon.

November

Hoyt Arboretum

November offered a continuance in my pursuit of changing leaves.  Due to a very hot and dry October, many leaves were slow to turn.  In a way it was nice, as fall color lingered nearly into December.  One chilly day, friends Debbie and Barry invited me to hike the trails in nearby Hoyt Arboretum.  Such a gorgeous place, I resolved to visit more often in the coming year.  It just goes to show, one doesn't have to travel far to find beauty - sometimes it's right in your own backyard.

December

Tumalo Mountain view from Mt Bachelor

Of course, December always means skiing, and this year the Cascades were blessed with enough snow that I was making turns early in the month for a change.  During the annual December trip to Mt. Bachelor I paused to take in the glorious snowy scene from it's slopes.  Tumalo Mountain was front and center in this view, a place I summitted during my October visit.  Standing in such a beautiful winter wonderland, I reflected on how lucky I am to live near such stunning places.  I also felt gratitude to have the good health this year (despite my foot issue) to continue exploring and photographing it all.

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And so, dear readers, that's a wrap on another year of blogging!  As the number of people keeping blogs continued to dwindle in 2022, I often felt as though I was one of the last bloggers standing.  I really miss some of the blogs I used to follow, and the wonderful people who used to engage by commenting.  When I get discouraged by the small number hits or comments, I have to remind myself that the main reason I continue to keep a blog is for myself - as an online dairy to record hikes, trips, and other discoveries.  If others view my photos or read what I've written, I consider it a bonus.  It's very flattering (and a little humbling) to know there are still people who enjoy what I put out there in blogland.

So, once again, thanks to those of you who still faithfully follow, read, and comment.  You are much appreciated!  I'm not ready to quit anytime soon so I hope you'll join me for another year of photographic adventures.

Happy 2023!