First outing was a quick trip in early February up the coast to Hearst San Simeon State Park, with a side outing to see the elephant seal rookery at Piedras Blancas.
Elephant seals get their name from the trunk-like proboscis on mature males.
Thousands of seals gather on the beach there to mate and give birth.
An adult male watches for rivals.
In March, we headed farther north, exploring Oregon's coast and the Columbia River Gorge.
Campsite on Tahkenitch Lake shoreline in Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.
Misty forest trail on Oregon Dunes NRA.
Skunk cabbage in bloom.
Oregon Dunes NRA.
Classic drive along the Oregon coastline on Highway 101.
Lush vegetation lines a small creek in Redwood National Park, Calif.
Redwood grove along trail in Redwood NP.
Trillium and bunchberry in the redwoods.
June found us heading north along Highway 395 on our way to Lassen National Park, including an overnight stop in the Mono Basin. Mono Lake lupine, endemic to the area, thrives in the volcanic pumice soil.
In Lassen, we camped at Butte Lake. where a trail leads to the nearby Cinder Cone. Leslie is enjoying picnic fare from our favorite Ventura restaurant/market, Paradise Pantry, after a strenuous hike to the top of the 800-foot feature.
Lava beds near Cinder Cone.
The park was severely scorched by the Dixie Fire in August 2021. This view of the burn scar's edge and Lassen Peak is from the north.
Lassen Peak from the Devastated Area, where pyroclastic flows and avalanches obliterated the forest during the volcano's 1914-1915 eruption.
View along the Chester-Warner Valley Road in the park's southeast corner, where Dixie incinerated just about everything. Perhaps in a century it will have recovered like the Devastated Area.
August found us back in Oregon, this time to raft the Wild and Scenic Rogue River. This is from our camp on Day 1 at Horseshoe Bend.
A quiet moment during a side hike along Mule Creek.
River guide shenanigans.
Island camp kitchen at the mouth of Mule Creek.
Sunset on the Rogue.
