The personal and professional website of Douglas Van Bossuyt
Heather and I stopped off at a few viewpoints along the southern boundary road of the William J Finley National Wildlife Refuge on our way home from visiting Alsea Falls and Green Peak Falls.
The grass was in full bloom everywhere.
Absolutely gorgeous meadows of grass and hay as far as the eye could see.
In the future we will explore where this road goes.
Looking out into some of the refuge fields.
Looking south.
Another large field in the refuge. What a beautiful place!
Heather and I went up to visit Alsea Falls and Green Peak Falls in the Oregon Coast Range today.
The bridge over the Alsea River above the falls.
The top of the falls.
Heather is a master of the self portrait.
Don’t fall in!
Checking out some interesting moss.
Big trees lurk in this part of the forest. Most of the old growth is gone in Oregon but in a few small isolated pockets the elders of the forest still live.
This is a very large, very old tree. I am happy that it hasn’t been cut down yet and still lives on in the primordial forests of the Oregon Coast Range.
These plants look inviting on the surface.
Underneath they are full of needles!
Don’t touch that trunk!
Walking up a different fork of the Alsea River toward the Green Peak Falls.
A secret little garden.
The path to Green Peak Falls.
Green Peak Falls. I think this is a bigger falls in terms of vertical distance than the Alsea Falls but perhaps the other falls pushes a larger volume of water over.
Heather is telling me to come quick with the camera.
Heather found a newt climbing the falls!
A crayfish was just under the surface of the pool below the falls, too.
During times of high water, the falls expand to encompass this area, too.
Go newt, go!
From above the falls.
It is a placid pool above.
Looking around at the top of the falls.
Big trees lurk around every corner.
Back at the top of the Alsea Falls.
Heather and I visited the International Rose Test Garden to check out the blooming roses. A few years ago I visited the same garden in Portland with Zach and Vera.
The Zooliner on the Washington Park and Zoo Railway.
Mount Hood in the distance shrouded by clouds.
The original Rosarian.
We spotted some Portland Hipsters enjoying a sit on the grass. One wasn’t wearing any shoes.
This is a natural rose bouquet!
There was a wedding reception going on in the lower bowl of the ampetheater at the rose garden. A whole flock of people were sitting around on the upper bowls watching the reception. As beautiful of a place as it is to have a reception, it would be rather awkward for the guests to have all those people watching you eat.
Climbing roses.
