Early this morning went on a photographic excursion to photograph the Roosevelt elk herd outside Jewell, Oregon in the Pacific Coast Mountain range.  After a two hour drive along winding roads blanketed with fog and freezing mist I arrived at the Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area.  Not long after my arrival the elk slowly emerged from the fog into the meadow.

The Roosevelt elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti), also known as Olympic elk, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk in North America.

Below a pair of bulls joust with their antlers.

Multnomah Falls

A beautiful early morning walk up the pathway to the viewing area overlooking the base of the falls.  At that early hour, we were the only people there and were able to enjoy the impressive beauty and power of mother earth without the distractions of the crowds of people soon to come. The roaring falls was overwhelming in power and was felt as a vibration in the ground and air. The mist from the falls hung thick in the cold air and covered the leaves and rocks, and of course, my camera lens.

The falls drops in two major steps, split into an upper falls of 542 feet and a lower falls of 69 feet, with a gradual 9 foot drop in elevation between the two, so the total height of the waterfall is 620 feet.

A view from along the pathway from the I-84 parking lot just after exiting from under the railroad bridge.

Multnomah Creek

Looking downstream from along the path from parking area.

Horsetail Falls

At 176′ is an impressive falls and you can walk right up to the pool at the foot of the falls where the mist is heavy.

Columbia River Gorge, Vista House on Crown point is visible just to the right of center.

A nice morning adventure!

It has been interesting to watch the changes in our sunflower as it matured.   Here it is in full bloom.

And a close-up B/W view.

As soon as the bloom matured the Honey bees were replaced by Gold Finches and Scrub Jays.

The Sunflower Circle of life… born from a seed defecated by a bird, pollinated by bees, the flower matures in the bright days of summer, again to become food for the birds as autumn approaches.

This sunflower plant, an unplanned addition to the backyard garden was probably the result of a seed dropped by a bird. It bloomed just in time to welcome the bright sunny days that have finally arrived after what seemed a very long wet and cool spring and early summer. The photo at left was taken just after the first flower bloomed.

The same flower a little over a week later being visited by a honey bee.

Note the new flower emerging to the right of the bloom.

A close-up of the bee.

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