D&D Travel's Pacific Northwest - Oregon, Washington and California's Redwood Coast!

The Pacific Northwest is one of the most beautiful areas of the country, as evidenced by this and the following page of images from our recent journey to Oregon, Washington and the Redwood Coast of Northern California. There are 42 high-quality photos on two pages, so please allow time to download...and enjoy!      - Donna and Dennis                                                                            

 See Page 2!

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A lovely roadside cascade along Route 503 near Cougar, Washington, west of Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument...

Along the route to the southern region of Mount St. Helens

In late June, wildflowers abound along the roadside - these along a path to a viewpoint for Mount St. Helens...

The view of Mount St. Helens from the Johnston Ridge Observatory at the end of Washington Route 504 - essentially at "ground zero."  The mountain blew out from the side with a collapsed crater as a result, in 1980. The crater is actually 5-1/2 miles in the distance!

The 14, 411-foot summit of Mount Rainier as seen from the new visitor's center at Paradise (elevation 5400 feet), on a gorgeous early summer day. Mount Rainier National Park encompasses 368 square miles and is the highest point in the Cascade range...She can be easily seen from Seattle on a clear day! This day offered about 18 feet of hard-packed snow, still waiting to melt...Later in the season, the surrounding meadows are covered in some of the most beautiful wildflower displays imaginable...

A view of the Cascade Range to the north, from Paradise...

A cold,  aqua-colored mountain stream tumbles along, filled with snowmelt from Mt. Rainier, in the background...

Christine Falls, one of many spectacular waterfalls in Mt Rainier National Park

The debris flow from Nisqually Glacier, on the southern face of Rainier, currently retreating...

A view of Mount Rainier to the north, partially mirrored in Reflection Lake, along Stevens Canyon Road in the park...This was as close as we dared get since the surface of the lake was swiftly melting!

Above two wildflower images - along the Oregon Coast Highway 101 in Lincoln City, Oregon.

The Oregon Coastline near Newport... Note the sea fog forming over the Pacific Ocean...

Waves crash along the cliffs in this view to the south. This Oregon coastal scenery rivals anything you will find anywhere else on earth!!

The Pacific Ocean near Otter Rock, Oregon and Devil's Punchbowl...Could be a scene from the Caribbean - minus the pine trees!!

Yaquina Head Light at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, Newport Oregon...Administered by the US Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and just off Highway 101, the area is covered in wildflowers and offers perhaps the most beautiful lighthouse scene we've EVER encountered! Below the cliffs is Cobble Beach, composed of 14-million year old  cobble stones - actually, lava that has been ground down smooth over the eons by wave action. The sound the stones make when the waves retreat is unworldly and difficult to describe!

Above and the 3 images below - Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon. The water is indeed this blue (these images are NOT enhanced, except for the use of a polarizer filter when taken)! It's about a mile from here down to the surface of the 1,943-foot deep lake - a crater created when 12,000-foot Mt. Mazama collapsed after an eruption about 7,700 years ago. Over 500 inches of annual snowfall keep the lake filled with almost pure water - there are NO surface inlets or outlets. A rim road, usually open fully by mid-summer, offers spectacular views all the way around the lake. Gazing upon it feels like being on another planet...This is one the the most beautiful places on earth!!!

Wizard Island - accessible by tourist boat during the summer...