Storm King

Storm King towers over Lake Crescent Lodge from the southeast, and for that reason it’s tough to get a sense of its scale when hanging out near the hotel and its minor trails. Several years ago, my partner and I took a boat tour and saw the mountain from the water for the first time — and holy shit, was it something else. We set a goal to hike it someday once we had it in us fitness-wise, and just the other week we checked it off our list. 2000-some feet of gain across a mile and a half of treacherous switchbacks and rock slopes and zero regrets.

Storm King over Lake Crescent, spring 2019.

Ruby in Summer

Ruby Beach, a gorgeous timeless pocket of space on the Washington coast near the town of Forks, is at its best when seen in the moody mid autumn. Failing that, you can take your chances and hope for an unseasonably grey summer day, as my fiancé and I did while his parents were in the Northwest for the first time in two years. (A little darkness boost in Lightroom doesn’t hurt, either.)

Quinault Evening

Lake Quinault is a frequent long weekend destination of mine, but I’d never seen it quite the way I did this past July 4th weekend - enormous blue hydrangeas tumbling over the grounds like something out of a Nantucket dream. Had a glass of wine lakeside, then went on a slow-paced walk down the shore and back.