The rhododendron is the state flower of Washington for a reason

I know I haven't been able to post too many outdoor photos lately. But at least I can enjoy some awesome flowers around my place. Check out these rhododendrons:

First flower of 2011

Over the past few months I've been showing you flowers outside my apartment.

Today, March 9th, the first flowers bloomed.

February flowers bring February snow

Just two days ago the first flower blossom of spring came out.

And last night the snow came.

Poor little flowers.

First flower blossom and snow!

I've shown you two photos from the past two months as the flowers have started showing up around my apartment since early January.

As I am typing this it is currently snowing outside my window. When I snapped this photo it was really coming down.

And the weather people are saying to expect up to 6 inches by tomorrow night. But shhhh....don't tell the flowers.

The first one just bloomed today.

Spring is here, at least the flowers say so

A month ago I asked if perhaps spring was here.

Well it certainly appears that way. It's only the beginning of February and look how tall the daffodils are getting.

Spring is here?

I took this photo outside my place this morning.

Perhaps the daffodils are just wanting to celebrate the Eastern Washington University National Championship.

Or perhaps spring is here?

It is only the beginning of January. What is happening?

Rattlesnake Ledge Trail

Today the Northern Rangers headed up Rattlesnake Ledge Trail outside of North Bend, Washington.
The hike starts at Rattlesnake Lake and has an elevation gain of 1,175 feet over two miles. So it's fairly steep but by no means difficult to the average active person.

Following the trail you'll find a number of switchbacks and a fairly constant uphill grade.
However, you'll also find a large number of people on the trail because of how close the trailhead is to Seattle and I-90.

The picture to the left shows Rattlesnake Ledge overflowing with people.

However, the trail doesn't end at Rattlesnake Ledge and as of 2007, now goes all the way to the old Snoqualmie Brewery at Exit 27 off I-90. So for a bit more peaceful turnaround point hikers can follow the trail up a little higher and still enjoy the great views but without the circus shown in the other picture. (see below photo)

Hiking Time to Rattlesnake Ledge: 45 mins to 1 hour
Miles: 4 Round trip
Elevation gain: 1,175 feet

How to get there

On I-90 east take Exit 32 (436th Avenue SE) just past the exits to North Bend. Turn right off the exit, heading south on 436th Ave SE which turns into Cedar Falls Road. In about three miles you'll see the parking lots. Follow the signs posted for Rattlesnake Lake.

Charlie Brown tree

We went on a walk today and found that Charlie Brown had been kite flying there earlier.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: A view of Flathead Lake

Here's a photo Brandon took from his cellphone (!!!!) of a sunset on Flathead Lake in Montana last night.

Holy Cow!

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just Northwest? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: Kayaking

Today's Outdoor Photo of the Week comes from the kayak trip that we went on today. It was a lot of fun and we got to get our kayaks wet for the first time this season.

We were out on Lake Tapps in Bonney Lake, WA. Next Sunday we're going to head out to the Arboretum in Seattle for another trip.

Photo by Al Knopik, Buckley, WA.

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just Northwest? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: Happy Mother's Day

In honor of Mother's Day we have a special Outdoor Photo of the Week today.

Here's some flowers to all the Mom readers we have! Happy Mother's Day!


Photos by Al Knopik, Buckley, WA.

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just Northwest? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: Channel Isles and Washington Capitol Building

This week a special Outdoor Photo of the Week section. Today we'll feature not just one photo, but two. These photos are from Steve O'Neill, Olympia, Washington. Here's a bit about the photos:

Sunset was taken last summer on one of the Channel Isles in British Columbia. The Capitol Building was also taken last summer. I live in Olympia and the light was right so I caught that view of the Capitol Building.

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just Northwest? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: Mount Shuksan

This week our Outdoor Photo of the Week is from Rakesh Malik. Here's a bit about the photo:

In early March, I went to Mount Baker and parked at the Bagley Lakes trailhead. There were a lot of people there, with snowshoes, skis, snowboards, and sometimes just boots. Oddly, the crowd thinned out drastically near Artist Point; I suppose most of the visitors were interested in the sport rather than in the view.

This is a picture of Mount Shuksan as the sun set. I used a Nikon d300 with a manual focus Nikon 105mm f/2.5 lens, and stitched 14 images together.

To view more of Rakesh's work, you can visit http://www.whitecranephotography.com or http://www.flickr.com/baratheon.

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just Northwest? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: Olympic Peninsula

This week our Outdoor Photo of the Week is from Brittany Hines-Hill.

Here's what she had to say about the photo:

I'm a local amateur photographer, and I got a fantastic shot of the Olympic Peninsula from over near Bremerton.

You can view more of Brittany's work on her site by clicking here.

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just Northwest? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.

Signs of Spring

Since I'm in the Northwest, I've been showing you pictures over the last few weeks of the mild winter we've had up here. And the beautiful spring that followed.

But how about the rest of the country? Now that spring is upon all of the U.S. my Aunt Leona sent out these photos from Dickinson, North Dakota.

Looks like Spring is everywhere.

Hiking Cougar Mountain

The weather right now might be like a monsoon outside, but last week we had some beautiful sun.

The Northern Rangers headed for a hike last Wednesday for a hike along some of the trails of Cougar Mountain. We didn't shoot a video, but did snap this photo by Doughty Falls. Yes, it's really just a big rock with water running over the moss.

Don't worry, we'll be getting some videos going again here soon.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: Roadway water

Today's Outdoor Photo of the Week is from John Schwartz. Here's what he had to say about the photo:

Photo was taken up in Index at the (now) end of the Index-Galena road on March 14th. Shot from between the river and the road looking towards the entirety of the water flowing off the roadway and down the river.

Briefly about me:

My name is John Schwartz, I live out in Monroe and often take my motorcycle out to shoot pictures around the area.

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just Northwest? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: Mount Rainier alpenglow

This week our Outdoor Photo of the Week is from Scott Harder, Mill Creek, Washington.

The location of this photo is just West of Mount Rainier at 9,800 feet.

Taken as the sunset as it cast “alpenglow” on the westside of Mount Rainier from a helicopter at almost 10k feet. Lenticular clouds had just started to form on the top.

You can view more of Scott's work at Mill Creek Multimedia.

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just Northwest? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: Mount Rainier from Tacoma

This week our Outdoor Photo of the Week is from Tai Nguyen.

This photo is taken from atop an apartment building in downtown Tacoma. It gives a small glimpse of Tacoma with the backside of the convention center, the bridge and the Tacoma Dome. This picture was taken on Sunday, February 21st.

You can view more of Tai's work at www.tywynn.com.

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just Northwest? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.

Outdoor Photo of the Week: A Northwest sport

Today's Outdoor Photo of the Week is from Brian Stern.

Here's what he had to say about it:

Saw this picture and thought of you guys.

Only in the northwest will you find such a native willing to bear the February cold, to catch some ferry waves!

You can view more of Brian's work at his site briansternphotography.com

Think you've got a great outdoor photo? Want to see it hosted on Just Northwest? Send your submissions to justsouthofnorth@gmail.com.

Please include your name, a short caption about the photo (date, location, and what makes it special) and your location.

Check back each Sunday for a new Outdoor Photo of the Week.