Allenson Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 So, the wife and I took a trip last week out to the San Juan Islands of Washington to visit some friends that live out there. We spent the bulk of our time on San Juan itself, as that's where they live. It was a great trip & the weather was outstanding, if actually a little hot during the middle of the day. It was/is very dry out there as apparently it hasn't rained appreciably in many weeks but from what the locals told me, that's pretty much par for the course this time of year. I was quite surprised to learn that yearly precipitation on the island ranges from only 20-30"--they're shadowed by the Olympic Range off to the south-southwest. Because of this, there are several areas on the islands that harbor native prairie/savannah/grasslands. Anyway, here are some shots from the trip: Flying over the Rockies--even a little snow visible on the ridgelines: Mighty Rainier coming into view as we get closer to Seattle: The next morning from the ferry, hazy Rainier and the busy/industrial waterfront: Island headland and the Cascades off to the east from Puget Sound: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allenson Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 Snow-clad Mount Baker and a Washington state-run ferry: From the top of Young Hill on San Juan Island looking northwest over Roche Harbor and toward Vancouver Island, BC: Madrona trees are cool: There are some very tame foxes on the island: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allenson Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 Looking east toward Cattle Point at the very southern end of the island. This is some of the prairie habitat that I mentioned earlier: Saw this fatty hauled-out on the rocks: Yours truly "at the helm" of a kayak, complete with sunhat: Even saw some Orcas. Very cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allenson Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 More of the dry gasslands at the southern end of the island: Some dry, oak "savannah": One more of Baker from the ferry ride back to the mainland: And lastly, flying home over the Cascades--nice to see snow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallow Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamarack Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Madrone looks so out of place and "tropical" amid the hemlock and Doug fir, more like something you'd expect in a park near San Diego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allenson Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 Madrone looks so out of place and "tropical" amid the hemlock and Doug fir, more like something you'd expect in a park near San Diego. Yeah, it did look a little out of place. Not sure what its natural history is but there's certainly plenty of it out there. One naturalist fellow I spoke with said in some places where it grows as an almost pure stand, there's actually too much--the trees are too closely spaced, thus leading to reduced air movement and a fair bit of fungal disease just growing away in the stagnant air. And the oaks in the savannah setting are 'garry oaks': http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_garryana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallow Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Just to show how huge of an impact the rain shadow has... Notice the area near Sequim (pronounced "skwim") on the north end of the Olympic Peninsula that gets only 10-20 inches of rain a year, even though it's right on the Strait of Juan de Fuca (essentially an arm of the ocean). Meanwhile, places like Sekiu, only 60 miles to the west (and a relatively flat drive) average over 80 inches a year. http://maps.google.com/?ll=48.206371,-123.027649&spn=1.272152,2.469177&t=h&z=9&vpsrc=6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quakertown needs snow Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Great Series! Thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhotoGuy Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Great Photos! Nice Job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allenson Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 Thans guys! And Mallow--yep, I looked up some precip maps and numbers while I was out there and found the very one you posted. Pretty interesting stufff, fo' sho'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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