I’m on the road exploring the Pacific Northwest with my dad for the next week or so. Road trip! Adventure! I look forward to all this fall has to bring.

My first photographic specimen is of Roosevelt elk as we entered Redwood National Park. Around this time of year, a bull will gather with his own personal harem of a dozen or more lady elks. Here they gathered right off the roadside and didn’t seem particularly camera shy.

But they are quick. Or my camera is slow. I just barely got the tips of this bull’s antlers as he ducked behind the brush.

And this one got his head chopped off completely. I guess I’m not ready for National Geographic just yet.

At Redwood National Park, not to be confused with Humboldt Redwood State Park, trees grow under the most unusual conditions (or should I say, around?).

A short stroll left us feeling dwarfed- and we’re not easy to impress with redwoods. Even with visits to Avenue of the Giants and Sequoia National Park, and Muir and Armstrong Woods in my backyard, this is easily the highest concentration of huge trees altogether.

Big Tree didn’t seem that much bigger than all the other ones we passed.

Redwoods love sharing the same roots- this one base has grown three different trees.

We continued heading north and came to this funny tourist trap, “Trees of Mystery” just before we hit Oregon. My dad remembered seeing it as a kid, so I voted we pull over.

Hey, I thought this guy was from Wisconsin.

By evening, we arrived safely in Oregon and had a lovely seafood dinner at Gold Coast. Tomorrow, Portland and beyond!