Tumwater Falls Park 2009

One of my passions is photography. I love to take pictures. What better combination than pictures and favorite locations? These were all taken at Tumwater Falls Park in October of 2009.

As you enter the park, much of it's beauty is hidden behind the Olympia Tumwater Foundation building on the North end of the parking lot. Immediately east of the building is the Hatchery, leaving only a sliver of view of the falls from above. Aside of the trees in the playground and a few beyond the walkways, there's not much sign of the actual falls. Despite this, the entrance to the park itself is a pleasant place for kids to play on some unique playground equipment. Up on the top of the hillside to the west is a restaurant with a fantastic view of the falls. The the entrance is surprisingly quiet despite being a stone's throw from the freeway and surrounded by civilization. It's easy to forget all of that when the park is empty. Most of the time, it is pretty busy though.

This first photo is taken from the walkway that covers the fish-ladder.

The next shot is from the same location. The Salmon run comes up the river here and the fish jump up the falls in large quantities. These people, like myself, came after the majority of fish and crowds. We watched in relative peace and quiet as the few remaining fish tried to make their way to the spawning point.

I managed to capture a decent shot of a fish trying to make it over the wall. Unfortunately, this particular critter kept slamming into the fall (and perhaps the wall behind it) about half way up. I never saw it make it over.

Just past the bridge pictured earlier is the overpass that connects traffic across the valley here. (Is valley the right word? I don't know, but you get the idea.)

This vegetation almost hides the arch and tunnel for the path. Even here, it feels a lot like walking through wild forest.

The small fall pictured above is probably my favorite one from this trip. Tucked off to the side, it might have been easy to miss were it not for the gentle splash of water as we passed.

I'm not sure why I like the long stretching arches of bridges and overpasses. This shot back up the river gives a great view of them, and the way everything seems to compliment each other though.

This bridge is at the end of the path. The large (for this park) fall coming over the rocks here splashes heavy and froths up humidity. Standing on the bridge it's not uncommon to be covered quickly in the soft mist. Watch your step too. The combination of wet walkway and a fear of heights is a danger worth mentioning. If you're a wimp to heights like I am at least.

I can't believe I didn't get a good shot of the bottom of this fall though. It's a sight worth seeing.

The spiders are another good reason to watch your step. They move quickly in the quite hours when people aren't around and weave webs in the way from time to time.

Because great places like this have a beautiful peaceful quality early in the morning when no one else is there. I want to keep it all to myself and not share with anyone.

But then, nothing good is better than when it is shared.

Feedback is appreciated.

All photos taken by and copyright to me October 2009.

Please do not redistribute without linking back to me. As long as you link back here, you are welcome to use them for HubPages. For any other use, or to get a larger copy for any reason, please message me.