A photo story

The Tree of Life at Kalaloch

The Tree of Life at Kalaloch, on the Olympic National Park coast in Washington, in July 2024. It was beautiful. It was a mild afternoon, around 69, mostly clear, with only a light breeze. Laura and I were there together, on the same Olympic trip as the deer photo from the park.

The tree is a Sitka spruce, barely hanging on, with its roots exposed over a gap that a creek has carved out of the bluff. It sits on the beach below Kalaloch Campground. When we saw it, it was still alive, and it hadn't fallen yet.

Earlier that day I had been on a fern trail in Olympic National Park. I stood on the sand and took this photo with the Pacific in front of the tree.

A tree like that, still living with its roots in the air, is something you don't forget. It was barely hanging on even then, and it was beautiful all the same.