Hurricane Ridge Photography | Our Washington Trip Adventures | Washington Travel

Last month Marcus and I made our way to Washington State. This trip was a happy unexpected surprise as one of my couples graciously flew me out to have their engagement session photos shot. Nothing right now is normal so travel there with a plane half full and masks required the entire time was different. Our first day in we went to the must-see places of Seattle. We explored the Pikes Place Marketplace and walked the gardens surrounding the base of the Space Needle. I checked the Space Needle’s website daily up until we arrived and we just did not get there in time for it to be open. I think we will definitely check it out more when we go back in future.

Friday we made our way up the PNW for our engagement shoot where we were able to enjoy an adventure session with my couple while enjoying the deer and lake views of Lake Crescent. I seriously could have stayed at Lake Crescent for a solid week. It was a cloudy day with fog coming over the tops of the mountains. It was so beautiful. Next time we are here, we will definitely be kayaking around this beauty and attempting the King Storm Trail! (You can check out their amazing engagement session here)

Lake Crescent

We stayed the night in a Port Angeles airbnb, which had 4-week old toy poodle puppies!!!! THEY WERE SO LITTLE! I do not have photos but they were cute. The next day after a peaceful night of sleep, Marcus and I made our way to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. A lot of Washington had been closed due to COVID; so I jumped on this opportunity when Hurricane Ridge opened back up a week before our scheduled trip. This location did not disappoint. The drive up the mountain gives you a little teaser of what you will see as you climb above the clouds on winding roads. The spectacular mountain views hit you right in the face once you get to the top. We just sat and soaked it all in for a little while. Washington is the Evergreen State; the whole mountain smelled like a crisp Christmas morning. The air was so fresh and walking the trails were a true pleasure. Deer are so used to people they would just walk out right in front of you. This location was easily a top highlight of our time in this beautiful state.

Can’t get Enough of Lake Crescent?! Don’t worry neither could I! I shot a whole adventure engagement session at Lake Crescent. You can check it out here!

Hurricane Ridge

Sunday and Monday were both spent back in the city exploring places like Discovery Park on the beach in the sun, checking out Washington Waterfalls, and Kerry park with the awesome views of downtown Seattle. There are so many more spots I want to explore in the state of Washington, But I feel like we were blessed enough to see a lot while we were there! Huge shout out to Marcus for being the best driver and getting to our places safely and on time!!

Can’t get Enough of Discover Park?! Don’t worry neither could I! I shot a whole couples session at Discover Park in the morning! You can check it out here!

Discovery Park

Snoqualmie Falls

This little day trip is only 45 minutes outside of downtown Seattle. Out of all the stops we made on this trip this location was by far the most touristy and populated. It is easily accessible, which I think was part of the draw for people.
I really wanted to venture to the bottom of the falls but it was closed at the time we visited. The hike from the top to the bottom was not hard but it wasn’t easy. We all were out of breathe when we got to the bottom only to find out there was a parking lot at the bottom we could have driven to instead. I would 100% do an engagement session at this location only if the bottom of the falls trails were open at the time. Other than that I would probably not visit this location again.

Our Day Trip to Two Harbors Minnesota | North Shore Photography | Personal

Gooseberry Falls & Two Habors Lighthouse Photography

Please enjoy this small day trip we took from St Paul to the North Shore of Minnesota which included Duluth, Gooseberry Falls, and the Lighthouse in Two Harbors, Minnesota!

Basically enjoy this Minnesota Dream and some of the best that our state has to offer!

Grand Marais Photography | Our Camping Trip at Grand Marais Camp Grounds and Adventure Exploring the North Shore | Minnesota Travel

Our Camping Trip at Grand Marais Campgrounds and Adventure Exploring the North Shore

We are not extreme campers by any means, but we love giving it a go at least once a year. We chose Grand Marais Campgrounds in downtown Grand Marais, which was our first time.
We made a couple of stops along the way which you can check out here: LINK TO BLOG POST

I have always wanted to explore these parks up north that are just too far away from the Twin Cities to even be able to do a day trip to visit them. This was our chance at enjoying the Minnesota North Shore to the fullest!

Our campsite was to say the least cramped. Despite COVID, you could tell that this campsite was made to fill the area to make the most money a day and because of that there was not much privacy at all other than being in the safety of our tent and politely ignoring both families on either side. The more private options were tucked further in the woods up the hill, which is something we would be open to doing in the future. But with how cramped we all were in the space I don’t think we would do this campsite again. I did love how close it was to downtown and in walking distance of the Java Moose Coffee shop. I wanted to try the World Best Donut shop which I have been following on Instagram for over a year. Save your heart the disappointment; they were just the world’s OK-est donuts. Nothing life changing but the shop was right next to the bay in walking distance of our campsite. It was relaxing to eat them right on the still water and then make our way to the Grand Marais Lighthouse.

Our campground sits right across the bay from this little lighthouse. In the morning we took our time and walked over to the lighthouse after eating our donuts. The lighthouse is small but sits above crystal clear water on Lake Superior. I would say this an easily accessible stop you should enjoy on your next trip to downtown Grand Marais.

Artist Point Lighthouse - Downtown Grand Mairas

Grand Portage National Park

This was a completely paved walking trail up until you got to the ramp to get to the waterfall views. I thought it was such a cool idea that they made this park wheelchair accessible. I do not believe I have seen that before to this compacity. This park was also within sites of the Canadian border. Marcus and I have been at the Canadian border three times now without having the ability to cross over. (The border is currently closed due to COVID.) The walk was pleasant and close to the parking lot. I greatly enjoyed the view of Minnesota’s Tallest Waterfall! Dunder loved it too. (See photo below)

Judge C.R. Magney State Park- Devil’s Kettle

My brother Christian inspired this spot a long time ago when he introduced me to it! The 4th photo (bottom left) has a water fall on the left that they still do not know where the water goes. It just goes to a hole in the ground. It is so up north that is has been years later since first hearing about it that we were finally able to make our way up to see it ourselves! The stairs to these falls were monsters! Seriously, this was the most we worked on our little weekend get away to get to the falls and back. I think Marcus ended the day with well nearly 30,000 steps on his watch. Be sure to bring your hiking shoes if you want to see this one for yourself.

I enjoyed our adventure up the North Shore. I highly recommend it. Please comment if you want recommendations!

Can’t Get enough of what you see?! I don’t blame you!! I wrote a blog on where to stop on your way up the North Shore and How to Prepare for your engagement Session at a State Park! Check them out if you are craving more North Shore goodness.