Opal Creek, with its 800 to 1000 year old Douglas firs and Western red cedars is one of Oregon’s newest wilderness areas: ‘Opal Creek Preserved by Michael Donnelly’ . At the turning point in the loop hike, we chickened out of plunging into the inviting Opal Pool and checked out Jawbone Flats, a fascinating former mining town, complete with rusting machinery and an education center run by the Friends of Opal Creek, with examples of the community’s self sufficiency and living “off the grid”, as well as cabin rentals.

Starting out in Photoshop Lightroom, this photo was run through Photo Matix to create a quasi HDR image. Then I used Topaz Simplify to add that painterly effect.