Watching for gifts on the Trail of Ten Waterfalls

Not since I waited with 200 other Yosemite travelers to witness a real rainbow over Rainbow Falls, have I been so excited about a . . . waterfall. Italy has hill towns. Oregon has waterfalls. Even if you're an avid hiker and love everything outdoors, waterfalls can become, I don't know, too familiar (and not fully appreciated every time). May in Silver Falls State Park in Oregon reminded me to keep watching deeply, as if the Universe will open and offer a gift to those paying attention.

The water thundered over all of the falls along the Trail of Ten Waterfalls that May day, rendering photos impotent to carry the power without sound. Upper North Falls was no exception, though it is one of the slimmest chutes on the trail. It is the third tallest, flows through a basalt crack opening at the top, plunges straight down more than 136 feet and crashes over a missile-shaped basalt column and into a large pool.

At the moment I picked up the phone to shoot this "mundane" falls shot, fickle light spilled over the basalt crest, and seemingly into the pool below.