I started this blog in 2014 as a way to share my love of photography and the beauty of the Pacific Northwest where I have spent most of my life. Except for a four year stint in Cashmere, where I attended high school, I spent my first 28 years in the greater Seattle area. While attending college at the University of Washington, I started running and completed my first race a few years later.
After graduating from the UW, I worked for WSDOT for a couple of years, briefly for CTS, then as a transportation engineer at HDR Engineering in Bellevue. Although I’d vowed never to set foot in another college class, I ended up at grad school where I took more engineering classes and met my husband.
Scott’s job as a Naval Officer took us to San Diego, Japan and southern Maryland for about four years or so each. We had the requisite two kids and did our best to raise them along with an assortment of fish, cats and dogs. Once we moved away from the States, working made less sense, and then there were little kids to raise. My engineering “career,” mostly in civil but also structural, lasted a mere ten years.
Fifteen years ago, we returned to the Pacific Northwest, moving about 7 miles from Deception Pass State Park. Since then, we’ve lived within the same distance of it, but to the north. And it’s been awesome. Nine years ago, I took up trail running, which has become one of my passions. A few years later, my 11 months older sister started trail running too. Until I played pickleball for the first time, on December 12, 2017, trail running was my favorite recreational activity. Now, I do it as a supplement to the best sport in the universe…PICKLEBALL! My husband plays too.
Our kids are now grown and semi-flown. I continue to trail run, hike, play pickleball, take photos, read, write and spend as much time as possible with people I care about, especially my sister JoDee, who is my best friend.
Reach me at juleerudolf@gmail.com. Please don’t steal my photos or other work. And thank you to my amazing friend and artist, Diana Vincent, for suggesting the name of my blog and other awesome support.
Island Unseen 
I love reading about your life’s journey and hope this Covid thing will be over so that I can pay a visit to the San Juan Islands, one of my favorite places in the world.
Marylee,
Thank you so much. That absolutely makes my day. Sounds like Oak Harbor is in Phase 3 and hopefully, Skagit County won’t be far behind. They were trying to keep people away from the San Juans about a month ago. Here’s hoping that things return to normal so that you can visit the San Juans. I love it there too.
Fantastic great read look forward to more. Ron
RBFotoman57,
Thank you so much. And back at you.
I really enjoyed reading some of your history JuLee. Great to have met you.
Claude,
Aww…that’s very kind. I had heard your name so many times before all of “this” came up (the chance to pitch a story). Mine is not nearly as boot-strappy, but there’s a little bit of it in there. So glad to have met you too.