I think I've dreamed of having a white Christmas for about 30 years now...every since moving to the Northwest. And I got my wish in 2008! We had a winter storm pass through our area (a few storms actually) but the most recent being earlier this week, and it left about a foot of snow! So even though the cold air has gone to the Cascades...the weather left it's mark on us here in the Portland area. I still have about 6" of snow in my apartment's driveway. Nothing MY vehicle can't trek through (even though I've taken all chains off) but a few of my neighbors have spent a bit of their Christmas day spinning their tires trying to get to a parking space.
We had snow, then a melt, then more snow, then some ice, then yet more snow... which all made for some beautiful scenery for sure. Here are a few pics of the area near my apartment. Didn't want to venture too far with the camera, as it was snowing! :) But a bit of winter from the Pacific Northwest for your viewing pleasure.
This is my ride...resting happily under the carport. I didn't take pictures after the "big snow...These are all from early in the week before the last couple inches. You can still see the curb here...And this is before I had the second set of chains for the back tires. It's like driving a snowcat! :) My rig is extremely capable, and I love having it!
This is a shot standing behind the carport, looking out the apartment driveway. It was so pretty this night because it was between snows and the lights were so orange silhouetting the trees...had to snap a few pics!
Another shot from my driveway. Again, the silhouetted trees look cool. I was just playing around with the camera, taking a few snaps before I went in to get warm!
Oh, and before I forget...I finally got my snowflakes up INSIDE! :) This is how I've been spending my snow days...camping out on my sofa with the fire ablaze!
Happy Christmas to all! :) Hope all your Christmas wishes come true.
I am lucky enough to have a new job this year...and even more lucky to have a week of vacation already!! So, after four months of hard work, I decided I needed a break :) so I was able to head to the greater Seattle area.
On the drive up, I was treated to some beautiful Northwest winter weather – sunny and cold – the mountains were out! I had a wonderful view of Mt. Rainier for many miles up I-5, and after stopping in Lacey, WA for a quick tour of Cabellas (I LOVE THAT STORE) I was able to snap a somewhat decent shot of the mountain before getting back on the highway.
Once at my destination on Puget Sound, the sky show was too much to pass up. And I had to grab my camera. I was moments away from being able to grab a beautiful shot of the sun glinting off the Olympic Mountain Range...but the low lying clouds got to them before I could. So instead, I snapped a few of the loons on the bay, and a beautiful sunset.
I decided to make a voyage over to Seattle proper, since I haven't been there in awhile... and I was needing a dose of "big city" living to bring the size of Beaverton back to reality for me. It takes visiting the hustle-bustle of a larger city to realize that we don't have it so bad, living in the Portland, OR area. It's a wonderful place to reside!
I have had the opportunity to take Seattle's ferries many times in the last few years, and each time is fun for me. I'm sure if you did it everyday, the rides would lose the significance, but for me, since I do it so rarely, it's fun and exciting. I took the Kingston-Edmonds ferry, which takes you from the Olympic Peninsula to the "mainland" just north of Seattle. And from Edmonds, it's only a 15 minute drive into downtown. The ride was cold, but beautiful...and thankfully, very few people out on the sundeck this time of year, so I could be my tourist self in relative privacy.
If any of you know me well – and you do, you'll know that I can't go without my coffee... So first stop was a nice warm Tully's near Pike Street, up a few stairs for this view. Seattle has built in a few "scenic" stairways to move people through downtown in a trendier fashion. I appreciate the waterfalls and their want to bring the neighborhoods into a more walk-friendly area. I dig it. One of these passageways is where the Tully's lives...and you can see the waterfront, and of course Hwy 99, as this elevated portion passes through town. The steps provide a great resting spot for a tired butt, and a very scenic spot to sip your hot coffee.
I got a few miles in traipsing up and down a few of downtown Seattle's waterfront district hills. I enjoyed a conversation with a few of Seattle's finest Community Enforcement officers, who were very eager to help me find my way and were interested to know what Cabella's offers! :)
Anyway, enjoy a few shots of the piers, the Seattle skyline (from a few vantage points) and of some of the architecture that Seattle has.
I was also able to visit the newly opened Columbia Sportswear store on 3rd Street in Seattle (right across from Macy's). Which at this time of year, is beautifully decorated for Christmas! I didn't get a shot of that because I neglected to bring my tripod (DOH!) so even the night shots from the ferry out of Seattle are blurry, but if you squint, you still get the idea of how pretty the city is at night. The best view of the city is from the trailing end of a ferry as you head back across the sound.
Pat and I took off for Oregon wine country on Saturday. Since I now live in Beaverton, she came down to see my new place, and we headed southwest towards Newberg, on Scholls Ferry Road. It's a nice little drive, over Chehalem Mountain, through beautiful Willamette Valley forests and farms.
We headed out to Dundee, and went to the top of the Dundee Hills where vineyards have absolutely taken over. As far as you can see, there are rows and rows of grapes!
What a beautiful day, once you get to the top you can see all the way to Salem and beyond, Mt. Hood looms in the distance and bees are everywhere, zooming back and forth between the acres of grapes. At least we know we still have SOME honey bees to sustain us! Thanks all you vintors! :) I took a few snaps of the view toward Salem and of course, of the fruits that will one day grace the inside of a bottle as a tasty red wine.
I had the opportunity to attend the Hillsboro Air Show this year. Was a blast. Wandered through the antique planes, and passed a very familiar silhouette that I know I'd seen before. Sure enough, a MIG 21 that used to take up residence in Fife, Washington at Jet Chevrolet, was sitting on the runway amongst a few other early era jets. Like this bright yellow F-86 Saber. Beautiful plane. It's cool to wander around these planes that you've always seen on TV and in movies, up close and personal.
Behind these older jets were a few "antique" type planes. One of which was this very cool biplane. I've always had a special place in my heart for biplanes, because they're just so cool! And they seem to be a very nostalgic part of America's history (crop dusters/etc) and to see one of these totally restored guys in person is awesome.
Of course, in addition to all the planes on display, our Armed Forces had all sorts of displays for recruiting and explanation. They had three of these huge helicopters and were giving tours, plus they had a few "rides" for kids. I walked by one tent where there was a completely blacked out mini-bike. Which after talking to the Special Forces Army Ranger sitting behind the table, he explained that the troops drop in the minibikes more often now because they're lighter and smaller and can get the boys to where they need to be faster. Pretty cool, actually.
Tucked over to the side was a very cool little plane, a Hawker Sea Fury. This plane has foldable wings, which allowed them to be easily "stored' on aircraft carriers during WWII. This plane was developed in 1944, and didn't really fly until 1947 by the Royal Navy. The handful that remain intact are now in the hands of collectors and those on the air show circuit.
Along with the F-15s out of PDX, and the F-16 that took a few high speed passes, the F-22 – likely the last of the manned war-time aircraft, awed us all with the amazing speed that plane has! One of the coolest points of the day for me was when the amazing cool and historic P51 Mustang took to the sky with the F-22. It was as kind of like the changing of the guard. The two planes flew a few patterns side by side. Very cool. History and present flying together. While the roar of the P51 was impressive, it was sort of sad when the F-22 kicked on the afterburner and when vertical, leaving the P51 "in the dust". Two very amazing planes and certainly the top of the line in both their eras. Wish I had a pic of the P51 to show you. But that is an amazingly hot looking plane. And seeing the two of them together was very cool.
I went with my friend Skye and her dog "puppy" to the beach to walk her puppy. Puppy is also known as Belly – she was one of two pups Skye had, the other's name was Jelly, get it? (Jelly Belly?) heehee, that was my idea.
We drove over to Seaside and wandered up and down the beach for awhile. Puppy isn't too great on a leash, but once she tires out, she's a sweet little thing and listens fairly well. Other folks on the beach aren't as leash-oriented as they should be, so while Skye had to hold fast to her dog, I was running interference and yelling at dog owners to call their dog away from running straight at us. People!! Dogs on leash!!!
Anyway, we parked at a little park, walked along the beach to the rock/land abutment and then we decided to go up! We hiked to the top (poor Puppy tagged along and was a good sport) and we got to see a great view of Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach from the top of the bluff. We saw a few surfers trying to catch a wave, some folks on a horse ride and just had a great day playing with the dog. Looking forward to walking the dog next time!!
One day I was wandering around downtown Portland with my camera. I like wandering past the new condos under the Freemont (I-405) bridge. They've built a whole community right on the edge of the Willamette, in the industrial area. It's a pretty cool place and if I had the money, I'd buy one of those condos and sit on my deck, enjoying the view of the freighters coming and going.
I also like this area because right down the street, there's a covered arena where you can sometimes spy the Portland's Police horses. That's right, the Portland mounted police's horses are right there in an old building bordering the Pearl District, on the Willamette. It's pretty cool. I had wandered past one day a year or so ago, and there was a girl there walking with a horse. She was a stable hand there. Talked to her for awhile. Pretty cool. She liked her job. Wish I could have that job!! :) But it's nice to see the horses right in downtown every now and again.
They're trying to get more draft-mix horses for the officers, since they're more "sturdy" and can handle the constant pounding of the pavement better than your average horse. They have one Belgian mix and one that's a draft mix with a buckskin. He's beautiful. Giant… so cool. I've always loved draft horses. I still want a pair of draft pair, so I can pull a sleigh one day. :)
One day I took off toward Mt. St. Helens area, and took off up this road past a big cinder cone over by Cougar. This was in July sometime… so I expected to be able to go over the mountains, over in to Skamania County and come out by Hwy 14 east of Washougal. Well, we got 20 miles up the mountain (what a beautiful drive!) and we hit snow! The road was closed, covered with two feet of snow. There were ruts, so those with more balls (& traction and horsepower) than me, had made it through. I wasn't about to try to make my way in the snow, since I was up there more or less by myself, with nobody to help, etc. So I took a few pictures, and turned my butt around and headed back down the mountain.
Got some great pics along the way. Wish I could've made it over the top, but I'm glad I had my camera, so I could grab a few snaps for myself. It's beautiful up there in them thar hills! :) I can see why folks live in the hills. I guess you could consider me a hillbilly too. Since I could think of almost nothing better than having a nice tidy little cabin in the hills. One of these days, look out. You might see Gert standing guard in front of a cabin in the hills!
This is my ride...resting happily under the carport. I didn't take pictures after the "big snow...These are all from early in the week before the last couple inches. You can still see the curb here...And this is before I had the second set of chains for the back tires. It's like driving a snowcat! :) My rig is extremely capable, and I love having it!
This is a shot standing behind the carport, looking out the apartment driveway. It was so pretty this night because it was between snows and the lights were so orange silhouetting the trees...had to snap a few pics!
Another shot from my driveway. Again, the silhouetted trees look cool. I was just playing around with the camera, taking a few snaps before I went in to get warm!
Oh, and before I forget...I finally got my snowflakes up INSIDE! :) This is how I've been spending my snow days...camping out on my sofa with the fire ablaze!
