Today is Thanksgiving and as I sit here listening to the sound of rain falling on the porch around my mom's house, I can't help but think where did this year go? I mean, it's the end of November already and I feel like the summer came and went without so much as a "hey there, how's it going?"
I've made a few promises to myself, one being that next year I'll take a road trip. Even if it's just down to Reno to visit friends, or over to Yellowstone for a few days. Whatever I decide, I have to do SOMETHING. Even though I didn't get to do as much as I hoped I would this year, I did manage to squeeze in a few treks. I'll drop in a few photos here so you can see where I've been over the last five months (since my last post).
Let's see...where to start? Of course! My early morning sunrise moment. One day when I was heading down to mom's house, in July or August, I think. I left my apartment when it was dark, so I could meet my sister for coffee before she started her 7am shift. So, somehow after waking up at 3:30am, I had enough brain function to think 'I should take my camera so I can get a shot of the sunrise if i see one'. So I did. I took my camera. And just about the time I hit Corvallis, I noticed the sun starting to peek over the horizon and decided I'd better stop for a picture. I happened to pass this perfectly picturesque wheat field, and knew I had to go back and take a picture. These pictures don't even do justice to how pretty it was. I'm a sucker for sunrises/sunsets. They're the perfect piece of art, and are different everyday.
That morning, the light was almost surreal, as if I were in a movie. There was nobody else on that road and it was just me and the sun. I know, I know. I sound like a dork. Newsflash! I am!! :) But I just really liked the moment I was having. It was a good moment, in that magical light and I'm glad I had my camera with me!
Moving on...
I did manage to go camping only a few times this summer. What a sad state of affairs!! I promise myself I'll go camping more next year. One of the trips, I trekked down to Siltcoos Lake near Florence. My family used to go there every summer. We would stay at Nightengale's Fish Camp and visit with The Hahns. Well, this summer when I rediscovered it as an adult, I was flooded with memories of my sister and I catching polliwogs and salamanders in the lily pads, speeding around the lake on our 22ft Starcraft boat, enjoying the fight of Blue Gil and Crappy as we caught them from the docks. The Hahns of course are no longer there. They sold out over ten years ago to a nice couple who still own it. And when I told her my history with the place, she was happy to chat with me about all the "old times". Sadly, the lake was hit hard after the 1996 floods and the fish population hasn't rebuilt. The lake is over-fished, but has slightly fewer weeds and it still quite beautiful.
My campsite was at the very edge of the lake, below the now non-working railroad tracks. (The same tracks that used to carry the trains that would wake us up at 3am!) Most of the patrons of Nightengale's are summer dwellers – they are retired and live there in the summer. What a life!! I chatted with a few of the old-timers there and felt very much at home. Regardless of whether there's fish in that lake or not, it's beautiful! And very peaceful to wake up to after a long night around the campfire.
While I was by Siltcoos, I decided to "find out where that road goes..." and took a skinny, winding little road around the lake. Ended up on the top of the hill on a power line road and had a great little view of the valley below and the ocean. Very cool. Wish I had the Jeep for that trip though!!
I went a few other places, did a few other things...but these are the ones that I had my camera with me. I'll post a few more pics another time. Gotta spend some time with the family...Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!
I took a drive today, had to get my coffee fix, and felt the need to get a few miles under my belt on such a beautiful day. I headed west on Canyon Road/Hwy 8/Tualatin-Valley Hwy (yes, same road, 3 names – gotta love Washington County!) headed out to Hillsboro and stopped at Dutch Bros for my regular (no London Fog, sorry DHB). Followed 8 through Hillsboro and toward Forest Grove, and decided to stray from the usual course, when I saw a sign for Hagg Lake. Had never been there so I wanted to see what it was like. I didn't have my camera, just my phone, but here's a quick shot from near the damn (it's an earth dam) the lake isn't that big, the road goes all the way around it (about 12 miles) and it's clear with no weeds and looks like it will be a lot of fun to play in!
After circling the lake and deciding to make a return trip soon, I continued through Gaston, Yamhill and Carlton before coming back through Newberg. It's beautiful out there. The Willamette Valley is definitely one of the best places in Oregon and I'm glad to live here!!
Yesterday, I took a drive out to Oregon's newest State Park: Stub Stewart State Park, near Vernonia. It's very cool! Miles of trails for peds, bikes and horses! I walked for about an hour and a half, and ran into two different horse groups. Made me think of when I was young and took trail rides with my sister and dad. Those were definitely the days... Totally had me thinking about a horse again, but I sure can't deal with all that responsibility just yet. Maybe after I win the lottery and sail the Mediterranean & South Pacific for a few years... :) Then I can settle down on a nice little ranch in Montana and ride the fence line on my nag. haha.
Didn't grab any pictures of SSSP either, but it's definitely a place I intend to visit often, as there are lots of trails and good terrain, not just flat, great hills and beautiful views of the surrounding hills. Too bad they clear clut a lot of it, but it was good to see they'd replanted a few years ago, as the regrowing little Doug Firs are about 3ft tall now.
Next time I go out, I'll drag my camera so I can post pics here for you all to see! :)
Okay, so I've been itching for a roadtrip, but since I have other plans for my available funds, I've been limiting myself to small weekend trips. More to come, but these are a few snaps from my last weekend "away".
I haven't been to Bend/Central Oregon in almost a year! Can you believe that!? I sure can't. So, I needed to get my butt over there to see what's going on in the pines. I left from Salem, taking Hwy 22 over the pass, just a few touches of snow left at the end of May, and luckily not horrible traffic, but I did seem to tweak a few speeders off since I had my cruise set at about 60. At any rate, was a great drive, beautiful day. The valley was in the 70s when I left at about 8am, and was around 90 by the time we hit Bend. Just a nice day to go for a drive and visit old haunts. :)
On the way back I was more inclined to snap a few pics, and did so above Clear Lake, overlooking Mt. Washington. The trees below (and all around you at this point) are recovering from a huge burn that took place a few years ago. In some places you can really see the new baby trees coming back. Likely the area was replanted about 4-5 years ago. I'm glad they made the effort to replant. That area is beautiful, and I remember driving through there right after the fires. It was devastating.
Another trip I took was to the Oregon Coast. Just a quick "let's get cool" trip over 26, down to Newport and back home. Always a nice drive. And the trick to escape the valley heat worked, as the fog had already rolled in and cooled things down very nicely at the coast! This pic is near Manzanita, I believe. As I was barefooting it around on the rock ledge overlooking this view, a truck full of Chicago Italians pulled up to get a few snaps themselves. I haven't seen that much gold around somebody's neck in awhile! Wow! You know you're a northwesterner when... :)
The next day, I spent just tooling around the mid-valley area. Happened upon this beautiful field of orange. Situated among all the green grass and hay fields of Marion and Polk counties, it called to me like a beacon and I just HAD to take a few pictures. Doesn't really do it justice, because the colors were SO vibrant. Of course it was really cool to take the pics because when you got down close to the flowers, all you could hear was the buzzing of busy honey bees!! Which made me happy, because our bee population is dwindling fast and I was happy to hear a couple hives hard at work. Not really sure what the planting was, but it was beautiful. Maybe a type of mustard? Sort of looks like a mustard variety, though the mustard fields I've seen are typically much brighter yellow. If you can spot it, notice the lone California Poppy hiding among it's orange colored friends.
Saturday was a beautiful sunny early February day and I decided that since it would likely be the ONLY sunny day between a myriad of wintry gray days, that I'd take a drive! :) And since I'd only been to Stonehenge once before and without a proper visual capturing device, that I should go back for another look. Besides, a drive up the gorge is always pleasant and I had a tank of gas to kill.
Stonehenge (or Washington State's recreation of it) is a war memorial (I believe WW1, not sure though) and it's just across from Biggs, Oregon. About 2 hours East of Portland on I-84. A beautiful drive through Hood River and The Dalles. High atop the smooth Washington hills sits this little recreation. Its pretty cool to be up there and see the Biggs bridge cross the Columbia River. It's at the point in the Gorge, where you've left the lush treed rocky area and are more into Central Oregon (I believe you're actually North of Bend at this point). So everything looks pretty desolate, but beautiful.
I finally saw a hilltop full of all the huge windmills that I'd seen being transported through Port of Vancouver, WA. It's quite amazing actually. I like the idea of wind energy, but it does tend to alter (ruin in some's opinions) the serene landscape.
At any rate, this cold February day I took a few snaps of the memorial Stonehenge site and then took a walking tour of The Dalles. It's actually quite an old city, home of one of the dams that crossed The Columbia River and has three standing courthouse buildings, and a few older churches, including one quite beautiful former Catholic Church. I love historic buildings! So it was quite fun for me to walk around and see all the various architecture.
This pic is of an old bank – quite a cool building – very narrow and long. It's currently housing a Jeweler/Gemologist, but you can still see the vault from the front door.
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.
That morning, the light was almost surreal, as if I were in a movie. There was nobody else on that road and it was just me and the sun. I know, I know. I sound like a dork. Newsflash! I am!! :) But I just really liked the moment I was having. It was a good moment, in that magical light and I'm glad I had my camera with me!
My campsite was at the very edge of the lake, below the now non-working railroad tracks. (The same tracks that used to carry the trains that would wake us up at 3am!) Most of the patrons of Nightengale's are summer dwellers – they are retired and live there in the summer. What a life!! I chatted with a few of the old-timers there and felt very much at home. Regardless of whether there's fish in that lake or not, it's beautiful! And very peaceful to wake up to after a long night around the campfire.
While I was by Siltcoos, I decided to "find out where that road goes..." and took a skinny, winding little road around the lake. Ended up on the top of the hill on a power line road and had a great little view of the valley below and the ocean. Very cool. Wish I had the Jeep for that trip though!!
