Timberline

   

 Mt. Hood is one of my favorite destinations in Oregon. Along the road are water falls and vistas that take your breathe away. All along the road are deep forests with under growth that is taller than the average man. There are many hikes to choose from and in the summer a short hike will yield huckleberries and black berries.

 At the timberline is Timberline Lodge. A ski resort that was built with surrounding timber during the late 30s by the WPA. It has been the site of a few movies but what makes it really cool is the architecture and the art inside.

The inside has huge logs and tributes to the Indian art of the area.Outside are stonework walls that match the ones along the Columbia Gorge.

Higher on the Mountain are Olympic ski runs. The runs are some of the best in the nation. There is snow on the mountain year round so a quick trip from Portland will entertain you all day no matter what time of year.

Growing up in Portland you always looked East for the Mountain. On a clear day at sunset it turns pink and purple. It can be dangerous too. Many loose their lives when sudden storms appear out of nowhere. Wild and majestic it calls to the soul.

Me and My Shadows

 There are times when amazing things happen in the camera despite my best efforts to take an ugly picture. This lovely photo was taken at Kauai at the airport and the crack of dawn. Actually dawn hadn't come to the island yet. I put the camera on a car and hoped that I could keep it still enough to get a good clear shot in the dim light. The result surprised me as the color was so vibrant and the shadows of the trees so perfectly dark that it just made me smile and I became determined to capture the moment even though my companions were waiting for me. Even the dark shadow of the mountain lends some contrast to the variations in the sky. This is a favorite.

We went to Oahu from Kauai for a day at the Pearl Harbor memorial. There would be no way to take a picture without a body in front of the subject so I took a picture of a body in front of one of the many windows. I like to think that this young man is learning about this time in history and reflecting on it's significance. Because he is in shadow it implies a certain reverence for the subject and place.

That Is Really BIG

 There is a smurf in Paris! well he doesn't look that big until you look at the little cars. As are all things in Las Vegas, it is really BIG.

 The Bellagio looks BIG here but has been dwarfed by the Cosmopolitan.

The Eiffel tower isn't as BIG as the original in Paris but is still taller than some of the hotels surrounding it.

 130,000 people visit Vegas on a average daily basis. The city has the capacity to house 48 million visitors a year. If each of them is given 1/2 of a service person there are 200,000 people on the strip on average every day. That's BIG!

 

The only things that aren't BIG are the people performing, the people clubbing, and the people getting married but a steady diet of BIG will take care of that.

Signs of the Times

 Signs are everywhere. They tell us where to go, and how to get there. Creativity abounds with signs. These signs are in Flagstaff. Some are hotels, Some are flyers. Some are wind chimes that call attention to itself. So today it is fun..with signs.

 Route 66 has many signs that are still in use and are thus preserved.

 This is one of my favorites. It sells burgers and dogs.

Even clocks are signs telling me the time.

 Thank you Flagstaff for providing so much sign fodder for my camera.

Another favorite sign is the Sinclair Dinosaur. This sign is huggable!

Japanese Gardens

The Japanese Gardens were built in the 70s and the first time I went it was as part of a school field trip. I remember that in preparation we learned about the tea ceremony and how to write a Haiku. You have to hike up a hill to get to it as the parking lot is down below but they offer rides up and down the hill all day.

 This is one of my favorite waterfalls. This place is peaceful and enjoyable with lots of places to sit and rest and look at the beautiful garden.

 I also like fountains as well and this one is a little different. The fountain fills the bamboo stick. Once it is full, it falls toward the pool at the bottom and empties into it. Once empty it snaps up to be filled again. What is so lovely about this fountain is that it takes several minutes to get full. It makes me stop spinning and slows me down as I watch it go through its cycle several times.

 This fountain is just visually fun because it creates the same ripple effect that is raked into the rocks around the garden. It is a reminder of how one person affects others and they affect others, etc. One small act can change the world.

Upper Oregon Coast

I was recently watching a show that was set and partially filmed in Portland. The characters went to Astoria for the day. They took a ferry. This was totally inaccurate.

There is this really cool trolly. I didn't get to ride it this time. I just had to watch forlornly as it passed me by. Just like this little boy.

 Astoria isn't an island. It was named after one of the lessor famous Astors. Many people visit the Astor Column. It actually looks more like a lighthouse but it isn't one. The view is stunning, and many people climb the winding stairs to the top to fly a balsa wood airplane off the top. There isn't really any flat land in Astoria. It is all on a steep hill. It was featured in the movies Free Willy and Short Curcuit.

Most people drive on this bridge to go to Washington, which isn't an island either. It used to be a toll bridge but it is paid for now. Below is some of the roughest water in the United States. The coast guard uses the Columbia River bar to train. They have bar captains that make a $100K each time they guide a ship out of the river and into the open ocean.

 The ship Columbia is a functioning lighthouse. It stays in port and functions as a museum.You can see how small the galley and the sleep areas are and learn some of the history of the era that the ship is from.

 The wreak of the Peter Iredale. This is a ship that ran into the beach. There used to be much more to it when I was a child but it still holds some dear memories. You have to pay to go to the park where this is at now and there is limited parking but it is a fun spot to look for sea stars and muscles and limpets.

 The beach at Seaside. This is the historic site where Lewis and Clark ended their trail.

 This boardwalk once had houses for rent. Now many of them have been sold and torn down for the high rise more profitable ocean views. It is the only beach I have ever gone to with a swing set. The turnaround also has a bathroom that was coin operated. $.10 to get into the stalls.

This is my all time favorite aquarium. It is very old, one of the oldest buildings on the boardwalk now. They used to have the largest lobster I had ever seen and it has been the closest I have ever gotten to an octopus or a seal. The seals are loud and sound like they are burping. You can buy fish heads to feed them and they will bark for your fish all day long. One was named Clara which had a glass eye and was the loudest. she got fed the most.

Trout Creek

This place holds a special place in my heart. Trout Creek has a water fall. This is a place that I was shown after my dad died and many times after that I have come here to seek solace. I love to listen to the water rushing over the falls, the green overgrowing the neglected path and the light peaking through the trees.

It is a short hike to this spot but well worth it. It is off the fire road and downhill from the lone cabin. Along it's banks are huckleberries and ferns as tall as a person. To get to this spot you need to be able to climb over large fallen logs and loose soil.

I have climbed these falls. There are holes in the rocks warn by water that allow you to climb the 10ft upper falls. I have walked the creek from the pool at the camp all the way down to this spot. The way is full of spider webs and crayfish nipping at your toes.

 A carpet of clover.

The tree house is rebuilt and looks lovely. Now it has two stories and more people can sleep in it. Many games were played where water bombs were lobbed from the house to those down below. If you got wet you were out. If you made it, you got a bean prize under neath at the base of the tree.  Such good memories.