I found this guy on the beach at Cape Lookout State Park near Tillamook, Oregon. No idea what his story was but he looked lost. Maybe I should put his photo on a milk carton. Or a Snapple bottle…. 🙂
Ferocious
Category Archives: Travel
No Coffee Here
Yes, there is a town called Starbuck in Washington. But no place to buy coffee. 😉
A Little Humor
Here’s a little chuckle for your Monday. 🙂
Flare (Or Is It Flair?)
Spent some time walking around the harbor at Shelter Cove this evening. An opportunity presented itself…others as well but this is one. The processing is perhaps a bit heavy but it seems to be none the worse for it. 😉
Feeding Frenzy
Sometimes the fishing trawlers come close enough to shore to get a decent photo. This particular one had attracted quite a following, hoping for a chance to catch some discards.
Another Moon Shot
Taken this evening, the night after the full moon!
What Time Is It? How About Island Time?
As if we haven’t been traveling enough, Kathy & I decided to head for Hilton Head Island, SC to (hopefully) escape some of the election shenanigans. Here at the beach we don’t care about a whole lot other than having enough to eat and drink. Oh, and maybe taking a few pictures. 😉
We arrived Friday afternoon to crystal clear skies, awoke to same on Saturday morning but unfortunately are dealing with gale-force winds and a dense cloud layer Saturday evening. So, no “full” moon for us. Fortunately I caught the moon in it’s “pre-full” stage on Friday. And to my way of thinking, since the full moon occurred this morning at 10:30, my “almost-full” moon is “as full” as the moon coming up this evening. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! 🙂
Not That Stonehenge
One of the stops on our drive along the Columbia River from eastern Washington was Stonehenge. No, not the one in England, but the one in Washington. 😉
The Washington Stonehenge is a replica of England’s Stonehenge located in Maryhill, Washington. It was commissioned in the early 20th century by the wealthy entrepreneur Sam Hill, and dedicated on 4 July 1918 as a memorial to the people who had died in World War I. The memorial is constructed of concrete, and construction was commenced in 1918 and completed in 1929.
The dedication plaque on this Washington Stonehenge is inscribed:
“In memory of the soldiers and sailors of Klickitat County who gave their lives in defense of their country. This monument is erected in the hope that others inspired by the example of their valor and their heroism may share in that love of liberty and burn with that fire of patriotism which death can alone quench.”
Weekend In Asheville: A Preview
Kathy & I spent last weekend in Asheville, NC celebrating our 40th anniversary. While the weekend was mostly about celebration, we did manage to do more than just eat and drink – I took a few (hundred) photos. About 770, actually! 🙂
I did something a little bit different (for me) this time, taking only my X-T4 and 3 prime lenses – the 14mm f2.8, 23mm f1.4 and the 35mm f1.4. Before heading out the door I would decide which lens to take, then “see” at that focal length during our outing. I love doing that, as it is a good exercise in visualizing a scene then adjusting with my feet as needed. I mostly stuck with the 23 and 35 except for our visit to Biltmore House, where I used the 14 and which I will detail in a future post or two.
I’m still trying to get through the rest of my photos from our Northwest road trip, so before I spend too much more time with these Asheville photos I’m going to try and get the Northwest photos done first. So expect a little bouncing around the country as I get through the rest of my Northwest photos. 🙂
Wide Open Spaces
Kathy & I have been a little surprised by the questions and comments we’ve gotten from people since we returned from our western road trip. Questions like, “did you have any trouble finding places to stay?” “Where did you eat?” “Are there a lot of people on the road?” And comments that begin with phrases such as “One of these days…” and “When this is all over…” and “If it’s ever safe to travel again…” Yeesh. Of course we’ve gotten our share of “Good For You’s” and “That’s Great.” and we really appreciate that.
When we tell people that we were in Oregon, we sometimes get a shocked look and some kind of question about “how bad was it?” The News would have you conjure up images of us driving down some rural highway with flaming trees falling across the road as we passed. Yes, there were fires nearby. “Nearby” as in 40-50 miles and in another valley and over a ridge or two. Yes, there was sometimes a lot of smoke and at times it got stinky. The fires have been devastating for a lot of people, but for those of us just passing through it was just an inconvenience. Mostly it was like driving in the fog. Yes, in some towns the restaurants and wineries with outdoor seating had decided to close. Who wants to eat or taste wine in the smoke? But there was plenty to see and do and we just had to adjust a bit. There is nothing like a road trip to teach you to be flexible!
My message is that the world is still out there. It’s a big country, and you don’t have to sit at home and watch The News telling you how bad things are. Everything – or just about everything – is open. We stayed away from the “famous” places like Yellowstone and Glacier, mostly because this trip was not about seeing those places. This trip was specifically intended to take us off the beaten path. We’ll get to those famous places at another time.
Restaurants on the road are operating just like they are at home. We carried a cooler with breakfast and lunch, to give us the flexibility to not have to go in search of food in the middle of nowhere. Hotels have scaled back their services a bit but they welcomed us everywhere. Gas is readily available everywhere and we had very little trouble finding a restroom when we needed one.
Not everybody has the travel bug but we do. And if you do, this is really not a bad time to travel by car. Trains, buses, planes and cruise ships? Not yet. But car? No big deal. It’s fall color time – get out there! Figure out how you can travel in a way that makes you comfortable and go. Try an overnight, a weekend or a week. But go! Someday is today, and times a-wastin’!
