Along the Shore Near Tillamook

After venturing east to see a little of the Columbia River, we next turned west to the Pacific Ocean. Our intention was to go to Cannon Beach. But the entire rest of Portland made the same decision. When we got within about 10-15 miles of our destination, we hit a line a traffic that extended as far as we could see.

Columbia River Gorge

We drove east along the rive on the Oregon side on I-84 but for the return to Portland we opted for the more scenic two-lane route on the Washington side. At one point, we rounded a curve high on the side of a hill where we could stop and look back east along the river.

Bonneville Dam

We've been off to Oregon for Memorial Day weekend to do a spot of pet sitting for two energetic kitties. While here, we've done a bit of exploring about. One of our first outings was a drive up the Columbia River to see the Bonneville Dam, its associate power generating station and various fish ladders and bypasses.

Kids

Our neighbors have two young boys, Kit and Winton, who came for a visit and decided painting was going to be fun. Seamus tried to join in but the older boys were pretty far ahead of him.

Sky Valley Motorcycle Show

On Sunday last, the entirety of 1st St in Snohomish was blocked off for a major spring event; the Sky Valley Motorcycle Show. Kind of like having a car show where everyone brings out their spiffy vehicle and finds food, drink, and friends but wearing different clothes and riding on two wheels instead of four.

Flowers and Boxes

Did some local window shopping in the sorts of places that Snohomish is known for...plants and antiques. In fact, we went to a place that sold rose that had antiques!

These fuchsia in the hanging basket above caught my eye. The colors and shapes are most interesting.

A Trip to La Conner

Visiting the historic town of La Conner takes through the southern end of the Skagit Valley. We stopped at a terrific farm stand to see what we could not live with out and I stepped across the street to take in the view. the sky was cooperating with its textures and swirls.

B&W Retrospective

As we take care of business here in Snohomish and deal with doctor and dentist visits, I've looked back in recent folders and reprocessed a few shots in B&W. I like the leaves above for the 3-D effect due to the separation of the leaves and the background.

Bottles

One of the shops in Snohomish sells a variety of bottles. The ones shown above made a nice image, I thought.

Snohomish Farmer's Market

The seasonal Farmer's Market here in Snohomish has started. It is filled with plenty of folks you only expect to see in the Seattle area.

The Random Stuff Sold in Stores

I'm sure that you, loyal follower, have noticed that I frequently include shots of random things that I find in the local stores. I have found that I just enjoy photographing these collections of oddments that have been placed as commercial tableau. They are interesting because they are curious and not found in any homes I ever visit, and because the types of things assembled together are often not things you'd see together anywhere but in an antique store.

Seamus is Really Walking Now!

Seth and I took Seamus out of a walk around the block the other day. I thought you'd appreciate a few images of the little man walking about.

Tulip Town

Leaving Mt. Baker, I drove west to catch I-5. This took me to Bellingham and then I turn south on the expressway. A short way south of Bellingham, I saw a cloud bank in front of me as I drove, clearly rolling in from the west. It was a combination of fog and cloud and seemed to cover everything. Indeed it did. From that point onward, I was in clouds for the next 5 days until the sun finally came out.

But a stop along the way at a tulip farm called Tulip Town not far from Mt. Vernon (about midway between Bellingham and Everett) once again brought a bit of sunshine into the day.

Nooksack Falls

While on my tour of the now deserted-for-the-season Mt. Baker Ski Resort, I found an odd bit off to one side of a parking lot. This small hut is located here beside a giant tree for reasons I cannot fathom. Perhaps people came up here to hunt in the summer 50 or 75 years ago. It certainly makes no sense now.

After seeing this curiosity, I headed down the mountain and found a turn out to see Nooksack Falls.

Mt. Baker

After breakfast and filling up the car for climb up the hill, I started the drive up to the highest place I could drive, the Mt.Baker Ski Resort. The highest altitudes, all the mountains around are covered in snow. This is a new things to this littl' ol' southern boy, but it was pretty cool. I picked the perfect time to go. The clear blue skies and the warm temperatures made this a pleasant and safe trip. The roads were clear and dry.