Schoonover Bluff

This is Schoonover Bluff on Indian Creek near Anderson Missouri.  The Autumn colors aren't quite out yet but the vine on the bluff has turned.

Impressions from Leavenworth

The Wenatchee River flows through it and the surrounding mountains are beautiful.

The town has been made over in a "Bavarian" theme.  There is no historical background for this other than the setting and the desire of the townspeople to make it attractive to tourists.  The town has an Oktoberfest and Christmas lighting festivals each year.  There are wineries and fruit orchards in the surrounding area as well as a ski hill, the mountains, and the river.

Full Disclosure:  The two people in the photograph should have been there but they weren't.  This being Oktoberfest, there was a parade and they were at the head of it.  I've photoshopped them on top of the background.

And this is the real parade.  One of the more important participants was the beer wagon.

Sunset in Fauntleroy

It was the most sensational sunset I've seen yet in West Seattle....

Impressions from Poulsbo

A nice harbor

A main street that reflects (somewhat) a Scandinavian heritage.  Norwegian was largely spoken until WWII.  The town name was meant to be Paulsbo, but it was mistaken for Poulsbo on the handwritten post office request and has remained that since.

An artsy craftsy feeling.  In the case of this take on American Gothic, a quirky one at that.

Impressions from the San Juan Islands

Rush hour

Busy downtown shoppers

Limited downtown parking

Public transport

It Rains, It Snows

A neighbor told me that in Seattle it is like someone throws a switch in October.  It starts to rain.  And of course at higher elevations it starts to snow.  This week it started to rain and I noticed new snow on "The Brothers", a pair of mountain peaks visible out the back of the house.  A glacier is visible year round.  Snow was predicted last night at elevations above 5000', and the taller peak stands 6,842 feet (2,085 m). 

The Brothers were named by George Davidson, the same surveyor who named Fauntleroy, in 1853.  George married Ellinor Fauntleroy, and the mountains were named in honor of her two brothers.

The weather forecast this time of year is pretty simple:  If it is not raining, it soon will be.

Dahlias

I haven't posted a collage of flowers for a while so here you go.... There is a bumble bee near one of them if you look closely.  It was a cloudy but still day today - perfect for photographing flowers in in Tacoma at Point Defiance Park.

Closed for Season

There is no lifeguard on Lake Washington.

It is too cold.

Although it would have been too cold in August.

Without a wetsuit.

But with a wetsuit you could easily swim now.

So, why no lifeguard?