Twin Falls

It is a very pleasant walk to Twin Falls and back in Olallie State Park, a distance of 3 miles return and with about 500' of elevation gain.

Santa Train

It was a foggy day but the Santa Train was running from the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie to North Bend and back today.  Lots of kiddies and parents were waiting for a ride at the old depot.  The television series Twin Peaks was filmed in North Bend and Snoqualmie.

Driftwood at Lincoln Park

When I saw this piece of driftwood while walking along the beach below the house I thought it looked like a heart.  After seeing it on my computer, I have decided it is two figures embracing.

Castle Mountain

Here is a photo from a while back taken in Banff National Park...  Happy Thanksgiving!

San Francisco

I flew through San Francisco the other day and was going to post this photo I took out of the plane window but I didn't get around to it until now.

Sidewalk Art

Jackson is sorry he pushed over the chalk man who was emerging out of the sidewalk.

People were drawing giant eyeballs....

and trying to get into a comfortable position while drawing...

At the Park

Jackson and I checking out the Japanese Teahouse in Hermann Park, Houston.

Clearly I didn't take this photo - Jackson's mother did.

Autumn

The little Japanese maple in the front garden is probably at peak fall colors right now so I snapped a picture.  The Japanese maple is my favorite small tree - the first ones I had in my garden were in England years ago and I had a green one and a red one.  This one has a really pretty shape as well as color.

In unrelated news, I went down to the Occupy Seattle demonstration the other day.  I didn't snap any pictures, although the protesting grandmothers would have been good if I would have had my camera ready.  I did jot down what I thought were the best protest signs:

•  I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one
• 9% unemployed + 90% underpaid = 99%
• Wall Street is shovel ready - bury them with FDR's Glass-Steagall Act

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?



The Underground at Pioneer Square

Yesterday was nice and warm but today for the first time it is beginnig to feel like fall.  The totem pole in the photo stands in Pioneer Square in Seattle.  At the square you can take a tour that tells something of the local history and among other things how the ground floors of the buildings here got to be the basements and why there were so many seamstresses in early Seattle.  It was fun and educational.

Gerona, Spain

These are views from Gerona, a very nice town located not too far from France in Catalunya that has well preserved sections from Roman, Moorish, and medevial times.  I wish we had another day to spend there....

Constancia

I am a sucker for boats and rarely pass up the opporunity to photograph one that I think has character.  This is "Constancia" moored in Barcelona harbor.

Festivals in Barcelona

Today there was a festival at the cathedral in Barcelona.  A statue of the Virgin Mary, patron of Barcelona, is carried to the cathedral.  I am not sure of the details, but another festival includes carrying giant statues and heads.

More Street Performers in Lisbon

I like photographing street performers because firstly they don't mind being photographed - in fact they like it - and secondly they don't get to look at the photograph later and I don't get feedback that it isn't flattering.

Palacio National da Pena in Sintra

It is a long walk to the top of the mountain from town.... much easier to take the bus.

Views of Lisbon

My first impressions of Lisbon weren't that good but it has grown on me.  So far I wouldn't say the food has grabbed me yet though.

Lisbon Street Performer

We saw this guy "floating in air" who was pretty good and a fool blowing bubbles who was trying to take from the tourists.  How does he float in air?  My guess is that some sort of suspension apparatus extends from the cane through his coat sleeve and down his pants somehow.  Pretty good though as he seemed to have most people amazed.  He allowed people to wave their arms under his feet to show there was nothing down there.

Arrived in Lisbon Today

Maybe I'll find an interesting picture or two....

The Sculpture Park

A tree buds.  Taken in the Seattle sculpture park a while back.

It was a foggy day on Mt. St. Helens

This was taken a while back.  I am pretty sure there are rules against posting too many cute chipmunk pictures so I try to space them out a bit.

Seattle Sunset

We've been having nice sunsets lately.

Bridal Veil Falls

I wonder how many waterfalls there are in North America named Bridal Veil?  There must be quite a few.  This one is fed by Lake Serene in the Cascade Mountains.

Salmon Hatcheries

These fish have made it to the Wallace River Hatchery in Washington State.  75% of the salmon caught in the Puget Sound, and 90% of those caught in the Columbia River originated in hatcheries.