The elegant fellow above is a Steller's jay whom I caught preening at the northbound rest stop on Lake Shasta, where we usually stop for lunch on these northbound trips. This stop was enlivened by a turf war between the Steller's and scrub jays, all of whom thought that particular tree was theirs. There are more jay shots in the gallery.
The amazing thing about this stop was Lake Shasta - it was full! Every other time we've been there, it had a "bathtub ring" of bare red dirt, sometimes yards wide. This time the water is right up to the trees.
We spent our first night in Grant's Pass, Oregon, where Jim discovered the Oregon Cavemen on his morning walk. In the photo gallery there's a photo of the sign explaining the cavemen, and a picture of the statue outside the Chamber of Commerce. Just go look at it. That's all I can say. This is pure local history, and the linked article has no photos.
We stopped for a day in Washington to visit my friends Tammy and Dan Domike, whom I originally met online through Adam Felber's Fanatical Apathy blog (now closed, alas); they live in Hoquiam, in the Gray's Harbor area. We drove through Gray's Harbor and Hoquiam on the way to Lake Quinault a few years ago but didn't stop. Because Tammy and Dan know the owner, we got a private tour of the 7th Street Theatre in Hoquiam, a lovely theatre, beautifully restored, the first in the Northwest to show "talkies." Take a look at their web site, it's a fascinating place. I got 3 shots of the interior, which are in the gallery.
We spent the rest of the day poking around the harbor at Westport, WA, a few miles away. This isn't the port it was when lumber was king, but it's still a working fishing port in a beautiful setting. We were fortunate in a beautiful day and a clear view of the Olympic Peninsula:
The gallery has more shots of the harbor and the boats, including several shots of gulls, brown pelicans, a cormorant, a harbor seal, and a duck I haven't identified yet; plus a couple of shots of Dan and Tammy! We stopped at the Westport Museum and got a look at the Fresnel lens from the old lighthouse, moved to the museum when coastal changes made the lighthouse unusable. If you've never seen a Fresnel lens, they're quite a sight:
The bird that I tentatively identified as a white-winged scoter has now been positively identified as a pigeon guillemot! I've changed the caption; thanks to my birding friend Janet Bingham for the tip.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pics, the narrative, and the reference to Dan and Tammy. Warmed my Felbernaut heart.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous David
Lighthouse fresnel lenses work on the same principle as those which fit onto the backs of view cameras. They intensify (or focus) the available light and project it outward. The light is "blurred" slightly.
ReplyDeleteLighthouses are a gas.
Read my post on Guillevic/Justice, about a poem devoted to a lighthouse (and its keeper).
I would have gone fishing at least once by this time of year, but the swollen creeks and rivers are too high and roiled for decent approach.
ReplyDeleteAnd the fish don't behave either under these conditions.
It's a small price to pay for full reservoirs and lakes. May we continue to have such good annual rainfall!
Very thhoughtful blog
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