Monday, January 19, 2009

A FEW WEEKEND PHOTOS

Mrs. Snave and I took a brief trip this weekend to see the kids. I took along my new camera and played around a bit with it.

This is the pathway at Smith and Bybee Lakes Park in Portland, OR. The park includes over 2,000 acres of wetland the city set aside from development:
Mrs. Snave and I were there on Saturday with one of our daughters for a birdwatching field trip put on by the local Audubon Society and a birding store. Some of the birds we saw included Brown Creeper, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, and a thrush... the group couldn't decide if it was a Hermit Thrush or a Swainson's Thrush.

This is one of the lakes. It wasn't far from here that my daughter made the "spot" of the day: two river otters eating a 2-3 foot long carp.

This is a nice sculpture at the park's parking lot! It seems Portland is chock full of stuff like this... whether you are downtown or out in a wilder area of the city, you can expect to see the unexpected:
On the way home yesterday we took a side trip from Portland to Mt. Hood via US 26. Here is the mountain (elevation 11, 245 feet) from about 7,000 feet at the Timberline Lodge parking lot:

This view looks south from the same spot. Mt. Jefferson is visible on the horizon near the right end of the picture:

We will go back and see this place again in summer. We had wanted to take a look inside Timberline Lodge (where "The Shining" was filmed), but there were too many skiers, too many cars, it looked like a parking permit was needed, etc.
If any of you are coming to Oregon and would like some travel advice on places to go, things to see, stuff to do, feel free to inquire. I am one of the state's more ardent promoters!

11 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

BEEEEYOOOTIFUL! I got to drive by Mt. Shasta in July. They are so much more impressive even than you can capture in a pic, but you did a great job!

11:22 AM  
Blogger MRMacrum said...

Spot of the day indeed. And breaking bread no less. Otters are fascinating critters. Very gregarious and clannish. Adults will be seen playing with the kids. But don't ever approach one. A live one that is. I was nipped pretty good as a youngster.

I know you folks have different gangs of birds that hang out on the West Coast. Right now we are hard into winter and most of the smart ones out this way have looked for warmer climes. Blue Jays, Chickadees, , crows, eagles, Turkeys, and some hardy Cardinals about all ther is still keeping the home fires burning.

It has been a long time since I stood at 7,000 feet and looked out. There is indeed a difference between there and here.

Anyway, Looks like you had a nice easy trip. Best kind.

1:38 PM  
Blogger Sheryl said...

Purty! Thanks for sharing! :-)

3:45 PM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Nice pictures. Portland sounds like an interesting place. I've just driven through it (or past it) a few times. Chuck Palahniuk (the author of Fight Club) has a book of short stories and anecdotes about his early years in Portland neighborhoods. He really brings the city to life.

3:58 PM  
Blogger Jim Marquis said...

Nice pics. That was a cool sculpture.

4:20 PM  
Blogger Lew Scannon said...

The top picture reminds me of Huff park, where I take my kids on weekends to spot deer, beavers, herons, snakes, and if you're really lucky, a fox kit or two.

6:46 PM  
Blogger Terence Towles Canote said...

Wow. Beautiful photos.

7:52 PM  
Blogger Snave said...

Thanks all, glad you like!

Portland is indeed a cool place. There is one thing it does not lack... character! I'm still not sure what all the bumperstickers I see there that say "Keep Portland Weird" mean, but after having spent lots of time there in the last year, I think I am beginning to figure it out.

Places to see in Portland for me include Voodoo Donuts, Music Millenium, Kornblatt's traditional Jewish deli, Washington Park, Riverfront Park, Pioneer Square, Powell's Books (the "City of Books"), the Aladdin Theater, Esparza's Tex-Mex restaurant... too many cool places to mention!

At some point I will do a little travelogue piece on my favorite of cities.

And did I mention that the county in which Portland sits votes about 2-1 in favor of Democrats? 8-)

8:06 PM  
Blogger Snave said...

Actually, Keep Portland Weird has a website:

http://www.keepportlandweird.com/

It has to do with businesses that help contribute to Portland's uniqueness.

8:08 PM  
Blogger S.W. Anderson said...

Great photos. Plus, it's nice to see a park not buried in snow, as they all are in my corner of the inland NW.

MrMacrum, it's not quite as high, but Mount Katahdin is still quite impressive and very scenic.

11:44 PM  
Blogger Carlos said...

Beautiful pics. I haven't been in that neck of the woods forever.

3:00 AM  

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