Summerland

On our way home we stopped in Summerland hoping to connect with a friend there. Unfortunately that didn't work out, but we did luck out with a half price mid week deal at the Lakefront Hotel, which happens to be next door to Local, one of our favorite restaurants in Summerland. The Lakefront Hotel is also relatively eco-friendly, using geothermal for heating and cooling, and with a small natural wetland between the hotel and lake.

In the morning I was planning to walk around the wetland with my camera, but it started raining so instead I set up my tripod, gimbal head, and long lens on the balcony which was sheltered from the rain. It was a little far from the wetland, but it was fun to watch the ducks and the red-winged blackbirds. I also saw what I think was a muskrat swim by. (One of the staff told me there was a "baby beaver" but I suspect muskrat.)









I also couldn't resist a few shots of the rain falling on the hotel swimming pool.



After the rain stopped we went for a walk around the wetland. That let me get some closer shots, but the vegetation blocked a lot of the view.





These were taken with the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary which I've been pretty happy with. Since it focuses quite close, in a pinch it'll do for other subjects like flowers.



At supper at the Local we had a couple of glasses of wine that I chose by my usual scientific method of: local (in this case Summerland) and something different (Gamay Noir). We really enjoyed the wine so we stopped by the winery (Okanagan Crush Pad) on our way out of town. Unfortunately, they were sold out of that one but we picked up a few others.



I also took a few pictures wandering around town, including this California quail in someone's front yard. They are such humorous birds.



And this tiny flower in a ditch, which turned out to have wonderful details.



For more of these, see all 31 photos as a slideshow or overview

Rainy Day

The nicest thing about the rain is that it always stops. Eventually.

- Eeyore

We woke up to a wet world, and the rain kept up most of the day. After an extended coffee shop visit (at Good Mood Food - recommended), we weren't sure what to do. I loved the look of the clouds swirling around the trees on the mountains, but I didn't want to stand out in the rain with my camera. So we drove around for a while, first west on highway 2 along the Wenatchee river, and then south along Icicle river. When there was a place to stop Shelley would pull over and I'd shoot photos out of the car window. I kept a towel handy to dry off the rain that got in the open window, and a lens cloth to wipe off the lens when it got rained on. I wouldn't say it was the ideal setup, but I was happy to capture a bit of the scenery.











For lunch we went to Anjou Bakery in Cashmere. It had been recommended to us last time we were here but we hadn't managed to get to it when it was open. It's worth a visit if you're in the area.

For more of these, see all 18 photos as a slideshow or overview

Leavenworth

Our plan was to rock climb and paraglide in Leavenworth (WA). The paragliding part didn't work out, but we got in a few good days of climbing. The first day we did a couple of three pitch trad routes. The second day we did some single pitch sport routes. Granite slab climbing with no holds takes some getting used to! There is lots of climbing around Leavenworth but it is spread out over a bunch of different locations so both days we climbed we had the sites to ourselves.







We also visited Silvara Winery, where we enjoyed the wine (particularly the unoaked Chardonnay, Meritage, and Malbec) and the tons of flowers in their gardens. When it rained all the next day we went back and enjoyed the live music (and more wine, of course!) There are lots of tasting rooms in Leavenworth, but it's much nicer to visit the wineries. It's a hard life being dirtbag climbers :-)

Shelley read her book while I took photos of the flowers. Don't worry, I still managed to drink my wine :-)







The bees were enjoying the lavender: (check out the load of pollen)



I'm not sure what these interesting flowers are:



I love nature's intricate designs and small details.





(two handheld shots focus stacked)

For more of these, see all 32 photos as a slideshow or an overview

Jacksonville 2

We stopped in Jacksonville again on our way north. (Before Smith Rock, posted out of order.) We made another attempt to paraglide at Herd Peak. This time it was quite calm at the bottom and we were hopeful. But when we got to launch it was too windy again. The next day we hoped to fly at Woodrat but it was raining :-(



Jacksonville has a number of parks and trails. These photos are from Forest Park.











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Smith Rock State Park

On our way north we stopped in Bend to visit Smith Rock, a well known climbing area that we had never visited. It was midweek so we thought it would be easy to find somewhere to stay. But the nearby campsite was full and so were the next few hotels we tried. Eventually we found a motel with a room. We asked what was going on, but no one seemed to know why it was so busy. Waiting for supper we hung out at the Patagonia store, where I picked up a copy of Tools for Grassroots Activists. When we went to leave we found the store had been closed for some time.



Climbing areas aren't always very scenic, but Smith Rock certainly was. There are a ton of climbs here, most of them well beyond our level. But with the help of Smith Rock Select we found a few fun routes to do. (For simplicity we stuck to bolted sport routes.) The climbs were quite busy, despite it not being a weekend.







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Redwoods

“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.” - Martin Luther

From Mt Shasta we made a loop south, out to the coast, north to Crescent City, and then back across to Jacksonville. Our main stop on this loop was Redwoods National Park. We walked the trail at Lady Bird Johnson Grove. I love big trees but they are a difficult subject to photograph!

Shelley laughed at me because I didn't even make it out of the parking lot without taking photos. This is a little warped from making a panorama from several shots.



The trees are so old that they have survived many fires and other incidents over the years. This big one was hollowed out and burnt, but still standing strong.



Looking up inside:



Getting a person in the picture is one way to provide perspective.



Another is to look up, way up!



The big trees tend to shade out most other growth on the forest floor, but there was still plenty to see. The ferns were lush and green.





And the lichen was thick on some of the branches. (tinted b&w)



The birds were singing, but too far up to see. Not many other critters apart from this snail crossing the trail.



These flowers were common, I think they're Douglas Iris



The rhododendrons were past their peak but still had a few flowers.



There were also quite a few small wildflowers of various kinds.



We also stopped on the coast before heading inland again



For more of these photos, see all 50 as a slideshow or overview