Vacation 08/14/07 - 08/15/07

The first stop on our vacation trip was to drop off Phoebe and Digger in McMinnville. I already published pictures of the Pembroke puppies. From there we took back roads to Forest Grove and Hillsboro, then followed the Columbia River on Hwy 30.

Approaching the bridge at Longview, WA.

 

View of the Columbia from the bridge.

Tuesday the 14th was our 36th anniversary. We spent the night in Centralia Washington. Mandy and perhaps some others who have attended the (cold, spring) show there may recognize the view from this fine establishment which accepts dogs. It's been freshly painted since the last time I stayed there several years ago, but it still wasn't up to the standards of the Motel 6 at SeaTac.

Lake in back of dog-friendly motel.

For our anniversary dinner, we went out to the Olympic Club, the McMenamin's establishment in Centralia. We actually ate out back on the courtyard, which overlooks the railroad station. Things learned: people commute from Seattle to Centralia via train. On August 15th 1971, we visited a volcano (Mt Lassen) on our honeymoon. With time to kill 36 years later, we decided that a quick visit to Mount Ranier National Park was in order.

Mount Ranier It amazes me when people have to be told this . . .

. . . at a place like this.

There are many places to stop and take pictures of the mountain. The view is always changing.

Climate change.

Butterfly on wild lilac.

Wild Flowers near Paradise Valley road.

 

The photographers at work.

 

The Tatoosh Range The pictures below are from a deep chasm caused by glacial activity. Looking down from the bridge can make you dizzy.

After leaving Mount Ranier, we managed to drive all the way up to Seattle avoiding I-5. It was interesting to see some of the small towns and countryside.

The Nest

The show last weekend in Roseburg was at Stewart Park on the Umpqa River. We had the two spots at the northeast corner of the parking area, with the golf course fence to the east and grass, trees, and a butterfly garden behind us. But there was this big pole in the site. A really tall pole. Right next to where Cheri pitched her tent.

Look up. That's not a light post or a telephone pole. It's an osprey nest.

 

One of the youngsters flexing his/her wings.

A few times we saw one of the adults return to the nest with a fish. We didn't catch a picture that included a fish, unfortunately. Things learned. When you see the butt-end of one of the birds hanging over the side of the nest . . .

Watch out below!

And it doesn't just fall; it comes out in a jet-stream of white/green/yellow liquid. I thought it was quite amusing when Cheri got nailed as we were all sitting around camp. But then . . . as I'm talking to Mandy on my cell phone and just before I went into the group ring with Nikki . . . it got me. The only saving grace for either of us is that Tom did not have his camera out at the time.

 

Heading back to camp Sunday afternoon when most everybody else had left. The picture shows the position of the pole quite well. Ah Oregon, where else can you dog-show camp with Ospreys? And then there was the experience of "Night Golf" on Saturday. Which lasts until the wee hours of the morning and apparently requires much lubrication from the clubhouse.