2018/08/15: Our fire smokey days & nights continue, giving us red morning suns and golden moons,
2018/08/12: A Kodachrome look with the K-tone LUT
2018/08/12: SO after our climb up Olallie Butte we stopped by the Lake Resort in search of ice cream! All the ice cream was gone so we settled for $4.00 cans of beer :)
2018/08/12: Our first return to Olallie Butte in 8 years. Just short of 4 miles and 300O' of EG in each direction Olallie Butte is the highest spot between Mt. Hood & Mt. Jefferson along the Cascade Range.
2018/08/09 The Boring & Dull Social 2018
South Sister Summit Looking North
2018/08/05: Photo edited in Luminar with Nicoolesy Parchment
2018/08/04 Passing through Bend on our Way to the South Sister we stopped at Bend's Whitewater Park for a quick look. Apparently this is fun for some people!
2018/08/05: Our last climb of the South Sister was a night climb in 2015. We decided we better get back this Summer and do it again before the Forest Service slap a threatened permit system on it in 2019.
2018/08/01: Sitting down at the far end of the lake to eat our sandwich we were ignored by all but this duck who approached us like a heat seeking missile. Yes I shared some crusts with her, ironically it was an egg salad sandwich!
2018/08/01: I made countless trips to Trillium lake but I don't think that I have ever bothered to go there in the Summertime before! A lovely evening hike down to and around the lake from Government Camp. Followed by a restorative pint of Ice Axe IPA!
2018/07/27: The Amazon Spheres, nicknamed Bezos' balls they opened in January 2018 they are a mix plant conservatory with over 40,000 plants, office space & meeting rooms. Reserved for Amazon employees only except for prebooked public tours.
Escaping from the Bunker! © Kazuko Kuhara
2018/07/29: A rare treat when hiking down off Tillamook Head towards Indian Beach was the sighting of this grey whale hanging out just off shore.
2018/07/29: I never like to complain about the Summer Weather because it passes so quickly. But this escape from the heat to the misty rainforest of Tillamook Head was a welcome treat while Portalnd baked in it's 8th straight day of temperatures above 90.
Radar Station Juliet-Two-Three
2018/07/29: Hidden near the hikers cabins on Tillamook Head is the old WWII Radar Station J-23. Part of the West Coast US defense against the threat of a Japanese attack. The more adventurous can venture inside where we found one large frog had taken up residence.
2018/07/22: Part of the Eagle Creek burn, heading south on the PCT towards the Benson Plateau.
2018/07/21: A round of crazy golf in a portland cellar to celebrate Kazuko, Fumi & Chiyoko's birthdays.
2018/07/22: Pascal & I tried our hand at the Herman Creek - PCT loop on Sunday. 24 miles and about 5400' of EG. We managed to trudge our way around the loop in 8:45 without any medical emergencies :)
2018/07/19: An after work evening hike from Timberline, cross country to the Zigzag Canyon then back across to the Silcox Hut before heading back down to Timberline lodge and a beer!
2018/07/19: Chiyoko & I stumbled on this creation at the top of the magic mile ski lift above Timberline.
2018/07/15: Fumi practicing here cork catching skills at No Name lake with Pascal :)
2018/07/15: An evening of star gazin' up at McKenzie pass before our Sunday hike to No Name Lake.
2018/07/15: Our first trip to No Name Lake from the North side of Tam McArthur Rim. There is no official trail from The Rim to the lake but a good user path most of the way. Grand views the whole way there!
2018/07/08: We used to camp quite regularly at this old Shelter on the shore of Breitenbush lake back in the late 80's and 90's. until yesterday though it was 12 years since I was last here. Happy to see it again.
2018/07/08: A spectacular day to be up on Jefferson Park Ridge at Sprague Lake.
2018/07/04: Independence day begins with Sunrise over Johnson Ridge at about 5:30 in the morning. About 4 hours sleep in the back of the crosstrek after star pics and it was time to crawl back out the sleeping bag in time for sunrise pics :)
2018/07/03: Actually the Milky way over Mt St Helens. After work we drove the 120 miles up the the Johnson Ridge observatory and waited for darkness and the stars to come out! What we had not bargained on was the 30mph plus wind gusts and flying dust and grit!
2018/06/28: An evening walk along the banks of Deep Creek from the Cazadero trail in Boring
2018/07/01: We celebrated Kazuko's Birthday & Tyler's Canada Day up on Hood with a hike up and around McNeil & the ponds. Darn the snow is melting so fast this year!
2018/06/28: Close to home beginning in downtown Boring the Cazadero trail is a continuation of the Spring Water trail along 3 miles of abandoned railroad right of way along the banks of Deep Creek. At the three mile mark the trail come to an abrupt end due to a missing trestle!
On Vista Ridge in Black & White!
2018/06/24: On our way to Dollar Lake.
2018/09/24: Our annual pilgrimage up Vista Ridge to see the Avalanche Lilies and then on to Dollar Lake for lunch.
2018/06/21: An after work Solstice amble to the Pinnacles from the Herman Creek Trailhead and back. © Chiyoko Meacham
2018/06/17: Poking around one of our favorite places the Wahtum, Tonlike & Chinidere area now that it's no longer off limits after the Sept 2017 Gorge Fire.
2018/06/16: We spent the night camped on the side of an old logging road with a clear view of Hood to the South in the hopes of snapping a few star photos. If and when the clouds cleared!
2018/06/16: The weather forcast was right for once and the skies did clear around Midnight to reveal the heavens!
Flying home from China, a rare treat to fly over the Aniakchak Caldera and Vent Mountain in the Aleutian range.
Away from the glitz and glamour of Shanghai. A cold fired lunch of freshly made noodles in the Agricultural backwater town of Tianfanjiezhen in Jiangxi province.
2018/06/06 Somewhere in China!
2018/06/07: On my whirlwind trip to China last week there really wansn't any time for sight seeing but we did get a couple of free hours in the old pottery city of Jingdezhen.
2018/06/03: A hike from triangle pass, first along an old abandoned section of the CCT and then on to Grassy Knoll & Grassy Pass.
2018/05/28: Breakfast in Mitchell City Park. © Chiyoko Meacham
2018/06/10: Pascal reaching the goal of our little expedition to find Apparition Falls. Hidden in the forest below Zigzag Mt.
2018/05/31: A quick evening hike up & down the old Salmon River Trail.
2018/05/28: Memorial Day we returned to Eclipse Central - Sutton Mt. In the hopes of finding the Hedgehog Cactus in flower. Thank's to Chizuru's eagle eyes we were successful!
2018/05/28: Camped out in Mitchell city park for the weekend we had the chance to visit the Painted Hills in Evening Light at 6-7pm & again in morning light at 6-7am. Watching the colors change in intensity as the Sun rose and set.
2018/05/27: Part I of our Central Oregon trip, a quick hike up the shot Blue Basin Trail. The beginning just looks a bit like an old cement works but the end is worth it :)
2018/05/20: The Nesika side of the Christmas Ornament trail leading into the burn.