Nishizawa Keikoku
2014/10/18: These photos are from a 2014 trip to the Nishizawa Gorge in Yamnashi Japan with our friends Satomi & Mitsu. I'm just now getting around to sorting through them!
2019/12/08: A bit like a car accident Awful but you can't help but look! Pike Place Market the gum wall.
2019/12/08: Walking through Pike Place Market on a Sunday morning.
2019/12/07: Maneki is Seattles oldest Japanese Restaurant, first opening it's doors in 1904. Excellent food, very reasonably priced! Don't forget to book a table a few days in advance though, it's a popular place!
2019/12/07: A walk past Pike place market on the way to dinner!
2019/12/07: On the same day that we visited the Amazon Spheres we also visited the Volunteer Park Plant conservatory. While this Victorian style conservatory built in 1912 and modeled on Crystal palace certainly can't match the wow factor of the Spheres it more than made up for it in Charm and I could not help but think that the plants in this old conservatory were happier ☺
2019/12/07: Inside the Amazon Spheres, admission is free but they are only open 2 Saturdays a month and you need to book a spot in advance. We finally got organzied enough to do this! Over 40,000 tropical plants inside from all over the world!
2019/12/01: Hello December, Winter is here.
2019/11/29: While some fought crowds and traffic for cheap TVs and half price socks we spent our Black Friday at Pacific City hiking north along the beach and exploring Cape Kiwanda. The perfect winters day!
2019/11/28: A quick thanksgiving morning Multnomah - Wahkeena Loop before the eating begins!
2019/11/10: Sunday was a travel day, leaving my 4 day base in Belgrave for Dunkeld at the south end of Grampians National Park. We took the longer Ferry route crossing the "Rip" of Philip Bay, checking out the Port Lonsdale Lighthouse which was shipped over from England in kit form and Geelong Botanic garden first planted in 1851 along the way.
2019/11/09: Belgrave Victoria, home to the 100 year old Puffing Billy Railway & Sherbrooke forest in the Dandenong Ranges.
2019/11/24: Back on my home turf! We left home with no plan today but expecting to hike under clouds or rain. The Sunshine Gods smiled on us though as we headed east of Government Camp. We ended up hiking from the White River Snow Park up to Timberline Lodge for a hot drink & back on what is probably going to be the last day before the snow finally falls!
2019/11/07: All of day 3 was taken up with the tour of a private tree collection. On the way though we drove through some of the Yara ranges forest. Towering Eucalyptus regnans and Dicksonia antartica Tree Ferns!
2019/11/08: Much of Friday was taken up with tours and meetings at Flemings Nursery. In the morning though we had time to visit the Haelesville Sanctuary which was a great opportunity to see some Australia Animals I would not otherwise see!
2019/11/06: My first afternoon in Australia was spent at Cranbourne Botanic Gardens followed by a quick drive up Mt Dandenong for a view back at the city. On a clear day the view is much better but the weather was not cooperating on this day!
2019/11/05: The first look, the final minutes of my 16 hour flight from LA to Melbourne. Australia looks just like England, green fields and hedge rows!
2019/11/03: An underwater shot at Little Crater Lake taken with Chiyoko's Olympus TG5 camera. Water proofing still seems to be working ☺
An Autumn day on Timothy Lake.
2019/11/03: A lovely sunny day for a long walk around Timothy & Little Crater lakes. A silly wrong turn at the beginning turned a 13 mile hike into 15 miles. In this photo you can even see Timberline lodge!
2019/11/02: The last day of Pacific Summer time for 2019 & past the last warm sunny day too! A sit by the fire after a day of raking leaves.
2019/11/01: We drove past this house in Damascus this evening. Every year it seems to get a bit more outlandish!
2019/10/31: We had a go at making some Poncyrus trifoliata marmalade. It turned out not to badly!
2019/10/30: Lots of fruit on the bitter Orange this year. Maybe we should do something with it!
2019/10/31 The office Halloween lunchtime potluck!
Bluegrass Ridge - Elk Meadows Loop © Chiyoko Meacham
Looking down from Bluegrass Ridge.
2019/10/27: A wonderful sunny and cold late October day in the High Country. We hiked from Hood River Meadows up to Elk Mt & Bluegrass ridge then made our way down to the old Elk Meadows shelter for lunch before completing the loop. Hundreds of trees down on Bluegrass ridge from the 2006 fire. The cutoff trail between Elk Meadows and the Ridge is almost lost to blowdown now!
20019/10/25: Another Boring Oregon Sunrise! Photo taken on the corner of Revenue & Altman in Boring Oregon.
2019/10/25: I moseyed on down to Jonsrud viewpoint on Bluff Rd. after work yesterday!
A family Dinner! © Chiyoko Meacham
Chiyoko ready to take Mitsu's bike for a spin ☺☺ © Satomi
Micro breweries now well established in Japan! © Chiyoko Meacham
Shima overlook © Chiyoko Meacham
2019/10/20: Another weekend running from rain! This week we found ourselves at Cottonwood Canyon hiking the east bank trail with a few side trips along the way.
2019/10/19: We harvested our Japanese sweet potatoes, we were not sure how many we would get but it turned out to be not a bad haul! Now follow two weeks of ripening in the dark at 80-90F and 90% plus humidity! They will have cost $5.00 buck each by the time we are done ☺
2019/10/16: Another spectacular sunrise on the way into work this morning! It lasted about 10 minutes from start to finish!
On his travels Pavel sent us a postcard mailed from the Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. All the mail posted there begins it's journey on the back of a mule back out of the canyon!
2019/10/13: Our first hike into Indian Heaven on the Lemei trail. We went as far as the base of Lemei Rock but with clouds & fresh snow didn't scramble up to the summit. On the way out we took the side trip to Wapiki Lake.
22019/10/12 Snapped a few photos of the Sunrise from work yesterday on the corner of Altman & Revenue Roads.
2019/10/11: A lovely October day! I left work at 4:30 and headed straight up to Trillium Lake. Hung out for about an hour and a half as the Sun set on the Mt.
2019/10/06: Our first foray onto the whitewater trail. An early start and a long drive had us at the trailhead just after 9:00am. 35F when we set out, 65F by the time we returned. A perfect PNW Autumn day!
Kazuko getting wet! © Chiyoko Meacham
2019/09/28: Another terrible weather weekend! Torrential downpour followed by hail!
2019/09/29: Some Chanterelles, bounty of our hike today!
2019/09/21: © Jane Meacham "A lovely stroll last Saturday morning, in brilliant sunshine, along the old Arnside railway track. Completed naturally with an ice-cream on the prom"
2019/09/29: This giant old growth Cedar is hidden almost in plain sight not too far off the Larch Mt Rd. Good luck finding it though if you don't know the spot! When all the trees around it we cut down around a 100 years ago this tree was spared. Probably because it was less valuable because of it's triple top!
2019/09/25: Post Hike refreshment at the Mt Hood Brewery!
2019/09/25: The final rays of sun as we hike back down to Timberline from 7500'.
2019/09/25: So yesterdays after work plan was to hike the recently reopened Wahclella Falls trail in the Gorge but the Sun was out and after so many rainy days I was in need of big sky & big views! So we drove up to Timberline the hiked up the East side climbers trail up to about 7500' for a view of the White River Glacier and the sunset. Set out at 5:30 turned around at 6:45 and made it back the car in pretty much darkness at 7:45! A truly wonderful way to spend a sunny fall evening!
2019/09/21: Pascal & Akitomo in the great Paella cook off! A great evening was had!