July 21, 2019 - Yellow Pickup

Off a trail that takes you to the borders of the Pearrygin Lake State Park in north central Washington, a 1938-ish GMC 1/2 Ton Pickup adds some character to the landscape.

July 20, 2019 - North Cascades Highway

The view from the Washington Pass Overlook includes Liberty Bell Mountain, elevation 7,720', rising steeply above the North Cascades Highway, State Route 20.   The North Cascades Highway closes each winter from November into April due to the snow and avalanche danger.  This year it opened April 18th.

July 20, 2019 - Turquoise Paddle

At 389 feet, the Diablo Dam was the tallest dam in the world when it was completed in 1930.  It was the second in a trio of dams - Gorge and Ross were the others - built to harness the energy of the glacier fed Skagit River.  The Ross dam, built just upstream was completed in 1949.  It created a reservoir 23 miles long that extends into Canada.

Davis Peak (7,051') rises above the turquoise waters of Diablo Lake.  The unique color of this and other nearby reservoirs, is cause by the glacial silt suspended in the water.

June 9, 2019 - Guest Blogger

My daughter's high school photography class project was a great excuse to play tourist at home.  We stopped by Pike Place Market, Mercer Island, downtown Seattle, Queen Anne's Highland Drive and the Kerry Park overlook.  The sights, sounds, color and bustle never disappoint.  (And the gum wall seems to have gotten bigger!)  Today's photos are by Sophie Kimura.

June 9, 2019 - The Pike Place Market Secret Garden

The view of diners at the Maximilien Restaurant patio as reflected from a mirror at the Pike Place Market Secret Garden.  The community-led intergenerational garden is run by volunteers with the produce donated to the Pike Place Market Food Bank.  Tucked around a corner and down a hall from the bustling fishmongers, the garden offers a gorgeous view, a lovely garden...your own little Pike Place Market secret!

June 2, 2019 - A Sunny Drop

The trade off for seeing Snoqualmie Falls on a sunny day is that the 270' drop of the Snoqualmie River may have only a fraction of the water flow as a wet March day.

Did you know that Niagara Falls is a 167' drop?  

June 2, 2019 - The Essence of Nature

Located at the southern end of the Washington Park Arboretum, is the Seattle Japanese Garden, a 3 1/2 acre model of a formal Japanese garden.  The stone lanterns, water feature, wildlife, winding paths, wildlife, flowers, colors and rock are arranged in the style of a late 16th century stroll garden.  This Seattle treasure opened in 1960.

The landscape designer, Juki Iida, planned the garden "faithful to the principle of shizensa, the essence of nature."

May 26, 2019 - Catching a Sunset

Fishing from the pier at the Edmonds marina was good on this night.  At least one regulation sunset and plenty of boats could be had.  Landing them is always the tricky part...

May 25, 2019 - Let It Not Happen Again

On a cool, rainy day, the colorful chains of paper cranes at the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial hang in stark contrast to the gray clouds and the old growth cedar, granite and basalt memorial wall bearing the names of the 227 Japanese-Americans that were ordered off Bainbridge Island and into internment camps as part of Executive Order 9066.  They were the first of 120,000 Japanese-Americans living in the west coast that were forced into interment camps.  Bainbridge Island is a short ferry ride across Puget Sound from Seattle.

At this site on March 30, 1942, with just six days notice, the entire Japanese-American population of flanked by soldiers with bayonets on their rifles, filed onto the ferry Kehloken.  Left behind were homes, farms and businesses.  Their belongings were limited to the clothes they could wear or carry in a single suitcase. 

At the end of the war about 150 residents returned to the island.  Some were lucky enough to regain their farms and homes due to the kindness of local caretakers.  Others had lost all that they had built.

The National Parks Historical Site is a unit of the Minidoka National Historic Site in Idaho, one of several interment camps.   It opened to the public in July of 2011.  The wall was designed by Johnpaul Jones, a local Native American architect.  It contains the names and ages of all 227 forced off the island as well as friezes depicting some of the scenes from that morning.

The site is dedicated to those who suffered and those who supported and stood by the Nissei forced off the island and to the ideal of safeguarding our constitutional rights for all. Nidoto Nai Yoni - "Let it not happen again."

May 17, 2019 - Icicle Creek Gorge

In late May Icicle Creek runs high as it flows east 32 miles from near the crest of the Cascade Mountain range to meet the Wenatchee River at Leavenworth.  Barring a sudden weather event the flow won't be this high until this time next year.  By August the flow of water will be just 5% of what it is now.  The current water flow is near normal, but drought conditions are forecast.  An abnormally dry and warm March and April has left area snowpacks half their usual amount.