Opal Creek

Jenny and I had a great trip out to Opal Creek this past weekend. We intended to walk up the creek but the water was painfully cold and we decided against it. We enjoyed the hike and spent a good deal of time there. The above photo was taken at our first stop where we decided it was too cold. As you can see, the water is crystal clear. It was much higher than it was the past times that we have gone and the waterfalls were more impressive.

The above picture is of one of the small falls that are all along the road leading to Jawbone Flats. This is at my favorite spot along the road. A small stream flows its way through and around large trees and rocks. It is about 10 degrees cooler right by the falls than it is on the road.



These falls are just above Opal Pool. We sat on logs for our lunch and watched the tougher people dip in the pool. I had a scare when my lens hood and polarizer fell off my camera and into the water. Luckily I was able to grab them before they got away and I was very grateful that my camera was not the victim.

Return from Sunriver

Jenny and I went to Sunriver, OR a couple of weeks ago to volunteer at the Jeld-Wen Tradition golf tournament. We took the scenic route and made a few stops along the way. The first trip was at Lava River Cave. This is cave that was formed by lava flowing underground. Now that the lava is gone, it is much safer for people to explore the nearly mile long cave. Despite the outside temperature being near 100, it was a balmy 40 in the cave - and very dark. Don't believe me? Look at this:



After leaving the cave, we took the long way (as mentioned above). A magazine that we had suggested the side trip that we took with lots of possible stops along the way. One of the stops was at a place called Proxy Falls. As we got out of the car, the thunder started and we got a little worried. However, the rain held off and we got to visit the fantastic falls.

First, South Falls:



Next, a close up of the base of South Falls. Sorry, no pictures of North Falls on this post.

Manassas Battlefield

We enjoy our Civil War history and were able to take a day trip out to Manassas Battlefield Park. It is only about 30 miles outside of D.C., so it was a very short and easy trip.



It is very different from Gettysburg in that there are not nearly as many people, it is not a expansive, and there are very few monuments. The largest and most prominent is Stonewall Jackson. This picture looks like the Confederate cannon is pointed right at Stonewall on his horse, but it is not, I don't think. If it is, they aren't firing.



Yes, Jenny was with me. Here's the proof.



There was a Stone House on the battlefield grounds - that was used as a hospital. Here Jenny is sitting on a stone bridge that was rebuilt after it washed away, which was a replacement for a stone bridge of which the middle was destroyed by the Confederates and was then burned after the Union troops retreated. In other words, this is a replica of a replacement of the bridge that was burned after the battle whose middle section was destroyed before the battle. Confused? Me too. I don't think I have my facts right. But trust me, this is not the original bridge, or even the original replacement.

Washington D.C.

I have a lot of pictures from our trip to DC but I wanted to get this one up right away. This is the WWII Monument looking across the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Memorial. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Yellow Flowers

I was going through my pictures and realized that I have a lot of pictures of yellow flowers. Perhaps I have a subconscious affinity towards yellow that I am not aware of. Perhaps Salem has a lot of yellow flowers. Either way, I have lots of yellow flower pictures. Here are a few.





These two are from the Capitol Mall. There were lots of yellow flowers here, but to be fair, the majority of the flowers were pink and white. I like those too. Perhaps I have an affinity for pink and yellow.





These are from a park in West Salem. I like the park enough to go in the morning and back in the evening. The only down-side was that I crushed a large slug with my elbow in the evening. It was squishy and gooey and sticky and somewhat gross. (Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the slug.)

I have more pictures of flowers (yellow, pink, and other colors). But I think I'll limit this post to these three. Gotta keep your interest peaked.