I stayed up until 1:30am last night shooting the dam behind our hotel in The Dalles (just east of Portland, Oregon) unimaginatively called 'The Dalles Dam' it made a great target with it's red, white and blue illumination but the late night meant we didn't get started down the road today until 08:00 and how I wish it was prior to sunrise. We came across a beautiful view of Mt Hood from highway 197 south, which would have been bathed in golden light at sunrise, I made the shot anyway but it's missing that magical light. We pressed on through the towns of Bend and Three Rivers before stopping at Diamond Lake Junction Cafe for lunch. From there it's just a 30 minute run to Crater Lake, the diversion made the day a couple of hours longer but we really wanted to see it and we are so glad we did. The main image shows Sarah on the rim trail with Wizard Island behind in this truly stunning lake. When the volcano Mt Mazama collapsed the lake formed in the caldera, there are no inlets or outlets and yet the water remains, replenished entirely from snowmelt and rainfall. At 594 m (1949 feet) it is the deepest lake in the United States giving it an incredible dark blue colour. From this spectacular feature we drove through Cascade Gorge, Grants Pass and finally the Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park to reach our hotel right on the coast of California. The room is excellent, large and spacious with a sea view from the balcony. As the sun set on another beautiful day we went to the beach just 2 minutes from the hotel and made a couple of sunset shots. Tomorrow we'll be having a lay in and a lazy day on the coast.
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Day two of our road trip outshone day one as we made our way from Creston British Columbia south across the border. We first stopped at the small town of Bonners Ferry in Idaho as we saw a small street market and needed to pick up some US currency anyway, so we stopped at the bank then visited the market before continuing. Further south on highway 95 we reached a planned stop at Sandpoint Harbour and City Beach (the main image below is the harbour) We paddled at the beach and dangled our feet in Lake Pend Oreille from the end of the breakwater where we could have sat for hours. We stayed with highway 95 until we picked up I-90 at Coeur d'Alene and crossed into Washington through the Spokane Valley. We used the interstate to hurry us down to highway 395 at Ritzville then followed the 395 to Kennewick on the Columbia River where we stopped for a picnic lunch in the riverside park. We continued south to Plymouth but turned onto highway 14 west rather than I-84 because we wanted the more scenic route to our hotel in The Dalles. We stopped and dunked the feet in the Columbia River along the way but we were soon settling into a lovely suite at the Shilo Inn right on the river. After getting settled we drove up to Rowena Crest viewpoint just 17 miles west for sunset where we met a photographer called John Rinehart, and after talking a while we worked together to create a lovely light trail shot around the road leading to Rowena Crest. It turned out that there were very few cars on the highway so I took my truck with all lights blazing and drove that particular section of the road a couple of times while Sarah operated my camera from the viewpoint, then John took his truck and did the same while Sarah operated his camera. Together we were able to generate enough light to create the shot you can see in the gallery below. It was great to meet a fellow photographer 'in the wild' and collaborate to achieve the desired result for both of us, it was the perfect end to another great day on the road.
We started out today on a short road trip to California (well short compared to the planned trip). Our first day was a smooth ride down to the border but stopping just 20 minutes short of crossing at Creston British Columbia. We took the beautifully scenic highway 22 south to Crowsnest Pass and stopped in at Lundbreck Falls for a paddle. We then headed west on highway 3 stopping at Frank Slide for a short hike but with temperatures reaching 36 degrees we didn't go far. After the hike we continued west on highway 3 to Fernie BC where we stopped for lunch and walked the main street to stretch the legs. From there we rejoined highway 3 and made the final leg to our overnight spot in Creston BC. After settling in we headed out for dinner and then went north to Kootenay Lake stopping for ice cream along the way. The bugs ate us alive as I photographed the lake but it was worth it. Tomorrow we'll be heading south to Portland Oregon for another overnight stop.
I saw two goldfinches squabbling over the bird feeder today so went to grab the camera, but they had stopped the fight by the time I got back. Luckily, just a few moments later, a lovely red House Finch came and joined the Goldfinch on the feeder and I managed a few shots before he too was shown the door.
With temperatures soaring close to 30 degrees today we took a walk by the river on our usual circuit from the house. Recent rain and high temperatures mean the pathway is almost overgrown in places and spring flowers are blooming. We didn't see much in the way of wildlife except when Sarah almost trod on a snake and scared it off by squealing before I could get back with the camera. It was a lovely walk on a hot Sunday afternoon but we were glad of the shade and ice pops when we got home.
2017 marks 150 years of Confederation for Canada and celebrations are planned all across the country for the whole year including free access to all National Parks and Historic Sites for all visitors. Even though July 1st is Canada Day every year it was bound to be a little more special this year owing to the anniversary, but heavy thunderstorms with lightning tried to dampen the planned fireworks displays. Luckily for us it eased off and they went ahead a little after 11pm in Cochrane and the balcony gave us prime viewing. Rather than bore you with a bunch of firework shots I thought I'd overlay them all on one image and wish a happy Canada Day to Canadians the world over from the little town of Cochrane, Alberta.
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AuthorWe arrived in Calgary, Canada on 29th December 2011 to continue our journey. This blog is intended to keep our family and friends informed whilst we explore Canada.You can use the RSS feed below to stay updated. Categories
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January 2024
The Shaman, West Texas
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