That Jolie Girl

Chapman Swifts

I first saw the Vaux's Swifts back in 2005 when my cousin was visiting.  It was a very serene peaceful evening of about 30 people watching the birds retire for the evening.  This year I got to see them again and it was a very different experience. 

Each September the Swifts sleep in the old chimney at Chapman Elementary School for a few weeks.  We are one of their many stops on their migration trail.  They spend the days out and about.  When the sun sets, they create a swirl pattern and descend into the chimney for the night.  It's an amazing sight to see thousands of birds deftly enter this small opening in a very short period of time. 

This time a hawk created a lot of drama.  He would sweep in and the swifts would scatter.  This went on for quite awhile (with the crowd rooting loudly for the swifts) until the swifts ganged up on the hawk.  Finally, the hawk left and the swifts could continue to retire for the evening.

This is a super cropped shot to show the birds in better detail. 

The thing that was most amazing about the night was the turn out.  Hundreds of people brought blankets and picnics to watch birds.  Birds! People were friendly and courteous.  It felt like one big party.  It's such a fun thing to experience.  I can't wait to see them next year.

Pilgrimage to Bimbach

I just got back from a week long trip to Germany!  This was my first real trip in a couple of years and I was definitely ready.  My husband was born in Germany because both of his parents were in the military.  They returned to the US when my husband was about 2 years old.  The main adventure was to find the house where he used to live.  He lived in the tiny hamlet of Bimbach, just outside of Fulda, and we did find his old house. 

We spent 3 nights in Frankfurt very close to the Altstadt (old town) pictured above. 

Our hotel was located in the Apfelwein District.  My husband isn't a beer drinker, so he was in hog heaven with Apfelwein which is cheaper than soda.

Downtown Frankfurt

I have always loved fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm.  We stopped at their hometown of Hanau.

Rothenburg was probably my favorite town.  We spent one night here. This pristine town was not bombed during WWII, so everything is original and old.

Rothenburg

We went visited the Wuzberg Residenz which was amazing!  I couldn't resist taking a picture of the speed limits for tanks.

Munich is a beautiful city and easy to navigate on the subway.  We spent 3 nights here.  We made a day trip to Dachau and also to the Olympiaturm, home of the 1972 Olympics

We went inside so many beautiful cathedrals.  Everything is just so beautiful!

Marienplatz in Munich

We jammed packed each day with lots to see and do.  We even survied the autobahn!  I'm so glad we went and I'm thrilled my husband got to see where he was born. 

I Heart Weddings

I had the privilege to attend my friends' wedding on Sunday.  It was held in a beautiful barn in Independence.  The setting was just gorgeous and the bride was stunning.   She asked if I would take a few pictures to help document the festivities.  Well, documentation is my middle name.  I was thrilled to do this for my friends.  The lighting was beautiful, but dim so I was really unsure of how things would turn out.  Granted, the picture quality could be better, but I think I did a good job of getting the mood of the evening. 

 

I ended up taking about 500 pictures in 4 hours.  I know, it's a lot even for me.  But with the lighting, I wanted to make sure I got good pictures.  Many were blurry, so I'm happy I had lots to choose from.  I sent her an Picasa album yesterday.  I figured the almost instant gratification is worth it alone.

The officiant was the groom's Brother-in-law.  He also played the Wedding march on the saw.  It was so cool!

Each guest received a CD as a party favor.  It was such a great night.  I haven't been to many weddings as an adult.  I was so happy to be able to share in their happiness.  They are a great couple and will have a happy life together. 

Chipmunk Fever

People who know me, know I love squirrels.  The only thing I like more than squirrels are chipmunks.  During our hike last weekend on Mt. Howard, we were surrounded by tons of very friendly chipmunks.  I was in hog heaven.   I probably took more pictures of the chipmunks than I did of the vistas.  This little guy was so friendly and took me by surprise when he jumped on my leg.  Chipmunks tried to get into my backpack and even jumped on my husband's wrist and took a bite out of his prayer bead bracelet. 

I did manage to find more wild life, but not much.  These birds were very plentiful and very noisy.  We also saw 4 dear and many hawks driving to Eastern Oregon.

In the Imnaha Valley, we came across a covey of quail.  I hadn't seen quail in a million years and they were always a favorite of my mom's.  They were super fast and I only managed to get a picture of the very last one.

Wallowa County

I spent a long Labor Day weekend in Wallowa County which is in the very rural Northeastern corner of Oregon.  On the drive out, we stopped at the Stonehenge in Maryhill, WA.  This Stonehenge was built to scale after WWI to commemorate the men from the area who died in battle. 

Not having seen the real one, this one is still very impressive and such a great attraction to have in our area.

We also toured the Maryhill Museum, which was built by Sam Hill.  He also built Stonehenge.  It's amazing to see such amazing art in such a rural environment.

The scariest part of our adventure was riding the Wallowa Tram.  It's the steepest tram in North America and the ride is 15 minutes long.  My husband and I are not fans of heights; I know I held my breath a lot on the trip.  The views from the top were spectacular.  We hiked the top of Mt Howard for a couple of miles.  Every view was better than the last.

We also rented a paddle boat and had a mellow couple of hours on the Wallowa River.

We were in Nez Perce country and had the opportunity to visit Chief Joseph's grave.  It was interesting to see all the momentos that were left at his grave. 

We took a day trip to Imnaha which is a tiny town about 30 miles from Joseph.  The landscape was incredible.  I seemed to be saying "this is so beautiful" around every bend in the road. 

We were blessed with a beautiful day.  It was just stunning.

There weren't that many plants around this late in the summer, but I did have to look out for these suckers.  I didn't want to get stuck by these thorns. 

Bike Ride Along the Willamette

My husband is training for the Portland Marathon in October.  He has to do these really insane runs to prepare.  This Sunday he had to run 15 miles.  My Father-in-law and I rode our bikes in support.   We handed him food and water along the way. 

This is the second time I've accompanied my husband on these long runs.  The first time I didn't have my camera and I saw Blue Heron, Baby Osprey and lots of other cool wildlife.  This time around this little guy was the only wildlife I saw. 

I just love these weird flowers that were going to seed.  They look almost alien.

On the Springwater Corridor, there aren't too many places to stop and rest.  This is one of the few places that had benches.  It was such a pretty day even if it was super hot. 

I got a new bike seat this week.  The first long bike ride of the season was done on the bottom seat.  That is just wrong.  Why did I ever think that this seat was a good idea?  I've moved up to the grandma of all seats and it's made me so much happier. 

Timberline Lodge

 
My husband and I celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary at Timberline Lodge this past weekend.  We drove to Hood River and went to their Saturday Market.  Hood River is such a cute town, but it was almost 100 degrees so we didn't hang around there too long.

This was the view from our room.  Mt. Jefferson is so beautiful.

We spent the afternoon hiking right around Timberline.  I was amazed at how much snow was around since it was the last weekend in June.  Basically if we left the parking lot, we were immersed in snow.

Self-portrait in the snow.  We had brought our hiking poles which worked awesomely in the snow.  We were able to venture out much further with them.  Plus it saved me the anxiety of falling down and damaging my camera.  It was over 80 degrees on the mountain, so shorts were a must.

Timberline Lodge was a WPA project built in the 1936.  FDR christened the lodge in 1937.  It only took 15 months to complete which is astonishing since most of the laborers were unskilled and the whole building was built by hand.  The details are just amazing.  Each stair railing is carved (such as the picture above) and there is art in the architecture everywhere you look. 

All the hardware was just amazing.  I love all the wrought iron fixtures. 

Remember Pee-Chees?  The picture of the skier was taken at Timberline Lodge.

We had such a great time.  The dinner in the lodge was wonderful.  The sunset was gorgeous.  It was the perfect celebration.

Biscuit Sitting

I spent the weekend dog sitting Biscuit.  Such a wonderful dog.  We had a great time lounging and watching movies.  It was like a mini vacation.

Flaco might look all mean and tough, but he's really just a love.  He hung out with me a lot and helped me with my laziness.

Quincy kept to himself, but when he did hang out with me, he was super sweet.

I love this picture.  With the dark background, it looks like something that a professional would do.

When I was in the kitchen, I heard a noise outside.  I was lucky enough to be able to grab my camera fast enough to catch this fellow sneaking some food.

Camping at Sand Lake

Last weekend was spent camping at Sand Lake.  My husband's family loves to ride four wheelers.  Even my five year old niece loves to ride.  Here she is going around camp.  All the kids did endless circles around camp.

 

















I used to be super scared of the bikes, but now I really have a great time.  The family doesn't laugh at me as much any more when I drive.  Before they would steer clear and stifle their laughter.


















Besides riding bikes, we did all the usual camping stuff complete with roasting marshmallows.  There is nothing like sitting around a campfire.


















There was a full moon and I spent lots of time trying to get the perfect shot.  This was about the best I could get.  I still need to read my camera manual.














We were fortunate to be camping relatively close to an outhouse.  It sure beats digging a hole in the sand.  :) 

Sylvia Beach Hotel

I was given a gift certificate to the Sylvia Beach Hotel.  The person who gave it to me couldn't use it and it had one week left before it expired.  Luckily we got to use it Sunday, the last day it was valid.  The Sylvia Beach Hotel has rooms themed after different authors.  We stayed in the Herman Melville room.  We had a great view of the beach.  We also had a wonderful dinner there that night. 

Sunday afternoon was beautiful!  It was definitely cold and I needed a coat and a hat to walk along the beach, but the sun was out.  I just love these birds all perfectly in line.

I happened upon this carving while looking for fossils in the rocks.

When we started walking on the beach, it looked like this.  At the end of our walk, it was getting pretty stormy.  We were snug in our hotel room just minutes before it started to hail.