camping

Photos from Washington

by Kristen James

We went north this last week for my husband’s family reunion in Washington. It seems like I end up driving through Washington a couple times a year, and I usually see something unusual along the way. Last time I saw what looked like horses standing on a trailer with just a strap to hold them there–it was fake horses of course. I also saw two drivers get into a road rage spat. I don’t know what started it, but I saw one driver throw a water bottle out of the sunroof and onto another car. That car sped up, passed on the shoulder, and tried to run the first car off the road. Scary! We backed off and let them get way ahead of us. Luckily I didn’t see any wrecks after that. I guess the heat got to some people. But dangerous drivers aside, it was a great trip.

Here’s a few pictures of the skyline as we drove through Seattle.

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This one captures what I think of in Northwest cities: tall buildings and tall evergreens!

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Space Needle!

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We stayed up next to the Canadian border for a few days and visited Birch Bay. It’s so different from the rough Oregon Coast! There aren’t any waves, and the water was warm compared to what I normally experience. We couldn’t wait to go change into swim suits! You can walk out for a couple miles if you wanted to, and we found crabs, fish and even a live jelly fish.

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We went back twice so we could swim and explore the beach. And even though we didn’t cross over into Canada, we took some pictures with Canada in the background.

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I returned home Monday and took off Tuesday for camping out by the South Umpqua River, so it was a fun and busy week. I was surprised (again) because the river was so warm. We go every year, and there’s been times when the river was so cold it burned when I jumped in. This time, it was more like cool pool water, and we played in the river for two full days. I came back in time for fireworks at the house with all our kids–it was great to watch them having so much fun. I did take some time to sit around the fire and work on plot ideas for the two stories I’m working on. Next week, it’s back to writing!

A Lost Creek…

by Kristen James

My extended family went camping this last weekend on the South Umpqua River and explored the area around our usual camping and swimming spot. We were surprised to find a tunnel under the road with a small fish ladder running through it and a pool in front of it. The site is actually marked as a salmon spawning habitat, and the spawn must have happened recently because I spotted a salmon head floating in the water. I wish the picture captured how beautiful the spot really is, but I’m more of a writer than a photographer. The water was blue and deep in the pool and green foliage surrounded all of it.

 

 

Here’s the view looking out from the tributary and pool.

We had a great time but the three days flew by. The spot where we camp is right next to the river, and there’s a channel carved into the riverbed rock. It makes a fun place to jump in and ride the current down for a ways.

 

 

We also spotted a new plant this year that looked rather ghostly.

My sister Karen researched it and found this interesting blog all about it:

http://seabrookeleckie.com/2009/07/10/forest-spirits/

It’s related to the blueberry plant! I’ll let you go read the post.

For my next adventure I’m headed over to Eastern Oregon. It always feels like a different state to me because it’s so very different than this side of Oregon. We have towering trees and streams while Eastern Oregon has scrub brush, desert and beautiful rock formations. Happy travels to everyone this summer!