picture gorge

This is a view looking south along the John Day River toward Picture Gorge, in the Sheep Rock unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.  From a recent visit to central Oregon.

red hill

Here is another painted hill from the John Day Fossil Beds.

painted hills

I photographed these colorful hills on a recent visit to the Painted Hills unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, in central Oregon.

hay!

This photo from the John Day Fossil Beds area of central Oregon would be a lot less interesting if the stack of hay bales hadn't started to fall over.

ascent

Another foliage image from Copper City, near Buckhorn mountain in the Olympics.

big leaves 3

Sunlit highlights provide the drama in this Copper City study.

connections

More big leaves at Copper City in the National Forest.

big leaves

Found at the site of the former Copper City, near the Tubal Cain mine in the Olympic National Forest.  Some of the leaves are more than a foot across.

understory

Here's a little scene from alongside the trail to the Tubal Cain mine in the Buckhorn wilderness, Olympic National Forest.

splash of autumn

Fall colors burst out on the side of Buckhorn Mountain in Olympic National Forest.  This view is from the site of the old Copper City mining camp, near the Tubal Cain mine.

lake pateros

Early fall along the Columbia River, near Fort Okanogan.

This blog will now take a short break of ten days or so.

lewis emporium

A quirky image of old billboards painted on the side of an old Port Townsend brick building.

early fall, columbia river

This early fall scene is along the Columbia River, north of Wenatchee, Washington.

olympic sunrise

This was the view of the Olympic mountains from near the Sequim Valley Airport, shortly after sunrise Sunday morning.  We were there to watch the hot air balloons take off.

balloon overhead

In this worm's-eye view, a hot air balloon passing overhead becomes almost abstract when tightly cropped.  From last weekend's Sequim Balloon Festival.

giant bees rise again

These hot air balloons are called "The Little Bees," but the two bigger ones are fifty feet tall.  Here they are, taking flight yesterday morning at the Sequim Balloon Festival.

sequim balloons

Sequim is hosting its first balloon festival this weekend, featuring hot air balloon rides and other activities.

This morning started with a spectacular sunrise and a bit of rain on the east end of town.

Shortly after sunrise, the balloons started to lift off from Sequim Valley Airport, west of town, with the Olympic mountains for a backdrop.

The spiral-patterned balloon fires its burner as it lifts off.  In the background, you can see the "Little Bees" being inflated.  They're still lying on their backs.  More on them tomorrow.

classic cars

Classic cars congregate at a Port Townsend gas station.  In a chance encounter this morning, we saw these cars and managed to get a picture.  I converted everything to black and white except for the cars and part of the station.