Monday, June 29, 2009

ABC Wednesday--X is early

X is for the eXtraordinary variety of recreational opportunity in Washington.
Winter






and Summer


We have the eXtraordinary opportunity this week to go camping with ten of our eXtraordinary grandchildren. Since Blogger's prescheduling feature is malfunctioning, my ABC is early and will not make it to the Mr. Linky (unless it is also early.) You can find that Linky at the ABC blog. But wait until Wednesday or you won't find X, it iwll still be W.





Odd Shots--Illusions of grandeur?


When I grow up I wanna be a Humvee?


Odd Shots are hosted here on Mondays. Sorry I'm a bit late today--the pre-scheduling feature of Blogger is currently out of order. Details are linked in the sidebar. Leave a comment if you have participated. I should have Mr. Linky back next week.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Sunday's Psalm--Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary time

R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.

O LORD, you brought me up from the netherworld;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.

cliff dwelling, Walnut Canyon, Arizona
I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.


Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.

Mt. Rainier from Nisqually River bed
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.

At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.


Hear , O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my god, forever will I give you thanks.

meadow, Trail of the Shadows, Mt. Rainier
I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Psalm 30: 2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13



Photo Hunt--theme: flags

Visit TnChick for other PhotoHunters' collection of flag photos.
I was reminded by the theme of flags at various war memorials--this one the World War II memorial in our state capitol of Olympia (which I missed featuring in my ABC Wednesday tour of the state). The flags are obvious; the stakes, in the form of a stalk of wheat (I think) count the number of state citizens who perished in that war.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Skywalk


I have never understood the point of throwing your shoes over the wire.

Find other skywatchers here.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

ABC Wednesday--here we are at W

...and W is for the state of Washington.

Starting from the red central circle in the south central of the map--THAT IS HOME!

Home of Washington's apples and a wide variety of other fruits and vegetables that grace your table--the Yakima Valley.
The Larson Building is a landmark of downtown Yakima. We will spiral--sort of, clockwise around the state. There are many locations to visit that highlight the state's history. Ft. Simcoe (black dot) marks one historical era between the settlers and the Native Americans of the area. It is only one of several historic forts which figured in Pacific Northwest history.
Continuing south over Satus Pass and past the city of Goldendale to the Columbia River, we find the Maryhill Museum of Art (brown dot). What is a first class art museum doing there in the middle of nowhere? (It really is the middle of nowhere.) Sam Hill built the mansion for his dear wife Mary. She saw it, and immediately returned to the city. But with Sam's art connections and his own vast collection, the museum blossomed there in the desert.

I had never thought much about Mt. St. Helens, over in the southwest corner area of the state (purple dot), until about 1000 feet of its elevation dropped in on the rest of the state in May of 1980. Washington boasts at least four volcanoes that are considered active. Fortunately, the activity is generally considerably less than that bit of spectacle in 1980.
Let's go up the coast--we can always find some critters along there. Eagles, deer, and these tide pool denizens on the Olympic Peninsula (red dot).
The beaches of the Olympic Peninsula are incredibly beautiful.
Turning back east we cross the Olympic and the Kitsap Peninsulas and the Puget Sound, and take a hop up onto the observation deck of the Space Needle for a bird's eye view of Seattle. (bright blue dot)


drop down to see its Aurora Bridge

and along to catch a Mariners game at "The Safe."
Over the mountains to the Wenatchee Valley--another center for fruit growing (and another W.)

Keep on going east to the Inland Empire city of Spokane. This shot is the famous Spires--symbol of Gonzaga University--well, it's famous if you are an alum, and Gonzaga has made a name for itself in basketball on the national scene (though the team was very good when we were there fortyhmmmmm years ago as well.) (Spokane's dot on the map is yellow.)
We will finish our tour in the southeast corner of the state with another W--the city of Walla Walla (light blue dot). The name comes from an Indian word for waters.

I am privileged to have some many fascinating places to visit here at hand in my own state. We visit many of them often--and you may have noticed that I did leave Mt. Rainier off of this list. you see it often here in the blog, so I thought I would feature some of the other areas. And I don't have pictures of lots of areas--we could visit the San Juan Islands and the Okanogan Valley and the Palouse and........
Visit the ABC Blog to find other participants. and thank Denise for starting us and keeping us going on a fourth round of ABCs.


Monday, June 22, 2009

Odd Shots on the way to the bank

Do join us in posting an odd shot on Mondays. You can find the details by clicking the Odd Shots camera in the sidebar. I haven't checked on the status of Mr. Linky, so please leave a comment if you participate.
It was so funny to meet this dog while on a walk Friday morning. He came along from behind an apartment building carrying the banking pouch. He didn't wait to get to the bank to make a deposit.
The owner came along a moment later. He told us the pouch has doggy biscuits in it and the dog gets to eat them when they get to their destination.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Sunday's Psalm--Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time

R. Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.

They who sailed the sea in ships,
trading on the deep waters,
cruise ship view
These saw the works of the LORD
and his wonders in the abyss.

Tracy Arm, Alaska
Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
His command raised up a storm wind
which tossed its waves on high.
They mounted up to heaven; they sank to the depths;
their hearts melted away int heir plight.
Box Canyon, Mt. Rainier National Park
Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
They cried to the LORD in their distress;
from their straits he rescued them,
He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze,
and the billows of the sea were stilled.
Lake Union, Seattle
Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
They rejoiced that they were calmed,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his kindness
and his wondrous deeds to the children of men.

Green Lake, Seattle
Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.


Psalm 107: 23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31

Stop by and visit

I invite you to stop by and visit my latest blog, 365-no-themes-no-memes. It's been going for a little over a month. Just pictures in larger format--the best that strike my fancy each day. There's a link in the sidebar, too.

2

The blogger herself has also recently celebrated a birthday, but did not want to burn the blogosphere down so left the candles off and ate the cake.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Pelican Watch--er--Skywatch Friday

I lucked out this morning seeing some of the American White Pelicans that make the Yakima River their home from mid-March to sometime in the fall. When I was commuting regularly, I rarely saw them. They didn't get up as early as I did.
You can clearly see the bump on the pelican's bill. I blogged about that last year.
To see what is in the skies around the world this week visit the Skywatch site.



Tuesday, June 16, 2009

ABC Wednesday--V is for...

V is for Visitors at the Visitor Center.

If you have visited my blog for any time at all in the past, you know that I have a love affair with the National Parks. One of the first stops any time you visit a new to you national Park has to be the Visitor Center. There is so much to learn there about the history or natural features that make the park special, such as this exhibit at the Visitor Center of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park in Skagway, Alaska. It shows how much supplies a Gold Rush prospector had to carry to the top of the pass to be allowed into the Klondike to search for gold. (Only part of this park is in Skagway, the other end of the Gold Rush travel was in Seattle, and someday I will visit the Visitors Center there.)
Sometimes the Visitor Center displays extend outside the building, such as this slice of an eight hundred year old Douglas Fir tree showing the rings and events during the tree's lifespan.
Some Visitor Centers are small and simple, such as this one at Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada. The park is not well known and is rather out of the way, so it does not get nearly as many visitors as Yosemite, or Yellowstone, or Mt. Rainier.

The architecture of many Visitor Centers often brings the outdoor view indoors, such as this wall of windows at Arches National Park in southeast Utah.

That was one of the wonderful features of the old Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise on Mt. Rainier, the 360 degree view in its round observation room. The building reached the end of its usefulness last year, when it was replaced by a new building more in keeping with the surrounding rustic architecture. The new Center opened in October, and the old one was demolished shortly afterward, before the winter set in.
The new Visitor Center does not sacrifice the view.
And its new displays are well organized. The relief map of the park, moved from the old center, is a great gathering place to organize hikes with a ranger. There are similar maps at other park Visitor Centers.
As we ccome to the end of the alphabet once again, what have you found for the letter V? You can see what others have posted linked at the ABC Site.