The Think Tank

Sorry for the delay in getting these up.  Seems like it has been a busy week, mainly because we have been doing extra, last minute training for STP (which is next weekend).

Any way, the photos we took over the Fourth of July weekend are up on the gallery site.  As always you can get there by clicking on the image or by clicking on the “Think Tank Gallery” link above.  Most of the shots are from the fireworks display in Pacific City that Mo, Mom, Debbie and I went to.  There are also some shots from our very own fireworks display as well.

Debbie got some good shots of both, in addition to some shots of our annual barbecue, but I haven’t gotten those from her yet.  I’ll add them when I can.

Last weekend Mom, myself, Joel and Maure set out for what we intended to be a biking weekend in Eastern Oregon.  Our original plan had been to visit Crater Lake, but due the abnormally cool and wet spring, a large portion of the Rim Drive was inaccessible under a late snowfall.  In fact, the forecast the weekend was for lows in the 20’s and snow Saturday night, which did not sound like good biking weather to us.

We made up a new plan pretty much on the spot Friday morning, deciding on the John Day Fossil Beds because they were supposed to be beautiful, there was ample camping available, and the weather was supposed to be warm with only a slim chance of rain on Saturday night.  Maybe even an isolated thunder storm, which is always cool and might make for some neat photos.

In the event, we definitely got the thunderstorms but that was about all that went according to plan.

(continue reading…)

Sammy lived where my Aunt works, and sadly he passed away a couple of weeks ago after a long and comfortable life.  I’d taken a few shots of him over the years and his friends at Gateway asked that I put a few of them up on the website.

I have been remiss in my duties until now.

These are all of the shots that I have found of Sammy so far.  If I come across any additional pics, I will post them as well.

I hope all of Sammy’s friends can find some happiness and comfort in these photos.

Gettin’ ready to ride

Joel and I decided to ride in the Pioneer Century in Canby last Saturday.  We figured it would be good training for Seattle To Portland.

This ride is an annual event put on by the Portland Wheelmen Touring Club.  Without a doubt this was the best value of any organized ride we’ve been on yet.  There was cold and hot cereal in the morning for all of the riders, along with coffee, hot cocoa, and coffeecake.  Each rider also received a couple small tubes of sun screen, a mini flat-repair kit, granola bars and some other swag that I can’t remember.  On the trail we were met with fully stocked rest stops every 20 miles or so, each with Gatorade, granola bars, oranges, bananas, fresh strawberries and blue berries, pineapples, cookies, crackers, juices, trail mix…  And if that weren’t enough, our registration also bought us lunch at the halfway point.  There was even a masseuse at the fairgrounds, which was also included in our whopping $25 dollar entry fee.

(continue reading…)

The Rose Festival officially kicked off yesterday despite some pretty crummy weather.  Along with the opening ceremonies always comes a grand fireworks display, and we try to make it each year.  Undaunted by the prediction of rain, our dear friend Debbie came up from Eugene to enjoy the show.

I headed straight over to the East Side Esplanade after work (at 3pm) and helped them set up our Easy-Ups, which worked a real treat keeping us dry in the pounding rain.  Needless to say our early arrival was not as necessary as it has been in years past when the weather was beautiful, but we didn’t want to take any chances.  The wind blew pretty hard until we got our tents anchored, then it mostly died down and took a back seat to the rain, which was impressive, but beneath our canopies we stayed nice and dry.  Shannon met up with us when she was done with work and we all ate fried chicken, drank warm coffee, indulged in some beers, and just generally had a great time.

Seven Chilly hours after we setup camp, amid a moderate drizzle, the fireworks show started.  Quite a few brave souls had ventured forth into the unpleasant evening to join us, and everyone was greatly pleased by the display.  In my opinion the show was much better than it has been for many years, with the fireworks more spread out and very evenly distributed between high and low, which made it a lot easier to photograph.  The only real trouble with the pictures came from rain drops on the lens, which is just part of the deal when you  aim your camera skyward into the rain.

You can see all the pics by clicking on one of the images above or by clicking here.