THE ART OF FLYING

Without knowing my return date, making a last-minute reservation put me on a late afternoon flight.  Instead of reading a book I became enchanted by the view from the window. We’ve all seen them. The beautiful patchwork of the fields, road and streams beneath us.

Remember that  phase of  “crop circle” mysteries in England and a few in the U.S.?  Could it be a sun filled day flight gave some prankster the idea?

I challenge anyone to paint a picture any prettier than this snow streaked mountain top peeking through the clouds. I speculated,   most likely Mt. Shasta.

I challenged my geography trying to figure out what volcano this could be.  I knew this wasn’t Mt. St. Helens. Perhaps a   Lassen Volcano?   And, what state am I flying over anyway?

Another noticeable peak. The flight magazine was no help at determining our flight path. How far were we from the coast at any point? I decided it was enough to just snooze a little and enjoy the artwork flowing by.

It took a while before I realized this interesting mountain patchwork was made by clear cutting in the Cascades, which many people, myself included, consider a destructive, unsustainable logging practice.

Even catching sunlight on the bright red portion of the wing made a pretty picture.

The ground crew snaps into action, the baggage cart is already swiftly moving. The fuel truck backs up next to the plane. Not a moment wasted.

As I sit across from my partner this morning blogging, I’m happy to be back in my “other” home for another couple of months. We are parked just outside of Mt. Vernon, Washington.
I looked up Cascade Range Mountains. I was totally blown away by how many I had to choose from as I was guessing. If you’d like to look check this link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascade_Range

BRANDY BAR FOR LUNCH

Oregon is green and beautiful, even when the day is overcast and cold. Expected to rain, but the drive from  Rogue River, to Florence, which is near the coast, is scenic. Crossing through the Umpqua watershed, following the river, then the Smith River area...this abundance of water helps make it the Great North West.

I even enjoyed seeing a parade of logging trucks, though I despise the clear cutting that is still happening here and in Washington State.

Old bridges, some with swinging draws are plentiful because rivers are plentiful as water pushes toward the sea from the cascades. In fact, someone told me there are 52 covered bridges in Oregon. What a wonderful goal for some summer, to find them all. There is one near my property.

As we got lower in elevation near the Dean River watershed, an expansive meadow held a huge herd of elk, lying around in plain site. Signs everywhere, elk crossing, siting area, benches and shaded places were set up for viewing. By the time we spotted them, the turn out was past so we cruised on by. Couldn't even get my camera focused in time to catch a shot from the window. But, we did stop for lunch at Brandy Bar, above. Its filled with trees and ducks.

The nearby bank showed off a patch of little English daisies in bloom and bright, new green leaves on the trees. I would have taken a dunk if the river was in Redding with its 93 degrees instead of here.

 

The sun came out for a moment as we passed this beautiful pond full of lilies just before reaching our destination, South Jetty Thousand Trails at Florence. After four hours driving, we set out for a brisk walk around the park in a light rain. Then I finished my book, The Little Friend, by Donna Tartt, an interesting novel about a southern family forever impaired by the unexplained murder of a young son. Sounds gruesome, and had some haggard characters but a compelling and fascinating read. Its great to be on the road again.

WATERMELON SNOW

Our rainy day drive to the North Cascades National Park brought us to the visitors center at Newhalem.
Repeating myself, I'm in awe of the wonderful parks in the State of Washington, probably because I'm from California where our underfunded STATE parks are beginning to look bruised and abused with volunteer docents and no money for materials. Of course, this is a National Park and the interpretive displays are stellar. We decided not to take the river loop hike given the unpredictable weather and no rain gear. I cheated and took pictures of some of the displays instead. I'd heard of pink snow while visiting Alaska, but never watermelon snow. It is a phenomena of snow algae that attracts a worm. The above photo shows a bird feeding on the worms. Some worms and bugs are blown up hill out of their own element and supply food for birds. Isn't science wonderful?
This is a copy of a photo of a deer drinking in the river. I wish I could credit the original photographer, but, in any case, it comes from the displays.
This is a mock up of perpendicular glaciers on the steeps of the Cascades showing the hoof prints of a mountain goat.
Closeup of a gnarled tree, stunted by the wind and thin soil of high elevations. The photo exhibits were wonderful, but the highlight of the center was a 25 minute film about the Cascades and its inhabitants. It emphasized the closeness of the native peoples to the land; their life in harmony with nature; the beauty and grandeur of the mountains and the animals, birds and plants that call it home.
The Cascades are so steep and remote it is one place with less footprint by modern man than others. In fact, the grizzly and wolves are being re-introduced to the Cascades with some notable success. Salmon were naturally blocked on the upper Skagit and the dams here did not affect them as much as in other rivers.
During Chief Seattle's time, life revolved around the Eagle, Grizzly, Wolves, Owls and Salmon. The native people respected their animals, the storms, the seasons, the plants, in such a way they are indelibly stamped with the spirt of them for all time.