Old Young's Bay Bridge by Linda Fenton-Mendenhall

Astoria, Oregon ~ Photo by Linda Fenton-Mendenhall

Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Saddle Mountain

Old Astoria Yacht Club ~ March 20013

Another great image from Guest Blogger Jack Applegate!  He took this beautiful photo of Saddle Mountain from the Yacht Club located just East of the Old Young's Bay Bridge off of Highway 202.

Astoria, Oregon, Daily Photo is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store and Astoria Sunday Market.

Shimmering Water, Red Sky

Astoria, Oregon ~ January 19, 2011

For those who do not know Astoria, this is the drawbridge over the mouth of Young's Bay where it empties into the Columbia River. The bay is on the left, the river on the right. This image is another take on the sunset from January 19th.

Depending on where I looked and how I directed the camera in that amazing red glow, different elements showed up. Here you can see the blue-gray line that indicates ripples on the surface of the water. You can also see vertical lines of light paralelling the pilings and the bridge columns. These are actually the reflections of the headlights crossing the bridge. I'm not sure how the angle of the light from the cars could make this happen, but I watched as each vehicle produced the light on the water, and the light moved with the vehicle. I love the time of day when the intensity of the light in the sunset somewhat matches the intensity of the electric lights. There was so much going on here, it was one of those evenings that makes your breath come fast and want to share the moment. 

For more Weekend Reflections, visit James and participants from around the world at Newtown Area Photo.

I hope you enjoy the new, larger format. You can still click to enlarge the photo somewhat, but in most cases you won't need to any longer.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Drawbridge in the rain

Here's the view of the Young's Bay Bridge (the new Young's Bay Bridge) from Smith Point. It crosses the mouth of Young's Bay (fed by Young's River and the Lewis and Clark River) right where the bay feeds into the Columbia River. This is a drawbridge, allowing the taller fishing boats to leave and enter the bay. It's the bridge most of us use to cross to Warrenton, Gearhart, Seaside, all Oregon points on the wedge of land that includes Fort Stevens and leads to South Jetty, and on down the coast. It's the way we get to the ocean. In my eight years here, I've only been caught in the traffic behind the raised bridge once or twice. It's fun to see the boats go through, especially if you're not in a hurry.

The other Young's Bay bridge (the old bridge) will get you there, but it ends on a slower road off the beaten path. These days, it's mostly used by people who live or work in that area. I posted a photo of its artistic design here.

An aerial photo by Frank Wolfe shows the New Young's Bay Bridge (left) and the Astoria-Megler bridge (right). The old Young's bay bridge is out of the photo on the left.

Beauty in an old bridge

I took this photo yesterday evening on the far side of the old Young's Bay Bridge. For those not familiar with Astoria, this bridge is on the opposite site of the Astoria hill from downtown, where I seem to take most of my photos. The water in the background is Young's Bay, and the hint of a bridge on the horizon to the right is the new bridge, just called "Young's Bay Bridge." It's a bit wider and gets most of the traffic now, because it carries Highway 30, which is the only route through Astoria from the east on this side of the river (it's much faster than the route on the other side of the river), and it turns carries traffic down the coast. For locals, it also connects Astoria to Warrenton, Hammond, Seaside, Gearhart, etc., all on the Oregon side of the Columbia.

The water of Young's Bay merges with the Columbia River at the new bridge. The scene of Lewis and Clark's wet winter here and their canoe landing are buried in the apparently-thin line of trees on the horizon on the left. The ocean is a number of miles beyond what you see here. The tall and scenic Astoria-Megler bridge, most often associated with this town, is invisible to the right and behind the Astoria hill.

Note: It's not just the size of the bridge that affects its use, but the landing point. It's a long detour (though interesting) to get from the landing point of one bridge to the landing point of the other on the west and south sides of Young's Bay. Most of the places to shop are where the new bridge lands, too.

. Happy Skywatch Friday