That Hole in the Ground Revisited

Astoria, Oregon ~ November 27, 2012

I thought I'd take a progress-report photo of the hole in what used to be the Safeway parking lot on Duane Street between 11th and 14th Streets. I can't actually give you the report, because I have no idea what they are doing. I like the colorful sandbags. For the amusing (or not so amusing) first report, check out my original post from 2010.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

By Land and by Sea

Astoria, Oregon ~ February 1, 2011

I enjoyed seeing these huge tomatoes on the side of the delivery truck in the Safeway parking lot. Goods arrive in Astoria by truck as we watch other products travel past on their way to or from the ocean on ships.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Chicken Little

 Astoria, Oregon ~ December 14, 2010

I guess if there isn't much news, you just exaggerate. (December 15: I've amended this thought to, "It seems that fact-checking is no longer a valid concept when purveying the news." You can read CNN's version here. The hysterical part [if we didn't rely on the media for our information] is that Channel 7, KTLA, included a photo and was still able to report, "ASTORIA, OR (CNN) - A sinkhole devoured an entire block due to continuous rain in an Oregon town. . . . The massive sinkhole opened up, sending the entire block below street level." See the end of this post for more national media nonsense.)

The night before last, this portion of concrete collapsed into the abandoned basement of what used to be the Safeway store on 11th and Duane. Since the Safeway store moved a few years ago, the property was been purchased by the City and has been used as a concrete park and event venue; Sunday Market spills over onto this area during summer. Fortunately, no one was hurt and we get another intriguing glance into the underpinnings (or lack thereof) of Astoria's downtown area.

Much of Astoria's downtown is built on pilings, and some of them must be getting very old by now. But it is not a sinkhole, with caverns sucking down the earth and no obvious end in sight. It was suggested that recent heavy rains had caused pooling which broke the concrete. They rains have been extremely heavy and prolonged, and I expect contributed to the weakening of what structures there were down there, because there have been heavier weights on it before, such as vehicles. The Bank of America's temporary housing - a huge mobile thing - had been parked a few feet away for months after the bank burned down in 2008.

I've shown pictures on the blog before from several points in Astoria where the edges of this warren are always available to look at.

What's amusing is the way the media handled it. Associated Press said that "a vacant city block" had collapsed, and another report gave the area as "an entire city block." Hardly true, as the hole is not even the size of one lot. Most of the media is calling it a "sinkhole," which makes it sound geological, mysterious, giantic, and omnivorous. Obviously, none of the above. This is why one of my friends is so adamant about questioning historical reports and word-of-mouth accounts. The "local" Portland news got it right, except for using the charged word "sinkhole." Any idea how this event will be remembered?

Here's another one that got it right. I didn't realize the fence was already up when the concrete caved in.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Kathryn George, Congratulations on Your Moo-sical Cow!

April 24, 2010

I was walking through Safeway buying groceries and minding my own business, when I encountered this rare and wonderful sight. I took some photos, of course, but I didn't know much about it. When I finally got around to posting this beautifully-painted cow, I looked it up online and realized just how special it was. Cow-painter Kathryn George is one of only 20 students in the entire U.S. who was a finalist in the Lucerne Art of the Dairy cow-painting contest. Congratulations, Kathryn! Your cow is beautiful and you are talented. I love blue. I'm glad I got a chance to see this!

Kathryn attends Knappa High School. For those who don't know the area, Knappa is just a few twists and turns up the road east of Astoria.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

River Walk near Safeway

February 7, 2010

River Walk near the Safeway Store

46°11'34.37"N 123°48'29.58"W

It seems we're in for some clear weather Saturday, and in case we've forgotten, here's a reminder of what a blue-sky day looks like - this one with strikingly pretty clouds. For non-Astorians, this is the track used by the Astoria Riverfront Trolley. The bench is a nice place to sit just next to the trolley stop, although soon much of the view will be obscured by leaves. Green is just around the corner.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Screaming scarlet bushes

This is what I meant in the last post about "screaming scarlet" fall leaves. I've noticed these bushes a lot around this area and in Portland. It's not like you can miss them. I'm sure they're chosen exactly for the color they turn in fall. I took this photo at the edge of the Safeway parking lot not far from this old shed. The river looks white on this drizzly day. The hills in the distance are on the Washington side of the Columbia River. Of course, that's the River Walk beyond the tracks.

One of the rail lines you see in both photos is for the much-used Astoria Riverfront Trolley. The other line hasn't been used for awhile. They resurrected it a couple of years ago for several Amtrak passenger cars that ran between Astoria and Portland (2 hours by car). It was a great idea if you wanted to come from Portland to Astoria for the day or a couple of days, but the sceduling and logistics were a mess if you wanted to go from Astoria and spend the day in Portland. The timing was all wrong, and it made for an expensive proposition since you would almost have to stay overnight in Portland if you lived in Astoria. Daytripping was virtually ruled out unless you wanted to ride the train, turn around and come right back. Maybe they'll plan it better next time. We all loved the idea.

Ruby Tuesday: Red, white, and gray

I love bright foregrounds against a dark sky. I took this photo in our Safeway parking lot the other morning. The dumpster is usually not parked here where a path leads from the lot to the River Walk, but this morning someone had left it here, and the bright red was perfect, caught in a brief beam of sunlight. It's surprising how fast the clouds move, changing the atmosphere and changing it again. Beyond the parking lot is the new Comfort Suites Columbia River, where you can be kept awake all night listening to sea lions barking. I haven't needed to stay there and it looks nice. I'd probably like hearing sea lions all night.

Ruby Tuesday gave me an excuse to use this cool dumpster photo. Maybe tomorrow I'll post the boats!