Aleutian Ballad

 

February 2013 ~ Warrenton, Oregon

 

Welcome Guest Blogger Liz McMaster who along with husband own the F/V Lady Laura. Her posts will primarily focus on the commercial fishing community here in Astoria-Warrenton. For those not familiar with the reagion, Warrenton is a close neighbor of Astoria where many of the local fishing boats docks. Cyndi Mudge

 

Captain David Lethin and crew are preparing the Aleutian Ballad (also a tour boat with the Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour) to make the trek to Alaska and fish for Brown King Crab.  The dome shaped pots will be dropped to the ocean floor in hopes of securing a healthy load of the highly sought after crustaceans.  The Aleutian Ballad was also featured in the popular Discovery Channel series: "Deadliest Catch."

 

 

Liz McMaster

Guest Blogger

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Commercial Fishermen's Festival

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Young's Bay Bridge

Date taken: December 24, 2012. In this photo there is Young's Bay Bridge. On the other side is Warrenton. 

I like this picture because the sky and the water color don't take away the attention from the bridge. In my opinion stands out amongst the other aspects in the picture. 

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Drive-by Astoria #8: A Sign with Boats

Warrenton, Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

Highway 101 

Here we've crossed the Young's Bay Bridge and have stopped at Rite-Aid. I took the opportunity to snap this photo in the other direction. I don't know if the sign is brand new or if I've just missed it until now, but it looks pretty shiny. It shows the harbor at Hammond, just down the road along the Columbia River. The museum, near the harbor, has been posted at other times, although I've never been there when it was open.

Thanks to those who were concerned for my safety and asked if I'd been taking the pictures while driving. No, I wasn't. Lee was driving, and I was the passenger with the camera. I still have a few fun shots to show you of the trip back.

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Drive-by Astoria #7: Crossing Young's Bay

Astoria, Oregon ~ September 15, 2012

Young's Bay Bridge

Sorry about the discoloration through the windshield, but this is what it looks like crossing from Astoria to Warrenton. We're coming down off of the drawbridge hump and the longest part of the bridge is still ahead. It gets pretty bright out there between the two reflecting expanses of water. The Columbia River is on the right beyond the mouth of Young's Bay (see yesterday's post) and on the left the bay will soon narrow into Young's River. 

This bridge has appeared on the blog in more romantic guises here, here, and here. This is actually Highway 101. It enters Astoria (behind us) and quickly takes you across the much larger Astoria-Megler Bridge to Washington.

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Spring Morning

Warrenton, Oregon ~ April 21, 2011

Everyone remarks on the sun because we've seen it so little this year. By the time I got back across the Youngs Bay Bridge (you can see the car lights in the lower middle of the photo) it was raining in Astoria. Now it's stopped, but for how long? Temperatures are generally about 15 degrees lower than average across the state, and it may stay that way for awhile. Some summer fruit crops may not be out until August or September, or so it was reported.

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Clouds of Winter

Warrenton, Oregon ~ November 2, 2010

I liked the sky over the highway and shopping center just on the other side of the Young's Bay Bridge. I also liked the seasonal banners hanging beside the parking lot. Whoever designs and chooses these does a nice job, I think. As Cieldequimper reminded me, November is still the fall season, but our November this year was so cold, I've been thinking of it already as winter.

Here's a better view of the banner.

I love the clouds, although looking at this photo makes me dizzy.

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The Harbor at Hammond

Hammond/Warrenton, Oregon ~ August 14, 2006

Weekend Reflections

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Real Clouds

Warrenton, Oregon ~ August 27, 2010

I took this photo from the parking lot of the Columbia Fitness Center just across the bridge in Warrenton. I've been enjoying the huge, billowing clouds for the past few days. So often lately, it seems we have either no clouds at all or gray overcast days. No, I was not at the gym at the crack of dawn. This was taken at sunset across the marshy field next to the shopping center. Since, in some circles, Fridays are for watching the sky, check out more "skies from all over the planet" at Skywatch Friday.

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Remembrance

This gazebo at Lighthouse Park in Warrenton, its sculpture, and its sponsored bricks in the pavement honor local people who have died on the river and sea.

"This Gazebo Donated by the Family of Edwin Nicholas"

Praying hands rise out of the bronze waves.

" . . . claimed by the deep. Their spirits sheltered in the arms. . . ."

REMEMBRANCE

Artist

Ken Dugan

Hopefully someone can comment on either Ken Dugan or Edwin Nicholas, because I was not able to find either on a search of the Web.

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Animated

July 7, 2002

Yes, I was glancing through my archives and found this pic from 2002 that I've always liked. It was taken on the beach near the Peter Iredale. We have plenty of driftwood along this part of the coast at any season, and much of it is not the teeny variety. I seem to remember reading that this grass that keeps the dunes from eroding was brought in and is not native. It looks pretty, though, and helps make the Oregon Coast what it is to us today. I wonder what was here before the grass? Did the forest come right down to the sand? Note the overcast day. We've been having similar weather this year, but it may be the coldest July I can remember. I'm not complaining, and we tend to get sun in the afternoon, but I hear some people grumbling about it.

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Lighthouse Park, Warrenton

March 21, 2010

Lighthouse Park, at the main crossroads in Warrenton near the Skipanon River, consists of a small museum and maritime memorial (the gazebo on the left), a bell, a bench (not shown here), and a harpoon gun with harpoons. I showed the gun an harpoons in an earlier post where we ended up talking a lot about whaling, ships, and local history. There were many wonderful comments from those who knew the people, and you might want to revisit the post. You can barely make out the harpoon gun in the picture above as a black spot to the left of the charming white lighthouse building. I called that post, "History in Hammond." Hammond was once an incorporated town, but is now part of Warrenton. I've never been sure where one ends and the other begins.

I'm guessing the lighthouse was moved here, as it wouldn't do ships any good at this location. The Skipanon is very small, and the Columbia is a few blocks away.

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George Wright Warren Memorial in Pioneer Cemetery

June 10, 2010

This moody photo could have been taken almost any day in June, except that there may be a few more leaves on the trees today than there were on June 10th. This is Pioneer Cemetery at the top of the Astoria hill, and the marker is for the Warren Family. George Wright Warren was one of those early business tycoons who founded banks and other industries. He lived in Knappa, Astoria, and Warrenton, where he built dikes to create valuable farmland out of his property. I believe it's this marker that stands tall in the sunset in this post.

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Animal Planter

Warrenton or Hammond, Oregon ~ March 28, 2010

I've enjoyed looking at this planter in the grassy median ever since I first noticed it. I don't know how old it is, but I hope it's around for awhile longer. I'm not sure how long that will be, since it has clearly been affected by the wet environment. The planter was made with nice colors, and it features animals of our maritime area.

The median separates 6th Street from Pacific Drive and stops at Lake Street, just beyond the planter. Not that I would have known any of these street names. It's across from the mini storage on one corner, the mini mart on another corner, and is at one of the entrances to Ft. Stevens State Park. I'm actually not sure if the location is Hammond or Warrenton, but if you know the area, you will know where it is. There are small stores where you can buy bait and tackle, and various things needed for an outing in the park or a fishing trip on the river or ocean. Can anyone tell me if this is officially Hammond or Warrenton?

I've found myself taking so many photos of animal art "along the way" over the years, that I finally started a blog for - yes - Animal Art Along the Way. It's not brand new. I'm up to 107 posts now, and it's an *almost* daily blog. I'm sure that parts of this planter will appear there soon.

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Former Osprey Nest, July 2002

Warrenton, Oregon ~ July 21, 2002

Lee first pointed out to me this osprey nest located a few minutes outside of Astoria, a short distance past the point where Highway 101 turns south to venture down the Oregon Coast. With luck we would see osprey each year, and I remember watching the parents bringing food for the chicks. The highway also crossed an elk trail and grazing field where the animals would gather in herds that numbered in the scores.

There is no more osprey nest now, and the elk-grazing here is finished. Instead, you can enjoy the parking lots and stocked shelves of several huge big-box stores with one more currently being built. The tree remains, but it's now so close to the new construction and cleared forest that the osprey have given it up. I still don't know why our small population "needs" such huge stores, or if they will sell enough products to stay open. I can imagine what their incursion is doing and will do to the small local businesses we say we care about and want to supprt. I also know I already miss the wild areas, the elk and the osprey that had learned to coexist with the narrower old highway and with us.

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Scotch Broom in Warrenton

Warrenton, Oregon ~ April 15, 2010

Although I took this photo on April 15th, it could almost have been taken today. The Scotch broom is still blossoming toward its full strength. While it's quite beautiful and adds plenty of color to the landscape, it's an invasive species, and a particularly disastrous one. In my May 17 post last year, I featured the plant and talked about some of its incredible cost to the state. A student won an award for discovering a process for using Scotch broom for biofuel, and I wonder if anyone's using the process yet. Read all about it via links in the post of May 17, 2009.

This photo shows some marshy land near the shopping center just over the Young's Bay Bridge in Warrenton. The flat line on the green horizon is a berm separating this patch of land from the real wetlands at the edge of the Columbia River. I discovered how to get onto the berm without going through stickery berry bushes, so I'll try to show some pix from that angle before long.

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Snow on Saddle Mountain

Warrenton, Oregon ~ April 10, 2010

You can see Saddle Mountain from various points on the south side of Astoria (the Young's Bay side) and from the area around Young's Bay in Warrenton, just across the bay from Astoria. I don't remember seeing snow on it like this before, at least not this late in the year. Or was I not paying attention?

I've hiked to the top a couple of times, and I wonder if I'll do it again this year. There's a very good walking trail most of the way, although it gets slippery near the top. If I go, of course I will share the photos!

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After A Storm

April 14, 2009

I still remember how I felt when I noticed this cloud over the trees in Warrenton almost a year ago. I'd gone to the gym in the shopping center, and next to pavement is a large expanse of marsh with a few trees in it. I hadn't expected to see much other than gray that day, so I was surprised when the sun burst through, and that's when I took the photo. We've had a few beautiful days, or parts of days, this year, but not so many. I'm not really REALLY complaining about the rain and cold, but I do love colors, and I'm waiting to dig in the small garden patch until it stops pouring and warms up.

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Skunk Cabbage

Western skunk cabbage is blooming. I encountered it in the ditches along the roadsides, and it can be found in many areas locally. I happened to see this patch in Warrenton on my way back from the beach on Sunday.

I've seen plenty of skunk cabbage patches, but I don't remember seeing them in bloom before. I wonder if it's because this is an unusually good year for flowers, or if they have a short season, and I happned to catch them on a good day. The large yellow flowers, of course, caught my attention. When I approached to take the pictures, I realized that they are aptly named. I wonder if the smell, too, comes with the flowering season.

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High Wind, High Surf Advisory

The coast is under high wind and high surf advisories from Sunday night through Monday. The high winds were just beginning and it was still safe to go out on the beach. It's hard to see the blowing sand here, but before I got back to the car, I had sand in my ears, my hair, my clothing, and my camera. Even with the wide angle, I came just short of getting entire length of the wreck of the Peter Iredale. I've included the picture below from February 2008 to show how you can spot the end of the wreckage. Near the center of the photo and touching the horizon are two metal pipes sticking into the air (they look like one in the small version). I'm not sure if they mark the end of the ship or only a spot near the end. The sand ebbs and flows with the elements, and some years, days, or storms, you can see more of the ship than at other times.

Clearly, Peter is more photogenic on some days than others, too. I've posted images before, and I still have a few in the archives to come later. But today I wanted to show you the beginning of the storm. It's been rainy, drizzly, cloudy, and now windy, and it seems we have rain forecast all week. I would love to get out there and show you some huge waves, but we'll see how it goes. Even as I drove back along the access road, the police were out "suggesting" that lookers be careful. And I do have respect for big waves.

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Dungeness Crab Banner in Warrenton

In my Starbucks post, I pointed out the crab banner barely visible outside the window, and I said I'd get a photo of it sometime. Yes, that day is today! I can't say I know much about the banner, except that several of them brighten the edge of the parking lot on the Warrenton side of the Young's Bay Bridge. We have an annual Crab and Seafood Festival, and Dungeness crabs are a favorite around here, so I think the banners are simply to help "brand" our area and enliven the edge of the parking lot. They serve the purpose very well, and they make me smile. If anyone knows more, please comment on the post.

Young's Bay is below the sight line between here and the horizon, which is the Astoria peninsula. As you can see, we're enjoying some blue sky for a change.

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