A Glorious Moment . . .

. . . and that's about all it was, too. The weather has been oscillating rapidly between "too gorgeous to believe," and "gray like so many other gray days." Two days ago, I pulled off of Marine Drive and parked for a minute in a "No Parking At Any Time" zone. It was safe enough and off the street; it seems they didn't want to block the way for a bus or larger vehicle in the space behind some buildings. I usually mind the signs, but today I took the chance to snap a photo of the bridge from the southwest side with the sun on it and the clouds billowing overhead. Within a couple of minutes, the sky was again dark and there was no more sun on the beautiful, green span.

I have posted a number of photos of the bridge, and here is one from the other side. The hills in the distance are in Washington, on the other side of the Columbia River.

For a change of view, you can see pictures of the sky from around the world on the Skywatch Friday web site.

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Currents in the Sky

February 22, 2010

See other entries for Skywatch Friday

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Ships on cotton

I took this photo on Tuesday, January 5, from the corner of 7th Street and Franklin Avenue. What sruck me, of course, is how the ships seemed to be floating in a mass of cotton. The clouds had separated just enough to give us a view, but had left one good layer on the water's surface to enshroud the point where the ships connected with river.

What also strikes me when looking at the photo is that I don't know how to convey the breathtaking sensation we get when looking down from a height. I'll just have to tell you that this vista caught me off guard in a very pleasant way. I know that Karen will relate to this view, as it's just down the street from her old house. Karen, I really will post the house photo, but today I'm taking part in "Skywatch Friday." Everyone - for more images of the sky around the world, check out Skywatch Friday.

Orientation and links for those who love them: We're looking directly across downtown Astoria, facing up-river. The hilltop you see is in Washington. The gray spire on the waterline at the right is the radio tower. Pier 11 is just to the right of the evergreen tree on the left of the photo, and the Flavel House is behind the tree. The big red building in the center of the photo is this one, and just to the right with lots of windows is Baked Alaska, although the linked photo is taken from the other side of the building.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

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

National Geographic's "Sea Bird"

The National Geographic ship Sea Bird has been in port fairly often recently at the 17th Street docks by the Maritime Museum. At first I thought they might be doing some kind of research or photography, but it seems this is a cruise ship in conjunction with Lindblad Expeditions, and both logos are on the side of the ship. Unlike most of the tour ships that stop in Astoria, the focus of these tours is on active observation of nature.

The Sea Bird's primary destinations are north and south of us: Washington, British Columbia and Alaska to the north, and Baja California to the south. The passengers are encouraged to snorkel, kayak and hike, and the ship searches out pods of whales and other of nature's wonders that can be observed on the sea and around the coast. They advertise: "Expedition Equipment: Bow Camera, hydrophone, kayaks, snorkeling gear, Splash-Cam, underwater video camera, video microscope, Zodiac landing craft and wetsuits in Baja." Sounds intriguing. Coming back to my computer, it was a little odd to see the same logo on my tiger mousepad as I'd just seen on the ship.

The dull colors you see in these photos reflect our recent weather: lots of rain and low clouds. In this photo you can actually see more variety in the sky than usual. As I look out the window this morning, it's a flat gray and the horizon is barely visible. Happy Skywatch Friday.

Clouds over the Columbia

I've shown this view a few times, and it changes with every nuance of lighting. A moment before I took this picture, there was light reflected off of the sides of some of the buildings. I liked those shots, but the clouds over the Columbia River became more dramatic after they hid the sun. The clouds have been very active lately, including dropping a lot of rain. Happy Skywatch Friday from Astoria, Oregon, everyone.

Morning mist

This morning I spotted a lone dog-walker just behind the Martime Museum at the foot of 17th Street. That's Tongue Point in the background. The distances are interestingly skewed because of the zoom lens.

For more Skywatch Friday, follow this link.

Astoria from the air, by Frank Wolfe

Branden Wilson sent me this photo taken on August 12, 2004, by Frank Wolfe of Pacific County Emergency Services in the state of Washington. Frank recently took Branden up for a similar view, and Branden obtained this photo and shared it with us. I've left it large so you can click in and see some landmarks. This looks like typical August weather. What you're seeing is the Columbia River on the right and Young's Bay on the left. The river still has a few miles to go before it reaches the ocean beneath the cloud cover. Of course, there's one of the ships in the river, apparently waiting until it's time to head up or down river. It has drifted sideways due to the river's changing tide.

The bridge on the right goes to Washington, and the one crossing Young's Bay leads to the the towns of Warrenton and Hammond, then down the coast to Gearhart, Seaside, and points south along US 101.

The River Walk I refer to so often runs along the right-hand side of the peninsula of Astoria. The Maritime Museum where the Coast Guard ships dock is the first white-roofed building from the bottom of the photo on the waterfront.

Happy Skywatch Friday . . . this time from the top! And many thanks to our guest photographer and to Branden Wilson.

A snake's-eye view of the Astoria-Megler Bridge

We love our bridges. Not only is the Astoria-Megler Bridge the only convenient way to get to the Washington side of the Columbia River from here, but it's also one of the most outstanding and scenic man-made local features. Above is one more view, taken from the Maritime Memorial at the water's edge. For all of my other posts featuring this bridge, click here. I'm sure there will be more coming up. You really can't avoid this spectacular landmark! This bridge holds a record for being the longest continuous truss bridge in the world, and it was the last segment of US Highway 101 to be completed between Los Angeles, California and Olympia, Washington. It was built between 1962 and 1966. To pay off the 24 million dollar cost, a toll was charged. To me, one of the most remarkable things about this bridge is that they actually removed the toll in 1993, when the cost had been paid! Now you can drive across freely and not even think about stopping.

The bridge looks like it has a nice coat of paint, but recently bids were taken to repaint it due to the lead used in the old paint. This is going to require hanging canvas or some other method of capturing the contaminated paint chips and dust, so it doesn't go into the river. I don't know how this will affect our scenic icon, but it will be a huge job, as the bridge is just over four miles long.

Although I've used this photo for Skywatch Friday, our skies have not been uniformly blue. In fact, typically our current weather is heavily overcast all morning with blue skies seen only in the late afternoons.

Windows of the lovely Astor Hotel

Does anyone know the style of these delightful windows?

They can be seen on the Duane Avenue and 14th Street sides of the Astor Hotel in Astoria, Oregon. The building was constructed after the 1922 fire burned down its predecessor. I wouldn't know what to call the style. I called the building Art Deco based on various features and the look of its Commercial Street side opposite (shown here). If anyone can help me out with the style, I'd be very interested in what you have to say. I love architecture and styles, but this one isn't 100% in my vocabulary. One author called it "Gothic," and I didn't see that at all on the other side of the building, but these windows bear a hint of Gothic, if only a hint. As to the old hotel itself, several comments from the last post are worth printing here. Some were made on Blogger, and some on the Facebook page for this blog. By the way, I left two small heads at the bottom of the photo for scale and reference. I tried cropping, but I kinda like them there.

Branden Wilson: Don't forget that the top few floors are not even original. They were an afterthought built on years later . . .

Julie Winlund Evans: The bus depot was on the ground floor and I can remember watching the wooden 'dock' rot away over the years as the blackberry briars took over.

Kurt Hanson: I remember the ballroom, it was totally awesome and the little cafe on the corner where the toy store is/was? I also remember the bus depot - I can,t remember what year that was late 60's?

Lee Spangler: What is also cool is what is left of the interior of the main floor. We'll sneak in next weekend.

So, perhaps we'll have additional photos coming up. There's also a comic and game store on the corner of Commercial and 14th with a sign worthy of a photo. I'll see what I can do with that one some time!

There's a bit of sky here, and I like taking part in Skywatch Friday, but I have to admit that the photo was taken last Sunday when the sky was blue and the weather was glorious. That was just before the heatwave. Now the heat has been followed by the marine layer's inevitable clouds, and today so far it's completely overcast. It rained last night, it's cool today, and I'm not complaining!

Down to the Waterline

It seems that it all comes back down to the water here in Astoria, Oregon - in this case, the wide Columbia River. This is typical July weather. We're starting to get some sun breaks today, but mornings have been heavily overcast, misty, and drizzly. With clouds like this, you can never be sure what the day will bring.

In the photo, you can see the top of the Astoria-Megler Bridge, as well as the long flat portion connecting to Washington. The row of windows with white frames in the distance is Doc's on 12th and Baked Alaska; the red building on the right belongs to the River Pilots, as does the light green building in the foreground on the left. The red bulding on the left contains the Wheelhouse Coffee House, a real estate office and property management company, and space still open for lease. Beyond the green pilings (exposed at low water), a dock only wide enough for foot traffic is a public waterfront "park" (don't picture green grass) leading to the canopy to the right of the red building, where you can watch the river, ships and the sky in all weather. They used to have a radio speaker inside the canopy where you could hear actual conversations of the river pilots. At some point it stopped working, and I hope they bring it back. You may have to click on the photo to enlarge it if you want to see all that I described.

. Happy SkyWatch Friday.

"El Tiburon Blanco," The White Shark

The Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast is usually docked about one block from my office along the River Walk at the Maritime Museum, so I was pleasantly surprised to see her out of dock and floating just outside my office on July 5th. She was barely moving - in fact, was moving in a slow circle rather than making much headway. I saw a cluster of orange life jackets on deck, but since nobody seemed overly excited and in fact the mood seemed relaxed (what I could tell of it), I assumed this was a training exercise. Although I zoomed the pic a bit to frame the ship, it's not that far away. Even fishing boats don't usually come this close to shore where we are, so it was a novelty and a treat to see her up close. (Note the railing of the catwalk in the lower right of the photo.) You can get nearer to the Steadfast in the dock, but it was interesting to see her on the water with the crew out and active.

Note: As it turns out, a friend of a friend is deployed on the ship, and it was just returning from two months on active duty. As home port was only one block (landlubber talk, I know) up the river, friends and relatives were no doubt gathered, and the mood onboard seemed light and even jovial (did I hear laughter across the water?), were they teasing as they delayed their last short distance into dock? Last-minute prep for going ashore? Mystery unsolved!

I knew a few things about this ship, but I'd never heard the full explanation. She bears a large logo of the name "Steadfast" in the shape of a great white shark, and wears a gold marijuana leaf painted on the mast. The ship's notable history is described briefly on her own web site and explains both the logo and the leaf. I think I actually remember this ship in the news from years back, before I moved to Oregon.

I also love the delicate wisps and shadings of the gray clouds in the background. As this is Skywatch Friday, I wanted to bring special attention to them. We've been having days of clouds, rain, drizzle, haze, and more clouds with patches of blue sky. I love all of the colors on the river, including the gray. I'd like to borrow from and link to Sara Chapman, who blogged, "I know I've lived in Seattle a long time when I begin to get excited about shades of gray in the clouds." Sara, I feel the same way. Isn't the sky magnificent?

The big red shed

This romantic building is one of the most painted and photographed in all of Astoria, and possibly in the Pacific Northwest. Locally it's known as "Big Red." The roofline was more balanced and aesthetically pleasing before the big storm of December 2-3, 2007, blew the top to shreds. The building began life in 1897 as a drying shed for fishing nets and a place where fish were transferred. Boats were also lifted directly out of the water and into the building for repair. Currently and most recently, Big Red has served as a studio for local artist Royal Nebeker and others. It has a rich history and a remarkable setting. You can read more about all of this and see a photo of the way it looked before the storm by following this link and this one. It's reached only by a private catwalk and is not open to the public. I've never been inside, but I've dreamed about it.

I took this photo yesterday on my walk from Pier 39 along the river to 15th Street, and I decided to use it today for Skywatch Friday. For several days, the sky has been bright blue and clear above with light haze at the horizon and along the hills. This may not seem like an "event" (after all, it's summer), but here it IS an event people talk about any time it doesn't rain, drizzle, or lay in a blanket of clouds for three or four days in a row. The temperature reached about 80*F on Thursday. We're scheduled for another warm day, then cooling. The thing is, the cool weather often comes in a day earlier than predicted. Astoria can't handle too many warm days in a row - the heat sucks the cool ocean air right up the river and we go back to our typical overcast or drizzly skies for awhile. We'll see who's right this time, the official forecast or me :) If it get's into the 90s or up to 100, the cool weather comes in that much faster. We only have a few days in that temperature range each year; that's one reason I moved to the North Coast. I love it that way! I'll keep you posted.

For a glimpse inside Big Red and to hear some hauntingly beautiful music, click on the YouTube picture below to see/hear Israel Nebeker's music video. Israel is the son of the building's owners, and an extremely nice young man. The band is Blind Pilot.

Lady Washington replica in Astoria's waters, or: Star Trek comes to Astoria

On Wednesday the Lady Washington passed this way under cloudy skies. The clouds and haze are still with us, so I'll go ahead and use this interesting photo for Skywatch Friday. You can see how the Lady Washington's size compares to the stern of one of the tankers that more often travel the river here. Both the replica you see in this photo and the original tall sailing ship have gathered their fair share of fame. The replica was built just up the coast in Aberdeen, Washington, in time for the 1989 state Centennial, and has been claimed as the "State Ship," which I'm sure is very different from Plato's "ship of state"! I've seen the Lady Washington rarely, but when I do it's always a treat. Some of us just call her "the pirate ship," and we all know which ship we're talking about. The Lady Washington has actually been in a number of movies, including Star Trek Generations, HMS Interceptor, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

The original Lady Washington was built on the East Coast in 1787 and sailed around Cape Horn. She was named after Martha Washington and was captained for a time by Robert Gray, the man who entered and named the Columbia River (on a different ship, the Columbia Rediviva) in 1792. The Lady Washington was also the first American ship to reach Japan. You can read more about this historic vessel in Wikipedia.

It always lifts the spirits to see this beautiful ship in our waters, and she sometimes docks at the Maritime Museum, where you can get a closer look. She currently sails up and down the Pacific Coast teaching sailors and non-sailors about seamanship, customs, and about ships of her era, keeping history alive and fascinating.

This is my entry for Skywatch Friday. Come visit skies around the world today!

I want to thank all my friends who have been visiting my blog and commenting. I've had shopping cart technical issues, and then I took a day off. I am REALLY looking forward to spending time visiting your sites again! Hopefully later today :)

Aerial symphony over Warrenton

The weather has been doing a bit of everything. I took this photo just across the Youngs Bay Bridge from Astoria as you enter Warrenton. This, for sure, was the photo for Skywatch Friday. The clouds seem to swell and pitch, boil up, tear apart and then drift away peacefully like shredded fleece. We often see clouds dark and low in the marine layer coming off the ocean, but today's spectacle contained everything at once. Just in time. Today's aerial symphony coincides with the start of Astoria's 10-day music festival. It will be an energetic week, with the midsummer Scandinavian Festival going on as well, and today the passengers from a huge cruise ship overflowing the sidewalks. The only thing I don't enjoy is the traffic! In case you wondered, the sign says, "Astoria/Warrenton Airport left 3/4 mile."

If you like photomemes, come check out "Reflections on Saturday." I'd love it if you'd help get it started!

And be sure to see Lee's Bend, Oregon, photo today . . . it's amazing!

The 6th Street Viewing Platform and thoughts on what it all means

This platform always looks tropical to me, although Astoria is anything but tropical, and this year we haven't even had that many t-shirt days so far. Maybe it's the shape of the roof, and maybe it's the colors and the poles it stands on that make it appear to be an interloper from warmer latitudes. In any event, we love it, and we usually take or direct visitors here. It's built next to the Cannery Cafe at the end of the pier on 6th Street, and it's fun to hang around and watch the ships; seals; sea lions; birds; the great, wide expanse of sky; sturgeon fishing in season; or just watch the Columbia roll on. From here, you can observe the huge ships travelling the whole length of town and farther. There's a two-level deck at the end of the pier with a pay-per-view telescope that I've never used, and an interpretive plaque about the original people of the area. The pier is only a few yards long, and is essentially part of the River Walk.

The only uncool thing in the photo, as far as I'm concerned, is the pole on the left. It's an initial part of the planned condo that was to have been completed this Spring. When the economy tanked, or maybe for other reasons I don't know, it never got started except for a number of tall poles planted in the water. They already mar photos of the river, bridge, and people's sunset photos from here, and if the building is ever completed, it will block, from the platform, one of the views everyone comes here to see - for tourists and locals alike. (In the linked photo, you can see the legs of the viewing platform at the left of the picture.) We will still be able to see a large part of the river and the flat part of the bridge, but not the tall towers that give it most of its character. Once blocked, the view will belong to only those few who buy a condo here. It's sad and stupid. I don't usually get on soapboxes in my City Daily Photo posts, but this is a pet peeve. Only eight years ago when I drove into town for the first time, you could see more of the river from the highway than you can today. Over the next few years, views may be blocked that will never again be accessible to the public. One thing I'm doing as I wander around town with my camera is to document and blog those vistas and old buildings that will someday be gone. It's happened already, and apparently we don't care enough to stop those who can afford to do it.

NOTE: I have since learned that if this condo is built, there will be a viewing deck open to the public all the way around the building. It will actually afford a beautiful view of the bridge. I still have feelings about the view being blocked from the actual river walk (bike traffic, for instance), and the height of the building. However, I've learned a lot more about the topic of waterfront views and access, how they have actually improved since earlier years, and what the ongoing issues are. As more comes up via photos, I will both learn and talk more about it. Apparently there is a lot to be said. Basically, in the 1800s, it was all about industry, which left statutes in place that we all deal with one way or another. (To be continued.)

Sunset at the Peter Iredale

Last night at the beach, the sun set not over the horizon line of the ocean, but into a dense fog bank. You can see the bony hull of the wrecked Peter Iredale at the bottom of the photo silhouetted against the waves. The beach is only about a 15-minute drive from downtown Astoria, and it's a favorite place to watch the sun go down. It's especially nice on a evening like today when the air is still wet from a recent shower. The sunset is not as dramatic as it is some evenings, but it always feels special here. Off to the left, I watched a red jellyfish-shaped kite glide among the misty clouds until they turned gold. Be sure to visit other participants in Skywatch Friday to see the skies around the world.

Big sky, big river

I love how big the sky feels on the river when we can see it! After an overcast early morning and dark misty clouds still settled into the trees of Astoria's hillside, the sun is finally out. It's 47 degrees F, partially overcast, and the high is supposed to reach 65 today. I took this photo of the ships on the wide Columbia River from along the waterfront on April 10th. We've had lots and lots of rain with "sun breaks," so a bit of extended sun will be very welcome on this Skywatch Friday!

Surrounded by rivers and forest; connected by bridges

The distant hill is the city of Astoria as it was this morning (Skywatch Friday), still somewhat shrouded under a layer of melting fog. The city consists of a forested peninsula with most of the city's residences not far from wooded land, and the downtown built over the Columbia River's marshy banks on pilings. It's hard to remember that, because the city looks normal, but in places you can still see the evidence. Astoria is reached from eastward by the highway from Longview, an hour's drive up river, and from three other directions by bridges. The Astoria-Megler bridge on the left - the one with the two points - spans 4.1 miles of the Columbia River to the state of Washington. On the right (you may want to click on the photo to enlarge it) a drawbridge and causeway, together called the Youngs Bay Bridge, connect Astoria with its neighboring town of Warrenton. Ten miles in this direction lies the Pacific Ocean. Out of the picture on the right, a shorter bridge called the Old Youngs Bay Bridge connects the city with the meadows, farms, and pasture lands to the south. For reasons I'm not sure of, "Youngs" has no apostrophe in the name. To get an overview, and to see all this water, click on the map link to the right. It's pretty cool.