Tag Archives: River

Oregon Trip Report 2018 – Part 3

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Hug Point Falls

Continuing on from Part 1 and Part 2, Day Three started with a trip up the coast to see Haystack Rock:

Haystack Rock

Terrible Tilly (Tillamook Rock Lighthouse):

Terrible Tilly

Hug Point Falls:

Hug Point Falls

The original plan was to continue up the coast, but due to the cloud cover, we decided that it was perfect waterfall weather, so we headed to Portland to the Columbia River Gorge. Upon arriving we found clear skies and sun. Go figure. Stops included Lower Latourell Falls:

Lower Latourell Falls

Upper Latourell Falls:

Upper Latourel Falls

Multnomah Falls:

Multnomah Falls

And because the weather had cleared, the last stop of the trip was Mt. Hood for sunset:

Mt. Hood Sunset

Watching the alpenglow fade on Mt. Hood was a great way to end the trip.  Thanks for following along.

Oregon Trip Report 2018 – Part 1

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Wreck of the Peter Iredale

While the main purpose of my trip to Oregon in May was to photograph the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad, flying into and out of Portland provided some additional photography opportunities.  First up was a stop at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center on Friday afternoon.  We arrived to find Southern Pacific 4449 parked outside in preparation for an open house the next day.

SP 4449

Inside the facility were Oregon Railroad & Navigation 197 and Spokane Portland & Seattle 700:

OR&N 197

From there we headed to Astoria where we caught the Riverfront Trolley running with several container ships waiting their turn to run up river:

Astoria Riverfront Trolley along the Columbia River

Flavel House gardens in full bloom:

Flavel House Rear Gardens in Spring

Next, we headed down the coast and found the wreck of the Peter Iredale:

Wreck of the Peter Iredale

After spending some time on the beach capturing the wreck under menacing skies, we make the final leg of the trip into Garabaldi for the photo charter the next day.

Look for Part 2 next Tuesday.

Trip Report – Colorado Fall Color 2016 Part 2

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Devil's Lookout

Continuing where we left off in Part 1 of the trip report, after leaving Mesa Verde National Park, I drove North to Montrose Colorado to be in position for sunrise at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison became a National Park on October 21, 1999, encompasing 30,750 acres and is known for its incredibly steep cliffs and narrow canyon.  At its narrowest point, Chasm View, the canyon is 1,100ft wide at the rim, 40ft wide at the river and 1,820ft deep!  This unique steepness and narrowness is caused by the steep route the Gunnison River takes through the canyon.  It averages 34ft of drop per mile which causes the river to cut deeper into the canyon faster than the walls can erode and widen the canyon.

Island Peaks:
Island Peaks

Pulpit Rock:
Pulpit Rock

Chasm View:

Chasm View

The canyon is difficult to photograph during the day due to the huge contrast between the shadows and the sunny side of the canyon. I think this park may be best captured in the pre-dawn and post sunset light.  A second trip to better capture this park is definitely in order.

Part 3 of the trip report will cover Maroon Bells and Great Sand Dunes National Park.

Through The Lens 76 – Painted Wall

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As magma cools and solidifies, water becomes concentrated, making the remaining magma more fluid.  That last bit of magma to cool moves easily into the cracks in the surrounding rock before cooling and forming a type of granite called Pegmatite.  The light colored streaks at Painted Wall in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park are an impressive example of this phenomenon.  For reference, those are full size trees above the rim of the canyon.  At 2,250 feet high, Painted Wall is Colorado’s tallest cliff.

The patterns in the rock look great in black & white too.

Check back Tuesday for the long overdue Part 2 of my Colorado Fall Color Trip Report.

Through The Lens 73 – Cheat River Trains

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Continuing on last week’s theme of trains in the rain, here’s one from Cass Railfan Weekend a couple of years ago. A special trip was run on the Durbin & Greenbriar Valley Railroad along the Cheat River and as was typical during Railfan Weekend, it rained.