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Silverton, Colorado
The road from Durango to Silverton is rated as one of the most scenic roads in the USA. And haven driven it, we can only agree. In addition, the aspen trees are just starting to color, making for some added color. Certainly lived up to its reputation. The road is pretty high in altitude, topping out at close to 11,000 feet.
Silverton is a former silver mining town (duh) and is at 9,400 ft altitude. Population about 500, so small. It is now in the Nation Historic Landmark District. The Durango-Silverton train brings many tourists daily, so here are many cute shops and restaurants. We enjoyed our lunch at the Pickle Barrel.
Leaving Durango behind, in the Animas River valley
Aspen trees starting to change colors
A view from Coal Bank Pass
Awwww, shucks, here we are
Going down to Silverton
Looking down toSilverton from the road
Main Street, Silverton, the only paved street in town
Main Street, Silverton
A dirt side road, big mountain in the back
Silverton court house
Pickle Barrel, where we had a good lunch
Local taxi cab
Some very colorfol houses
The train arriving at Silverton Station
You can certainly tell we are in the mountains!
Arches and Canyonlands NP
Somehow, 5 days in Moab just isn’t enough to see this amazing area. And you better make sure you have a large capacity memory card for your camera since there is an amazing picture every time you turn around. Here are just a few of them.
At Arches, we visited Delicate Arch, subject of a separate post. Then we did an evening/sunset view at Two Windows. It is just amazing how the setting sun colors the cliffs! And yes, it really does get that red.
At Canyonlands, we hiked up Upheaval Dome, a very unusual formation. It is still unknown what caused the unique formation: an eruption? a meteor strike? In any case, a wonderful view. And at Mesa Arch we caught the sunlight shining under the arch, very unusual. Finally, a short walk to Grand View point gave some amazing views.
Two Windows from a distance
Looking through North Window
The sun is starting to color the rocks. And the moon is up…. and I’m avoiding any other comments.
Yes, it really is that bright red!
Looking through South Window, clouds on the horizon
Early morning, looking towards Park Avenue
The sun is starting to light up the cliffs
The three gossips are waking up
The sun is striking the underside of Mesa Arch
A view under Mesa Arch
Romola on her way up to the viewpoint. It’s a 1000 foot drop right and left….
Overview of Upheaval Dome
A closer look at Upheaval Dome
Reflecting the clouds in a rain puddle
Grand view… what else is there to say?
And more Grand View
And even more Grand View
Old cars at our museum
There are two old cars at our museum, a 1932 Graham-Paige and a 1918 Stanley Steamer. Both were taken out and driven for display at a local Concourse d’Elegance (old car show). And, we got a ride in the Stanley Steamer!
It took well over an hour to get the Stanley up to steam. Partly because of poor fuel; there is little kerosene available. Also, the boiler is almost 100 years old, so it makes sense to bring up steam slowly. Once going however, we felt that the Stanley was quiet, smooth and powerful.
Both cars in front of the Pearson hanger. The Stanley is steaming
A good view of the Stanley Steamer
Detail of the boiler room
Now that is a real tilting steering wheel!
Lots of smoke!
Pumping the starting fuel pump
Checking to see if it ready yet
Almost ready….
The condenser (radiator) is actually blowing steam rings
Finally, enough steam is showing to go for a ride
John in the Stanley
Looks like Romola is getting ready to drive off
An overall view of the Graham-Paige touring car
Port side view of the Graham Paige engine
Driver side view of the Graham Paige engine
Closeup of the Graham-Paige emblem
A visit to WAAAM
This week, Romola and I visited WAAAAM (Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum) in Hood River, OR. This private museum is one of the greater finds in the area! Not only do they have a terrific collection, most all vehicles are driveable or flyable. In September they will have a fly-in, with possibly hundreds of moving exhibits. We’ll have to see this!
Below is a just a sampling of the many exhibits on display.
Portland: roses and food trucks
Portland is known as “City of Roses”, but it is also a leader in food trucks. So we took a little drive and visited both.
The roses are grown in a huge garden, known as “Test Garden”. A large variety of roses are grown, in all colors and sizes. Every year, a Rose Champion is crowned, and are planted in the Garden of Champions. Y0u can find roses growing with roots back to the 1940’s and before. A nice place to visit, even if you aren’t a rose enthusiast.
Portland has food trucks scattered throughout the city. But right downtown are several enclaves of food trucks, giving you a huge choice of ethnic foods. You can find most nationalities represented. It’s fun just to walk around and make the (difficult) selection of the food you want to eat. And, it’s very tasty and cheap.
Part of the rose garden
Red roses.. every woman’s dream
Yellow is another prevalent color
Variegated colors make an interesting contrast
Pink roses
Red roses dominate
Ready to cook
Want variety?
Asian, Mexican, Ethiopian and many more
Your choice
The chef is in
Vancouver markets
Some of the pleasure of the NorthWest are the many farmer markets and street fairs. Just down the road from us, in Downtown Vancouver, is a great Farmers Market, held Saturday and Sunday. This week, they also hosted the “Recycle Art Festival”. A real nice way to spend a sunny morning!
So at the Farmers Market we enjoyed a fresh cup of Northwest Roasted coffee, and did some shopping for groceries. The cherries are just ripening up, bought lots of Bing and Rainier… mmmmm! A loaf of German Farmer bread from a local bakery, and some veggies and we’re good to go for a while.
It really is interesting to see the many ways people turn junk into art. Forks into wind chimes, scrap metal into sculptures, old dishes into mobiles, and many more. And, in the background, some interesting music played on marimbas made from old PVC pipe.
On the street
Lots and lots of fresh veggies
Lots of fresh flowers
Street food, what can be more fun?
Scrap metal turned into art
True, the locals do dress a little strange here
Combining wine and painting… what a novel idea!
Homemade marimbas using PVC pipe. They sounded great, too!
More scrap metal turned to art
Now that is a true local artist!
A new use of old bottles
Old dishes and glassware used in new ways – and admired from all angles.
Wind chimes from old cutlery
Ferndale, California
Ferndale, CA, sometimes referred to as “cream city,” is known for well-preserved Victorian store-fronts on main street and homes throughout the community. The name is due to their construction during a time when considerable wealth was generated in the dairy industry, especially during the 1880s. The entire town is registered as a California Historical Landmark.
The city contains dozens of well-preserved Victorian store fronts and homes. It is the northern gateway to California’s Lost Coast and the city, which is sited on the edge of a wide plain near the mouth of the Eel River, is also located near the extensive preserves of Coast Redwood forests.
It is quite a photographers place to wander and take pictures, if I were to visit again I would come at a time of day when the sun was a bit more favorable. The buildings are quite spectacular, but really need better light to show up best in photographs.
One of the first buildings you see as you enter the city
On Main street
Gingerbread decorating style. And yes, it is an operating drug store!
Is this a false front or what?
Unusual windows
Very elaborate storefront
Rather bright red
One of the more spectacular homes, now a B&B.
Wonder what it takes to keep it white?
Well-tended gardens to go with beautiful homes
The cemetery is odd, placed on a hillside with many crypts that are now sealed in concrete.
Avenue of the Giants
In the 1800’s, a wagon trail was constructed through the redwood forest. Eventually, it was expanded to become a two lane highway, later to be replaced by a modern 4 lane highway. The old road, winding through the giant redwoods, was kept and became the Avenue of the Giants.
The road itself is 32 miles long, although it seems longer because of the twists and turns. It gets quite narrow, and there are many signs of vehicles running into the giant trees. But it is quite an impressive sight, and the many giants… some over 2,000 years old and over 300 feet tall… never fail to impress.
The road is well shaded by giant trees
A little grocery store along the Avenue
A fallen giant is rotting away
The size of the trees are impressive when compared to a person
Inside the fallen giant
This tree has rings dating it back to 953 AD… so some 2,200 years old
This truck was built from one log by Charles Kellog, who used it to promote this area
Inside the log cabin motor home
A view down Eel River
Point Reyes Nat’l Seashore
Just north of San Francisco is the Point Reyes National Seashore. A sweeping landscape, with rugged cliffs, long beaches, wildlife, and native plants. Wildlife enthusiasts love it: sea lions, elephant seals, deer, birds of all kinds live and nest on the pristine grounds. The very ruggedness was also danger, there were many shipwrecks so in the late 1800’s a lighthouse was built to warn sailors. It’s still there for tourists to see, although you ave to descend and climb 323 steps. We did…
We also did some birding on the Point. We didn’t see many species, wrong time of the day, but we managed a few sightings.
Part of the rugged coast
And, miles and miles of sandy beaches
The lighthouse at the bottom of the hill
But we made it down
More importantly, we made it back up
Not hard to tell the direction of the prevailing winds
Some local birds
Even more birds
More birds
Quail on point
Scratching? Or doing the Quail Dance?
Female duck
Blue winged teal
A small dragonfly blends with the environment
Thistle flowers
A very unusual house along the road in
An old ship, the “Point Reyes”
A short visit to San Francisco
We’re camped not too far from San Francisco, so a quick visit to the City by the Bay was an obvious activity. The weather was great, so off we went.
Didn’t expect quite so much fog still over the Golden Gate bridge, but it made for interesting pictures. The Bridge continues to be a tourist draw… lots of people at any of the viewpoints. After a short walk, we drove to my favorite parking spot in the city, near Chinatown, relatively cheap, and walking distance to most anywhere. And, you can take the cable cars if you want to roam a little further.
There was a street fair in Chinatown, so right away we were immersed in local events. Lots of street food, local music, and local art all made for an interesting trip. Then we walked to Fisherman’s Wharf. Boy, that place has changed! New buildings, new stores, new tourist traps everywhere. But we enjoyed lunch (love crab and corn chowder!), visited the Grotto, and had a great time visiting this picturesque city.
What could be more iconic than the bridge in fog?
Street fair when we arrived
Street fair
Trans America provides an excellent backdrop
Pretty hard to go hungry here!
St. Peter and Paul Church, Columbus Ave
Coit Tower
A view up Lombardi Hill, as crowded as always
No wondering where we are
Yum! Dungeness crab!
Even the sourdough bread looks like crab
Dockside at Fisherman’s Wharf
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