One of my favorite subjects: Or at least it used to be. The Nelson house near Dufur Oregon was a magnet for photographers, but a wildfire left nothing but ashes in 2018. I especially liked the farmer's simply planting and harvesting around the beautiful old landmark-- as seen here.

 

One of my favorite subjects: The old schoolhouse on Tygh Ridge, with Oregon's Mt. Hood in the background.

 

One of my favorite subjects: Even when no one comes to clean up the weeds, the sun still shines on the old 8 Mile Cemetery, about 20 miles south of the Columbia River in central Oregon.

 

One of my favorite subjects: I have ancestors buried in little pioneer cemeteries like this one. Some were quite successful, and at least one was a bit notorious. I love these monuments to the past

 

One of my favorite subjects: The tunnels, the basalt cliffs, and the BNSF trains on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge.

 

One of my favorite subjects: The trains in the Columbia River Gorge! The Union Pacific engines at the head of this westbound train on the Oregon side are out of sight in that amazing cut in the basalt cliff.

 

One of my favorite subjects: Again, Stonehenge, high in the hills above the Columbia River, about 100 miles east of Portland, Oregon.

 

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One of my favorite subjects: High above the Columbia River and the towns of Maryhill, Washington, and Biggs Junction, Oregon, is Washington's own Stonehenge-- built over 100 years ago as a memorial to those lost in the First World War.

 

One of my favorite subjects: The farmlands of Central Oregon and Washington

 

One of my favorite subjects: The abandoned schoolhouse in the ghost town of Boyd, Oregon...

 

Air-conditioning...

 

Three goats and a donkey on the cliffs next to the Columbia River on the Washington side---East of the Cascades.

 

Old farm machines-- well over 100 years old! Just sitting there in pieces on the northern high plains of central Oregon. That's Mt. Hood in the background, looking glorious!

 

1500 hundred feet above the Columbia River, with Oregon's Mt. Hood in the distance...

 

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The barn may be ready to fall down, but it still makes some nice shade for these two in the hot afternoon sun...

 

High in Washington's Goodnoe Hills, this is the abandoned two room schoolhouse where so many kids of different ages, different beliefs, and different backgrounds were free to learn together.

 

Old Number 1662 again, from the other side of the tracks-- The bridge in the background is over the Cowlitz River.

 

Northbound on the rainy side of the Cascade Mountains: This Union Pacific Train is crossing the Cowlitz River just a few miles north of us. According to the UP roster, 1662 just turned 44 years old!

 

High desert dreams, fading away...

 

Gee, do you think they hear us?

 

Westbound # 5; Tradition!

 

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Westbound, Part 4: Dreams

 

Westbound, Part 3: Look closely...

 

Westbound, part 2: 2 engines pulling, 2 engines pushing as it heads away from us.

 

Westbound on the Washington side of the Columbia River...

 

Summer evening in the wetlands...

 

Holding back the darkness...

 

The little city on the hill...

 

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Catching the forest light...

 

A wonderful setting-- a large dairy farm in a quiet valley north of us.

 

On a different path...

 

The sun is breaking through in the late afternoon-- it's been raining all day.

 

By any other name...

 

Looking East across the wetlands and the fir forests to Mt. St. Helens-- Still lots of snow.

 

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It's good here. It's quiet here.

 

Everything grows here-- a wetlands tapestry!

 

Just a little berry of some kind-- The birds don't seem to eat them

 

Looking through the back window at these kids looking through the front door of the Jackson cabin--- They're intrigued by the spinning wheel.

 

The Jackson Cabin, built in 1850, rebuilt in 1915 and became one of Washington's first two state parks. John R. Jackson was one of the first Euro-Americans to settle north of the Columbia River.

 

A wonderful old split rail fence, north on the Jackson Highway...

 

The rhododendrons are blooming, the skies are bumpy, and the wetlands are inviting.

 

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Greener than green! We're just a couple of weeks away from the first day of Summer, and the colors will shift slightly-- just a bit more yellow.

 

Lots of Iris in the wetlands, and still lots of rain showers too...

 

What a show!

 

Discovering...