A Personal Amateur Photography Blog
The Memorial Day holiday was a perfect 75 degrees and sunny.
The flowers along the streetlights in Nationwide Plaza are in bloom.
That can only mean one thing – The Roses Are Out at the Columbus Rose Garden!
We have reached the end of the trail – the Oregon Trail. Welcome to Oregon.
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The Oregon State Capitol is in the city of Salem. This building was completed in the 1930s, replacing a more traditional looking building that dated from the 1870s. This building was destroyed in a major fire in 1935.
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Symbols of the Day
State Crustacean – Dungeness Crab (photos from statesymbols.org)
State Mother – Tabitha Moffatt Brown. Tabitha was 66 years old in 1946 when she traveled the Oregon Trail from Missouri. Once there she built a home and school for orphans, as well as provided writings that gave a female view of the times she lived.
The traditional end of the Oregon Trail was in the town of Oregon City, now a Portland suburb.
Portland is the largest city in Oregon, and the center of business and industry. While Portland borrowed the expression ‘Keep … weird’ from Austin, Texas, it is well deserved, as the city has it’s own unique vibe in the arts, culture and entertainment.
It is a beautiful city, one of my favorites.
Portland is known as the Rose City – and it is appropriate. They even have an evening Rose Parade in May, but in true fashion it is not a bunch of floats of flowers like Pasadena, it is a colorful event that is billed as ‘The Cleanest Parade in the Country’, as the last few things to pass are street cleaners, and all the attendees put their trash away!
Eugene is home to the University of Oregon. Along with nearby Cottage Grove it was also the filming location for Animal House.
Grants Pass has a number of fiberglass, decorated bears around town. Many are made and sold to raise money for local non profits.
Jacksonville is a picturesque small southern Oregon town. In the 1850s it was a gold rush town, today it thrives on tourism.
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Florence, Oregon is a town of 9000 along the Oregon Coast, where it meets the Siuslaw River. It is also home to Sea Lion Caves, This massive cave is at the bottom of a 300′ high cliff.
Heceta Head Lighthouse is one of the postcard views of the coast.
Yaquina Head Lighthouse is another picturesque lighthouse just up the coast. Nearby coastal areas are teeming with life.
Tillamook once had a naval air station with blimps. As a result they have a massive World War II era hangar.
Lincoln City has a motel with a great collection of giant Tiki Men.
As we moved north we arrived in Seaside, which has a statue of Lewis and Clark at the Ocean, but they actually arrived further north at Astoria (next).
Astoria, Oregon is where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean. As noted it is where Lewis and Clark founded Fort Clatsop. It has a long fishing industry history.
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Oregon is filled with volcanoes.
Crater Lakes is one of the most beautiful places we have ever been. It is situated high in the mountains, and gets pounded by snow all winter. We arrived in early June when the roads had just opened.
Crater Lake is a result of a collapse of a volcano. As a result it is the deepest lake in the country, with a depth of almost 2000′.
It is home to a National Park.
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Oregon has numerous beautiful waterfalls, most are along the Columbia River Gorge east of Portland.
Multnomah Falls is the tallest at 611′, but there are many beautiful waterfalls in this area and beyond,
The Rouge Gorge downhill from Crater Lake has a number of smaller ones, but still a beautiful setting.
Springtime in Argentina means the flowers are in blown, as are the spectacular purple Jacaranda trees! A good day to spend in the parks of the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires.
The Washington National Cathedral is the second largest church in the country, and serves as the church for many state funerals, among other activities.
Because of Washington’s unique building height restrictions it is the 4th tallest building in the city, despite only being 300′ high.
The day we visited they were having the annual Flower Mart. As part of this event there were a number of group performing, including the choir from the nearby St Alban’s School.
The main section rises to the aforementioned 300′, with a length of nearly 500′ making it an impressive space.
State flags line the cathedral. Despite the name it receives no money from the government.
There is a significant amount of carvings throughout.
The organ was built by Ernest Skinner & Son Organ Company. It was completed and installed in 1938, with over 10,000 pipes.
A closeup of some of the carvings.
The church suffered significant damage in a 2011 earthquake, and they have been raising money ever since to complete repairs. By selling Lego bricks at $2 each, they hope to raise the final $19 million to finish the repairs. The bricks are to build an exact replica of the cathedral.
A statue of George Washington was sculpted in 1947 and placed in the church. It is said to represent Washington not as a soldier, or president, but ‘just a man’.
As noted previously the Flower Mart was occurring on this day. As part of this celebration the country of Ecuador flew in fresh roses and was giving each lady a rose, presented by a representative of the embassy.
Many countries had floral displays, none more unusual that Switzerland’s rose cow.
Many lined the nave, with the stained glass windows providing backdrops.
The arrangements were very well done.
The Washington Cathedral is a stunning building, and the Flower Mart display added to the experience.
Early June found us at the historic Fairfield County Fairgrounds for a car show. This was a great place to host the show as the walkways were paved, there was lots of shade, and the backdrop of the old barns added to the atmosphere.
The featured cars this year were station wagons. A couple of the participants even had travel trailers that matched the wagons. Other highlights included the Model A club.
Later that afternoon we came back into town, to the near west side for the Franklinton Bike Races. The afternoon of racing included both men and women’s races.
The setting gave great views of the racing as well as the skyline of Columbus. In addition, the course took them through a couple of railroad underpasses, adding to the various angles of the racing action.
As we returned home we stopped at Whetstone Rose Gardens, as we had heard ‘the roses were out’.
Apparently most of the photographers in Columbus had heard this as well, as about 2/3rds of the people there were taking pictures. While at first we had fun taking photos of the roses I quickly got bored and had more fun taking photos of people taking photos of roses.
The day was a lot of fun, and really showed the diversity of events available in the area, with motor heads, bicycle fanatics and photographers.
Youngstown, Ohio is a tough old steel town, with a soft side. Mill Creek Park is a very nice park that runs throughout much of the south side of town. Included in this park is Fellows Rose Gardens, an oasis in the city. First planted in the early 1960s, the gardens continue to this day with an impressive rose display,
RDZ Photography 