Category Archives: Travel

Hecata Head Lighthouse

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Head south along the coast from Yachats and you have a steady stream of gorgeous locations.  One of these is Hecata Head.  The treacherous nature of this part of the Oregon coastline means a string of lighthouses were built at intervals to ensure coverage and Hecata Head was one of those locations.  The lighthouse is still there and it a popular tourist attraction.

You approach the lighthouse from the beach below, as would the original residents in the days when Highway 101 didn’t exist and boat access was the main way there.  The houses for the keeper and assistant keeper were halfway between the beach and the lighthouse itself.  The keeper’s house is now gone but the assistant keeper’s house is still there and is fully maintained.  You can rent it out for events if you wish.

The location of the lighthouse itself provides a commanding view of the coastline and out to sea.  Whales migrate along the coastline here and there were people keeping watch for them while we were there.  If you head a bit further south on the highway, you get to an overlook which allows you to see back to the lighthouse and you see just how rugged the location is.  I imagine building everything there was no small feat and neither was living there year round.

Atlanta Marriott Marquis Architecture

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I was in Atlanta on work for a few days and the Marriott Marquis hotel was the center of a lot of the events I was involved with.  I had not been to this hotel before and I had no idea what it looked like. Externally, it looks a little different but not particularly interesting.  However, the interior is a very different story.  For a while when I was first in there, I didn’t realize just how dramatic it is.  Then I looked up!

The atrium runs the height of the hotel and the floors gradually taper in towards the top.  The curved patterns of the floors look like the ribs of an animal.  From the ground looking up, it is amazing.  There is an area in the lobby with a small roof so you can be under there and have no idea.  Then you step out and have a “wow” moment.  From the top floors, looking down is just as incredible.  If, like me, you are not partial to heights, it is rather scary.  I did have to look though.

 

Tumwater Canyon

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Our trip across Stevens Pass ended just short of Leavenworth.  We took a run along the river through Tumwater Canyon.  Here the river sits in the bottom of the valley and the road runs alongside it.  Plenty of nice views of the river as it winds its way downhill, some of which you can only see as you drive along the road because there is no space to stop.  Other locations, though, do provide an area to allow you to pull off and wander around.  Given how pretty it is, you are not alone in these places!

The river widens out in places and then narrows in to some rapids in others.  On a sunny day with the fall foliage around, standing by the water and watching the swirling and tumbling flows is really relaxing.  The noise of the water can drown out the traffic passing not far away and you can be quite mesmerized.  If you don’t mind the close proximity to the traffic, you can also explore a little in each direction away from the parking and get some great new views of the river.  You are either walking alongside the road or outside the barriers and close to the edge of the river so paying attention is a must!

One downside to the popularity of the place is that it is a bit tricky to avoid having lots of people in your shots.  You can move away a little and have them out of sight.  Alternatively, a little careful selection of your angles and shooting location and they can either be cropped out or cunningly concealed behind some other part of the scenery.

Big Tugs

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At the majority of airports I fly out, there are basic tugs used to push the airliners back.  They are hooked on using a towbar and push the jet out.  The tugs at Heathrow are a bit different from the ones I am used to seeing.  They are the type of tug that actually picks up the noseleg to move the aircraft out.  The leg is surrounded by the tug and elevated.  The tug then drives wherever required with the leg coming along.  They are pretty substantial beasts.  Moving a widebody needs a big tug I guess.  They can move a 747 or an A380 but in this case “only” a 787.

Iron Goat Caboose

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The old path of the railroad across Stevens Pass has been abandoned and replaced by a new route that is lower down and has tunneled through sections of the mountains to avoid the tricky climb that was previously required.  This abandoned right of way has been turned into a trail called the Iron Goat Trail.  Since it is a railroad trackbed, it is not a steep trail which means that a substantial portion of it is actually wheelchair accessible!

Our day out did not include time for hiking but the trail looks well worth exploring and, come the spring, we shall be making a specific trip to go hiking.  We did stop at the parking lot to read the signs about the history of the pass.  Also, an old caboose is kept at the entrance to the trail and I figured it deserved a shot!

Sunset on the Mountain Tops

The view from our hotel in Whistler towards the mountains was really pretty but never more so than when the sun was setting.  A couple of evenings I thought I should get a shot but was either elsewhere or too slow.  I did manage to get out there one time though, although I was still a little late.  The shadows were creeping up the lower slopes of the mountains but I still had the nice color on the summits.  The warm, evening light was really appealing and mountains look good at the best of times so this was a great scene to see.

Lost Lake

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Lost Lake is a within walking distance of the center of Whistler.  The trail from the town takes you along the river.  Once you get to the lake you can take a walk around the perimeter.  There is a beach area that is at one end of the lake that was a popular spot that day.  (You can park there if you don’t feel like a walk from the town.)  While the temperatures were not that high, a couple of people were even making use of the clear skies to do some sunbathing!

We too an alternate route around one side of the lake.  A trail was named the Upper Panorama Trail so we took it.  I think we were justified in assuming that this route would give us an elevated view of the lake.  I’m not sure if there were spots that you could see the lake if you went off the trail but, from the trail itself, we were deep in the trees the entire time.  There was no view of the lake from up there.  It was a good walk though and an opportunity to walk off some of the bakery goods we had been sampling!

Skykomish

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If you are looking for a place with a great sounding name, it is hard to beat Skykomish.  What a fun sounding name.  The town is a railroad town heading in to (or out of) the Stevens Pass and it provides space for trains to pass when traveling in opposite directions.  It supports the train theme for visitors too.  The old depot building is kept in good condition and next to it is a miniature railway that is available for public rides.  While we were there, a lot of the volunteers were around but not much in the way of customers, so we didn’t see it in action.  A miniature BNSF diesel loco was set up on the train waiting for customers while the volunteers also seemed to be working on some steam locos.  Hopefully, as the day wore on, they got more visitors.  (It was close to Halloween if you are wondering about the giant spider!)