The grounds at Stourhead include some grottos. One of them has a statue of a woman lying in some water. It was not too warm when we were there and, once you go inside the grottos, they are decidedly cold and damp. The idea of lying in water in those conditions does not sound too appealing. However, she was clearly a hardy soul as she has been there for quite a while.
The water running out of the mountains along the North Cascade Highway brings a lot of sediment with it. The result of this is that the rivers and lakes that form along the route of the pass have a distinct green color to them. The Skagit River in Newhalem has a clear green color to it. However, the more dramatic demonstration of this coloration is visible at Diablo Lake. This lake that is formed behind Diablo Dam has a very green appearance. It looks like it must have been created artificially but it is just the result of carrying the minerals down from the mountains above. Of course, a polarizer does a good job of highlighting the color when the reflections are removed.
Lake Chelan is a really deep body of water. According to some charts I saw, it is about 1,600’ to the very bottom at its deepest point. The water level does seem to fluctuate a bit. When I was walking along the shore at the resort, there were some swimming rafts. One was in the water but another was up on the land. I then realized that the jetties were a long way above the water surface and, what I thought was just a sandy area, was actually a beach.
I assume the run off from the winter melts results in the water level increasing. There is also a power plant at the end of the lake so that can control the water level. At this early time of year, there is no pressure to have the water too high. You can easily see where it is supposed to be in peak season, though. Given how big a lake it is, that is quite a lot of water to bring the level up that much. I doubt I shall be back in the summer but maybe I will see it as it is at its peak at some point.
Tokul Creek Gorge is the waterway that runs under the trestle at Tokul. With the heavy rains that had been falling in advance of my visit, the creek was flowing heavily. The trestle is a long way above the water so it was not easy to get a good look at it but I did try and get some shots. I also had a go at getting some video.
The recent months in the Pacific Northwest have been very wet. It has felt like it was always raining and not just gentle rain but heavy rain on a regular basis. This means that there is plenty of water in the mountains and the rivers coming out of the Cascades are heavy with flow. I figured a trip up to Snoqualmie Falls was in order. A few months back I had been up there when the flow over the falls was very low.
With the two power stations built in to the falls, the demands that they put on the water often mean that there is a lot less to go over the falls themselves. Once the water levels get high, though, there is more than enough for everyone! The falls were really raging. The spray blowing up from the river was quite intense and, depending on which way the wind was blowing, you could either be quite dry or getting a deluge.
Since I made the visit, the weather hasn’t got any better. I imagine that the falls have continued to be in full flow ever since. Downstream, the river valleys have been in flood with the river levels all high. Hopefully no one is suffering too much – those areas are prone to flooding anyway and they tend to be ready for it.
Victoria residents like to make use of the water for their activities. While we were there – and despite the weather being far from friendly – there were plenty of people out on the water. Their choice of activities varied. We had some stand up paddle boarders, there were kayakers, canoes and what looked like dragon boat teams but maybe that isn’t the right term for this type of boat. Wherever I was wandering, there was always someone out on the water. They managed to avoid the ferries and floatplanes without too much trouble!
The title is not intended to catch you out, but it probably will. These photos are in Washington rather than Hawaii. Cape Disappointment has a small beach tucked under the cliffs and it goes by the name of Waikiki. At the tail end of my trip there, I saw that a group of surfers had gone in to the water and were making the best of the waves which, since they were a lot smaller than what I would have hoped for, we probably ideal for them.
Not being a surfer, I am not a good judge of what the right techniques are when surfing but, even so, you can usually quickly work out who has got a better feel for the waves and who hasn’t. Picking the right one to go for and getting up to speed to make it on to the wave seems to be a bigger deal than staying up for some of the people. As I say, I’m not a surfer so this is all uninformed commentary.
Two things are of interest when photographing surfers. Having them coming in your direction so you can see their face while they are carving across the wave or watching them wipe out in style. The latter is probably not what they want me to be focused on but you take what you can get when shooting this stuff!
There were many odd shapes on the face of the Grand Coulee Dam. With the water running down in parts and some of the structure of the dam breaking up the smooth face, it was possible to see some unusual patterns in the surface. There were many power lines strung across the water in front of the dam so these could distract from the shapes so I tried moving around to be between each of the lines. With the texture of the face of the dam it was possible to look closely at elements and have no obvious clue what they were.
The idea for this was spotted by my friend, Paul, during a visit of his but we missed it at the time. It was early in the morning and the water was calm as a millpond. However, the jet was beyond the water before he spotted it. I have missed the chance since or there was not water. However, while the conditions weren’t ideal, when I saw the Dreamlifter taxiing back to the ramp, I realized the opportunity was going to be there this time.
The water wasn’t quite still and I had the long lens on the camera but a phone is a good second best these days. The jet taxied in with Mt Rainier in the background before reaching the north end of the field and crossing over. Then it was time to be ready. The phone has the added advantage of being able to shoot through the fence with no interference.
A while back I posted about the Amphitrite Lighthouse in Ucluelet on Vancouver Island. We saw it while walking on the Pacific Coast Trail. At the time of that post, I said I would post more from the rest of the trail. I guess I have finally got around to doing so. The beginning of the trail took us past the lighthouse but it was a bit backlit. As we walked further around the coastline, the light came to be behind us more and the view of the various inlets and islands got to be very nice.
It was such a tranquil spot. I suspect November is not the busiest time of year and the trails might be a lot more crowded in peak season but the sun was out and it was really lovely to be there. The rocky coastline looks like it is something that you need to know your way around carefully if you are in a boat. The presence of a lighthouse tells you that plenty have come to grief in the past. On a day like the one we had, though, it couldn’t have seemed more appealing.
