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Photos below are courtesy of Sheryl Todd, business owner in Astoria, Oregon. Click on her photo to view her blogs, browse her business website and learn more about her.
I think the message is clear: "Do not run over this hydrant!"
With rain pattering on the ground outside my window, and more rain predicted every day through Saturday, it's tempting to dig into the archives for blue sky. I thought it was amusing to see this hydrant looking a little paranoid, but in fact fork lifts and other heavy equipment navigate the expanse of pavement at the Port Docks west of town. We've seen the area in several earlier posts, such as this one, this one, this one, and this one.
Between Asoria and the beach, you'll find Coffenbury Lake if you take the right turn-off. It's never very crowded, and it's a great place to picnic, fish, or - my favorite - take a walk around the lake, mainly through rainforest vegetation. It's also a good starting point for the bike trails through Fort Stevens, because there's a good-sized parking lot behind where I'm standing. Click here and zoom in a couple of levels, and you'll see the long, thin lake and its relation to the river and the ocean. I've take this photo from the northern end of the lake.
The Global Sentinel Late yesterday afternoon the Global Sentinel cruised past Astoria on the Columbia River at high speed and in drenching rain.
She's a high tech fiber-optic cable-layer. The cable is run through the piping at the bow. If you're interested, you can read all about the ship here.
The yellow things are buoys which can be deployed when necessary to mark the ends of the cable. I thought they looked like big searchlights, and had fantasies of the ship searching for giant squid fathoms down in the aphotic zone, but nooooo.
There's a lot of equipment here, but what I like in this photo is the light on the stern (you can tell it's a dark day) and also the seagull. It helps to enlarge the image.
Today Katie introduced me to Flat Stanley, who is visiting from New York State and plans to tour Astoria before returning home. Meanwhile, I'm sure Stanley is having fun with the plastic animals, plush Folkmanis puppets, Medieval plastic knights and ladies, plenty of animals, trucks, and unusual toys he's never dreamed of.
Behind the counter you can't miss the poem for which the store was named. I always smile when I hear it, because at some point in my younger life, it was one of my favorites. The original "Purple Cow" poem was written by Gelett Burgess in 1895.
The store Purple Cow, a much-loved fixture of downtown Astoria, and is owned by Katie Murray and Bill Colwill. You can contact the store at (503) 325-2996.
Banana Slug You knew we couldn't get through a whole year without meeting this guy, right? The slug is about 6 inches long or so, and the ones I've seen around here (which is not that many) have all been this tan color rather than the bright yellow for which they were named. The breathing hole can be seen easily here, but the eye stalks are almost lost against the background. To see some beautiful pix of yellow banana slugs in California, check out this blog. And to learn lots more about this shy and inoffensive critter, try this page. The clover-like leaves are wood sorrel. Various species of this plant grow throughout much of the world, but the coastal regions of northern Califiornia, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia have their own species, Oxalis oregana, called redwood sorrel or Oregon wood sorrel.
I took the photo August 27, 2003, along the Cathedral Tree Trail back when there was more canopy cover for the slug and other shade-loving species.
Kicking Back Across the Young's Bay Bridge from Astoria is the town of Warrenton, and the first thing you find there is a shopping center. It's not a mall, but the closest approximation we have to one. I enjoy buying locally in locally-owned stores, but sometimes the shopping center is as convenient as it is dull, and sometimes I shop here because it has what I'm looking for that I can't find in town. (There is, by the way, no mall in Astoria proper, and I'm just as happy about that.)
At the end of a long day, I sometimes like to kick back in Starbucks' anonymous and predictable lounge, sip a predictable drink, and open an unpredictable book. That's my red backpack in the lower left corner of the photo and the arm of my easy chair in the lower right. Outside the window you can just see a banner made up of four Dungeness crabs, which are caught in the waters here. The banners line the edge of the otherwise-featureless parking lot. I like them. Sometime I'll take their picture in better light. At the moment, I'm just relaxing.
Here's another photo from the archives. I've always loved it and thought I'd give it a showing today. Our weather has been similar, rain one minute and sun the next, but you never know when the light will do that special trick and turn the air into magic.
Which Way? The other day I spied this signpost lying between a building and a bush. Until recently, it stood on the lawn to the right, where Marine Drive, 8th Street, and Astor Street all converge. At one time it helped advertise Sundial Travel, in the green building to the left, but the last time I saw the signpost standing, it was held in place with a few sandbags. It took me a long time to notice this sign in the first place, because with three streets converging, I was usually (?) watching the traffic, but once I saw the sign I enjoyed it. I hope someone will find the other piece of Los Angeles and the other truncated destination and put the thing together again. I assume it came down due to the effect of our wet climate on wood. By the way, Naknek is in southwestern Alaska.
Astoria Coffeehouse in the Rain Here's another gray post after yesterday's flowers, but it's not that gloomy, really. Astoria Coffeehouse is a warm and friendly place to spend some time on one of these drippy Astoria days. You can get good food as well as coffee, and it's right downtown on 11th Street between Commercial and Marine Drive.
The Lewis and Clark Bridge at Longview, Washington, connects two states.
There are two main routes by which to reach Astoria from the nearest large city, Portland. To travel the northern route, you make an L shape following the Columbia River. First you cross the river into Washington and drive north for about an hour on I-5. At Longview, you cross the Columbia again and drive west on the Oregon side of the river to Astoria.
This photo shows the passageway across the bridge. When you reach green again, you're in Oregon. There is a Welcome sign, which I always find comforting. I'm halfway home, and I like the drive on Highway 30 after touching down on Oregon soil better than I like the stretch between Portland and Longview. At this point, I actually begin to feel like I'm on home turf.
