Rivers and lakes

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Joe and I decided today that we needed a day off. We've been working non-stop for months and after some out of the office work on Friday, we just needed to take a breather. So we gathered up the dog and sister #3 and her husband (and their dogs!) and took a little drive to sightsee at a local river.

The Elwha River (lots more info here: wikipedia info) is a gorgeous, fast moving river that has the most unusual water color. A greenish gray that is just striking to look at. We stopped along the road to take a brief walk to the river's edge and then continued on up into the Olympic National Park to view Glines Canyon Dam. Jaw-dropping splendor there.

That dam is 210 feet tall and just amazing to look upon. There is an 8 foot chain link fence along the cliff edge (I guess the park doesn't want people falling off the sides) and you can stand up right next to the fence and look upon the canyon below. Well, someone can. I sure didn't! 210 feet is about 204 feet more than I can stand so I stood back a comfortable distance - ready to call for help should the cliff calve off. But I digress...

I got a few shots of the dam, the lake behind the dam (Lake Mills) and the river before we headed to Lake Sutherland. My mom's family owns a cabin there so we headed down for a spur of the moment hot dog roast and a bit of swimming.

Here are the photos from our day in the sun. We came home rested and ready to once again tackle work. Yay. No really, yay!



Glines Canyon Dam. 210 feet tall. Will be demolished within the next few years.


Lake Mills - the lake that will cease to exist once the dam is removed. We are very curious to see what this will look like..


The chain link fence proved to be an issue when trying to get my shots. In this one I am holding the phone through one of the holes and on the other side. No, not by the 210 foot drop-off!


A view of the Elwha River - looking downstream.


Missy (sister's dog) sniffing around the river's edge.


Another shot looking downstream.


Missy ready to fetch the stick.


Bringing it back. She saw the river as we walked down the path and was gone like a shot. Splash!


Tenacious plants along the river's edge.


Looking back upstream, just before the river enters the canyon as seen above.


Another upstream view.


Final view downstream as we get ready to head out.


A child's pair of sandals at the cabin on the lake. These were just begging to be shot.


Looking out at the lake from the dock. The water is absolutely gorgeous. And a bit chilly.


A bear carving. I have no idea where this came from, when it got there, or who did it.


The sun shining on Lake Sutherland. No digital manipulation was done on this photo. Gorgeous!


Rippling water - I love the green color of the lake.


Same spot - just looking up and out more.


Sister #3's husband diving into the water. I hit that button just at the right time. Woot!

no photos necessary

Friday, June 20, 2008

I won't be sharing any photos of this - I didn't want to take any.

Here's a piece of advice for those in the business of designing bathrooms. These can be public or private bathrooms - doesn't matter.

If you simply MUST use stainless steel stall walls and doors, for the love of all that is clean and sanitary... spring for the version that won't show every fingerprint, water mark, viscous splotches of unknown origin, smears, and things I cannot think about for fearing of losing it completely. Trust me, there is no woman (nor man for that matter) that wants to see just how filthy their fellow stall mates are nor do we wish to ponder just what the heck that mark was made by.

I could have gone my entire life without that experience. Thank you very much.

And that ends my public service announcement for tonight.