Stardate 2015.058

2014 Favorites

Part 4

2014's excellent fall season eventually came to a close. But not without more colored leaves, Moab,
high altitude mountain biking, Oregon and, so it seemed, a never ending Indian summer.

Fruita, Colorado

Dead Horse Point, Moab, Utah

Dead Horse Point area

Castleton Tower from the Fisher Towers, Utah

Ancient Art, Fisher Towers

Old Argentine Pass rail grade, Front Range, Colorado

13,408-foot Mount Wilcox from below Argentine Pass

Top down: Mount Adams (in state of Washington), Mount Hood (Oregon's tallest),
Mount Jefferson (Oregon's second tallest) and Three Fingered Jack

Wedding Reception, Oregon

Arch Rock along Oregon's Pacific Coast

Gold Beach along Oregon's Pacific Coast

Arch Rock area along Oregon's Pacific Coast

Waterton Canyon, Colorado

Chatfield State Park, Colorado


Thanks for joining in my 2014 review of fun.

Adios

Stardate 2014.937

Coastal Oregon

The morning following our nephew's wedding, Snowcatcher and I awoke to a bright and clear Sunday. We had an entire day to dig up something to do. Being landlocked back home, it was an easy decision. We would drive up the coast to Bandon; then cut back across to Roseburg and the I-5 corridor. That will put us about halfway to Eugene, Oregon, and an easy catch of our Monday flight back to Denver.




After topping-off with petrol, we followed a siren toward the southwest. Two hours into our trip we craned our necks in awe amongst a redwood forest. Several miles later, we drove into Crescent City, California. Soon, we parked along a quaint beach, courtesy of the Pacific Ocean.




There were numerous beach rocks highlighting the Crescent City lighthouse.




Our trip was a whirlwind tour. We could easily spend a day at each stop. Nonetheless, we pointed the car north and began our Pacific Coast journey. We had no itinerary. We bid farewell to California as we crossed back into Oregon. Arch Rock beckoned us not long after.




The coast is ever so slowly exfoliating away. Yet it has a lot of character.




Are these weathered rocks the result of ancient plate subduction or eons of coastal erosion; probably the latter. Where's a coastal geologist when you need one?




We continued north, following the beautiful coast line. When not paralleling the sea, we enjoyed taking in stunning farmland and forest. In the vicinity of Gold Beach, we pulled over to admire yet more coastal rock.




Regretfully, we didn't have time to roll up the trousers and get our feet wet.




Sun was beginning to wane, so we drove north again, hoping our timing would put us at Bandon close to sunset. We drove up to one of Bandon's beaches just after the sun set. Perfect!!




Minutes later, it was over.




Goodbye Bandon, we'll be back. We pointed our car east and settled in for our 80-mile drive east to Roseburg. Darkness upon us, we didn't get a chance to enjoy the forest en route. Wiping sleep from our eyes the next morning, we caught our first daylight glimpse of Roseburg.




Monday found us navigating through Eugene mid-morning. Snowcatcher had made arrangements to meet a friend prior to our checking in at the airport. Our delightful visit came to an end all too soon. Several hours later, we were checking in at the airport.




Liftoff... we begin our journey back east.




See ya next time Oregon! It's been a hoot!

Adios

Stardate 2014.929

Medford Oregon

My nephew recently married, providing us with the perfect defense of a road trip. Nonetheless, road trip aside, he's a good kid, and we wouldn't have missed it. All the decorations were made by the wedding party. The reception was held in an old grange building, which was pretty cool. Following are a few pics from the reception.





More Oregon to come

Adios

Stardate 2014.907

Oregon

Oregon has numerous beautiful landscapes. There are mountains, an ocean, rivers, a desert and lots of forest land. While attending graduate school at Oregon State University, I had the opportunity to summit Oregon's highest peak, Mount Hood, twice. I also had a failed attempt on Oregon's second highest, Mount Jefferson. Top to bottom in the above photo: Mount Adams (residing in the state of Washington), Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack.

_____________________________________________________________________
Snowcatcher and I are off to Oregon to attend my nephews wedding. It's a cold Friday afternoon at Denver International, and we're happy to be in the concourse. All in all things went well. We didn't wait too long to clear security, although my hat got stuck after passing through the x-ray, and I got in trouble for being on the wrong side of the conveyor to retrieve it. After check-in, we ate some food and took a stroll to our gate. We settled in for an hour or so of airplane and people watching.


Soon our ride taxied up to the gate. It's an Airbus 319. In short, it's a flying aluminum culvert with two engines hanging on the wings.


The tail section of each Frontier airliner sports a picture of some type of wildlife. We were storks today.


After leaving the gate, we rolled-up next to another Frontier jet. Then we had a drag race to the runway taxi lane. We won!


A Southwest airliner, and a Frontier airliner, line up behind us for take-off.


Our flight flew over the suburban sprawl of Westminster, Broomfield and Boulder.


A popular climbing area, the Boulder Flatirons caught late afternoon sun directly below us.


Longs Peak is Colorado's 15th tallest mountain at 14,255 feet. The peak is hiding under clouds and most likely creating its own weather (center top).


The weather deteriorated as we flew over Colorado's front range...


...however, we popped into the wide blue yonder fairly quickly


As we flew across eastern Oregon, heavier, rain-laden clouds floated below us.


As the airplane descended for landing, it pierced several cloud layers.


Just as we broke out of the clouds, the pilot hit the throttle, propelling us back up through the clouds for another go-around. It was kind of exciting. The cabin became quite silent.


Banking left for another final approach.


We dropped out of the clouds again and landed according to plan.


After a little air brake action, we taxied right up to the gate of Oregon's Eugene Airport.

More Oregon to come.

Adios