Signs of my world

The City Daily Photo group have a theme day on the first of every month. Though I gave up my Yakima Valley Daily Photo blog almost a year ago, I enjoyed participating in these theme days. Today they are posting funny signs, and I thought I would join their world with this one picked up on our camping trip this weekend when we stopped in at the Visitor Center at Paradise.

I couldn't decide if there was a difference in the weather. Lower down in the old growth forest, there was not much difference in the 40% chance of rain and the 85% chance of rain while it was falling.

This was My World this last weekend.

Reflecting

This year has been much dryer. I don't expect tos ee this pond reflection as we pass this spot today.

James does Weekend Reflections at Newtown Daily Photo. As we are camping, I won't get a chance to sign on to the Linky.

Blue Bridge Reflection

We wandered along the Columbia River at Columbia Park in Kennewick the other day. This is the Blue Bridge. That is its name--at least the only one I have ever heard it called by. (Here's another view from a while back of the Blue Bridge--you can see that it really is blue.)

Looking the opposite way along the river we could see these Three Bridges. One of them, the Cable Bridge, we crossed on another occasion.

James sponsors Weekend Reflections at Newtown Daily Photo.

Weekend Reflection

  

Corona Light

Get it?

Corona Light?

I am so pfunny.

Weekend Reflections are not always as silly as this. You can see by checking with James at Newtown Daily Photo.

I'm still ROFLOL at how pfunny I am tonight.

Maybe it should be Corona LightLight.

And here it is reflected...

Here we are now --on the feast of Stephen--and on the other side of the mountain. Mount Rainier has a different aspect depending on which direction you see it from. And here it is reflected in the windows of the (New) Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise. the day after Christmas remained clear and sunny, though the wind came up a bit fiercely.

The real thing, reflected here in a display about the fragile meadow ecostructure. If you haven't visited Paradise recently, you are missing the wonderfully done updated displays in the new VC.

This one says it all.

Weekend Reflections are the brainchild of James from Newtown Area Daily Photo. Visit him to see who else is reflecting on the world around them today.

More from our winter visit to the mountain after the psalm tomorrow--and after we finish visiting.

Badwater Reflection--with shadows

The lowest point in the USA--282 feet below sea level.

Weekend Reflections' homebase is Newtown Area Photo.

Reflecting on Alaska Bits --23-- Skagway

I got out of sequence by following my Blog Action Day post of the Mendenhall Glacier with another Juneau post. It was a good fit for SkyWatch Friday. But we skipped over Skagway. So sorry for the mixed up posts--here is Skagway before we go back to Juneau.

Broadway, Downtown Skagway!

Skagway was born in the burst of activity that was the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. Starting out as a tent city to supply the needs of the prospectors, it became a boom town. Prospectors had two possible routes to get over into the Yukon. The Chilkoot Trail (which we hiked part of two years ago) and the White Pass. Either choice was grueling, and they had to haul about a ton of stuff up over the pass before they would be allowed to continue.

Now Skagway is a permanent community of around 800 with regular summer invasions of as many as three or four ships worth of tourists a day. Ah, well. It was the end of the season or the street would not have been so empty.

The Yukon Gold Rush National Historic Park is located partly in Skagway and Seattle. (Most of the Gold Rushers sailed from either Seattle or San Francisco to get to the gold fields.) Unlike the usual park, with a contained location, the sites of the park are scattered around the town, and more historic buildings are being secured annually to help tell the story. This is the restoration of the Mascot Saloon. (Look closely at the reflection. Besides the gentlemen at the bar, can you spot a ranger, a blogger, and a blogger's husband?) Restorers pored over old photographs to match wallpaper and fixtures to guarantee authenticity.

After the tour of historic sites with the ranger, we made a quick stop outside the city museum, reflected in the bumper of a classic car.

The White Pass and Yukon Railway was built to carry the prospectors to the Yukon. Started in 1898, it took only two years to be completed. Of course, by that time, the Gold Rush was over, and Gold Fever had waned. The narrow gauge route is an engineering marvel. As amazing as the track up the pass is, I find this member of the White Pass snow fleet to be something like you've never seen before. (It even has a bit of a reflection in the side.)

A final reflection, looking out from the ship on the busses and train below. Gives you an idea how high that ship is.

Weekend Reflectiosn is hosted by Jim at Newton Daily Photo.

Alaska Bits -- 18 -- another train trip with some Weekend Reflections

After another very short sojourn in Anchorage, we boarded another Alaska Railways train bound for Whittier. This would take us again along the Turnagain Arm and through the Portage Valley, both of which we had visited by car when we had our pre-tour visit to Anchorage.

After the station, the train provided some more interesting reflections as we passed again through Potter's Marsh, past Bird Point where we had watched the bore tide, past the turnoff to Girdwood and up the valley toward the Portage Glacier and the tunnel to Whittier.

We didn't have to depend on our manner of transportation for reflections, though. These earthquake trees reflect in an interesting way in the water.

Earthquake trees?

The 9.2 Good Friday earthquake of 1964 caused land in some areas to sink. Behind the damaged  highway along Turnagain Arm and into the Portage Valley and in other areas near the coast, seawater inundated these lowered areas. Trees submerged in the salt water died, but their skeletons still remain 45 years later in many areas where this occurred.

As we proceded along the Portage Valley, we had a good view of several glaciers, and a few more interesting double reflections ...

  

...before we entered the tunnel.


Now, this is a most fascinating tunnel. It is the only land access to the port of Whittier, which is Anchorage's link to Prince William sound. The 2¼ mile long tunnel was built during World War II for essential rail traffic. When the trains are not running through it, it provides a one way road for auto traffic. With such a busy route, you have to check the schedule if you want to drive through it, or you could wait for as much as an hour.

Not a problem if you are on the train.

More reflections for Weekend Reflections can be found through the links at Newton Area Photo.

Whittier? We'll have a look tomorrow.

Alaska Bits -- 7 (I think) -- a bit for Weekend Reflections

One bit from flying in on our approach to Anchorage along the Alaska coast.

I've discovered that James from Newtown PA has started a Weekend Reflections meme and from initial participation it looks like there are quite a few who are ready to participate. It will be a few weekends before I am finished with my Alaska pictures, and there are enough reflections that the weekends will be all Alaska till then. As it happens, I did a fun reflection on 365nothemesnomemes yesterday, so stop by to visit that one, too--though since it is my no memes blog it is not officially participating.