A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
Who knew that keeping a blog could generate such anxiety? Apparently it does. I need to take a step back for a bit. Exactly one week from today we leave for the return trip to South Carolina. There’s just too much going on. I will be taking a break until we return to the east coast.
With our time in Washington getting short I’ve stopped checking the newspapers and online sources for things I might want to do. Quite frankly, it just gets me depressed. There is so much going on up here and I can’t do it all. It’s best if I just don’t see it. It certainly makes no sense to get involved in yet another music group. However, there was one session that caught my attention and I just had to check it out. After our ferry trip to Friday Harbor I headed up to Taylor Dock in Fairhaven for Music on the Dock.
Less than two weeks!! That’s all the time we have remaining on the island. In reality, it’s less than that as four of those days will be spent in Chicago at a family wedding. Where did the time go? With the travel, packing, and squeezing in last minute music gigs, I have officially reached the freak-out stage of this adventure. We did manage t get in one last ferry trip to Friday Harbor, as well as seeing some elk along the Skagit River.
I had taken a couple of paddling trips, recently, but I was just not getting in the mileage I got on a typical trip. I was really craving an extended kayaking adventure. Duff and I had planned to do one this past Friday, but he had family plans interfere. I decided to go anyway, and decided that I’d head back up to Baker Lake. Despite it being the week of the Fourth of July, the timing turned out to be perfect, and it was a great day out on the water.
After my short jaunt on Lake Padden I wanted a longer paddling trip. I kept watching the weather and tides, things were just not working out. I got out on the water for one short trip that got cut short, and took another organized trip that also didn’t quite live up to expectations. Oh well. At least I met some neat folks and found some options for future treks. Here are the reports…
I haven’t seen Bigfoot while up here in the PNW, but last night I did see a UFO. At least, what I saw was unidentified as far as I’m concerned. It was weird. I have photos and videos to document what I saw, and not too many explanations to fit.
One of the things I love up here is the sense of community. There are lots of annual events, including the island’s Fourth of July Parade. The last time we attended the parade, Laura’s mother was still spending significant amounts of time on the island, seven years ago. This time I did more than just attend. I actually marched with a band in the parade, adding to the diversity of this year’s musical experiences.
For several weeks Laura had been admiring this view from our front yard…
This is a view of Anacortes with the Olympic Mountain Range back behind. She’s been wanting to take a trip out to the Olympic Peninsula and head up into the mountains. Some friends of ours took that trip recently posted photos of fields of lavender. We decided that the time had come, so we took a spur-of the moment trip up into the Olympics.
Every time I drive up I-5 to Bellingham I see a brown sign for the Lake Padden Recreation Area. In Google Earth the lake doesn’t look very large, but it still intrigued me. Would it be a good place to paddle? I had an errand to run in Bellingham, so on the way back I decided to check it out. A paddling event was in full swing that Saturday and a parking place could not be found. However, it looked like an interesting spot, so I decided to come back. On Sunday, Father’s Day, a couple of weeks ago I did just that.
Rampant racism, internment camps, Nazis holding rallies, and just this past weekend I saw WWII bombers flying overhead. Did I fall through some sort of wormhole into an alternate universe? Is “The Man in the High Castle” actually a documentary? Regardless, the whole space-time continuum seems to have decided to take a nap. I thought some pretty pictures of flowers might be comforting.
Read More “Random Skagit – Volume 9, Yard Flowers and Non-Linear Time” »