ORCAS ISLAND

Adventuring out for the first time since arriving in Washington once again, we ferried to Orcas Island. The island has a State Park, a falls, several lakes, and one main community, East Sound, which isn’t very big.  Artsy, touristy, friendly, a lovely place to visit. Jim thought I’d like the two other main communities of Rosario Resort and Olga, so we took the Bronco over.

The ferry, Yakima , loads a couple of hundred cars and some trucks & trailers, a motor home or two. The ferry system here is part of Washington State transportation. For a  neophyte, the ferry is an adventure in itself. The ride over was about an hour. We idled around the outside decks and took foggy pictures.

The first picture of the nose of Yakima headed out to open waters was clear.

We hadn’t even cleared the dock before the weather was showing its misty character.  Coming from Murphys’ steady 90 degree weather, I was bundled with a sturdy jacket, a scarf and hat while many Washingtonians are quite comfortable in shorts and a sweater.

Even the baby has short sleeves.

Islands in the distance poke up out of the fog layer.

As you pass close to an island, you see it around the mist. There are many un-named small islands in Puget sound.  Or perhaps they have names on some geological map, but because they are unoccupied, they are anonymous clumps of beauty set there deliberately, no doubt,  by some tourist association.

This one reminds me of a cupcake. In fact there are a number of  perfectly round little islands of different sizes peppering the sound.

It’s hard to beat a day out on the sound with such beautiful scenery all around.

I took a lot of pictures because I bought a new camera and I’m experimenting with its various settings and features, which are many.

The colors seemed much cooler than those taken with my old Cannon and the foggy conditions left everything looking pretty gray and drab. That is reality.  I ran these pictures through a Picasa edit and pressed the saturation button to bring up a bit of color. Not quite sure yet what I think about them.  I have ten days to return the camera if I’m not happy with it.

Here we are, destination Orcas. I’ll report on Olga and Rosario Resort subsequently. We have set a  leisurely pace for this summer and  the next phase of my China journal from old notes must be typed.  I want to remember and share China from 2006 on these pages this summer as well. You know, part of my many unfinished projects I’ve talked about.

RAIN AND FOG THROUGH SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK

From Mary’s Desk:

The campground at Big Meadows was a welcome sight after a horrific day for Jim, driving 115 miles through fog so thick his eyes were strained and his shoulders tense from navigating curve after curve in the mist. Off and on rain, kept the wipers busy as well, but the fog was the worst of it.

When we reached the campground’s safe harbor, the sky belted out a drenching rain that obliterated the view from every window and rolled down the parking areas in torrents.

The pictures I attempted through the mists have an unusual quality to them, like weeds growing out of nothing.

The mountains behind the trees and bushes are invisible.

Occasionally, a clear spot of sun would pop up around a corner and I’d get a clear picture through the windows if I could actually open my camera in time. Then, in 20 seconds, it would be gone.
We crossed onto the Skyline Drive, an extenuation of the Blue Ridge Parkway which is part of the Shenandoah National Park. It made for a long day. Since mornings tend to be overcast we had no way of knowing that it wouldn’t clear. This road is still the most beautiful in the United States, and now, its clean and lush for tomorrow. (Late Post, no signal this a.m.)