At the Astoria Column, Astoria, Oregon

This is Youngs River seen from ground level at the Astoria Column. I like how open the veiw is with the pastel colors. And the spelling of "Youngs" is right. I don't know why I has no apostrophe.

Here's a boat made by the local Indians. I'll have to go back and read the plaque so I can say more about it.

Turning northwest, this is the Columbia River looking toward the mouth. The Astoria-Megler bridge stretches the four-point-something miles to Washington. The column is a favorite walk from town for a lot of locals and probably for tourists as well.

A beautiful rainbow shows itself for a moment over the Columbia. Weather can come and go so quickly. Rainbows over the water are not unusual, but they're always a surprising treat.

Here's the column itself at the top of the hill where the previous pictures were taken.

And this is the top of the column. I wish I hadn't cut off the spire, but it's still a nice photo - nice colors.

The Peter Iredale lies like the bones of a monster snake

The wreck of the Peter Iredale on the beach at Warrenton, Oregon. Obviously, an incredibly beautiful day. I've got more pix of the Peter Iredale on this blog and in one of my web albums.

Wet outside, cozy inside

Nice. Coffee and breakfast on another wet day.

Sunset on the Columbia

January 31, sunset on the Columbia. Tonight was a treat. The clouds in Astoria are not often so dramatically tall. For just a moment, the river and sky were the same hue.

A heron in the sun

Yesterday morning a juvenile great blue heron (at least, I think that's what it was) found that the radio tower outside my office was a good place to catch some sun in the 31-degree morning.

You can see it there near the base of the tower with the pilot boat passing. I love the colors on the river. The heron hunkered and preened by turns. I hoped it would extend its neck in a gorgeous photogenic pose, but it preferred to conserve heat, extending as little as possible. Periodically it would throw its head one way or another to reach spots on its back and underside, but never did it give me an opportunity to catch a pose other than . . . well, scroll down and see for yourself. It was pretty interesting. The herons usually find other places to perch in Astoria, so I consider myself lucky when they come this close to home. Click photos for larger images.