Third Time's a Charm
As most of you know, Ann had foot surgery last December. Her recovery has been a bit slow. It’s taken her a lot longer than she expected, and even a bit longer than I’d thought. Her foot stayed swollen much longer than anyone anticipated, and then the scar tissue started building up and had to be broken down. Still, her foot got to the point where she could do physical therapy and I have to admit, she was a pretty good patient about doing her exercises and taking care of her foot. Her motivation was to heal correctly so we could get out again!
About a month ago we decided it was time to put Ann’s foot to the test.Her physical therapist suggested that her first “hike” or two be on paved surfaces.Well, there’s not much paved surfaces for hiking around here, but we thought of the Portland Japanese Gardens.It’s paved, and some of the trees down here were starting to bloom, so why not there.So up we went for the weekend, cameras in tow!
Well, it had been over three months without photographing, and it was heavily overcast, and only a couple of trees had any vegetation.The water looked murky (even the fish looked cold) and there was no real color to be found.Yes, we both took some photographs, but . . . like most things, if you don’t practice frequently, you lose a bit of skill.Long story short - neither of us made any photographs that we were excited about.I guess the trip wasn’t a total waste though.My Mac had been having some issues so we took it to the Apple store in Portland and wound up getting a new logic board.I sure love Apple Care!
Realizing that the only way to get better is to keep photographing, and the only way to get Ann’s foot stronger is to get out again, two weekends ago we decided to head up the McKenzie River.Since it’s been such a dry, warm winter, there was no snow pack per se.Ann wasn’t quite ready for serious hiking or scrambling, but the great thing about the McKenzie River trail is that it’s fairly flat and well groomed.So we stopped off at a couple of the main waterfalls and wound up making photographs at one.Again, pretty much a dud for both of us.We walked along the trail a bit, but didn’t see anything.Still, any day along the McKenzie is a good day, so we couldn’t complain too much.
Photographically we were 0 for 2.
Well, Ann and I are persistent if anything, so last weekend we decided to head out to the coast.Go some place familiar and see what we could get. It didn’t start out so well.
During the week the weather forecast changed and Friday found it cloudy and very gloomy (not to mention the cold wind).We scouted some places but didn’t really find what we were hoping for.We realized the tides were opposite from the way we like them (low tide at sunrise and sunset), so some of our known spots were inundated with surf at the times we wanted to be out.And we lost Friday’s sunset because a squall blew in.With rain forecast through the night, we called it an early dinner.
The rain had stopped around sunrise, but it was so heavily overcast there was no quality light - so we slept in.As we got into the car, the tire pressure indicator light came on.One of our tires was a bit low.The weekend wasn’t looking to good photography wise.We wound up driving to Newport to the closest tire shop and sure enough, we had a screw in it.
Surprisingly, by the time we were back on the road heading South again, the sun had come out.It was approaching early afternoon, so the tide was still going out, so we stopped at Seal Rock.Perhaps the light wasn’t the best, but the tide was out, we could get near the rocks and at least try and make a day of it.
Walking slowly we made it down to the beach and worked our way across.I stopped at where a stream crossed the beach and made way too many abstract images.Eventually I kept going and found an interesting group of rocks where the waves and water made for interesting patterns and colors.The day wasn’t a total loss!
We eventually went back to the hotel, rested up a bit, then had an early dinner at an Italian restaurant.The day was getting even better!And even though the clouds were coming back, the skies were open enough where the transition to sunset should be good.So we headed over to our familiar rocks in Yachats to see what we could get.
The ocean was as rough as we’ve seen it - the lingering effects from the previous night’s change in weather.It took some time to figure out the right exposure time to capture the feeling of the water, but I think I found it.Finally we were starting to make some real photographs.As always, the sun set way too quickly (with no sunset to speak of), and we headed back for the night.
Next morning we made an early start of it and got to our location well before sunrise.As the sky started to lighten up, we headed out to the rocks.Ann’s foot still wasn’t quite up to scrambling on the rocks, but she could move around on the grass and make her way to a spot or two.I started scrambling all over the place and . . . well, got hit with a pretty decent sized splash (the dry spot was no longer dry after that splash!).That morning the water was still pretty rough, but not quite like the night before.
However, the sky and the light were amazing.The play of light on the water was incredible!Too bad we’re not able to press the “hold” button and keep the light as it is for as long as we want.Alas, these periods of beautiful light are way too short.
So, while our first two trips out were bummers, the third time was a charm!
Just a heads-up for folks.Ann and I have planned our next big trip.The end of this month we’ll be heading to the cathedral of St. Ansel - Yosemite.We’ll spend a week there, in the park.The camping sites were full, but we’re staying in a canvas tent anyway.At least we’ll be in the park so no commuting time!I had to drop my plans to see Yosemite back in 1989 due to an incoming snow storm, so I’m looking forward to this trip.And doing it before the real crowds come.We’re bound to have plenty to show folks afterwards!
Cheers!