Tomorrow, tomorrow

The new Nikon is scheduled to arrive tomorrow per UPS tracking. I am soooo excited.

Hmmm...I wonder what I'll be doing this weekend? Likely taking lots of pictures. :-)

Skywatch Friday #42 - Lone Eagle

Taken this past weekend in Anacortes, WA on Fidalgo Bay. The tree was occupied several times throughout the weekend by one or two eagles.

The sky was overcast most of the day, but late afternoon saw the clouds disappear.

"This is my best side, don't you think?"

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Remember Whensday

Gregg & Team

Spring 1987

Seattle Mariners split their double header with the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. Go M's!

It's Shipped!

My new Nikon D90 camera shipped today. Hooray!!! Now we will have his and her cameras. He gets the D80. I'm laying claim to the D90. :)

I already have a D90 but it's kind of a long story. Short version is that a friend of mine from Twisp picked it up at the Costco in Wenatchee last Friday on his way over to the camper rally but it wasn't the kit Karl wanted. It came with different lenses. It will be going back to Costco next week - we have to wait for the check to clear the bank.

Meanwhile, I ordered the "right" kit and got the email notification that it shipped today. I can't wait for it to arrive.

NATCOA Spring Rally

This past weekend, Karl and I went to the NATCOA 2009 PNW Spring Rally in Anacortes, WA at the Fidalgo Bay RV Resort. The rally hosts were Gary and Hazel B. and we had eleven rigs in attendance. Mother Nature cooperated with the weather for the most part. We had a few sprinkles Saturday morning, but overall it was a dry weekend in the otherwise rainy Northwest.


A group of campers took a jet boat ride through Deception Pass on Saturday afternoon. If any truck campers travel to the Northwest, this is a must-see place. Whether you're on top of the bridge, at the park surrounding it, or via water, Deception Pass is an impressive place!

Deception Pass Bridge

Canoe Pass

Saturday night was the traditional rally potluck and there wasn't any reason to go hungry. From steak to butter chicken, salads to clam chowder, and desserts galore, including a delicious cheesecake with strawberry topping, it was a fantastic dinner. These campers sure know how to cook.

After dinner, the prize drawings were held. Jim and Sandy A. from Portland were the winners of the Torklift Stableloads provided courtesy of Torklift (thanks, guys!). Nobody walked away empty handed though. Prizes included Camping World gift certificates, smoked salmon, wine, and other Northwest goodies.

Later in the evening, Craig C. and family served homemade donuts while we sat around the campfire. Delish!

It was a great weekend meeting new friends and renewing old acquaintances.

Mellow Yellow Monday #16 - Big Truck

This was taken a few weekends ago at the PACCAR open house. It was bright yellow, not very mellow at all.

Big Yellow Truck

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Skywatch Friday #41 - Patches of Blue

This shot was taken this past Sunday. We had some interesting cloud formations in the afternoon.


And this one was taken through the skylight in my bathroom yesterday. A new way to Skywatch!


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Remember Whensday - The Fisherman

Karl has been doing a lot of fishing lately. Not catching, just fishing. Unlike the photo below. :-)

Karl - 1979

Gimme a bath!

The cover came off the camper yesterday. Last fall when we put the camper to bed for the winter months, we didn't wash the bugs off from the last trip we took of the season. Bad camper owners! Poor thing had to sit all winter with bug crud.

The thing with truck campers is the bugs just funnel up over the cab of the truck and plaster the front underside of the camper. Splat!! Splat!! Splat!! The bigger the bug, the bigger the splat. Ewwww.

Bug stripe anyone?

All the way across the front - Bug Cemetery

When I came home from work today, the camper got a bath. And a good scrubbing, too. It's not perfect. I need to go to the local RV supply dealer and get some black streak remover, but it is still MUCH better than before.

I also need to put a coat of wax on the camper. For now, the camper is ready to be seen in public.

Look ma - no bugs!

All Shiny & Clean

The truck on the other hand...

And the Caption Is...

I was goofing around with the camera this afternoon while Jelly and Buddy were playing. I couldn't decide on the caption for the photo, so I'll let you fill in the blanks.

Mellow Yellow Monday #15 - Tulip

I have no idea what the name of this particular tulip is, but I thought it would be a good addition to Mellow Yellow Monday.

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Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Today I took my mom up to the Skagit Valley to see the tulip fields in bloom. I generally try to avoid this area during the month of April because of the traffic, but she had never been before so off we went.

We started off at Roozengaarde which has some of the most beautiful tulip gardens I have ever seen. I can't believe all of the different colors, shapes and sizes of tulips we saw.

Tulip Garden

White Emperor

Scarlet Pimpernel

Seattle

Plaisir

Pink Impression

Garden Party

Unknown Variety

Unknown Variety

There was one tulip called Red Riding Hood. Look at the variegation in the leaves. Wonderful! The flower itself wasn't in bloom though.

Roozengaarde was not strickly limited to tulips. They had plenty of daffodils and hyacinths as well as other flowering shrubs and plants.

Iamviolet Rhododendron

King of the Blues Hyacinth

After leaving Roozengaarde, we went driving around the valley past several tulip fields.

The tulips were just so pretty. Pictures don't capture the beauty of it all. It's one of those things that are better in person.

Saturday Swimmers

In the middle of my Saturday chores, I took a break and walked down to the lake with the dogs. There was a pair of Canada Geese leisurely swimming near the dock. I am surprised the dogs didn't bother them and the geese were not upset by them either. I keep looking for goslings but I guess not yet.

Canada Geese Pair

I also had to make an impromptu trip to Enumclaw in the afternoon. Rainier had a cloud cap on it.

Mount Rainier

Sorry for the poor picture quality. I only had the little Canon with me today.

Correction for Skywatch!

My picture for Skywatch #40 is not of Three Fingers - it's Whitehorse Mountain. What was I thinking other than obviously I wasn't.

See what camera withdrawals do to you? It scrambles your brain cells!

Skywatch Friday #40 - Three Fingers

What's a person to do after two days without a camera? Karl's been fishing so the Nikon has been with him, the Canon point & shoot is MIA (I think it's buried in Karl's fishing gear), and the Sony was a loaner and has been returned.

I was having withdrawals! To get my fix today, Karl and I took the dogs down to the lake for their daily walk. The sun was really lighting up Three Fingers mountain. Plus it was fairly clear out, even with the clouds heading east towards the mountains.

Karl & the dogs at the lake

Three Fingers

I'm definitely leaning towards having my own Nikon, either another D80 or a new D90, so that I don't have to worry about not having a camera on hand. Withdrawals aren't pretty!

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Remember Whensday

Seattle Mariners baseball is in full swing now. The home opener was yesterday where they were triumphant over the Angels.

Here's another shot of Gregg from back in the day.

Gregg - Spring 1992

Go Mariners!

Mellow Yellow Monday #14

Sometimes you don't have to go very far from home to find yellow things. This is about 100 feet from our front door.


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A Different Kind of Bay View

We took the dogs up to Bayview State Park near Anacortes earlier today. It was a different kind of bay view. The tide was waaaaay out and not much water was to be seen. You really notice how shallow this area is when all you see is mud.

Padilla Bay looking north

The herons and seagulls were enjoying it though. We watched a gull pick up a shellfish, fly up about 10 feet or so, and then drop it onto the rocks below. He did this several times trying to crack open the shell for delicacy inside.

The herons were having a field day in the mudflats foraging for food.

Lunch anyone?

One nice thing with the tide out, you were able to walk along the shore for quite a distance. It made for a nice stroll, although coming back towards the parking lot, the wind was in my face and made my eyes water.

On the walk back to the car, I happened to look down and saw hundreds of tiny shells nestled among the rocks. I'm not sure exactly what they are, but they sure were plentiful. I'm thinking they are snails of some kind since we did see a couple of them moving. Once we realized they were there, we quickly moved away from the area to protect them.

Shells, shells and more shells

Happy Easter to everyone.