Camera Critters #71 - Chipmunks 36, Jelly 0

Captured by my husband a few weekends ago...

Hey, I smell a chipmunk.

What's all this dust? What are you doing, Jelly?
I'm going in!

I'll get you yet, you tasty little morsel!

Umm, all I got was dirty. Mom's gonna be mad.

To see more fun Camera Critters, click on the badge below. Misty Dawn hosts this wonderful meme every week!

Skywatch Friday #57 - Better Them Than Me

Typical Pacific Northwest weather day here. Gray skies and drizzle. It's been that way most of the week. What a change from just a couple of weeks ago when we were wilting under the unseasonable heat wave.

I was in Arlington around lunch time today and I saw this giant crane next to a cell phone tower. I don't know if the tower is just going up or what but I stopped to snap a few photos from a distance.

Towering Over the Tower

Then out of curiosity, I drove closer to the tower for a few more pics. I did see the guy in basket on the crane and I thought "better him than me". It wasn't until I got home and downloaded the pictures that I saw a second guy in the basket and one on the tower. No thank you, working up high is not for me.

Better Them Than Me

Now that you've glimpsed the gray skies in my world, click on the SkyWatch badge below for sunnier ones. Or share one of your own. Over 300 people participate in SkyWatch each week. Come join us!

The Train, It Is a Comin'...

Hooray! We are getting our own Amtrak stop in Stanwood. Originally scheduled to open in June 2009, it is now due to open in September. Amtrak Cascades rail service will then be available with 4 scheduled stops each day. I just love to ride the train and can't wait for our new station to open.

There isn't much to look at right now so I'll share pics of the finished platform at a later date.

Remember Whensday No. 10 - Old Fashioned Store

Grandpa Harold in his Store

I wish I had more information about this photo because I think it is a great picture. I do know that this is Karl's grandfather in his store that was located somewhere in San Diego. It think it was close to the Point Loma area where they lived. Look how neat and orderly the store was!

The picture was in an envelope of other pictures given to Karl by his grandmother before she passed away. Many of the pictures had dates and a brief comment on the back, but not this one. (So lesson learned - write who, what, when and where on any pictures for future generations!)

I know Grandpa Harold also owned a gas station but I do not know if the store was part of the operation. A precursor to the modern day convenience store, perhaps?

Remember Whensday is a fairly new weekly meme I started to continue sharing stories and pictures from the past. Won't you play along? Click on the badge below to start your trip down memory lane.

My World Tuesday #44 - Hamilton Stack

There is one landmark in Stanwood that is readily seen from many directions. It is the Hamilton Stack.

Hamilton Stack

Between the 1880s and 1916, several small shingle mills operated at the site of the stack. In 1916, a new mill was built on the site and in 1923, the mill was purchased and operated by the Clough Lumber Company.

In 1927, a smokestack known as the "Hamilton Stack" was constructed to elevate the smoke from burning refuse so it wouldn't blow into Stanwood. The mill ceased operations in the early 1930's and was later purchased by the Hamilton family around 1945. They still own a lumber company in town however the mill itself finally closed down in 1960.

Today the stack is still a major landmark and is seasonally decorated with lights by volunteers from the Lion's Club and fire department.

Decorations at Top of Stack

Now that you've seen a glimpse of My World, click on the badge below to see what others are sharing or to share yours.


Information on the Hamilton Stack provided by HistoryLink.org.

Mellow Yellow Monday #31 - Flower Power

Spotted during my trip to Deception Pass a few weekends ago.


Drowsey Monkey hosts Mellow Yellow Monday each week for us. Click on the badge below to see more fun shots or to share one of your own.

This is also my first entry into the Color Carnival weekly meme.

Shadow Shot Sunday #64 - The Sod Farm

I pass a sod farm every day on my way to work. I finally stopped one morning to capture the irrigation system that they use and noticed a cool shadow on the grass.

Irrigation Wheels

Hey Harriet hosts Shadow Shot Sunday each week. To see more nice shadow shots or to share yours, click on the badge below.

Camera Critters #70 - Bee on a Flower

Captured a couple of weekends ago.

Lunchtime

Misty Dawn hosts Camera Critters for us each week. To see more fun shots or to share one of your own, click on the badge below.

Skywatch Friday #56 - Peaks of the North Cascades

On our trip over to pick up the camper in Okanogan two Fridays ago, we drove through some thunder storms in the North Cascades. In the aftermath of the storms, the peaks of the North Cascade range were crisp and clear in evening light.


We passed through another quick downpour. Upon rounding a bend in the road, we were treated to a spectacular double rainbow although the outer one was much fainter.


To see more great shots of skies around the globe or to share yours, click on the Skywatch Friday badge below.

Having Fun with the Camera

While enjoying the festival music this past weekend, I worked on my nighttime photography skills (which still need a lot of work).

One of the festival goers had this multi-colored light stick that she was twirling around. Once I saw the first picture I took, needless to say several more were taken. Gosh, this was fun to capture!

Psychedelic Light Show

Then a guy got ahold of the light stick and REALLY started twirling it around.

Super Psychedelic!

I was fascinated with how the camera was capturing the colors and movement of the light stick. These are some of my favorite pics from the entire weekend. I hope you enjoy them, too.

Remember Whensday No. 9 - Boyden Cave

This is Karl's Grandma S. & his dad, Buzz. Karl's grandparents made many trips up to the Yosemite area in California. I don't have any info about this particular picture other than when it was taken. I just think it is a cool photo.

Grandma & Buzz
August 10, 1953

According to the website about the cave, Boyden Cavern is located in Kings Canyon, Giant Sequoia National Monument, one of the most beautiful and spectacular places on earth. Fortunately it's not as well known or traveled as Yosemite or the Grand Canyon, making for a more peaceful and less disturbed feel.

Boyden Cavern lies beneath the massive 2,000 foot high marble walls of the famous Kings Gates. It is a magnificent cavern with many varieties of natural speleothems, including rare "shield" formations. Visitors are delighted to find that spectacular beauty above ground is complimented by natural beauty underground.

Popular features include The Pancake Room, a stalactite group called the Upside Down City, the Bat Grotto where bats spend summer days sleeping, and a flowstone formation called Mother Nature's Wedding Cake. The Drapery Room contains large drapery stalactites, long soda straws and twisting crystalline helictites. Speleothems have developed to resemble familiar objects, as with the Taco Shell formations, the Baby Elephant & Mom stalagmites, and the Christmas Tree. There is also a subterranean stream and many other unique features.

Today's tour of Boyden Cave will cost you around $14, plus a $20 per vehicle fee to drive into Sequoia National Monument. Quite the difference from when the photo was taken and the tour cost was $.25!

To share your photos and memories, click on the Remember Whensday badge below.

My World Tuesday #43 - StrutzFest

We spent this past weekend camping in Darrington, WA at Strutzfest. This was a benefit music festival featuring 17 bands and proceeds were donated to Children's Hospital in Seattle as well as other local charities.

The festival was held on the grounds of the Whitehorse Mountain Amphitheater. This is an awesome venue.


The weather was HOT and so were the bands! We had a great time jamming to classic rock tunes over two days. The music was wide and varied, starting with songs from the 60's to newer tunes.

The festival kicked off Friday afternoon around 3 p.m. with 2 parachutists. Then it was time to rock 'n roll! If someone wasn't performing on the main stage, then a band was kicking it in the beer garden. It was a non-stop party!

Just Dropping In!

El Loco, a ZZ Top tribute band

Whiskey Creek, a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band

Friday's headliner act was Hell's Belles out of Seattle. They are an all-female AC/DC tribute band. They rocked the house and then some.

Hell's Belles - We Salute You!

Saturday's events began with the opening act at 11:30 a.m. and continued until after 2 a.m. I can't remember the last time we stayed up late two nights in a row!

Blue Tattoo

Heartless, a Heart tribute band (they were camped next to us)

My favorite band of the night was Magic Bus. Karl liked them, too, but I think it was because of their go-go dancers. They were perhaps the most polished act musically and even had a few acoustic songs including "Hotel California" from the Eagles which just so happens to be my favorite song.

Magic Bus

The final band of the night was Strutz for whom the festival is named after. It was their idea to put this event together. Props to them!

Two Members of Strutz

Like I said, it was hot over the weekend and this young man found a way to keep cool.


This guy was entertaining us all weekend. He pulled a wagon around with a bubble machine and squirt wand spraying the crowd, whether they asked for it or not. Methinks he was under the influence of something most of the time, but he was fun to watch.


There were lots of things to do for the kids, from playing under the misters to making giant bubbles.


This is our group camp. We had 4 RV's, 1 tent and a van for a total of 13 people. We had so much food between us, nobody went hungry!

Fun at Camp

What's more fun that seeing fools dancing? Seeing drunken fools dancing (none of us though)! Right on! The entire weekend was a blast and I think we will be going back next year.

Now that you've seen some of my world, click on the badge below to see what else is going on or to share what's happening in yours!

Mellow Yellow Monday #30 - Festival Umbrella

This past weekend, we went to a music festival. On Saturday, as we sat in the amphitheater, I spotted this bright yellow umbrella on the lawn area. Trying to keep the sun off of them, it's as bright as the sun, don't you think?

A Sunny Shady Spot

There's more to come on StrutzFest tomorrow. For now, click on the Mellow Yellow Monday badge below to see more fun shots in this weekly meme hosted by Drowsy Monkey.