This blog is now officially dead. I hope you had fun, if you'd like to keep in touch please contact me through my website digigrafia.net
August 13, 2009
So long and Thanks for all the Fish
Time to strike camp...
This blog is now officially dead. I hope you had fun, if you'd like to keep in touch please contact me through my website digigrafia.net
This blog is now officially dead. I hope you had fun, if you'd like to keep in touch please contact me through my website digigrafia.net
August 12, 2009
Tillicum Village
Uwe took me to Blake Island today - the place is supposed to show people how the native in the northwest lived. Nature provided more than enough for a living with countless salmon traveling up the rivers, whales in the ocean and puget sound and impenetrable forests with large trees big enough for seaworthy dugout canoes. These satisfied tribes were very peacefully and helped out the european settlers at numerous occasions, e.g. they helped out with food to get the newcomers through the winter, and advised them where to settle down...
They had also developed a very good technique to "cook" their salmon, which was practiced for thousand years - and I can tell you that fish tastes great that way!
We also got to see a show, with some traditional dances and stories and great wooden masks and costumes, which reminded me a bit of the austrian "Perchten" - but instead of daemonic creatures, mostly (mythological) animals are represented.
On the way back we met the "Lady Washington" (which was used in "Pirates of the Caribbean" & "Star Trek:Next Generation")...
They had also developed a very good technique to "cook" their salmon, which was practiced for thousand years - and I can tell you that fish tastes great that way!
We also got to see a show, with some traditional dances and stories and great wooden masks and costumes, which reminded me a bit of the austrian "Perchten" - but instead of daemonic creatures, mostly (mythological) animals are represented.
On the way back we met the "Lady Washington" (which was used in "Pirates of the Caribbean" & "Star Trek:Next Generation")...
August 11, 2009
August 09, 2009
Shamefaced Helen
This weekend Uwe, Lorellen, Dan & I went to Mt.St.Helens. We had a nice campground within a forest of beautiful, tall trees.
On saturday we started early and went up the mountain - but above 3000 ft everything was in the clouds, and up at Johnson Ridge, where you normally get a great view of the crater, we couldn't see anything. Inside the visitor center they got a very nice film with original capture - at the end of the show, the curtains went up, but instead of the intriguing view of the crater, we saw a white wall of a giant milk bottle...
So we went down to 1000 ft and did the Hummock trail. I saw a nice beaver home on the side of a nice lake, which was created by two beaver dams. I also saw this nice tree frog, which I found on the ground - maybe this little bugger can't jump that high after all...
When we came back to the car we observed that the clouds were rising and we saw a patch a blue here and there - we decided to go back up - and believe it or not - we could see the valley - unfortunately not the crater.
But you could see the trail of destruction caused by the blast, the pyroclastic streams and the mud avalanche. This is now 29 years ago - and the trees had more time to grow, than I had. In the original capture you can very nicely see how all the trees were thrown into one direction and how the mountain slide injured the vegetation and left scars in the ridges and rocks. You have to open your eyes now to see all that, as the vegetation is growing back and what was gray 20 years ago is becoming green again...
(this is a photo of an information sign with the crater up at Johnson's Ridge)
(these 'hummocks' were brought into the riverbed by the landslide)
(the crater is still in the clouds, but you can see all the way of the landslide and the mudstreams - the clouds of ash were blown to the east)
(you can see all the trees that were cut by the blast in 1980 - the trees that had cover behind the hill were stripped naked by the blast - there was not enough oxygen inside the hot cloud to burn them)
So if you want to refresh what you learned in school or got interested check out that -link-!
Today we went to mayfield lake, which is created by a concrete dam - not the beavers choice of material - and I met some members of Lori's family there. We had a nice time and played carcassone - guess who won ;)
On saturday we started early and went up the mountain - but above 3000 ft everything was in the clouds, and up at Johnson Ridge, where you normally get a great view of the crater, we couldn't see anything. Inside the visitor center they got a very nice film with original capture - at the end of the show, the curtains went up, but instead of the intriguing view of the crater, we saw a white wall of a giant milk bottle...
So we went down to 1000 ft and did the Hummock trail. I saw a nice beaver home on the side of a nice lake, which was created by two beaver dams. I also saw this nice tree frog, which I found on the ground - maybe this little bugger can't jump that high after all...
When we came back to the car we observed that the clouds were rising and we saw a patch a blue here and there - we decided to go back up - and believe it or not - we could see the valley - unfortunately not the crater.
But you could see the trail of destruction caused by the blast, the pyroclastic streams and the mud avalanche. This is now 29 years ago - and the trees had more time to grow, than I had. In the original capture you can very nicely see how all the trees were thrown into one direction and how the mountain slide injured the vegetation and left scars in the ridges and rocks. You have to open your eyes now to see all that, as the vegetation is growing back and what was gray 20 years ago is becoming green again...
(this is a photo of an information sign with the crater up at Johnson's Ridge)
(these 'hummocks' were brought into the riverbed by the landslide)
(the crater is still in the clouds, but you can see all the way of the landslide and the mudstreams - the clouds of ash were blown to the east)
(you can see all the trees that were cut by the blast in 1980 - the trees that had cover behind the hill were stripped naked by the blast - there was not enough oxygen inside the hot cloud to burn them)
So if you want to refresh what you learned in school or got interested check out that -link-!
Today we went to mayfield lake, which is created by a concrete dam - not the beavers choice of material - and I met some members of Lori's family there. We had a nice time and played carcassone - guess who won ;)
August 07, 2009
Mt. Tahoma: or "Der Berg Ruft!"
Today Uwe took me to Mt.Rainier or Mt.Tahoma, its' native name - this still active volcano is about 4400 m high and got his own national park. I was again lucky with the weather and got a very nice view from sunrise. I saw an eagle on the way to the grove of the patriarch - most of the old growth are helmlock trees, red cedars and douglas firs. Some of the trees there are older than a 1000 years, up to 60 m high and have a circumference of about 10 m. Those trees are majestic beauties - astonishing monuments of life - it made us sad to learn that one of those big fellows fell in a storm last november.
We had some other nice views on the way to paradise - which was in the clouds unfortunately - and came back just in time for a nice sunset shot with the needle.
We had some other nice views on the way to paradise - which was in the clouds unfortunately - and came back just in time for a nice sunset shot with the needle.
August 05, 2009
August 04, 2009
Needle
O.k. I was a bit lazy with photographs yesterday - I caught a cold and I'm not feeling totally fit. I went to the Space Needle with Sara, but the queue was too long, so we just went into the science fiction museum. Well, they call anything a museum here, but this one was actually pretty cool. There was also a museum of music with all the jimmy hendrix guitars, grunch stuff and all the other musicians and bands that conquered the world from seattle.
Seattle also has Streetcars now the - the "Lightrail", which is underground downtown - the cool thing is, that Buses are also using these tunnels now.
Seattle also has Streetcars now the - the "Lightrail", which is underground downtown - the cool thing is, that Buses are also using these tunnels now.
August 02, 2009
Hydroplane Racers
Today I went to Lake Washington again - this time with Dan. First we watched the Blue Angels - this time we had a very good spot. On the left and the right we had a lot of tree, so it was much harder to follow the show, but we had a lot of overflights, you have no idea how low and fast these jets are when the pick up speed diving after a loop...
Sometimes you just hear a jet far away, suddenly it is swooshing over your head , and even if your camera is ready you might miss it, and when you think it passed there comes the rolling thunder...
Then we went to the hydrofoil race - those speed boats are powered with plane engines. Fans were watching from everywhere, the beach, kayaks, surfboards, swimming, from boats - this lake has about the size of Attersee - but have you ever seen so many boats there?
Sometimes you just hear a jet far away, suddenly it is swooshing over your head , and even if your camera is ready you might miss it, and when you think it passed there comes the rolling thunder...
Then we went to the hydrofoil race - those speed boats are powered with plane engines. Fans were watching from everywhere, the beach, kayaks, surfboards, swimming, from boats - this lake has about the size of Attersee - but have you ever seen so many boats there?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
