adventure Archives - Page 3 of 6 - Loree Johnson Photography

Battle of the mold

by Loree | Dec 20, 2014 | Blog, Ocean, Oregon, The Vagabond Lifestyle

Having lived in northern California’s Siskiyou County for the past 16 years, I had pretty much grown accustomed to dry weather. Even when it got wet, it always dried out relatively quickly. So, when I set out on my journey through the Pacific Northwest, I suppose I was a bit clueless about the moisture and humidity I would face. I’ve never been one of those people who hates the rain. In fact, I rather enjoy it–to a point. I made sure my RV was watertight. I bought a brand new rain coat and rain pants. I made sure I bought a camera bag with a rain fly. I even made not one, but two, camera “raincoats.” (You can find instructions for them on Jai Johnson’s blog.) I really thought I was prepared. Then I spent two months in the rain. Yes, two months.

$Magical Rainbow Reflection; Waldport OR; Oregon; Alsea River; rainbow; reflect; reflection; reflected; water; sky; double; rain; weather; sun; refract; beauty; scene; scenic; calm; serene; serenity; peace; nature; natural; magic; pot of gold; and; the; over; with; under; above; against; in the; on the; at the; Loree Johnson$

Magical Rainbow Reflection

Okay, so maybe it hasn’t rained every day for the past two months, but certainly is has been rainy more days than not. Thus, when getting things in order to move from Waldport to Bandon, much to my horror, I discovered mold! Truth be told, I had been doing battle with the stuff for weeks. When it’s chilly outside, warm inside, and the humidity is high, condensation is the result. The windows get wet and the water drips down them and settles in the window frames. So, I had been wiping down the windows every day or two and trying to stay ahead of the inevitable mold. So far, so good. But, little did I know, in the cab of the motorhome, which doesn’t see much use other than travel days, the moisture was condensing and running down onto the carpet. Only when clearing out the cab and getting ready to move did I discover the moldy carpet! Ewwwww! Not only that, but I had no time to do anything about it. So, I had to drive from Waldport to Bandon in a cab that was looking like a bagle that sat too long in the cupboard! Ewwwww!

As a result, my first couple days in Bandon were dedicated to the battle of the mold. I am now the proud owner of an electric dehumidifier and a bottle of industrial strength moldicide. Probably overkill, but I never again want to see white fuzz growing inside my motorhome.

Aftermath and Prelude

Once the mold eradication project was completed, I could finally relax and enjoy Bandon. Perfect timing, too, because the rain decided to stop for an hour or two right at sunrise and the light on the ocean was nothing like I have ever seen. Amazing is too mild a word to describe it.

And now I’m thanking my lucky stars that I came here last week because Highway 101 is closed north of Florence due to a mudslide and the Alsea River (which is right next to where I was camped) is rising fast. I hope everyone I met there is safe and dry and I hope this storm lets up before too much damage happens.

Pacific Glory

Even as I write this latest installment of my adventures on the road, I know that with each new day will come new challenges. But with the challenges also come unexpected rewards. And that’s pretty much what life is all about. I’m still enjoying the good stuff and handling the not so good stuff. In other words, “livin’ the dream.”

Otherworldly

Movin’ on

by Loree | Dec 9, 2014 | Birds, Ocean, Oregon, Rivers, The Vagabond Lifestyle, Wildlife

With less than a week to go in Waldport, Oregon, I can’t help but look back fondly on my stay here. While I can’t really say I’ve stayed anywhere so far that wasn’t good, this place has been the best. If you ever need a place to camp on the central Oregon coast, I highly recommend a stay at Chinook RV Park. Not only is it a great campground with level sites, clean restrooms, and a great doggie play area, but it’s a natural wonder as well. Right on the Alsea River, just a few miles from downtown Waldport, there is more wildlife to be seen here than at some National Wildlife Refuges I’ve been.

Eagle Launch

The surrounding area is dense with legendary scenery, which is why I picked this location to begin with. There is much, much more here than can been seen even in a month, and I’ve discovered some scenic surprises while I’ve been here.

Ona Beach Stone Vein

Of course, I’ve also photographed some familiar locations. All, while working in or around the rain, which is pretty much the norm here this time of year. Over the years I’ve found that rain can make for some unexpectedly wonderful photo ops.

Light in the Storm

But the most pleasant surprise at this particular location has been the multitude of creatures. Like this harbor seal I spied swimming in the Devil’s Churn at high tide. At first I thought the poor thing must have gotten lost or been washed into the crevice by a strong wave. But, after watching for a while, it became clear that the seal was there because it wanted to be, and it was probably finding something to eat.

Seal Jacuzzi

And, I don’t even have to get in my car to see wildlife. I can walk a couple hundred yards from my front door and see things like this.

Egret Breakfast

I like it here so much, I considered asking my hosts about staying on for another week or two. But, after some thought, I realized that I’m ready to move on to new sights and new experiences. A month is long enough and now it’s time for me to fly.

Gotta Fly

And I also realized that in all my time living in Yreka, I never went on a road trip to Bandon. So next week I will say a fond farewell to Waldport and when you hear from me again I will be in Bandon by the Sea. Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.

Learning life lessons…again

by Loree | Dec 1, 2014 | Birds, Gratitude, Ocean, Oregon, Photography, The Vagabond Lifestyle, Wildlife

Over the past nine years or so, I’ve learned a lot about myself and life in general. Or at least, I thought I had. When my marriage unraveled, my life started on a different trajectory than it had been on for the first forty-plus years of my life. Over the years, the details of what went wrong became less and less important and the reasons why became more and more important. I had spent my life, up to that point, trying to get somewhere and trying to be someone. I had an idea in my mind what my life would look like, and I would go to any lengths to make it so. It took a major life event to shake me out of it and make me realize–I’m not in control! Ha! Seems a bit obvious, but for me, it was a big revelation. Now, living an entirely different lifestyle, and having an entirely different picture of how my story unfolds, I find myself falling back into the same trap.

Pacific Rays

I came to the coast of Oregon with visions of shooting sunsets at the beach, lighthouses, tidepools, you know, all those “ocean” things. Imagine my disappointment when I found out one of the two lighthouses nearby is undergoing restoration and covered in scaffolding. The other one currently has a broken motor so the light is turned off. And I was wholly unprepared for the skies being nothing but gray 85% of the time. (I know what you’re thinking–Oregon, on the coast, in winter–what else did you expect?) So, I fret and plan and check the forecast to see when I might get one of those shots. The ones I came here for. But I forgot, yet again, that I’m not in control.

Egret Over the River

Sometime, over the past two weeks, I noticed that I’m spending less time on the weather forecast and more time looking out the window. I’m camped near the Alsea River, which is teeming with wildlife. And I also noticed that my camera has spent more time hooked up to my long zoom lens than my wide angle landscape lens.

Eagle Action

So it occurs to me that maybe this bit of my journey is meant to be about noticing the beautiful creatures around me and learning to be a better wildlife photographer. And, maybe another part of my travels will bring me to a place where the scenery and light naturally causes me to concentrate on noticing the bigger picture and learning to be a better landscape photographer. I’m not really in control, you know?

Heron in Flight

So as I settle in to my new vagabond life, I’m learning once again, to take what life offers and make the most of it, rather than swimming against the current and trying to make things be the way I wanted them to be. And I also remember that when I look at it that way, everything generally turns out even better than how I had it planned.

Yaquina Bay Bridge

And sometimes I even get a little bit of what I wanted anyway.

Sights and stories

by Loree | Nov 22, 2014 | Blog, Quirky Stuff, The Vagabond Lifestyle

Lest anyone think that all the photographs I take are fine art worthy, I’ve decided to dedicate this post to images from my journey that didn’t make the cut to be included in my galleries. Some of these are just not good enough shots, while others are technically fine, but the subject matter is not really fine art material. I’ve seen and experienced so much in my short three months on the road, there are bound to be sights and stories you wouldn’t hang on your wall. So, here’s a taste of some of the stuff you won’t see in my portfolio.

Here’s Luna being forced to follow the rules.

Luna at the end of the trail

One of the best “shoe trees” ever, somewhere between Mitchell and Dayville, Oregon on route 26. Note the arrows protruding from the tree about halfway up.

Shoe Tree

One of the best rainbows I’ve ever seen. Too bad it just happened to appear when I was in the parking lot of Albertson’s in Bend, Oregon.

Albertson’s Rainbow

A bald eagle drying itself right after a huge downpour. Unfortunately, it was about a quarter of a mile away, so no clear shot for me, even with a 500mm zoom.

Eagle Drying

Hundreds of sea lions hanging out on the rocks below the Haceta Head Lighthouse viewpoint. No way to get down there, which is probably why they chose that spot. I wouldn’t have known they were there, except for the racket they were making. This shot was taken looking over the edge of the railing, probably 300-400 feet above them.

A mess of sea lions

The post office in Dayville, Oregon, which pretty much tells you how remote this little town is.

Dayville Post Office

Finally, I never did officially name this rig in the sense of painting a moniker on it. But, one day I did doodle on the “chalkboard” cupboard doors, so I guess she’s been christened.

Endless Weekend Doodle

I’ve been quite fortunate to have been able to capture many beautiful fine art images so far on my journey. However, I’ve also been extremely fortunate to have experienced so many unique and unforgettable sights. If you like seeing the quirky things and the rejects, let me know and I will try to do a post like this every so often. Thanks for traveling with me!

Folks, we have an adventure!

by Loree | Nov 13, 2014 | Birds, Blog, Oregon, Rivers, The Vagabond Lifestyle, Waterfalls, Wildlife

I set off on an adventure, and an adventure is what I got! It all started this past Saturday when I went out to take the dog for a walk. I closed the laptop to put it to sleep and took the dog across the road to the park. We had a nice time playing fetch the tennis ball and when I came back I opened the laptop to work on some more photos. But, nothing happened. I tried restarting, unplugging, taking the battery out and putting it back in, and still nothing. I got in touch with Dell warranty support (the laptop is only 3 months old) and they took me through some troubleshooting steps, which were mostly all the things I’d already tried. It was determined that I would need a new motherboard and DC input and they would send an on-site service technician to do the repair–at my RV. My warranty coverage is “next business day” service, but I’m still unclear as to what that actually means. I waited all day Monday, only to find out that the part had been shipped and service would be scheduled for Tuesday. When nothing happened on Tuesday, I sent a message to Dell. I received a message back that the parts had arrived late and service would be scheduled for Wednesday. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the weather took a turn for the worse and the wind began blowing–hard. So, I sat here wondering if the trees around me were firmly rooted and fearing one would come down on top of me. The trees around here are pretty big!

Starvation Creek Falls

After spending the day worrying and fretting and checking the weather forecast, I decided I needed to relax a bit. So, I crawled in bed and read a few chapters of “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau. It helped to put things in perspective and I realized that this adventure wouldn’t be much of an adventure if everything was predictable and comfortable all the time. The next morning, I woke up feeling quite a bit more optimistic. Until I turned on the water and nothing came out. It had frozen overnight due to the cold temperatures and the “brisk” wind. Nothing to do but wait until the sun rose high enough to shine on the water connection and thaw it. That happened around 11 am, which was right about the same time the computer repair guy showed up. At least I had time to brush my teeth!

Autumn at Shepards Dell

With the computer up and running, I could now finish working on the photos I took the week before along the Historic Columbia River Highway. By now I knew that most of those colorful leaves were likely on the ground thanks to the high winds, so I was glad I went out shooting when I did.

There were also some images from Monday’s trip to Beacon Rock and the Bonneville Dam that hadn’t even been uploaded from the camera yet. I had decided to set up my camera for wildlife that day because there were no clouds and the landscapes would be harshly lit. And even though I didn’t see a lot of wildlife on the trip, I did see this eagle near the Bonneville Dam just when the sun was beginning to set.

Sunset Eagle

Today, it’s been snowing and blowing and the temperature never got above freezing. But, at least I have water for now because I’ve left a trickle running in the bathroom sink. Everything outside is cold and covered with white. It’s not one of those pleasant snows, with big feathery snowflakes like you see on Christmas cards. More like one of those stories on the Weather Channel about the epic storm that they’ve decided to name. But, I’m warm and toasty inside my home on wheels with a propane furnace and an electric heater. I have food and blankets and I’m on an adventure! Things can change quickly in the Pacific Northwest!

Postcard from Oregon

So, as I sit here looking out at the snow piling up and blowing around outside, I admit I will be a little sad to leave on Saturday (weather permitting, lol). The Columbia River Gorge is like no place else, and it’s been a part of my adventure I won’t soon forget.