Фото дня - 6.

Лучше гор, могут быть только горы.
Национальный парк гора Рейнир, штат Вашингтон.
Июль 2008.

Фото дня - 4.

Фонтан в Кенте. Возле библиотеки, где я работаю.

Фото Дня -1.

Я люблю фотографировать людей, природу.
У меня собралась коллекция фотографий, не вошедших ни в один альбом.
И я решила публиковать такие фото под рубрикой "Фото дня".
К тому же это хорошая практика для домашнего проекта - хочу свои лучшие фото в гостевой комнате.



Olympic National Park, август 2008.

Весна в Сиэттле

Люблю солнечную погоду в Сиэттле!!!

(начало апреля 2009)

HWY 520, Lake Washington and Olympic Mts

Downtown Flags and Space Needle
Waterfront restaurant
Seagull

cherry blooming Pasha

Skagit Tulip Festival

Каждый год в апреле на севере штата Вашингтон в округе Скажит проходит Тюльпановый фестиваль. В этом году я посетила этот фестиваль в 4й раз.
Хочу поделиться хорошей новостью - в связи с поздним сезоном цветения тюльпановый поля будет открыты для посетителей до 10 Мая - так что у всех желающих увидеть цветочный радуги на земле еще есть время.
Смотри карту цветения.

я с мамой

отражения

один-белый, другой - жёлтый... разноцветие

RoozenGarden
в японском стиле

радуга....

Паша и я

выставочный зал

хорошо в деревне летом....

Last Seattle Garden Show (February 21, 2009)

Christmas Lights, Leavenworth, WA

First picture together!!!

The story of Leavenworth is a testament to the determination of the human spirit. The odds of a dying timber and rail town successfully converting itself into an alpine Bavarian village are pretty slim. Nonetheless, the townspeople of Leavenworth found a way to do it. This is their story...
The History of Leavenworth
Leavenworth’s history does not begin with the alpine tradition it knows today, but with the proud heritage of the Yakima, Chinook and Wenatchi tribes. The Native American tribes lived by hunting the land for deer and elk, as well as fishing Icicle Creek for salmon. Surrounded by some of the most beautiful and bountiful lands in North America, the three tribes co-existed from Lake Wenatchee to the Icicle and beyond.
The area was eventually settled by pioneers in search of gold, furs and fertile farmland. Stakes were claimed, land was tracked, and the Leavenworth area was soon bustling with settlers. By 1890, the original town was built on the Icicle Flats.
But it wasn’t until the end of the century when the town began to blossom with the arrival of the rail line. The Great Northern Railway Company’s tracks through Leavenworth brought with them opportunities for work, commerce and a new economy.
A sawmill and a healthy logging industry eventually fell apart, however, when the Great Northern Railway Company pulled out of Leavenworth. The re-routing of the railroad and the subsequent closure of the sawmill sadly converted the town from a bustling, thriving hub of commerce into a hollow, empty community. For more than thirty years, Leavenworth lived on the brink of extinction.
But in the early 1960’s, everything changed. In a last-chance effort to turn their precarious situation around, the leaders of the community decided to change Leavenworth’s appearance, hoping to bring tourism into the area. Using the beautiful backdrop of the surrounding Alpine hills to their advantage, the town agreed to remodel their hamlet in the form of a Bavarian village.
Hoping to create more than a mere facelift, the entire community rallied to create the illusion of Bavaria in the middle of Washington state. Besides the complete renovation of the downtown area, community members worked to begin a series of festivals. The Autumn Leaf Festival, Maifest and the extremely popular Christmas Lighting Ceremony were the first of many attractions Leavenworth offered to passers-by.
And it worked!! Since the change to a Bavarian motif, Leavenworth has become a pillar of the tourism industry in the Pacific Northwest. Today, more than a million tourists come to Leavenworth each year, each visitor finding their own individual love affair with the community. The story is a landmark case of the human spirit: Not only did the people of Leavenworth survive their most critical hour, but they endured.

Leavenworh

Poulsbo, WA - Norwegian village

Poulsbo's strong Norwegian heritage began over 100 years ago in the late 1880's. Jorgen Eliason is credited with founding Poulsbo. Jorgen, his sister Rakel and his 6 year old son E.J. came to Poulsbo from Fordefjord, Norway, by way of Michigan in 1883. A month after Jorgen's arrival, Ivar B. Moe with his wife and three sons arrived from Paulsbo, Norway, via Minnesota. They settled at the head of the bay to develop a farm on land that has since become Poulsbo Village Shopping Center. Because of it's majestic snow-peaked mountains and fjords, Poulsbo was soon settled by many more Norwegian and Scandinavian immigrants who likened the landscape to their beautiful Norway.
For many years, Norwegian was the only language spoken by the citizens of Poulsbo. In 1886, Ivar B. Moe felt there was enough people on Dogfish Bay (later named Liberty Bay) to warrant a post office. He made an application and called the new town Paulsbo. The Postmaster General misread Moe's handwritting and listed the new post office as Poulsbo. Transportation in Poulsbo's early years was by boat, horseback and foot. Major buying and selling was via a boat trip to Seattle's Pike Place Market. Fisherman from the Bering Sea brought their catch of codfish here for salting and preserving----one of the largest codfish processing plants in the Northwest. It was also here that lutefisk was processed. Townspeople and visitors can still eat lutefisk at the First Lutheran Church's annual Lutefisk Dinner the third Saturday of each October. This church, founded by those early Norwegian settlers, sits on the bluff overlooking Poulsbo. Service is held in Norwegian each year during Viking Fest.
A "mosquito fleet" of steamers sailed from Seattle to Poulsbo for some 60 years, carrying passengers and freight. Poulsbo's strong ties to the water is still evident today, with the presence of three marinas on the shore of Liberty Bay..
The downtown waterfront area was at one time part of Liberty Bay. In the 1950's the community worked together to fill part of the bay to form Liberty Bay Waterfront Park and Anderson Parkway. Some of the buildings you see today were once on pilings. The Kvelstad Pavilion, a popular spot for summer weddings and family gatherings, was added to the waterfront park later. Within a span of five generations, Poulsbo has changed from a rowboat on an untouched shore to a thriving community with "small town" charm.

Hiking in Mt Rainer National Park

My personal record - 6 miles (10-11 km)
walking on the snow in August!!!!

Olympic National Park

Weekend in Olympic National Park - real NorthWest!!!
Национальный парк Олимпик находится в северо-западной части Соединенных Штатов, в штате Вашингтон, славится своей удивительной природой. Общая прощадь парка 350 000 гектаров. Здесь, в тихоокеанском тумане, окутывающем побережье и лес, прячутся большие деревья, а также ломаная береговая линия. Климат этой местности один из самых влажных на планете. В парке есть горы с заснеженными вершинами и с медленно сползающими ледниками, а также дождевые леса, такие же загадочные и темные, как тропические леса в районе Амазонки. В 1788 году один английский капитан в честь легендарного жилища мифических богов Древней Греции назвал самую высокую из этих гор (ее высота почти 2 500 метров) Олимпусом. А в 1938 году с целью сохранить неприкосновенность девственной природы этих мест был создан Национальный парк Олимпик.

Визит моей подруги Наташи!!! 14-18 Июня

Моя подружка Наташа из Нью Джерси приезжала в гости. Моя задача состояла в том, чтобы за 5 дней показать ей хотя бы малую часть достопримечательностей Северо-запада:

1 день - Ливенворф, Баварская деревушка;

2 день - Сиэттл;

3 день - Кэннон Бич, Орегон;

4 день - Сисайд, Орегон;

5 день - водопад Сноквалми.
Надеюсь, Наташе понравились все наши поездки.

Camping in Sun Lakes State Park.

Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park is a 4,027-acre camping park with 73,640 feet of freshwater shoreline at the foot of Dry Falls. Dry Falls is one of the great geological wonders of North America. Carved by ice-age floods that long ago disappeared, the former waterfall is now a stark cliff, 400 feet high and 3.5 miles wide. In its heyday, the waterfall was ten times the size of Niagara Falls. Today it overlooks a desert oasis filled with lakes and abundant wildlife.

Nestled on the shores of Park lake and protected by towering basalt cliffs, Sun Lakes is home to some spectacular scenery. The surrounding area is full of beautiful natural geologic formations.
Sun Lakes sits along the path of many great ice-age floods. As the tremendous force of over 400 trillion gallons of water tore through the Pacific Northwest over and over again, valleys and basins were carved into the Columbia Plateau. Today these are known as the Channeled Scablands. From this massive destruction came gorgeous spectacles of nature you can only truly experience in person.
Highway 17, leading past Sun Lakes from the Othello area to Grand Coulee, was recently named as a National Scenic Highway. This beautiful drive with it's fantastic scenery is also known as the Coulee Corridor. Sun Lakes is perfectly positioned along this byway so you can easily enjoy these majestic sights.
"Dry Falls" stands 400 feet high and over three miles wide. When it was active, this waterfall was ten times larger than Niagara Falls! You can enjoy the spectacular view of this natural monument from an on-site visitor center.
The Lake Lenore Caves are another point of interest in the area. Hundreds of years ago, nomadic natives huddled together in these natural shelters, probably during seasonal migration periods. Now their historical "tracks" are left for us to see. If you hike far enough along the path, you can view petroglyphs carved into stone by those ancient tribes. But even if you opt for just a short hike, you can't help but be awed by the beauty and history of the caves. One of the most visited sites in our area is the Grand Coulee Dam.
At 550 feet tall and a full mile long, Grand Coulee Dam is a truly impressive sight to behold. Constructed with enough concrete to build a four-lane highway from Los Angeles to New York City, the dam is considered by many as the Eighth Wonder of the World!
Grand Coulee Dam is also known for its Laser Light Show, a narrated tale of how and why the dam was built played out in pulsating lasers on the face of the massive structure. Playing nightly from late May to late September, this show is a favorite for many of our guests. Other attractions near Sun Lakes include several museums and interpretive centers, a multitude of scenic overlooks, and the Blue Lake Rhino.

Pacific Science Center, Seattle - June 17th, 2007

Last Sunday I went to Pacific Science Center for the first time. I saw some interesting Exhibitions:
Colossal Fossils: Dinosaurs Around the World

They are the world's mysterious giants. Millions of years after the dinosaurs took their last steps on earth, they continue to fascinate young and old alike. What did these creatures really look like? How did they really act? Scientists have worked to uncover many theories about the dinosaurs, and continue to dig for more clues. For the first time in Seattle, a unique collection of fossils, skeletons, eggs and artifacts will transport guests back millions of years, to the time when dinosaurs roamed our earth.

Showing at Pacific Science Center Colossal Fossils: Dinosaurs Around the World combines current research with prehistoric artifacts to create an educational, unforgettable and fun experience for all ages! Explore what it's like to be a paleontologist as you search for bones in one of our dig pits. Feel the immense power of their size as you walk among real dinosaur skeletons from across China. These exotic Asian species have inspired millennia of dragon legends. Discover the intricate beginnings of these giant creatures in our dinosaur egg and embryo exhibit.

As part of Colossal Fossils we are featuring Dinosaurs Alive! 3D, an awesome new IMAX film.

Tropical Butterfly House
Enjoy year-round sunshine in the Tropical Butterfly House! Temperatures are in the low 80s, humidity is 60 to 70 percent, and full-spectrum lighting keeps the plants and butterflies healthy. Watch beautiful, free-flying butterflies fly, sun themselves, and feed among tropical flowers. See a brand-new butterfly emerge in the chrysalis viewing window. New butterflies are released into the exhibit each morning.

Insect Village
Giant robotic insects, interactive exhibits and live animal displays give you a close-up look at the world of insects and other arthropods.

Science Playground
How does an electric motor work? What does a gyroscope do? How fast can you throw a baseball? Who wins the bubble race? Find the answers to these and other questions in the Science Playground.

Technology Exhibits
Computers, robots, virtual reality and more! Challenge an industrial robot to a game of tic-tac-toe. Defend your team's goal in VR Keeper, the full- body virtual reality soccer experience.

Leavenworth, WA - 2007

Yesterday my parents and I went to Leavenworth, Bavarian Village - about 2,5-3 hours beautifil drive from our house. During couple hours we played with snow on Stevens Pass and then - I swam in open public pool in Leavenworth. That was awesome day trip - driving in the mountains and forests and water falls, shopping and dining in the town. Now we have a tradition my mother found good Bag store and every year she buys new bag there.







There are a lot of snow on Stevens Pass!!!




















Lunch on Rest Area - beautiful pine forest!!!!










Dinner in Munchen Haus - traditional German Sausages and Beer ( don't worry I'm responsible driver so I order non-alcohol beer - weird but tasted good!!)




Souvenir for me - Librarian Mug!!!