The Great Outdoors – Page 3 – Not Your Average Engineer

March 2, 2013March 9, 2013

Heather meets the baby chicks

Heather and I stopped by my parents’ farm the other weekend to look at the three day old baby chicks. Baby chicks are a common sight for me but Heather hadn’t held one before. Being teeny tiny, she instantly fell in love.

The chicks were all hanging out under the heat lamp.

This little guy didn’t want to get down at first!

Heather found an interesting little black chick.

The chick wasn’t so sure what to think about the situation.

The chick left behind a little poop as a present in Heather’s hand!

February 24, 2013March 2, 2013

William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge Muddy Oak Forest Hike

Heather and I went for a hike in the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is just a little south of Corvallis. As it is bird season, we hiked through the oak forest rather than out in the grasslands. The grasslands are closed during migration season to allow the birds a place where they can rest on their flights.

A boardwalk through the muddier parts of the forest.

Lots of oak trees. The refuge is starting to actively manage the forest now. They have removed conifer trees and some smaller oaks that were choking out heritage oaks.

This is one particularly massive heritage oak. I had to stitch together a bunch of photos in an attempt to capture the whole thing.

Driving out of the refuge. I believe we might be seeing some of The Three Sisters in the distance.

Lots of snow in the mountains.

The Willamette Valley sure is beautiful!

January 20, 2013November 15, 2021

Clear Afternoon at Newport and Depoe Bay

Heather and I went over to the coast for a few hours in order to escape from the dreary weather that plagued the valley the last few weeks. Rather than 30F and foggy, the coast was 60F, sunny, and with only a light breeze. We stopped in Newport first to pick up a picture that we won in the fall at the Newport Fishermen’s Wives Wild Seafood Weekend.

The iconic bridge over the Yaquina Bay in Newport.

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A panorama of the Yaquina Bay from the public dock on the west side of old town. The NOAA and OSU research docks are both visible in the middle of the photo. We went on a tour of the R/V Oceanus not too long ago. It is usually tied up at the OSU research dock.

On South Jetty at the entrance to Yaquina Bay looking back toward old town, the docks, and the bridge. The visibility was really good. We were sad that we didn’t bring diving gear with us.

A fishing boat coming up the channel to Newport.

Heather examining conditions at the 3rd finger on the south jetty at Newport.

We drove further up the coast to Depoe Bay where we met my parents who had driven down from Lincoln City where they were staying for a few days in their RV at the park across from the Inn at Spanish Head.

The surf was heavy even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

Sunset at the RV park across US 101 from the Inn at Spanish Head.