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Weather has finally started to become a bit Spring like. Still have snow levels in the weather reports but now up around 6,000 feet. Last Thursday there was even a Winter Storm warning! I'm not sure how much of the news is making it nation wide especially with all the other weather disaster news of the last month, but in many areas of the Northwest there are record river levels and many are probably going to be flooding. In our area both the Kootenai and Moyie Rivers are expected to be at and over floodstage later this week. While we won't be affected, up on a plateau, a lot of low lying properties and businesses are at risk. The Kootenai is fed by the surge of water rain and snow melt at the lake behind the Libby dam in Motana. It's getting full so the dam is letting out more water. Actually before the dam was built the entire old town area of this town would flood almost every year. And the "Mirror Lake" Golf Course used to actually be at a seasonal lake of the ...

These are five of the photos I had taken on the recent trip to Bend Oregon. Top photo, on the way South just outside of Kennewick, Washington down near the Oregon Border. Above, was a stretch stop on the 97 in Oregon. First time in months it had been warm enough to even have the top down. Above, where I stayed for those four days. My "room" was bottom floor and the set of two corner windows. VERY small and kind of triangular shaped. But the conference center was just across the road from this location so I didn't have to drive anywhere. Pretty nice on that part. On my way home I decided to make a bit of a drive out of it and go by places I had never been to before. Above was a stop near the visitor's center of the John Day Fossil Monument. And the last photo in this set below is one I took as I drove on the 395 Freeway North on the way to Ritzville, Washington, which was my last night out. Then very warm weather wise and home the next day, Saturday, about 12 noon...

So here it is Monday evening and we're catching up on some shows and fast forwarding through the commercials of last nights Survivor finale with the DVR. Last week was a week of traveling for both me and Stacy. I drove to Bend, Oregon for five days leaving last Tuesday morning. I went there for a Northwest Regional Conference for work, to get ideas on funding and community service in these tough economic times. I had been contemplating riding my Gold Wing, but temps in the 30's on last Tuesday morning and continued reports of rain, so I drove the Solstice. I am glad I did as it did turn out to be mostly cold and windy the entire time. By GPS and the car's odometer it was 488.8 miles from our yard to the resort's parking space. A full day drive to get there. While I was down at Bend, Stacy had to spend a day in Coeur d' Alene and then two days in Moscow, ID. all for meetings. And next week she'll be traveling to Boise again. At home lots of rain and still more wi...

Last Sunday, May 1st, I took advantage of the better but still cold weather to take some evening and sunset photos of our little town. Although the previous weekend had been the most springlike weather to date, the workweek was back to rain, snow and highs in the 40's lows in the 20's. The day before, Saturday the 30th had been thunder stormy and very windy so that was why I was at the summit of this old road on Sunday. Taken with my cellphone these two photos are of my camera setup and view of the town while I waited for the sun to go down a bit more, looking for the 'good' light. It was windy and still cold so I wound up not staying to after dark to get any long exposure photos, the kind that cause the car lights to become streaks. Maybe next time. The road below in the photo above is the 'new' highway that was built in the 1990's to replace the narrow winding road that I was standing next to to take the photos. Many people walk along this old section a...