by Jim Bellomo | Dec 23, 2025 | Uncategorized
This was one of my favorite weeks of the entire year. My birthday, a concert in Olympia at Capitol High School where my grandson plays the clarinet, an almost full day with my family, making pizza with my granddaughter and playing games with the whole bunch. I bet you know which one is my favorite this week...it has to be my daughter, grandkids and Keeley from Saturday. It's a total winner.
Continuing our Christmas theme, yesterday we featured a Christmas dog, and today we have a Christmas moose with his little boy. I enjoy taking bokeh shots with the lights shimmering in the background. This guy has lights on him, so it looks even better. Using a 50mm f1.4 lens with a very shallow depth of field really helps.
The young man on the left is my grandson Mason. Tonight, we attended his high school orchestra’s Christmas concert. It was very nice, and it’s great that he is finally in high school, so we no longer have to go to concerts in the gymnasium and sit on hard bleachers. His school has a beautiful concert hall venue. Sadly, it was POURING tonight, and I didn’t want to take my Nikon out in the rain, so I had to shoot this with my phone. I still am okay with it, but it would have been so much better with a camera and a longer lens.
Today was wrapping day. We have finished all our Christmas shopping, and I have to say I have never been so excited about what we got for everybody on our list. I can’t wait to see if they all like it as much as we enjoyed getting it for them. So today, I spent wrapping. This is the rest of today.
For the last three weeks, I have stopped at the Bellevue branch of the King County Library to take a photo of their wall of license plates. Each week, I have found a better photo, so today I went back and got another one. (I now have three weeks of license plates.) They are not real plates but are made from words. Most of them are black and white, so I converted the entire photo to grayscale. I like it better that way.
Today was a REALLY special day for me. My family (kids and grandkids) came to celebrate my birthday. They asked what I wanted to do, and I said I wanted them to come to our house so I could make pizza for them. It has been so long since I have been able to cook a real meal for them, so that’s what I wanted to do. They drove up, and we played games. I got to assemble pizzas with my granddaughter, and I got to spend the entire day with my son, my daughter, my grandkids, my son-in-law, Kathleen and Keeley. It was glorious. My granddaughter, my daughter and my grandson were on the couch with Keeley, and this was the most fun photo I took all day.
Took Keeley on a 3-mile walk today, and we went to Duck Lake. It’s about 1.5 miles from our house. I have taken photos of this lake before, but never with this much water. Usually, it’s a big swamp or bog, but with all our recent rains, it’s a lake again.
As you have probably heard, we here in the Pacific Northwest have had a lot of rain this week and last night’s wind. I wanted to walk one of our Trilogy trails today to see if there was any damage. There were a few trees down, but when I went to take a shot of Cari’s Bog, the biggest impact of the storm was that the bog was full of water. The most I have seen in the three years we have lived here.
I never knew what I was doing until I was done.  – Man Ray
by Jim Bellomo | Oct 18, 2025 | Uncategorized
Sadly, even though we had one more night on the ship and then two nights scheduled with the October Bunch in Walla Walla, Kathleen and I decided to leave the ship on our first day in Clarkston, rent a car and drive home. Kathleen has our regular travel cold starting up and has been coughing and sneezing for about the last four days.
I’m having some serious trouble with the after effects of my prostate cancer radiation treatments I thought were behind me last spring. These started while we were driving to Portland, and I’ve stayed in touch with my doctor the whole time (even doing some tests while we were still in Portland). The symptoms would improve, then worsen again. After a particularly rough night on Thursday, we remembered that, on other trips when we felt terrible, two things were true: we made others we were traveling with feel miserable, and we always wished we could be at home in our own bed. Usually, that’s not possible because it would mean flying home and dealing with all the hassles, but since we were somewhere we could drive home, we did (it was a LONG five+ hour drive but worth it). So, I finished the Pendleton post, and now I’m writing this one from our living room in Redmond.Â
I do plan to finish this trip with my review of the entire cruise, including the service, little problems and, of course, the food. Please look for that in the next few days. For today, it’s just a matter of returning a rental car, going to the Kaiser clinic for some tests and hopefully medication, and just resting. More soon.
The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. —Robert Burns
by Jim Bellomo | Oct 18, 2025 | Uncategorized
If that headline isn’t enough to grab your attention, nothing else will ?. But it seems like that’s what Thursday was all about. We woke up at the dock in Richland, Washington, where we were to board our “luxury motor coach” for a full-day tour in Pendleton, Oregon, the home of the Pendleton Round-Up, one of the biggest rodeos and wild west shows in the USA, and the home of plenty of cowboys and cowboy culture. When we got to the “luxury motor coach,” we met our guide, Rosemary, who would stay with us for the rest of the day. She turned out to be one of the best guides we’ve ever had the pleasure of traveling with. Born and raised here in the Washington Tri-Cities area, she was a treasure trove of knowledge about both Richland, Hanford, and Pendleton.
On our way down, she entertained us with stories about legendary cowboys, the underground tour we would take upon arriving in Pendleton, and a lot of local history. She even sang to us—quite well, I might add. She showed us a great video about Duff Severe (at right), one of America’s top saddle makers. You might not find that topic interesting, but I found it fascinating. Duff was a legend in the area and had been featured in National Geographic, other magazines, and TV shows. Rosemary suggested that if we wanted to learn more about Duff, we should look him up on YouTube. I plan to do that as soon as we get home.
When we arrived in Pendleton, we passed the enormous Pendleton Round-Up grounds on our way to our first stop, the Pendleton Underground Tour. We had an outstanding tour guide, Sue Ellen, and you could tell she loves her volunteer job. She walked us through an entire block of underground rooms that had been restored and turned into a museum (in their heyday, there had been more than 16 blocks of underground). Here’s some of what we saw.
Sue Ellen starts the tour.
Gambling
Drinking
Sleeping…it all went on underground.
The Underground Tour also had a really nice museum where we could see the work of Duff Severe. As he got older, his arthritic hands kept him from continuing to make full-size saddles, so he started creating miniature saddles as works of art. We got a chance to see his four most famous pieces (created for a casino owner, who passed away before they were finished). Each one represents a suit of cards. They were so beautiful and intricate, I shot photos of them both full-size and in close-up.
Hearts
Spades
Spades. Full saddle
After our tour and viewing the exhibits, it was off to lunch at a nearby restaurant. A nice salad, a sandwich and a cookie. Nothing special, but good. Then we had free time to explore. For many, that meant shopping, but of course, for me, that meant photography and a nice photo walk around the downtown core. Here are the shots I got.
The entire groups hears Rosemary talk about a statue of a madam.
Other bronze sculptures lined the downtown streets. So well done with amazing faces.
Pioneers…
A famous Black cowboy…
And the aforementioned Madam.
Even a local football legend.
This black beauty caught my eye.
And the old time signage I have seen on this trip has been awesome.
See what I mean.
Autumn was in full swing. It was sunny but chilly.
A door I really liked.
The Umatilla River flows just north of downtown.
This older gentlemen cowboy was a great subject.
And of course, it’s almost Halloween.
They did some inventive stuff.
Looking through downtown from the river.
There is a story to this sign but it’s too long to explain.
A typical downtown scene.
After our free time, it was back on the bus for a visit to the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute. I know that sounds a bit boring, but it was truly an amazing museum and cultural center all about the local Native American tribes. Both the good and the bad were covered in detail. If you are ever in Pendleton, this is worth a trip.
All of that and not a word about nuclear bombs? Well, on the way back to the ship, Rosemary told us more about the Tri-City area, including the Hanford Nuclear site, where the plutonium was developed that went into the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, to help end World War II. She even had a very interesting video that she let us watch on the way back that showed the role that Hanford had and continues to have in our nuclear research.
That about covers our day in Pendleton. I had two other photos I took that I really loved, but they are kind of artsy and didn’t fit anywhere else. Here they are for your enjoyment…or not ?.
The Columbia at dawn.
Rosemary (our guide) had these awesome boots.
On to Clarkston, Washington and the Snake River. More later.
May your belly never grumble, may your heart never ache, may your horse never stumble, may your cinch never break.  –The Cowboy Blessing
by Jim Bellomo | Oct 16, 2025 | Uncategorized
When you take an ocean cruise (on a BIG ship) you have sea days. That’s a day when you don’t stop in a port. Usually, the ship has lots of things for you to do on board. Well, yesterday was the river equivalent of a sea day, so I will call it a river day.
We had three locks to pass through on our way up the Columbia, so it meant it would take a little while to go east. I believe if there were no dams and locks on this river, you could go from Astoria to Clarkston (where we disembark) in about two or three days. But there are locks and dams, so why not embrace them the way the ship did yesterday, as we passed through the largest of the locks on the Columbia, the John Day Lock.
I was up early to shoot our first lock passage before dawn (and to work on yesterday’s post) and got a single photograph of that lock. It’s quite a gritty-looking photo, don’t you think?
We creep through our first lock in the dark.
From that point on until the sun rose, it was just a smooth sail upriver. When the sun finally gave me the golden hour, I was out with my camera to get some shots. I really like these, so…if you click the first shot, you can scroll through using your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE… don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…And take a second to blow up the last one because it might be the second-best panoramic shot I have taken…ever.
The sun creeps over the eastern horizon.
Just pretty sunrise shots
So I won’t have any special captions for them.
Just sunrise on the Columbia River
Which yesterday was golden
The landscape changed as the light changed.
Evidence is here.
Traffic on I-84 that runs alongside the river
On the way we passed Marydale Museum…
And Stonehenge.
Barges went by.
And one of my best panoramic ever. I LOVE this shot. Make sure and click on it to enlarge it so you can see what I mean.
After my early morning photo shoot, it was off to breakfast and then back up to take pictures as we passed through the John Day Lock, the largest on the river. It is what is known as a guillotine lock, as the doors don’t open to the side, but lift into the air.
We are entering the massive lock.
Now inside, the door is massive.
Looking back as the door closes. You can see Mt. Hood in the background.
Talk about huge. This door is holding back an entire river.
While we were going through the lock, the crew started a dance party. I love taking photos of people (it dates back to my years in the yearbook industry) so I just stood at the rail above them and shot photos. I took more than 140 but here’s the best.
From line dancing to the Macarena…
The crew was…
Dancing up a storm.
Even our historian/lecturer was getting in the spirit.
Lots of great moves out there.
And lots of great faces.
After the party, it was back to exiting the lock and heading further upriver, where I could get more photos. Here are some of those.
We are now at the level of the upper river after the lock as filled.
Looking across the John Day dam.
Behind us the huge guillotine door.
Next to us a fish ladder.
The dam and lock were built by the Army Corps of Engineers.
And thousands of gulls appreciate the place they created for them to perch.
The dam in better light.
The birds fly off as we come up next to them.
A barge passes to our left.
With a tug pushing it.
The wind turbines dotted the tops of the ridge all along the Washington side.
Mike and I have our annual shoot off.
There goes that barge.
That was about it for the photos. Soon after I took the last set, we left the Columbia Gorge and entered the flat, arid, desert-like landscapes of Eastern Washington. Last night during dinner, in the dark, we transited the last lock leading into Lake Umatilla. It was dark, and I was eating, so no photos of that ?.
Today, we are docked in Richland, part of Washington’s Tri-Cities (along with Kennewick and Pasco). We have a full-day excursion to Pendleton, an Old West town located just south of here in Oregon. Should be fun. More about that tomorrow.
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters. ? Norman Maclean,
by Jim Bellomo | Oct 15, 2025 | Uncategorized
I just love illiteration. Can you tell? My headlines are sooooo bad. And I know it. ?. But let’s move on to our next day of our Columbia River cruise. Yesterday’s stop was The Dalles, Oregon. That’s pronounced so it rhymes with Cal’s, as in the home run record for a catcher is Cal’s. The Dalles is a charming little city on the Columbia River. When we first saw this itinerary and decided to take the cruise, I was looking forward to this stop because, after 30 years of living in Washington, I was finally going to get to visit the Maryhill Museum and Stonehenge.
Before I tell you about our excursion, I want to show you some photos I got on the river after the sun came up on our trip from Astoria to The Dalles. Hope you enjoy them. It was a very pretty landscape. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
I took a number of merged panoramas because the landscapes here are just so big.
It was a big day for panoramic as the landscape is so big and almost overpowering.
Unusual rocks.
Looking back down the river.
Same here
Just gorgeous scenery.
Lots of strange formations.
Mt. Hook peaks out.
She really stands out.
I like taking photos of places we have physically been. The building straight ahead is where we had lunch last Wednesday while in Hood River.
One of the many bridges we ducked under.
The river landscapes are…
AMAZING.
All the way up the river.
All the way through it.
I love the fall colors. Not as many reds but certainly lots of yellows.
Thought this shot I took from the deck of American Cruise Line’s Harmony was worthy of shot of the day. We are sailing on the Columbia River between The Dalles and Hood River, Oregon. In the morning light, Mt. Hood poked its top out, and I just liked the amount I got to see. I had a bunch of others where you could see more of the mountain, but this one did it for me.
Every so often, a train would come by.
Women were fishing…
And an old church was spotted.
Now, more about the excursion for the day. When we got the list of excursions the cruise line was offering, we were shocked to see that Maryhill and Stonehenge weren’t on it. Just Maryhill winery. And since we are going wine tasting post-cruise in Walla Walla (a much better wine region), I decided that for less than the cost of the excursion, we could rent another van and drive up to Maryhill. I should add that when docking in The Dalles, we are only a short distance from Hood River, where we visited WAAAM to see its incredible display of automotive and aeronautical specimens. And American Cruise Lines (ACL) doesn’t do an excursion there either. Who would have thought they would skip two such interesting places?
But before we headed out to see Maryhill and Stonehenge, we had to wait until we docked in The Dalles, which was quite a while. As you may recall, we toured in Astoria yesterday, and that’s quite a distance from The Dalles. On the way between the two ports, we had to go back through the Bonneville Lock, and apparently, they are only open after 6:00 am. So we stopped at a park outside Vancouver, WA and waited until 6:00 am to transit the lock. Then it was off to The Dalles, where we arrived around noon. I had arranged for a van rental with Enterprise Rental Car, and it was about 1.3 miles from the port, so I took a nice walk to get there. One thing I can tell you for sure is that The Dalles is not the best place to walk on sidewalks. They will go a couple of hundred yards and then just stop, forcing you to cross a very busy street in the middle of a block or even a freeway off ramp from I-84. Apparently, The Dalles is not a big walking city.
Once I had the van, I headed back to the ship to pick everyone up and then it was off to the Maryhill Museum. I could tell you the entire story about how it was a huge house built by a guy named Sam Hill, but Sam is the Sam of “What in the Sam Hill” fame. People say that when someone has done something crazy. Building this big mansion way out here in the middle of nowhere was a crazy thing to do. He also loved art, so when he passed, they turned the house into an art museum. And I would say that it’s probably the most eclectic art museum ever. They have a huge collection of pieces by Rodin, a beautiful display of Native American beadwork, and more than 900 chess sets, which are amazing in their differences and creativity. They also have traveling exhibits that are not part of the permanent collection. While we were there, a wonderful collection of paintings showcased the different uses of light by American and European artists. And a totally enchanting exhibit called Théâtre de la Mode. Take a look at my photos and visit the website for more information about this interesting exhibit.
The entrance to Maryhill Museum of Art
The backside. Tomorrow I can show you the front, from the river.
This is the aformentioned Théâtre de la Mode
Truly interesting.
Very cool and eclectic.
Studies by Rodin.
And chess sets.
Lots of chess sets.
From Asian sets
Like this one.
To just plain wacky…
Like this one…
To The Simpsons.
Seeing these characters as chess pieces made me say…
Doh! Bart is a pawn.
How about Fred and Barney
With Wilma and Dino
And of course…the Mariners.
Autumn was in full glory outside.
And just in time this guy showed up with November just two weeks away.
A panorama I took from the front of the Museum.
After our visit to Maryhill Museum, we continued to see Sam Hill’s version of Stonehenge, which he built to honor the boys who lost their lives in World War I. Since construction began before the war ended, it is the world’s first World War I memorial. It is a replica of how the British landmark of Stonehenge would have appeared when originally built by the Druids centuries ago. Here are the photos from that visit.Â
My first look at Stonehenge.
The grass needs mowing but it is very unusual to see along the Columbia River.
My wonderful bride having fun with her loving husband
More Stonehenge
A panoramic shot of the river from in front of the monument.
After our stop at Stonehenge, we took a little extension to drive up and see Goldendale, a small community just north of the river. On the way, we all gasped as we pulled around a corner and were shocked by a vast prairie leading to a magnificent mountain. We all debated as to which of the Cascade it was but everyone wanted a photo, so I swung into the turnout and we got out to find out it was Mt. Adams in all it’s glory. Far in the distance, you could also see Mt. St. Helens with its top gone and just a little glimpse of Mt. Rainier’s top. Here are the photos from that quick stop.
Mt. Adams in all it’s glory
A very cool old house right near the turnout
Just my kind of subject
And Mt. St. Helens in the distance.
That about covers yesterday. Another day of beautiful weather, for beautiful photos. The landscape and the museum provided the perfect subjects. Tomorrow we have a
“River Day” which is like a sea day except you spend it on a river and don’t stop. We will go through some locks and some more interesting country before landing in the flat plains of Washington’s Tri-Cities.
Maryhill Museum is the world’s most isolated art museum. —Time Magazine
