Baker Boyer Bank

Late summer afternoons in downtown Walla Walla are wonderful.  The kids are back in school so they aren't hanging around yelling and running you over with skateboards, but it's still warm enough to enjoy an iced coffee as you wander down the sidewalk and window shop.  I love this valley!  Baker Boyer Bank has been around since 1869, and its building is still one of the most beautiful in town.

A Lot Going On

I know I tend to take a lot of breaks from posting these days, but I've been quite busy lately.  Not least on my list of worries and stresses: my father-in-law was in a farming accident on the other side of the Blue Mountains in La Grande, Ore. 

This is where we spent our night last Wednesday: Providence St. Mary Medical Center Emergency, Trauma One.  Here the ultrasound technician is attempting to find a large enough vein to put an IV in his arm so he can be transported via Life Flight to Portland, Ore., for surgery.  My father-in-law is half-asleep on the bed, lying flat, covered by heated blankets and an air pumped plastic wrapping filled with heated air.  It was quiet, so we just watched the medical professionals do their work.

Though my father-in-law is still in a major hospital in Portland, Ore., he is doing a bit better and is no longer in the ICU (intensive care unit).  We spent the weekend there with family.

Kudos to the staff at Providence St. Mary Medical Center; they never made us feel as though we were in the way as we watched them work, and did what they could to make my father-in-law comfortable.  They also worked quickly and got Life Flight on their way as soon as they could.  This hospital is where I gave birth to my daughter, and I would recommend it to anyone who needs medical care in the WW Valley.

Cougar Sighting

 

 Wes Marcum, a local photographer, got the shot of a lifetime when he saw these two cougars in a field three miles east of Walla Walla earlier this week.  This photo is circulating on Facebook without credit, so if you see it, make sure and post the photographer's name.  Special thanks to Wes for allowing me to post some of his awesome shots.

Hazy Daze

Smoky end-of-summer days make for fantastically stunning sunsets.  I took this picture on 4th Street in College Place on Friday, Sept. 9.  There are always fires in the foothills and fields this time of year, and while it makes for hazy horizons during the day and sometimes - at its worst - stinging eyes from the smoke in the air, it doesn't last long, and in the meantime you can enjoy gorgeous views like this.

Summer Ride

These bicyclists had stopped by the "Welcome to Washington" sign on Highway 11 to take a photo of themselves.  The one on the far right is trying to rig up the camera on his small portable tripod and set the timer so he can be in the photo, too.  Just to the right of this image is Stateline Road - the state line between Oregon and Washington.  I was waiting at a red light when I spotted this crew of bikers.  I hope they're enjoying themselves, wherever they are now.  Bicycling is a popular sport in the Walla Walla Valley; the valley itself is quite flat (riding from the west side of College Place to the east side of Walla Walla only takes you up 300 feet in elevation), and the scenery can be quite spectacular.  I often see groups of bicyclists enjoying a ride in the countryside on the outskirts of town.

Good Evening, Night.

Another sunset from this week.  We've been having a lot of brush and field fires (that time of year I'm afraid) and the smoke makes the sunsets unbelievably colourful and intense.

Farewell to Monday

This fabulous sunset took place Monday evening. The photo was taken near a Latter-day Saint church in Milton-Freewater.