Come See Turkey, Day 1: Istanbul
The first day of the trip was stretched out to over 36 hours with traveling across the globe from my house in Oregon to Istanbul. On arrival, I was driven to the Karaköy district to the Hotel Gradiva (now I believe named the Purl) to catch my breath. As the sun set, we then had an orientation meeting at Mustafa's studio a short walk away...
Hotel Murano, Tacoma, June 2017
My home away from home whenever I find myself in Tacoma, Washington, on business seems to be the Hotel Murano; my June 2017 stay is the fifth or sixth time I've been there. It's a really nice place and right in the heart of Tacoma's great little downtown...
W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory, June 2017
In Wright Park in Tacoma, Washington, sits a fabulous little glass building called the WW Seymour Botanical Conservatory. They pack the space to the gills with exotic plants of all shapes and sizes. These images are from a visit in June 2017...
LeMay: America's Car Museum, Tacoma
Two of the most recognizable roofs in the entire Tacoma, Washington, area sit side by side right off the I-5 freeway: the massive concrete hemisphere of the Tacoma Dome (the world's largest wooden dome) and the shining silver semicylinder of the LeMay: America's Car Museum or ACM. I toured the ACM in June 2017 with Travel Tacoma. The beautiful space holds about 300 cars and trucks in 165,000 square feet...
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
In June 2017 Travel Tacoma took me to Northwest Trek Wildlife Park outside of Eatonville, Washington. Northwest Trek is a different kind of zoo than I normally see, one that focuses on the Pacific Northwest and one where the animals have a good amount of room to roam, particularly in the 400+ acres of open area on the north side of the park...
Mt Rainier, Washington
In June 2017 I briefly visited gorgeous Tahoma, aka Mount Rainier, on a day of adventuring with Travel Tacoma.
Shore Acres, Oregon Coast
Just south of the town of Coos Bay is one of the most wonderful destinations on the southern Oregon coast, Shore Acres State park. Shore Acres is the site of an old estate, whose wonderful gardens are still maintained, and which sits on sandstone cliffs above the Pacific. Truly spectacular ocean views combine with truly spectacular sandstone formations, wow...
The Beaches of Bandon, Oregon
In May 2015, I explored the incredible beaches of Bandon, Oregon. The rock monoliths there, particularly the well-named Face Rock, are surreally beautiful, and while I did my best to capture them, they truly must be seen in person to be believed…
Flower Gardens, May 2017
Two incredible flower farms (both family-owned) north of Salem, Oregon: Adelman Peony Gardens and Schreiner's Iris Gardens…
Tollen Farm, Oregon, April 2017
Lots of fun animals including miniature donkeys, horses, even a llama with a most amazing face…