This Old House

I saw this abandoned old house months ago and kept wanting to go back to it so I could take pictures.  We happened to be there almost a month ago as the sun was setting, and it couldn't be better for the shots I managed to get!   I plan to turn a couple of these into oil paintings, and may have one or two enlarged and framed as well!   Sharing with Mersad's Through My Lens and Tom's Tuesday Treasures....

Lake Billy Chinook

For Mersad's Through My Lens I am sharing some photos taken the day we drove out to Palisades Cove and Lake Billy Chinook near Culver, OR.  It sounds like an odd name, so I looked it up and here is some Wikipedia info (plus, apparently you can rent houseboats!) I'm happy that the lake honors an important Native American, of one of our local Indian tribes.

Lake Billy Chinook is a reservoir in Jefferson County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Created by the Round Butte Dam in 1964, Lake Billy Chinook lies in a canyon at the confluence of the Crooked, Deschutes, and Metolius rivers near Culver and Madras. It was named for Billy Chinook, a Native American of the Wasco tribe who traveled alongside American explorers John C. Frémont and Kit Carson in their expeditions of 1843 and 1844.^[4] 

A Trip to Palisades Cove

I wanted more photos of Oregon fall color so we drove north a bit past Culver to Lake Billy Chinook and Palisades Cove.  I was not disappointed!  I will post photos of the lake next week, but here is more Oregon gold for Mersad's Through My Lens:

First, a few from close to home:

And at Palisades Cove:

Oregon Gold...and Garnet

This isn't my standard "Five" but I really wanted to share these Autumn color shots!   So I'm connecting to Tom's Willy Nilly Friday Five, but also to Mersad's Through My Lens on Monday!

A Few Randoms

I am finding less and less time to blog, though I love it and always will. Still, there will be short breaks from time to time.  Plus, not being able to read my comments has upset me, and made it less enjoyable.  I find myself so engrossed in other activities, my regular posts aren't getting done.  Well, after all, I do have a book to write, and that takes precedence these days.  Sharing with Tom's Willy Nilly Friday Five and Eileen's Saturday's Critters are a few photos that I hadn't posted yet:

1, Mule deer visitors:

2.  The Veterans Cemetery in Vancouver:

3. Protective pup:

4.  Two recent oil paintings I completed: (To see more of mine and Mom's artwork click HERE)

5.  Remembering stagecoach days:

Warm Springs Museum Part I

I had never heard of the Warm Springs Indians and now where we live they are our neighbors to the north.  When Lewis and Clark arrived, they and the Wasco and Celilos fished on the Columbia, and then moved south to harvest berries and roots.  In time they were "removed," ceding 10 million acres of land to the U.S. government in exchange for a tract of land southwest of their homelands, the Warm Spring Reservation.  The Paiutes joined them there after being interred at Fort Vancouver.  The amount of acreage they gave up blew my mind as we visited the Warm Springs Museum.  It was so horribly tragic, as so many of the tribes stories are.  But though there was sadness and tragedy in their past, I saw how these resilient people sprang back and developed resources to sustain them in our modern age.  It was a story with a happy ending.

The museum is one of the best Indian museums I have ever been to!  We were there almost four hours, savoring every exhibit.  You were taken from the early lives of these wonderful people, through their difficult history and then brought to the present.  And, their culture is a beautiful, rich one, with much in the museum that explains and displays their fascinating lives.

Sharing with Tom's Tuesday Treasures and Mersad's Through My Lens:

The three types of houses built by the different groups:

The reed you see that makes up this lodge is called tule (too-lee) and is woven into mats to make the walls.

The wooden houses of the Wasco that Lewis and Clark saw

Basketry and other artifacts:

A hide scraper, and a beautiful buckskin shirt:

The beadwork and cradleboards were stunning! (I'll share more beadwork in a later post)

A representation of a wedding, with the many attendees and gifts given from each family:

The bride wore a beaded "veil."

More to come....