01_07_2009_feeling the grasp of the northwest_bv

--01_07_2009_feeling the grasp of the northwest_bv--

Leaving Seattle was a really tough thing to do. Emotionally and literally. After packing up all my stuff in the morning and dropping off a book at a friends I started out heading west on I 90 thinking the little bit of rain wouldn't impede my travels. I was wrong. Snoqualmie pass was closed to traffic due to avalanches and heavy mud and rock slides. I figured I'd give 410 a try since it is a tad more south and less busy..... Shut down. As I was turning around on 410 I came close to becaming stranded in Enumclaw, Washington. Enumclaw is a town surrounded by rivers along with roads that were clogged with bumper to bumper traffic in every direction searching for a way out.





After a little weaseling, I squeezed out of the gridlock and over a small bridge up to it's neck in water.

With high hopes of at least getting somewhere farther than 30 minutes from Seattle after three and half hours of driving I started to head south on I 5 to Portland. From Portland interstate 84 heads directly east along the Columbian River through the mountains.



The river was about 2 feet from flowing over I 5. I assume this could have been one of the sections that ended up having to close to traffic.


I managed to make it to Portland and from there everything was smooth sailing. The route is a little out of the way, but it paid off as I worked my way west out of the rain and through the mountains. It was pretty close though. All the roads are traveled on today, are or were at some point in time, closed. Including interstate 5 which isn't even near the mountains. I took as best of photos from my car as I hurried out of the rain.

A different route than planned. But at least I am east of the first set of mountains.


I felt a little weird driving away from a huge news event. But I knew that if I didn't make it out today I may have been stuck for days in the epic floodwaters that engulfed the northwest. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/395143_stormonline08.html

Pretty glad that I was driving on the side of the road without the waterfalls and giant rock walls.


Currently I am in the border town of Ontario between Oregon and Idaho. I'm on the Oregon side. I wish I could have had more time in this state. Just the drive along the river had me itching to come back and do some hiking.

Front focused waterfall.


I tried something different here with a longer exposure to blur the road and trucks passing to bring in some lines while keeping the relative shapes of the mountains along the horizon.


A long tunnel through one of the mountains along Interstate 84.


Cheers,
Brad

Listening to: (song that popped on shuffle as I drove out of Seattle) The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts, Sufjan Stevens

Kinda excited to use these guys after a long day of driving.

--12_12_2008_marching in the rain--

--12_12_2008_marching in the rain--

A sophomore basketball phenomena Tony Wroten has recently been ruled ineligible and has not been allowed to attend Garfield High School any longer. The school district ruled Wroten ineligible after completing a investigation using private detectives to determine that Wroten lived outside of the Garfield district rendering him ineligible.

On Friday, day's after the ruling Garfield high students walked out in protest of the ruling that removed Wroten from their school. The students marched about 3 miles from the high school to the Seattle Public School's main Administration center.

Here are a few images I made along the way. I think my shoes are still drying out after being soaked to the bone following them around and hopping through puddles in attempt to get the best photographs.

Thanks for looking,

Brad Vest

--11_12_2008_Hyperhydration--

--11_12_2008_Hyperhydration--

Flooding has started to occur in many different places outside the Seattle area. On Wednesday we dispatched quite a few photographers to different areas to cover the rising flood waters. I was sent about an hour south, southeast of Seattle to a small town called Orting and the surrounding area near the Carbon River and Voights Creek.

I was there until dark and the Carbon River had not crested over its banks. The smaller Voights Creek had inundated a Washington State fish hatchery however about 3 miles down the road from Carbon River. I went back and forth between locations until it was dark and then I had to leave to transmit back to the paper.

Here are a few of the photos I made while roaming around on damp ground and in water up to 2 1/2 feet deep or so.

Stay safe if you're in those areas.

~brad



**Rules of evacuating a flooded house.
#1. Evacuate family first, keep child dry.


#2. Evacuate hound(s) second, also keep hound dry.




Good luck lighting your cigarette.

--11_08_2008_It gives you teeth--

--11_08_2008_Leaving Forks--

Well, they give you teeth... when you order the vampire burger.

You can take the boy out of the vampire town, but you can't take the vampire town out of the boy.

It was a great two days exploring highway 101 and the small town of Forks. Definitely looking forward to making my way back out to the Olympic Peninsula and exploring even more new territory.

~cheers
-brad

If you're reading this sign... ahhhh


Currently, Forks only has a little under 6 feet of its expected 11.5-12.5 feet of annual rain.


I hear vegetarian style is the best.




Waiting for the ferry back to Edmonds.

--11_08_2008_Beautiful Lake Crescent--

--11_08_2008_Beautiful Lake Crescent--

A tip from a friend left me excited to get a chance to come across a lake named Crescent during my Olympic Peninsula excursion. Lake Crescent resides right off of Highway 101 in the Olympic National Park on the way to and from Forks, Washington. Friday morning as I was making my way towards Forks it sorta snuck up on me, the lake pretty much comes out of nowhere. You pass a sign letting you know you're entering Olympic National Park, come over a slight rise and then down the hills and all of the sudden a large majestic body of water forms pretty much out of nowhere.

Crescent is a large, deep body of water caught on the outskirts of the Olympic Mountain range. I stopped wherever I could on the narrow two lane highway and took photos. I'd really love to come back to this area during the summertime and see the lake on a partly cloudy perfectly still day.... I can just imagine how glassy and reflective the water becomes.

cheers
-brad



Very, Very clear water.... also very cold water.






From natural to natural... with a little man made in between.

--11_07_2008_Out to the OP (olympic peninsula)--

--11_07_2008_Out to the OP (Olympic Peninsula)--

The day started early on Friday. To make the most out of the daylight I left for Forks, Wa at 4:45 am in order to catch the 5:45 am Edmonds ferry. The total trip out to Forks ended up taking just under 4 or so hours including waiting for the ferry and the 20 minute or so ride from Edmonds to Kirkland on the west side of the sound.

Since I left so early a lot of the drive was in the dark and I needed to make it to Forks early to check in and start working.... So I didn't stop to take any photos on the way out, however I did snap a few through the window on the way.

If you ever have the chance, driving out and around the peninsula on highway 101 is an amazing experience and I would highly recommend it if you ever have the chance. I only did the northern part of the road, but that includes going through park of the Olympic National Park, past a beautiful lake named Crescent, and passing a few port towns along the Strait of Juan De Fuca.

For the drive be sure to have your I Pod loaded to the gills and let it run on shuffle. It seems like every song sounds better while driving through a temperate rain forest.

More to come from the weekend.

-best
brad

--11_07_2008_Vampires in the Rain--

--11_07_2008_Vampires in the Rain--

I'm heading out on a little drive out to the Olympic Peninsula in the wee hours of the morning. I am really looking forward to this trip, I haven't been farther west than Bainbridge Island since being out here in the Northwest and I am excited to wander around the OP for a couple days and make photos. To get to Forks from Seattle I am driving about 30 minutes north of the city to Edmonds and then taking a ferry across the Puget Sound. From there it is about a 2 and a half hour drive according the google.

I'm assigned to cover the small town called Forks, Washington. Forks is the featured town for the fictional series of Twilight books and the soon to be released Twilight movie. I don't know too much about the series or the movie, all I know is that it is based around vampires, a love story between a vampire and a human, and the conflict that comes with that relationship. You can read more about the books, movie, and the town here http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html

I'll be in Forks until Saturday around noonish or so and then I am thinking of either heading just straight west out of the town to the ocean.... or going a tad out of my way to trek up to the northwestern most point of the continental United States. Any suggestions?

Then just cruising back to Seattle.

The OP gets a ton of rain and as you can see I think I'll be getting pretty wet over the next couple days. I won't let that dampen my spirits however.

4:30am is going to come quickly. I'll be on the look out for vampires offering me apples for sure.

Cheers,

-Brad