Smilin' Jack: Chapter 82

Keeping busy is, often, a real chore. I say this recognizing the inherent silliness and obvious whininess in that sentence. But, seriously, sometimes keeping busy is a real chore.

But it does pass the time and it does make things worthwhile and bearable.

And that is what brings us here, to the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem, Oregon. And we were here early. It was just a bit before 1000, the opening hour for the State Fair on this Saturday. What brought us here was some volunteer work with Kiwanis.

We got a primo parking place to begin with and, believe me, at the end of the day that is ALWAYS a plus.

So after a pleasant drive through the Oregon Countryside, we got a great parking spot. This day was starting off well.

So why not make it time for a selfie until the gates open.

Argh!! How in the hell did I got so bald!?! It wasn't supposed to be like that.

And because we were volunteering, we got a free pass into the Fair.

But, honestly, it wasn't that big a boon. I wish I had known this earlier but for this State Fair, Seniors get in for just $1. I almost felt guilty taking the ticket.

Well, if they're offering, I'm taking. And we were off!!

And there to Make the Fair Great Again, was #45. There were booths there for both the Democrats and the Republicans.

To be honest, I was surprised the Republican booth was there. I almost asked if they had been vandalized or protested or egged or whatever. And I have no idea what O.W.F.T. stands for.

My first order of business was to find where the Kiwanis Booth was.

We'd volunteered to sell raffle tickets for the Dorenbecher Children's Hospital Cancer Research. Buy a ticket and take a chance on winning the Mustang.

Not a bad looking car but, honestly, if I won it, I'd sell it and use the money to pay the taxes on the car and then treat myself to a trip or something fun like a new camera...or two. What in the world do I need a car like that for?

Hahaha, it's worth more to me by what I can get for selling it than by me driving it. Oh, and the raffle tickets were a mere $5, but you could get 5 tickets for $20. This all started when a member donated a restored antique vehicle to the Club to be used for...raising money.

No one really wanted the antique because it takes a lot to maintain it and keep it running so they sold it and used the money to purchase a new car to raffle off. This raffle has been going on for several years now and been a huge success in raising money for the Hospital.

"Step right up, folks!! ONLY $5 for a chance to win this sporty new car!!"

We arrived early because, well, it's the State Fair, Man!!

We weren't scheduled for duty until 1200 but we found time to make sure we knew where we were going and to get a picture...or two.

With Jan and Jan Heck.

It'd be nice if I did win. I mean, who couldn't use the extra money, right!?! And I got to help the Children's Hospital. That car has already been paid for before the raffle started. Every year.

And Orange, too. Hahaha, working on the Beaver Fans.

We had an hour and a half and, I learned, another mission to take care of before our shift started.

Off we went. But first, there was something I promised myself when I decided to volunteer at the Fair. It's been something I'd wanted for a long, long time. Ever since it first debuted in 2002. So even thought we had another mission, mine came first and I set off in search of a...

...Deep Fried Twinkie!!

And it wasn't hard to find, believe me.

Order UP!!

And just like that I had me a Deep Fried Twinkie.

And it was good. Oh, my gosh, it was sweet and sat like a lead weight in the bottom of my stomach but I enjoyed it. What a sugar rush!!

We both tried it; both liked it; and both swore that we would never, ever, eat another one again.

Too much for us.

But it was fun to do. And just like that another item on my bucket list was scratched off.

Our secondary mission, aside from selling raffle tickets, was to scout around the Fair and see how it was run, what was offered and what the PixieFest might be able to use to make our little event even better.

So, armed with my little camera, Carol and I set out to see the sights and get a couple of picture. Oh, and I have over 200 of them...I didn't use them all here. So, you're welcome.

To get an overview, I cajoled Carol into riding on the Sky-Lift with me. It travels from one side to the other and really gives you a great view of everything the Fair has to offer.

And away we go!!

Over there is the booth for the Kiwanis Club and, yes, I was able to yell loud enough to get Jan and Jay's attention. Hahaha, sometimes it's fun to be a kid.

When they spotted us we both waved like silly kids.

Riding the sky.

I was looking for impressions. Things or ideas I could bring back to the PixieFest Committee for them to consider for next year.

My biggest impression was color!

Lots and lots and LOTS of color!! Everything was colorful. It was loud, they didn't have calliope music playing but there was a Color Feast for your eyes.

And it was a doggone beautiful day for a Fair, too. Not too cool and definitely not too hot.

It would be so cool to get this ride for along the beach.

I did point out the booths selling just water. I won't go into great detail but this is an area where the Club could do a lot better, financially, at the next PixieFest.

See what I mean about color?

The other impression was that everyone was selling the same thing with a few, a very few, exceptions. At the PixieFest they made an effort to let one vendor sell this and another that but here it was every man for themselves.

They all sold pretty much the same stuff to eat. It was just a matter of which one was closest when you got the urge or which one caught you eye.

Color!!

But soon enough it was time for our shift and so we headed back.

Even though it was for a good cause, it wasn't easy selling the raffle tickets. Not easy at all.

Not a bad prize, eh? I'll tell you now that I didn't win. Probably for the best.

The woman who won it is a retired schoolteacher about 80 years old.

Hahahahaha, sweet irony.

But we didn't know then and so everybody had a chance to win.

My little station. I took the one in the sun. It was a long two hours but we did sell a couple tickets.

And pretty much all the profits went to the Research Hospital. And, after all, that's a very good thing, isn't it.

Zoom

Let's change gears and locale and head back to LCO. A do-nothing day but the sun was shining and so we went for a drive down south.

ODOT built a new pull-out along the Siletz Bay and I have always been curious about it. It's maybe a 100 yards from another, already established, pull-out or, as they say here in Oregon, a 'wayside'. It has never, all the times I've driven by it, appeared to have any particular interest nor any spectacular view but, after thousands and thousands of dollars, there it was.

So we drove down to see what was the attraction. It wasn't the view. Just a slightly different angle on the same view you get...100 yards north of here. Not all that far when you're driving a car.

I used the zoom to reach out and pull in the Four Brothers. Not a particularly good angle here.

There was this evergreen I've not noticed before. You could see that pretty clearly. And the Bay beyond. I bet, however, if I drove, or walked, up to the other Wayside, I could see just about the same thing.

Carol did spot this interesting anomaly. A pair of sandals (?) left on a rock. I wondered if there were an interesting back story to this. The imagination could run wild!! Alien abduction? A long, one-way walk into the ocean? A raucous party and someone too drunk to realize he'd left his footwear behind. Or, maybe, someone so abominably stupid they forgot where they'd left their shoes.

That was it. I just can't figure out the justification for spending a considerable amount of money to build this wayside for...what!?! I don't know!! It's a mystery to me.

Zip!!

And just like that we were at the Cutler City Wetlands Open Space. It's been a while since we've been here and so, since it was close, we dropped by. We were first here with the Audubon on a Bird Walk.

It had been recently opened and so there were a lot of rough areas along the trail back then. Plus very few birds.But it was interesting and thick and close.

Now they've improved the trails and created a map, too.

The first thing Carol spotted was the butterfly plant. I don't remember its right name but when we went to the Tillamook Forest, the ranger showed us how to make a butterfly from the leaves of this plant.

And so Carol did. You fold down the top part and what's left is the outline of a butterfly. You can see the top part and the stem there pinched between Carol's fingers.

The rest is the butterfly. Honest!!

And with that we were off trekking through the small Open Space.

Since much of what I do revolves around photography, I thought I'd explain these.

I realized shooting in the forest would be difficult. A lot of contrast, shadows and sunlight in the same composition. So I thought I'd try out the HDR, High Dynamic Range, feature on my camera. It's not a popular feature because, well, you can see below.

It appears to make the image appear over-saturated, unrealistic and sloppy-looking images. And that's what I got.

I was able to get an image despite the wide range of light but, and I'm sure you'll agree, the whole thing is ... unpleasant.

And then, today, as I was putting this Chapter together, I got an article about shooting with HDR sent to me by the NYI in my e-mail. It addresses why problem and suggests a very simple solution ... bracket. In addition to the regular exposure you get in HDR, shoot one under and one over and see which one is best.

Hahaha, sounds simple and, while it may not make the picture perfect, it will go some way to helping me achieve the effect I was going for. How simple and it was there all the time.

I'm often confronted with High Dynamic Range photo opportunities and now, in addition to what I've already done I have some other options.

Maybe it will help normalize the pictures somewhat because these are, well, they're representation of what I saw but they're not very satisfying to look at.

Here's an example of the difference between shooting in HD and shooting with a normal exposure. Oh, when you shoot HD the camera takes several images and then stitches them together to minimize the bright and dark contrasts.

So I shot this tree and then I ....

.... shot it again with a normal exposure. I moved in a bit and shot higher but you get the idea of what I am trying to illustrate - the stark difference between the two images.

I'm anxious to try bracketing. What do I have to lose, right? It'll take just a bit longer because the camera usually uses 3-7 seconds to stitch the pictures together. I am impatient but I'll wait for this to see what happens.

I shot this fungi growing on a tree because I thought it interesting. When I downloaded it I got the impression of a face there. When Carol saw it, she saw a cow.

What do you see?

They've great improved the Open Space. More signage and the walkways have been improved. Last time we walked to the pond, well, first there was water there and second they had a couple board laying on the ground to keep you out of the muck and mire to get where you could see the pond.

Now they have a nice ground-level footbridge to get you there. No wiggling around on the board and almost tipping over. Great improvement.

We saw some more fungi and Carol got in close to get a picture. She's adventurous and fearless when she wants a picture. I've seen her get within a foot of an active wasp's nest just so she could get the picture she was seeing in her head. Hahaha, I've seen her lean out for pictures so far that I had to turn away as I didn't want to see her fall.

And she gets them.

Here's my version of the same fungi. I'm a lot lazier. I stand back and zoom in.

I am so lazy.

And this is the underside of it. For this I just held the camera below it and hoped I got it in.

I did, to my credit, bend over a bit to get this shot. That's something I don't normally do ... bend over.

An interesting angle where the tree on the right has fallen and been caught and held up by the tree on the left. There's a lot of fallen timber in this open space. Carol spotted one tree that has rotted so bad near the base of its trunk that it looks like a strong wind could take it over.

Good thing not many people go out to these Open Spaces.

Ka-Pow!!

And just like that we were in the Salmon River.

It was such a lovely day out I thought it'd be nice to go for a drive and ever since I brought my Granddaughters here I've regretted not sticking my toes in the river, too. I resolved to remedy that regret. But, doggone it, I forgot my water shoes!!

I had some flip-flops but they're not optimal for the river so I went, gingerly, barefoot. And it were slippery with moss. Very slippery.

I almost went in several times. Thanks to Carol for getting this shot of Adventurous Jackie.

Hahaha, taking pictures of my own with the new little camera. The water level was down but the river was still running well enough.

Here's the little pond my Granddaughters discovered. I thought it might be stagnant and warm, standing still, but I was wrong. It's not strong but there's a steady stream of water running down into it from the rocks above and another steady stream running out of the pond and back into the river.

So it was a pleasant little pond.

Who needs a selfie stick, eh!?!

I don't think Lexi or Cade noticed but I wore the Air Farce cap they gave me. Hahaha, I knew I wouldn't be out in too much public.

Resting along the river and playing with the flash. Seeing how it does for a fill flash.

Not bad.

What a great place. I would have loved to have come here as a 10-year old. I promise myself that next time I will come here with water shoes and I WILL swim in the deep part of this river.

You'll see the deep part in a moment.

And I got this really great picture of a Sassy Lassie, Carol.

Pretty good, eh!?!

Them rocks hurt!! But I gutted it out and got my feet wet. Fortunately it was only my feet. I want to come back here and swim and have lunch and enjoy it. Just the sound of the river and an occasional car.

Looking across at the cliff wall that turns the river for a short distance.

Another shot of the bridge that carries N. North Bank Rd across the Salmon River.

And Carol spotted this little guy in the pond. Any guesses as to what it is? Other than a fish, that is.

We went under the bridge to see the deep side and I got this picture of the underside of the bridge dappled with light reflected off the water.

And this graffiti. I don't know who FPONE is but I'm gonna hazard a guess that he is Hispanic and from down around the Southern Border.

We were ready to leave but I wanted to walk out on the bridge and take a look at the deep side of the river from a higher elevation.

I think it's kinda cool they have these life jackets there for anyone that wants to use them.

OK, here you can see the shelf go out to the natural dam in the water and then the deep water that is collected by the rocks. That's where I want to go swimming. Someday.