Port of Vancouver. (Washington)

Bill and I visited the Smith and Bybee Lakes Wetlands area which is located in the northeast corner of Portland where the Willamette River and the Columbia River eventually merge at Kelley Point State Park. They are just a few miles from each other, so we visited both areas today. The trail at the lakes isn't very long, just a little over 2 miles and it was really pretty in there with lots of little birds singing. But we've learned that in the middle of the day, in the summer....it's pretty lean pickings for water fowl. We saw one coot (I think), one white egret and I saw two frogs. Seeing this area was worth it however as we'd never been there before. Then we went to Kelley Point State Park and ended up walking to the confluence of the two rivers and I thought we'd see interesting things and we did. Ships waiting their turn, I suppose, and people and dogs enjoying the river and the Port of Vancouver on the other side of the Columbia and a great view of Mt. Hood. If we'd braved the heat yesterday (yeah, riighhht..ha) the view would have been wonderful as the air was dryer and the mountains were really clear. Today...not so much. The air is heavier with humidity and a hazy skies didn't work to my advantage in this shot. BUT, I played in Picasa and did the HDR ish option and it popped out the mountain a little more. I hope you like this version. I'm not too sure about it. You can see the rest of the photos here. The frog is cute.

A trip to Trader Joe's and then home where we had some sandwiches from Jimmy John's, a sandwich shop that is fairly new to our area, so it was our first time trying it. Bill liked Quiznos better.

Okay, that's about it, I guess. My aunt and I are both feeling better and thank you all for the kind messages about my uncle and about our sore ears. I appreciate that. I'm still behind with you all. My apologies for that.

Take care....