Oct 30 - Seasonal Beauty

(Disclaimer: These aren't great pictures, just shots taken to share the colors of Corvallis right now. Much easier to post here than to send off in an email! The colors around here are simply gorgeous - bright, vivid reds; purple-reds; orange with red; yellow with orange; green with red, yellow and orange; trees with all kinds of colors all on its own branches; trees side-by-side with varying colors. Just beautiful.)

Oct 30 - Halloween Time!

Creepy Witch and his Creepy Kitty at a Halloween party with friends.

Creepy Witch, Scrat from Ice Age and Batman as they're about to take on Downtown Corvallis for some afternoon trick-or-treating.

Recognize this painter from PBS? Love the hair.

A Knight from the Corvallis Knights, our local baseball team.

There actually was a small child inside. Cute costume, but logistical nightmare traveling through the crowds on the sidewalks.

The local Dairy Queen gives out soft serve cones during the downtown trick-or-treating. Perfect for a little break from the crowds.

Harry Potter and the Creepy Witch.

Going through the haul! Notice that the only pieces Joshua decided to keep were all lollipops...

Can I have another??

Oct 24 - Carving Pumpkins

Yes, your eyes are not playing tricks on you...those are GREEN pumpkins! These 90-day pumpkins have been on the vines for 4 months and the patch owners have given up on them ever turning orange. It's been an incredibly strange year for pumpkins, with patches going soggy and bad due to early rains, or some growing deformed pumpkins in their patch. Or there are these pumpkins, which initially disappointed us...but ultimately we're glad to have because they're so unusual!

Time to scoop the goop!

Don't let the picture fool you - the most Joshua could do on his Sharpee-decorated pumpkin was spear it with that puny little pumpkin carving knife.

We have some Halloween window decals that Joshua discovered stick to your upper lip as well.

Oct 23 - Traveling Down the Columbia River Highway

After riding the tram in Portland, we continued driving east to the Historic Columbia River Highway so we could be "leaf-peepers" in our own backyard. We discovered that while the trees are, as always, stunning; they are actually in fewer shades than what we see in Corvallis, where reds, purples and oranges add to the yellows and greens. No matter - it was still a gorgeous rainy drive, and anytime we get to visit Multnomah Falls we feel like it's a treat, especially when we see a 106 car train whiz by!

Oct 23 - Time for the Gondola!

Leif read about the Portland Aerial Tram (http://www.portlandtram.org/) months ago and we knew we needed to take a ride! It's the main transportation for visitors of patients at the Oregon Health & Science University (http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/) and is just beautiful in its elegant, silver bullet appearance.

There are two gondolas (trams) that depart about every 6 minutes, except on Sundays in the fall and winter (as we found out when we tried this out last weekend).

We were pretty fascinated at it entering the station. It definitely slows down, but still knocks around a little as it eases into place.

Taken mid-air as the other tram approached.

Both of the two scenic shots above were taken in transit while on the tram. We were lucky the weather was so beautiful, and this time of year the trees were striking from this vantage point.

Taken from the balcony of the hospital, watching the tram approach the hospital station.

The hospital had balconies on two different levels and again, what a great opportunity to view Portland on a beautiful day in the fall.

There's this great skybridge that takes patients, visitors and medical staff from building to building.

Traveling back down. Now on to the Columbia River!

Oct 22 - Albany Carousel Museum

We went with friends to the Albany Carousel Museum, which is less of a museum and more of a workshop for the volunteers who are in the midst of a 15 year project to build a traditional Victorian carousel, using a 1909 Dentzel carousel mechanism. (http://www.albanybrassring.com/)

This place is wonderful! The project is about half done, with several finished animals on display at businesses in both Albany and Corvallis. Above Joshua and his friend Alex are seen on the only two animals available for kids to sit on at this time.

It may be hard to see this picture very well, but it's the backside of the two animals shown in the picture above. Just beyond them is the painting area, and you can just make out a large giraffe and several artist renditions of future animals for the carousel. Each animal is sponsored by an individual, family, business or other group. The sponsoring party will meet with the designers and select their animal, giving input on its design. Many of the animals are built with a hollow interior so that personal mementos can be tucked within. One family placed a time capsule inside their animal; another included the dog collar of the dog after whom their carousel animal was modeled.

This room is filled with historical carousel pieces. Just time for a quick shot since the boys were so giddy they were sprinting from room to room. Yeah - chasing each other in a museum...that's greeaat.

This man has been working on his black buck for a few years. The family that sponsored this animal raises them.

Actually not a carousel ride but a carnival ride...but when you're four, is there a difference? Sadly, despite watching the volunteer woodworkers and painters doing their detailed, beautiful work, this was probably the highlight of the trip for Joshua and his friend. :)