I moved. Come see.

In fact it was a job opportunity at one of those breweries (as a brewer) that originally got me out here for a final interview. They eventually went with someone else, which broke my heart, but I found a job in a different industry and we made the move happen.
 
Didn't know you were in the brewing business, too. Beer, bikes, and bokeh. Shiny combo, indeed! Sounds like things worked out for you to a certain extent. The craft beer market is possibly quite saturated out here in the PNW, which I am by no means complaining about, but I'm sure that HR proper would welcome a new brewery with open arms. Tall order, I'm sure, but new breweries seem to pop up every day here in Seattle and down in Portland.

Oh, you've probably already heard about it, but in case not, the Eagle Creek Trail is amazing for many reasons, not the least of which is photography.

In fact it was a job opportunity at one of those breweries (as a brewer) that originally got me out here for a final interview. They eventually went with someone else, which broke my heart, but I found a job in a different industry and we made the move happen.
 
Thursday of last week, as the snow began to really come down, it was time to bike home. Had no issues on normal tires.
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We enjoyed sledding down our own street, which was so steep they just close it to cars instead of even trying to plow. 3 cheers for flash... stopped motion nicely, and combined with hyperfocal on the Rokinon 12mm, you really could just aim it without looking, and as long as it was levelish, and the subject wasn't too far off, you were good. Pull it out of jacket, fire, put it back in.
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Our local Best Western, probably the nicest one they have. We made use of their heated pool and hot tob with our guests, visiting friends from Boston.
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What town looked like Saturday.
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Happy 40th!
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Taken through the back windows of the house, with the XC 50-230.
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The heated pool...
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Skiing Friday, XF27 + circ polarizer
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Ditto, XF 18-55
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XF 18-55
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So then there are these things called lava tubes, which are long cave systems where lava once tunneled its way out of magma chambers... now they collect ice all winter, and store it through summer.
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I went skiing the next day with the 56, and man, I cannot recommend that combo strongly enough. I should REALLY do this more often.
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Man, Winter has come on strong out there. It has been chilly-ish here, and there were a few inches of untouched snow in the mountains when I did my waterfall hike over the weekend, but it all melted quickly. Supposed to be in the low teens when I take my bike out this weekend. January and February are our wild cards, however. We could have very little snow, or we could get buried. Based on the last 3 years, I'm leaning toward buried, at least a couple of times.
 
Google, and everyone we first met, all told us that this doesn't really happen here very often. And that is probably true. Traditionally, HR gets a few decent snows a winter, and they melt off in a day or two. This year, we haven't gone more than a week without something, and this last one a day ago was a complete surprise. We got at least 4 inches, maybe 6. I've sorta given up looking at the forecast with any seriousness. I made good choices... I live close enough to walk to work, we don't have to drive unless we feel like it, and all 3 of us love to play in the snow. There's no stress in it at all, and in fact we get excited by the possibility of walking 0.4 miles to a steep park and sledding -- if the road by the driveway isn't sleddable.
 
Nice set, beautiful part of the world.

Your narrow road looks wider than many of our country roads in the UK. They can get a bit scary when you encounter the locals racing towards you. :eek:
I do a lot of driving on rural West Virginia roads to get to my hiking/biking locations. For the most part, the state does a lot better job than it did in years past in maintaining the roads, and the locals take advantage of it. Excessive speed around here is common, and I've gone around a curve to find someone rocketing along in my lane, or looked up and found someone riding my bumper, when they weren't there a few seconds earlier. Many of our rural roads are quite narrow.
 
My mom's side of the family grew up in Tillamook, thus I spent most holiday's and every summer in Oregon as a kid. I won't lie if I say I miss it. Thanks for sharing your update and more pictures! :)
 
Yesterday from work I could see a bald eagle and what I thought might be a BIG hawk or an osprey (turns out to be a juvenile bald eagle) swooping around the river at one spot over and over. Today I brought the long lens and walked straight there on the way to work (with an almost dead battery... sigh). Sure enough, they're still there, still horsing around. Turns out they're dive bombing a flock of coots(?) for some reason, and I'd love to know why.

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No more eagles the last few times I stopped by the river. Just boring old Canada Geese.

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Meanwhile we've been making the most of all the copious snow. We skiid from the door out to the edge of town 2 nights ago to go up the Indian Creek Trail by moonlight, which was fun, but made me sore. Last night the wife tripled down, borrowed a car, and had us go do the Old Columbia Highway, which is closed to cars just outside town. She was aiming to make it to the twin tunnels some 6+ miles out, but after an hour and a half of uphill skiing, she finally wore out (your intrepid reporter hit the wall much earlier but shut his mouth and trudged on... it WAS beautiful out). SO we stopped, sipped hot toddy from a thermos, and turned around. Got there at 8:30pm, didn't get home til 12:30 in the morning. I am exhausted and sore as hell. Took the Rokinon 12, and the 2 Yonguo remote flashes, believe it or not. Thought they would be good for the tunnels, but we didn't get that far.

It was appx 15 degrees out, and everything WORKED, but only barely. Rokinon focus ring was very, very stiff. XT1 responded great, flashes were sluggish on the displays when I tried to shoot a waterfall, but hell, they fired! You know it's cold when you crack open a beer and it's half ice.

1/2 second, propped on the end of ski pole. That's I-84 down there, and Washington across the river.
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Small frozen waterfall. Looks much bigger in person. Flashes are sitting atop giant snow drifts, my fingers are QUICKLY getting past the good point, I am stumbling through drifts on skis that keep getting stuck, snow is on everything, and we're not moving so we're going to get cold quick.
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Day trip to Portland saturday to bike around...

This is the new electric kid-hauling rig. The same setup we used for Pittsburgh to DC, actually, only that bike was borrowed and this one I got used in Portland a few months ago. I get at LEAST 45 miles on this, more if I'm careful, and hills are obliterated. A non-issue. Cute, even.
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The 27 pancake lens, shooting under my armpit as I bike ahead of her.
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That "cheap, throwaway" XC 50-230 lens you can find for under $200 on ebay...
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Rokinon 12, tried my best to frame as I rode, pointing 90 degrees to the right.
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Aaaaand a quick hike on Sunday to Tamanawas Falls, a place I've posted shots from here before, when it was warmer out. Looks a bit different under several feet of snow.

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Saw several dogs on the hike.
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Even saw one dog who had his owner do all the walking...
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And then you see it, after about an hour:
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Lunch spot, behind the falls.
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My usual hiking routine, where you're doing an "in and back" route, seems to work best if I stick to it... use primarily two lenses, one on the way out and the other on the way back. That way you get a chance at everything with two primes. If one of them is faster, is it on the return trip when light may be lower. Save the long lens (if you brought a third long lens) for specific spots where you have an idea.
 
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Wow . . . looks cold! We've had one snowfall of about 5", and another that coated the grass. Mildest winter I can remember in quite a while. Still time for a surprise storm, but at this point, the only thing forecast is a chilly rain with lots of wind and even the possibility of a severe thunderstorm.
 
It was low 30's, so not really too cold at all. Most days here down at river level go above 40, or even flirt with 50 in some cases. That's not bad at all. Up there closer to the mountain, you drop about 10 degrees at ground level, and what was rain becomes snow.
 
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