This view makes me so happy.

Monday, May 23, looking northwest from the rooftop garden at work, with these blossoms in the foreground and the Portland Oregon neon sign, topped with the stag, in focus in the background, plus the words Union Station visible on the tower at the station, to the left of the Portland sign--see it there, between the out-of-focus blossoms? Ah, bliss in this small portion of the panorama that is Portland's skyline. The Fremont Bridge in the background is the icing on the cake!

It's special to me, so special that I am able to go to the rooftop garden at my breaks or at my lunch or at all three and take in the beauty, no matter the weather. And this camera, my Olympus OM E-M5II with the zoom lens, these make me so happy that I am finally feeling like learning about the two of them and how to take decent photos. Thanks to each of you for all of the prayers, love, and concern that you showered on me over the period of treatment for the cancer that is now in my past. I am better through your help, my caregivers, and the grace of God.



Here's another shot of the same view, taken on May 17. Fewer buds had opened on that day, six days prior to the top photo.



Here's a closer view, alas, a bit crooked, of the two signs--Portland, Oregon, and Union Station. I don't find it as interesting without those blossoms in the front, but I wanted you to be able to see the signs better so that if you've had any difficult in finding them in the other two photos, this view should help you.

Curved, supported

I took this photo on July 25, 2009, through the Yellow Line MAX Light Rail window, riding south on Interstate Avenue. That's the Fremont Bridge, a steel-tied arch bridge, and some of its western ramps, plus the supports. I love to look at this beautiful bridge from any angle.

Today this photos speaks to me of life's path, the curves we take when circumstances change, yet these curves don't take us off our path because we have the support of what we've learned from the life that has gone before.

UPDATE and the blog post - Size, often it's all in perspective and location. Sometimes, it's just flat out huge. No. 4

UPDATE: Dr. Steiner's nurse Naomi let me know Monday afternoon that the final pathology report says it's probably cancer, so I'm having surgery on Thursday, probably at 1:30 p.m. I'll check in at 11:00 a.m. or so. I will get a phone call on Wednesday with a definite time for both. I will be in the hospital at least one night, probably just the one. I will then be recovering for weeks and, if all goes well, will return to work on August 10. During those six weeks, I will have two appointments with Dr. Steiner, one a post-op, on an evaluation of my fitness to return to work. Probably at the post-op, I will learn the results of the pathology of any tissues removed during the surgery. If it is really cancer, I'll have to have chemotherapy and/or radiation.

To tell you the truth, this is what I expected to hear, that I would have an operation on Thursday. I am thankful that I found out for sure today and didn't have to wait any longer--Thursday will be here very soon. I am ready for what's next and feel certain that Dr. Steiner is paying the best possible attention to my situation. My sons and I thank each of you for your prayers, your love, and your concern.



Close up as The World approaches the completely open Steel Bridge.



Closer but with maneuvering left to be done.



Looks like it's a straight shot from here, doesn't it?



You can see that The World must angle its way through the raised Steel Bridge. The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double-deck vertical-lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, opened in 1912.



My goodness, but that's one huge ship, y'all. Clearances . . . 26 feet closed, 72 feet with the lower deck raised, and 163 feet fully raised as it is here.



Now it is headed for the Broadway Bridge which is where I'm standing and taking photos.



Commuters held up by the lift of the Broadway Bridge.



So close and so huge, about the head beneath the Broadway Bridge.



Slow going.



There in the background, a portion of the Big Pink.



You can see the barricade with its reflective section in this photo--it's down to keep folks from falling off the bridge while the bridge is up.



A tugboat which surely has been working with The World to help it leave Portland.



Folks waiting for the bridge lift to be over so that they may continue on their way. Their view certainly is amazing.



Looks like all or most of The World is now past the Broadway Bridge and headed for the Fremont Bridge. It is not a bridge that opens and was built high enough for even ocean-going ships like The World to pass beneath.



Good-bye to The World.



By the time I'd walked part way to the bus stop so that I could catch one and get to work on time, the traffic had cleared very well. You can see that the bridge is completely closed, of course.



Here's a view of the bridge deck as it joins the streets at the west end of the Broadway Bridge. I took it through the bus windshield.

Bridges, railroad cars and the Portland Trail Blazers

Seen from the Steel Bridge, the Broadway Bridge and, in the distance, the Fremont Bridge. The train snakes along slowly and keeps all of that freight on the tracks. To the right of this sight and across a couple of streets stands the Moda Center where the Portland Trail Blazers play their home games. I'm off on my Trafalgar tour, missing a couple of pre-season games, but I will be back in plenty of time for the first game of the regular season at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 29. When I took this photo on October 25, 2008, the arena was still known as the Rose Garden. A lot of us still miss that name for the building.

Fremont Bridge

On a rare bright sunshine day in March I happened to be on the rooftop garden at work for my morning break. When I walked out and saw the sunshine lighting up the Fremont Bridge, I immediately took this photo with my iPhone 5. I cannot remember ever seeing this, and I've worked in that building since June, 2006. Not that I'm on the rooftop garden every single work day, but you'd think I would have seen it at least one other time in all of those years.

Sunday Bridges: Fremont Bridge over the Willamette River

Click here to see more Sunday Bridges for November 6, 2011.


The Fremont Bridge as seen from Interstate Avenue, northward bound on the Yellow Line MAX train. I'm looking toward the Northwest Hills. I have cropped and altered it with Picnik's HDR-ish special effect.

Found on the Internet:

The Fremont Bridge is a steel tied arch bridge over the Willamette River located in Portland, Oregon. It carries Interstate 405 and US 30 traffic between downtown and North Portland where it intersects with I-5. It has the longest main span of any bridge in Oregon and is the second longest tied arch bridge in the world (after Caiyuanba Bridge across the Yangtze River, China). The bridge was named for John Charles Frémont, though a nearby street was previously named Fremont Street in honor of the same individual.

The bridge has two decks carrying vehicular traffic, each with four lanes. The upper deck is signed westbound on US 30 and southbound on I-405. The lower deck is signed eastbound on US 30 and northbound on I-405. The upper deck is closed to vehicular traffic annually for the Providence Bridge Pedal, a fundraiser which, in 2011, benefited the Providence (Hospital) Heart and Vascular Institute and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. (One of these days I'm going to get brave enough to walk the bridges included in this event.)

The Fremont Bridge is 2,154 feet long, with its longest span at 1,255 feet. The clearance below the bridge is 175 feet, while the vertical clearance is 18.3 feet--I assume that means clearance between the two decks. It crosses the Willamette River and surface streets in Portland.

Due to the public's dissatisfaction with the appearance of the Marquam Bridge, the Portland Art Commission was invited to participate in the design process of the Fremont. The improvement in visual quality resulted in a bridge that was nearly six times as expensive as the purposely-economical Marquam Bridge. Designers modeled the bridge after the Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia.

In October of 1971, while still under construction, a crack was found on the west span girder that required a $5.5 million redesign and repair. The main span of the bridge was built in California then assembled at Swan Island, 1.7 miles (2.7 km) downstream. After completion it was floated into place on a barge.

On March 16, 1973 the 6,000 ton steel arch span was lifted 170 ft (52 m) using 32 hydraulic jacks. At the time, it was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the heaviest lift ever completed. The bridge was opened on November 15, 1973 at a final cost of $82 million, most of which was financed by the Federal Highway Administration.

In 1976, an American flag and an Oregon flag were added atop the structure as part of the bicentennial celebration for the United States.[4] The 15 feet (4.6 m) by 25 feet (7.6 m) flags are attached to 50-foot (15 m) tall flagpoles at the crest of the arches.

The Fremont Bridge was also the 26th Peregrine falcon nest site designated in Oregon after the raptor was placed on the U.S. Threatened and Endangered Species list in 1970.

Going south on the Willamette, towards the 4th of July fireworks

The Fremont Bridge takes my breath away. Looking south at the bridge.










Looking north at the bridge.

Picnik fun with the Fremont Bridge, across the Willamette River

Effects available on Picnik--fun for me. How about y'all?


HDR-ish. That's the name for this effect.


This is Boost.

For me, these effects enhance the bridge's beauty.

The Rose Festival Fleet is in.

After work Thursday, I spent several hours watching this huge ship and one other come in, complete with the Portland Fire Bureau's fireboat honoring their arrival.

USS KIDD arrives. The dark strip across the top of the photo is the underneath of the Steel Bridge with both the lower and upper levels lifted. That's one of it's towers to the left. In the background the open bridge is the Broadway. And that slight arch you can see going from the Kidd upward to the left is part of the arch on the Fremont Bridge.


I stood in amazement as the tugs swiveled the Kidd right there in front of me, so that its bow pointed back towards the Steel Bridge, then pushed it up to dock beside the USS Lake Champlain which had come in earlier in the day.








The fire bureau boat continued upriver as the Kidd was turned. I realized that I needed to change from my zoom lens to the regular one and stepped to the other side of the walkway along the east side of the river, right at river level. Already I had put up the hood of my raincoat to keep the brisk, cool wind off my head. As I turned my back to the fire boat to make preparations to change lenses, I heard something coming towards me--the spray from a fireboat cannon! In seconds I was drenched as if I'd stepped into a waterfall, shoes full of water--not from the spray but from the stream of water. Thank goodness I had my hood up and my back to the boat! Thank goodness nothing happened to my camera or lenses! Not only had I been able to see the fire boats shooting water, I'd met that water up close and personal, an utterly unforgettable memory.


USS GARY arrives. You can see the entire Steel Bridge opening in this photo and that the Broadway Bridge has already closed.








You can see evidence of the wind that blew the entire evening in this shot of the Gary's flag. It says, "USS Gary FFG-51. Two guns. Back off varmint!" I took about a dozen shots but couldn't get a better one than this.


Left to right, USS Kidd, USS Lake Champlain, and behind them, right to left, are the USS Preble--you can see a portion of it--and the USS Gary, all you can see of it is the tower, antennas, etc. Those trees along the wall are the cherry trees in this post.


The fleet is in.


Monday is departure day.