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Stars at Vernonia Lake

Ever since I saw the Milky Way on a camping trip in 2015, I’ve been hooked on photographing our galaxy center each summer.

I found a blog post that included a download with a chart when the Milky Way would be visible in my area and started planning when I could see it again.

Cannon Beach was my first choice, but as the day arrived, the weather forecast showed clouds. So I used a combination of Dark Sky Finder, Google Earth, and Google Maps to find a new location. The chart showed that the Milky Way would be south and I also wanted to find an interesting foreground.

L.L. Stub Stewart State Park has been a good location in the past, but the campgrounds are closed to the public after dusk. I explored further north and found Vernonia Lake, which didn’t appear to have a gate in their parking lot.

It turned out to be a great spot and I managed to snap several shots before a patrol officer parked nearby to suggest that my time was up.

See all the photos from the adventure.

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Sleeping Beauty by On Pointe School of Ballet

On Pointe’s performance for Sleeping Beauty was delayed, like many events last year, due to the coronavirus. Thankfully, the pandemic is getting closer to a new normal, and they were able to showcase their hard work this weekend.

Jenni and the kids all attend On Pointe School of Ballet and performed in Sleeping Beauty.

  • Jenni played a Lady in Waiting
  • Kadie and Violet played the Flowers
  • Bruce played the Wolf

See the photos below for brief recap of the story.

See all of the photos from the performance.

And here’s a brief video highlight of the sections Jenni and the kids performed in.

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Centering Myself

Something I look forward to every summer is the chance to see our galaxy center. It’s a humble reminder that I’m not the center of the universe and there is something bigger beyond.

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Neowise Comet

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Firework Flowers

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LEGO Wakanda

We riffed off our friends, the Ences, on their LEGO challenge idea of dream vacation. I couldn’t think of somewhere I wanted to go, so Jenni asked which Marvel location I’d want to visit. Without much hesitation, I answered, “Wakanda.”

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Happy Easter

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Creative Campfire

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The creativity of children continues to remind me of how simple fun and joy can be.

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Batcomputer

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‘Puter! Who’s the darkest knight of them all?

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Merry Christmas!

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