Tall Pines Creative

05/16/2026

I'm going to call this:
"Things you wouldn't know living on the East Coast".
#1: I didn't know that the changing tides reversed the flow of the Columbia River!
I lived in Pennsylvania all my life... until 2020. I spent a large portion of that time in western PA which is where the East Coast officially transitions to the Midwest. The charming topography created by the Appalachians gives way to rolling hills, then eventually, the vast, flat farmlands that stretch west uninterrupted until you reach the Rockies.
I spent a lot of time hiking, fishing, and taking pictures in Western PA... but you can drive 90 minutes in any direction without seeing much change in the landscape. While there is a lot of beauty there, it's not nearly as diverse as the Pacific Northwest.
After many vacations in the Pacific Northwest, we took the plunge and moved here in 2021. It was a really tough move and it took us a while to get back "out there" to enjoy the scenery. But... I will never forget our first trip to Astoria... being within that "90 minute in any direction" footprint, We were absolutely unprepared for the scenery and beauty offered by the Columbia River as it approaches the Pacific. The Astoria Megler Bridge, the cargo ships, the sea lions... and that's all before I even set foot in downtown Astoria. Now, we visit the Astoria / Cape Disappointment area often and we are happy to share it with friends and family that come in to visit with us.
I am grateful for the beauty of our new home and hope that I never lose my wide eyed, gob smacked, touristy fascination with this place.

05/16/2026

02/08/2026

Spring is just around the corner, so I'm putting some places to explore on my calendar ☺️

01/01/2026

Comet Falls; Mt Rainier National Park

12/24/2025

The current Holiday vibe; quiet, peaceful... blissful... 🥰

12/21/2025

I wanted to get my mind off the weather, so digging into the image folder that I named "24 hours in Paradise" seemed appropriate this morning.
Paradise Valley in MRNP is such an incredibly magic place. The limited window of time that it's available during the year just increases my level of gratitude for every moment I can spend there. I was incredibly fortunate to be treated to such a spectacular sunrise and a very interesting lenticular cloud formation to the north.

12/13/2025

The 740 RAW images from my September time lapse of Mt Rainier have been handily processed and rendered by my new computer... the relief of having the renewed processing power is almost overwhelming.
Most mirrorless cameras have on-board time lapse utilities, but they output a somewhat mediocre JPG sequence. I prefer to shoot in RAW and batch process the images to my liking.
This was a rare treat to sit on the east side of Paradise Valley and enjoy the soft, ambient sounds of the river below and the wind gently blowing through the trees.

12/13/2025

The first time I visited Pier 39 was during a trip I made to Cape Disappointment on April 18, 2022. I stayed at the Hampton Inn and walked over to the Rogue Public House. There, I sipped a glass of Rogue Dead Guy Single Malt as I sat next to a window overlooking the ships moored in the small harbor on the Columbia. Listening to the Sea Lions and watching them glide through the water, my mind was already blown, and I hadn't even encountered downtown Astoria, the Astoria Megler bridge, or Cape Disappointment yet.

Having moved from the East Coast just a mere 6 months prior, I had no idea what the Northwest corner of Oregon had in store for me. We just don't have this sort of thing where I'm from.

Today, Pier 39 is always a welcome stop for me and anyone who comes to visit us. The views alone are absolutely impressive, and for me, the history is about as about as interesting as anything I've come across. The Rogue Public House is now gone, but I don't think that was ever the draw. I am absolutely content to sit by the window at Coffee Girl, sip a hot cup of black coffee, and watch the world go by in this historic enclave that my East Coast frame of mind finds so utterly exotic.