Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Outdoors in the Pacific Northwest
Last week we enjoyed the great outdoors on our trip to Oregon where we found giant bubbles at Seaside,
took a cool walk at Cannon Beach
and visited Herman the Sturgeon at the Bonneville Fishery. Herman is over 10 feet long and 80 years old in case you wondered.
We returned from our trip just in time for the heat wave – today is the third day in triple digits, absolutely unheard of in Western Washington.
It was 104 in Renton yesterday and we’re expecting a high of 111 today; the average temperature for June is 71!
Still I was up early and went for a walk at my favorite local park before the weather became intolerable. Gene Coulon Memorial Park has the best walking trail on the southern shore of Lake Washington as well as a swimming beach, boating, fishing and eateries.
The turtles call it home too.
It was a cool 84 when I left the house and 90 when I returned. As I type this it’s noon and already 102. Not much relief in sight though we’ll hopefully leave the 100’s behind tomorrow.
Inspired by this week’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge, Great Outdoors.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
Perfect timing as I just approved several links all at once, Susanne! Crazy heat, huh? 102 right now as I type at 12:45 pm! I asked my neighbor if she woke up today and thought she had been transported back to Redding, CA, where this kind of heat is expected. Your pics are beautiful and look refreshing. An 80-year-old sturgeon? Amazing! Glad you got some good outoors time before the heat wave began. Stay cool and safe!
I was happy we were able to enjoy our trip to Oregon with normal temperatures. You can only spend so much time in the great outdoors with temperatures over 100! And we just now hit 104! Yikes!
Super scary…I am so thankful we added our heat pump/AC unit last September when we ordered the manufactured home. I ran errands this morning and saw several people sitting in their cars in the Target parking lot with the engines running, likely trying to stay cool. Spokane has some cooling centers, but this is crazy. I feel for those who have no AC. Usually you don’t need it here (I’m told).
Yes, good move! This kind of heat was unheard of in the past – at least on the west side of the mountains – so only newer homes have A/C. Fortunately our house is surrounded by tall evergreens so it stays relatively cool, and we also added A/C to our bedroom.
Last September it was so hot and all that smoke was around. Best money we spent for the AC unit. No trees for shade yet…
Oregon right now is 113 and it iw 1;37PM. 118 is expected to be the high. I live just south of Portland. And Portland is usually hotter by a degree or two than I am. Hope you are staying out of the heat. Glad to heart your bedroom has a/c.
Can you believe it?? My sister lives near Portland and has kept me apprised of the crazy temps! Other than my early morning walk I am staying inside! Stay cool!!
I’m staying inside too. This week is just insane.
I hope it doesn’t get too hot for local wildlife and Oceanlife. Do your best to stay comfortable….
Thank you. It’s scary weather as most of the homes here do not have AC. Our home stays relatively cool because of the tall evergreens around our house. And we do at least have AC in our bedroom upstairs. I do worry about birds and animals but have been trying to keep water available.
Come to chilly Hawaii, where the temperatures never get into triple digits! That’s why I moved here! Good luck over there.
I’d love to come to chilly Hawaii! Fortunately after having some of the hottest temps in the world the last 3 days, we should be dropping down to the 90’s today!
Those temperatures are crazy – stay cool if you can! Cannon Beach is lovely, and great to see Mount Rainier in one of your shots 😃
Thanks so much. The worst appears to be over and we should only be in the 90’s today. But three days of record breaking temperatures when we’re only in June is kind of scary!
That is a very impressive Sturgeon!
You couldn’t have done that trip here. It has been dull, miserable, and damp. Nothing at all like summer.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks Pete. I would love to send you our crazy summer weather! Fortunately we are settling back into the 90’s today, but what a run it was!!
Yes, too hot for me, I’m sure. 🙂
Three days of record heat, with temperatures in Western Washington up to 118. We reached at least 113 in Renton!
Hang in there, Susanne! I don’t think we’re going to get much relief here in Yakima for another week or so. Our AC has been pumping almost non-stop…but we are thankful that we have central AC!
After our 3 days of record breaking heat, it cooled down considerably today, and we all breathed a sigh of relief!
I thought of you when I read a headline about the Pacific Northwest having a heat wave. You expect 111 degree days here in Fresno, but I can’t imagine how it would be if you were used to it being in the 70s! 😬
Yes, it’s unheard of to have those triple digit temperatures here. We’re just not acclimated to it, and also most homes don’t have AC.. But we finally welcomed cooler temperatures today, and breathed a sigh of relief!
So glad to see that the sturgeon is still there. Of course he was much younger when I saw him in 1960!
Still just a teenager! 😁
Trojan was built over a classic Columbia River sturgeon hole. I had friends who used to fish for them. If they were a certain size(big) they had to go back in. Kind of the opposite of trout regulations.
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We LOVE Canon Beach…well, all of the Oregon Coast. I live in SW Washington, about 30 minutes North of Portland so we spend a lot of time in Oregon. My dad used to work at the Renton Boeing plant and I grew up in North Bend. Oh, also love visiting the Bonneville dam though it’s been a few years.
The entire Oregon Coast is wonderful! I live in Renton and enjoy walking along the Cedar River and at Coulon Park, on either side of the Boeing Plant! 🙂