Glacier Park Lodge

The Glacier Park Lodge at East Glacier, Montana, was built in 1913 by the Glacier Park Company, a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railway, and its design was based on the Forestry Building from the 1905 Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon. This picture was taken from Amtrak's eastbound Empire Builder passenger train on July 24, 1999.

Stevenson Co-Ply Mill

Pictured here on July 23, 1999, is the Stevenson Co-Ply plywood mill in Stevenson, Washington. Stevenson Co-Ply, Incorporated, was incorporated on August 17, 1955, and purchased the Stevenson Plywood Corporation in March of 1956. This mill was one of Skamania County's largest employers, and the main building had an area of 130,000 square feet. Stevenson Co-Ply went into receivership on January 24, 1992. The mill was purchased by High Cascade International Corporation and was used a warehouse to store wood pellets. The mill was destroyed by arson on September 21, 2007.

Phoca Rock

Phoca Rock is a landslide remnant in the Columbia River Gorge that sits in the middle of the Columbia River near Bridal Veil, Oregon, though it is closer to the Washington side of the river. It is about 30 feet tall and was named by William Clark after the Phoca vitulina harbor seals that were seen in the area.

USNS Observation Island

The USNS Observation Island is a Missile Range Instrumentation Ship, used in the testing of U.S. missile systems, and to monitor other countries to ensure treaty compliance. It was originally launched in 1953 as the merchant ship Empire State Mariner and operated by the United States Lines for the Military Sea Transportation Service, before being transferred to the United States Navy for use in ballistic missile development in 1956 and renamed USS Observation Island, after an island in Florida's Lake Okeechobee. The Observation Island was the first naval ship to have a fully integrated Fleet Ballistic Missile System with the installation of the Polaris missile system in the late 1950s. Decommissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1972, the Observation Island was transferred to the Military Sealift Command in 1977 at the request of the United States Air Force Technical Applications Center for use as a tracking ship. Still owned by the U.S. Navy, its USNS prefix indicates that it is mostly crewed by civilians.

Views of Rainier in May 1999

I took these pictures of Rainier, Oregon, on May 16, 1999. First is a picture of Canada geese at Rainier Riverfront Park.

Here are the same geese taking off. The Columbia River and the Port of Longview are in the background.

And, here are the geese in flight. Longview Fibre is in the background.

As I recall, this man was trying to fly a kite at Rainier Riverfront Park, without much success. He also had a small dog with him.

Here is the beach at Rainier Riverfront Park, with the Lewis & Clark Bridge over the Columbia River in the background.

The Columbia River was quite smooth that day. A log raft was tied up near the mouth of Fox Creek, which was still in a culvert at this time.

A single motorboat was out on the Columbia.

Here is another picture of the motorboat.

This large boat was on a trailer parked at the west end of A Street, which at the time ended just past the post office and did not continue past Rainier Riverfront Park.

This is Fox Creek flowing by Rainier Elementary School. This section of the creek had been in a culvert until it was daylighted after the flood of 1996. It had taken a couple years for the plants to establish themselves and make the creek look natural. This view is looking upstream from where the creek went back into the culvert under C Street.

This view of Fox Creek is looking downstream from approximately where the culvert originally started. The new entrance to the culvert is under the rocks in the background just below the street.

This view of Fox Creek is looking upstream from approximately where the old culvert started. This section of the creek was never in a culvert.

1999 Eagles Car Show in Rainier, Oregon.

These pictures were taken at the Eagles classic car show in Rainier, Oregon, in May or 1999. I don't usually include car show pictures on this blog, but I am posting these here because some of the buildings in the background have changed significantly since 1999, especially the Variety Store/Rainier Furniture building (now Rainier True Value Hardware) and the Riverview Restaurant (now El Tapatio). For those who are interested in classic cars, I have posted about some of these cars on my car blog: AutoTour.

1946 Ford Super Deluxe Coupe

1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe

1960 Ford Thunderbird

1945 Willys CJ-2A

1960 Chevrolet Corvette

1928 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan

1966 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-Door Sedan

1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS Coupe

1970 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe

1926 Ford Model T Roadster Pickup

1952 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe Bel Air Hardtop Coupe

1937 LaSalle Coupe

1955 Chevrolet Two-Ten 2-Door Sedan

1974-1976 Mercedes-Benz 280C

1970 Ford Thunderbird Landau Coupe

1955 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria

1948 Chevrolet Coupe

1941 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe

1955 Chevrolet Two-Ten 2-Door Sedan

1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Sport Coupe

1952 Chevrolet Styleline Deluxe Sport Coupe

1953-1968 Willys CJ-3B

1952-1953 Chevrolet Pickup

1958-1964 Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle

1960 Pontiac Catalina Sports Coupe

1972-1973 Mercedes-Benz SL

1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Sport Coupe

1971-1972 Chevrolet Blazer

Snow in Rainier, Oregon, in December 1997

During the winter of 1997-1998, I believe it was in December, Rainier received a decent amount of snow. I went out in it to take some pictures, starting with home, of course.

This is the schoolyard of Rainier Elementary School, with Fox Creek now flowing freely after the removal of the culvert following the flood of 1996.

While I was walking around across Highway 30 from City Hall, a snow plow truck from the Oregon Department of Transportation happened to pass by, and I took pictures of it as it passed.

These snow plow pictures aren't all that exciting, but I think the walk to the school had dampened my enthusiasm. I think I had originally planned to walk to Riverfront Park, but decided it was too cold.

I was probably already walking back home when I took these pictures.

Finally, here is a picture from the corner of West B Street and West Third Street, looking down at the snow-covered marina docks. One of Rainier's black Chevrolet Caprice police cars with the blue and yellow striping is slowly descending the steep street.