Isolation is a relative term. We live way out west in rural Washington and it can feel pretty remote sometimes, but during this period of self-imposed seclusion, it has been a blessing. We have friends living in city apartments and their idea of isolation and ours are two very different things. Even though we can’t hug and kiss friends and love ones, as long as we take precautions and avoid people, our mobility is in no way hindered. We have taken to long solitary walks on the beach. A beach that, now free of tourists and tire tracks, feels somehow more vast and expansive, and still has small untouched details.
Road Trips
Yes, like all good Americans, we just couldn’t wait to get out on the open road, at least for the day. So we packed a lunch, filled the gas tank, loaded up the face masks, latex gloves and hand sanitizer and set out on a little excursion to some very small towns where there just aren’t many people around in the best of times.
Fort Stevens, Oregon
Fort Stevens was an American military installation built near the end of the Civil War to help protect the mouth of the Columbia River. Now it’s a small settlement built around a military history museum.
Fort Stevens is named for former Washington Territory governor and slain Civil War general Isaac Ingalls Stevens. A little guy with a lot of courage. Isaac stood just 5′ 3″ . He is said to have died holding the Regimental Colors high and shouting “Highlanders! Highlanders! Follow your general!” while leading his men in a charge against Confederate forces at the Battle of Chantilly on September 1, 1862.
Brownsmead, Oregon
With the exception of a hand full of very creative souls there is not much in this tiny unincorporated community. It was built out on the flats on the south side of the Columbia River along Saspal Slough. Located on a bend in the river, Brownsmead’s chief claim to fame is as the northernmost settlement in the state of Oregon
Warrenton, Oregon
The area began developing as a small fishing community in the late 1840s. Warrenton was platted in 1889 and incorporated as a city in 1899. The town was built on tidal flats and relied on a system of dikes constructed by Chinese laborers to keep the it from flooding.
Raymond, Washington
Founded in 1907, Raymond was named for it’s first postmaster, L. V. Raymond. The downtown was originally built on slits, six feet above the tidal flats below. Starting as a rough and tumble lumber town Raymond fell on hard times but has now reinvented itself as Pacific County’s marijuana manufacturing hub.
To be continued. Stay safe.
Love the black and white! Stunning photos……..thanks for sharing, and also for the interesting historical info.
Nice images.
How beautiful!
I am hesitant to confess but in a way we feel very happy at the moment. Live is simple and uncomplicated and we like it! For a while…
Happy Birthday Bruce! Love these photos. Makes me homesick. I do miss the peninsula and all of my people! Thanks for the memories!
Love you guys,
Nancy
Happy birthday Bruce! I love your work—and I’m especially pleased to not see people. In the Bay Area we seem to isolate in hundreds of small groups in the parks and on bike paths… and beaches…
Stay well, my friend.
Your mentee,
Bart
Beautiful photos Bruce, made all the more poignant in black and white. I love that the beach road is closed. Seeing people driving on a beach has always annoyed me on many levels. You two stay safe.
Happy Birthday Dad!! The photos are amazing! Your isolation doesn’t look too shabby.
Love you,
H
Great pics as always!
Thank you for the beautiful pictures of our fantastic isolation we have here.
Our son in CA is in isolation in hospital. He is positive for Covid 19. He has Pneumonia, bleeding from stomach and massive headache with it. So sad they all are bunched up in cries down there.
Mary, We are very sad to hear about your son. All our best thoughts go out to him. Bruce & Wendi
That’s great guys. I am digging my little pond in my London back garden, and will contemplate your solitary existence on the edge of the Pacific!. Social distancing or what🤪? Stay safe!
Vast indeed! Great images, awesome commentary. And Happy Birthday I guess too!
Awesome photos…thanks for taking us a long for the ride.
Biggest birthday hugs!!!
Oh that was an enjoyable excursion Bruce, thank you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
As usual the pictures are fantastic. The B&W is an amazing touch and do represent the dark & difficult times we are all experiencing right now because of COVID-19. That said, some of the breaks in the weather is giving us hope that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, which will bring back the beautiful colors we’re so use to. Stay safe & healthy my friends!
Lovely!! I feel better just looking at those photos. 😍
Beautiful photographs. I love the stark black & white images. They create powerful emotions.
Pretty cool photos Bruce! Especially like the sand with a few stuffs of grass as well as the Warrenton ramshackle of a house!
Be well, Stay well
Amy
You perfectly captured the desolation of an empty beach and the unwelcomed isolation.
Dear Bruce and Wendy!
Thanks for sharing your isolation documentation.
We are fine and cycle 40-50 km nearly every day in the beautiful surrounding of Neumarkt.
Stay healthy, we still love the Pacific Coast!
Uschi and Emmerich
Bruce you have captured the beauty of nature again, Stunning shots
Lovely to see what you have been up to in isolation. The beach looks just right without the cars!
Beautiful timeless images! Thank you for venturing out and about and capturing these! You and Wendy stay my well and safe! Cheers and Happy birthday late! 🎁🎊🎂🎉🍾🥂🥳💐🎈⭐️😍😘👍❤️
Bruce and Wendy, I was glad to hear you are well and getting out into the fresh air. It’s a perfect place to ride out the storm. Great pic’s. BTW, I went to Isaac Stevens Junior High School and he has always made me feel tall. Jim