When my traveling companion told me he needed to spend a couple of weeks in Pasco, Washington to take care of some business, I was less than thrilled. I googled the place and saw that there are a couple of wildlife refuges nearby, so I figured I would occupy myself by going out and shooting some wildlife while he sorted out his business dealings, and bide my time until we got to the Columbia Gorge. I had no idea what I was about to discover. Pasco is one of the “tri-cities,” here in Washington, the other two being Richland and Kennewick. The beautiful and mighty Columbia River runs through the middle of it all. But, that’s not even the best part. The best part is the sunsets! Oh my, the sunsets! On the day we arrived, we pulled in at sunset. I was lamenting the fact that I had to unhook the car, park and level the RV and get settled in when I’d rather be shooting that marvelous sunset. Little did I know, they have marvelous sunsets here all the time. Maybe not every day, but certainly more often than not.

And with all that beautiful water for reflections, and the bridges……*sigh*

The lunar eclipse also happened while we were here, but being kind of a wimp about getting up at two o’clock in the morning, I decided to shoot the moonrise instead. And, wouldn’t you know it, the clouds held off that night so the moon could be seen. There was some smoke in the sky, but it made the scene a bit more colorful.

I was not the only photographer on the levy that evening. There was a very nice local photographer also there for the moonrise. We chatted while waiting for the moon and he shared some of his favorite photo destinations in and around the Columbia Gorge. So now I have even more potentially wonderful places to visit over the next month.

But for now, I’m quite happy and grateful about the bit of serendipity that landed me here and gave me the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of this particular place. Did I mention the bridges?

And just now, as I sit here typing this, I’m looking out the window and seeing the potential for yet another completely amazing and wonderfully unique sunset. I may just have to head down to the river!

Oh, and I have visited one of the wildlife refuges, and have done some wildlife photography. I plan to visit the other one before I leave here next week. But, that subject will have to wait until the next update because this one is all about the sunsets!