Pacific Northwest -- water everywhere. Columbia River. San Juan Islands

Winter rains bring wonderful spring blooms. The rhododendrons shown here are in a garden, but they grow wild in some Northwest areas, too, especially the Olympic Peninsula. The Columbia River shores around Portland, Oregon, warm and protected from most strong winds provide ideal climates for roses, resulting in a major Portland Rose festival. The San Juan Islands near the north end of Washington have acres of wild foxglove and wild strawberry plants, too. San Juan Islands: Into the 21st Century was published a year before Columbia River by Caxton Press. It is as enjoyable to read as the river sagas. I like to tell about history, what happened in an area, through the tales of the people who actually lived and worked, dreamed and died at a site, thus creating the history. I realize that dates, treaties, governmental actions, and some structure is required to make sense of it all. People
and what they did are more fascinating to me, though.
Enjoy your life stories and smell the flowers.