Posted inBlack Butte Ranch Humor Recreation

My amazing Black Butte Ranch adventure

There are those who talk about doing great things. Then there are those who do great things. I'm pleased to be both "those's." I both do and talk. So after canine ZuZu and human Brian explored the far reaches of the mysterious land in the wilds of Black Butte Ranch known as Big Meadow, I was pleased to document our adventure -- just as (well, sort of as) Lewis and Clark chronicled their great journey of discovery. Behold, and click... 
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Posted inHome life Recreation

We say hello to Paulina Springs, and sort of goodbye to the Metolius

One of the great things about living in Salem, Oregon is how close it is to Portland (north), Eugene (south), the Coast (west), and the Cascades/Central Oregon (east). My wife and I hugely enjoyed the 20 years we were 1/4 owners of a Forest Service cabin on the banks of the Metolius in Camp Sherman, near Sisters in central Oregon. After selling our cabin share, we bought a 1/4 share in a Black Butte Ranch house not far away. We're finding it easier to say goodbye to the cabin on the Metolius by the house being close to beautiful Paulina…
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Posted inHome life Recreation

Photos of Black Butte Ranch by bike and dog walk

Laurel, my wife, and I are the happy recent buyers of a 1/4 share in a Black Butte Ranch house. (Scroll down for a video of what the house looks like.) Today we went on a mid-afternoon bike ride around part of the resort property, then took the dog on a walk that started in Black Butte Ranch and ended on land outside the development.  Here's photos of our excursions. The house is located in the part of Black Butte Ranch that was developed first. So it dates from the 1970s. It's been updated, as you can see from the…
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Posted inRecreation

Our weirdly bad Caravan Tour experience at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Understand: except for one experience, my wife and I loved our recent visit to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. But that One Experience was so irritating, I jumped at the chance to complain about it when an emailed visitor satisfaction survey arrived in my inbox today. I've done some Googling to see if anyone else who took a Safari Tour to see animals in the quasi-wild from the back of an open-sided truck had ever experienced the weird event we, and the other people on our Caravan Tour, did.  Didn't find anything.  So it may well be that our…
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Posted inRecreation

Photos of Oregon’s beautiful Drift Creek Falls trail

A few days ago, Laurel, the family canine (ZuZu), and I headed off to a place here in Oregon we'd never been to before -- Drift Creek Falls. It's not far, about 90 minutes from Salem, where we live. And quite a bit of that time was spent going the 10 miles or so to the trailhead from Highway 18, mostly on a very curvy, narrow, yet (thankfully) paved Forest Service road with a few gravel areas.  Bring $5 with you for the vehicle fee at the trailhead, if you don't have a Recreation Pass. The round trip from the…
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Posted inRecreation Salem

My brush with death from a feral chicken attack at Minto Brown Park

Life feels sweet after narrowly escaping three dangerous genetic relatives of Tyrannosaurus rex, a.k.a. "chickens" in modern parlance, at Salem's Minto Brown Island Park today. I'll share some photos of the attack, but these only reflect the objective state of the photons that made it into my iPhone's camera lens. My intuitive life-loving emotional mind saw these vicious animals differently. As miniature Velociraptors. After all, I had no idea if they'd gone completely feral, returning to the primitive instincts of their dinosaur ancestry.  In case other people who use the rural'ish Minto Brown trails come across these monsters, I'll describe the birds'…
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Posted inRecreation

Independence Day in Camp Sherman: charmingly laid-back

Our dog finds a lot to like in how Camp Sherman, Oregon celebrates the Fourth of July -- without fireworks, since the unincorporated town (just a few hundred full time residents) is nestled in the midst of National Forest land where the demonic canine-scaring devices aren't allowed. I also enjoy visiting Camp Sherman on Independence Day. Also, any day. My wife and I have a quarter-share ownership in a forest service cabin on the banks of the Metolius River. So we usually come to Camp Sherman once a month from about May to October, shunning the coldest part of the…
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Posted inPhilosophy Recreation

Look upon life as a beach, rather than a bitch

Until I Googled the phrase just now, I didn't realize that "life is a beach" is viewed as a counterpoint to "life is a bitch." Makes sense, I guess. But having just spent eight days on Maui's Napili Bay beach (photo above), I never thought of that. Almost right away, my wife and I fell into that state of beach'y mind that, really, should be viewed as ordinary rather than unusual. Being a frequent visitor to Maui, I've blogged about this before. For example, in "Life lessons learned on a Maui beach" and "Life lessons I've learned boogie boarding." An…
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Posted inRecreation Sustainability

Cheerful conversation in the Camp Sherman store

There's a bit of irony in the title of this blog post -- the cheerful. Yes, I always enjoy chatting with Roger and Kathy White, the friendly owners of the oh-so-charming Camp Sherman store in central Oregon. But today Kathy and I talked about some uncomfortable subjects -- impacts of the impending Big One earthquake and nasty effects of global warming  -- after I finished paying for some essentials of life: wine, peanuts in the shell, newspaper, Camp Sherman t-shirt. I'd asked her how the winter went in Camp Sherman. My wife and I hadn't visited our Forest Service cabin…
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Posted inRecreation

Wow! Photos of our Oregon beach visit in warm January weather

Thank you, global warming. Though your effects mostly are going to be disastrous, today wife, dog, and I enjoyed an amazing late January afternoon on an Oregon beach, Neskowin, in mid-60's temperature, no wind, sunny. Here's a photographic tour, courtesy of my iPhone.  Neskowin is a few miles north of Lincoln City. It's our favorite close-to-Salem beach. But often (well, usually) this stretch of the Oregon coast has something annoying going on when we arrive after walking from the parking lot to the water. Too cold. Too cloudy. Too windy. Maybe all three. Today... perfection. And it was freaking January 25!…
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Posted inRecreation

Photos of our 2014 Canyon Creek Meadows hike

Back in 2007 I shared photos of how the Canyon Creek Meadows trail looked four years after the 2003 B and B Complex fire roared through this part of the Jefferson Wilderness in central Oregon.  Here's an update, seven years later.  Yeah, just a little ways from the trailhead we're told this is wilderness. As in wild. As in Thoreau's famous saying, "In Wildness is the preservation of the world." It sure helps us feel better about the world to be away-from-it-all for a while.  Early on in the hike it is evident that regrowth is happening 11 years after…
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Posted inRecreation

Go-Pro video of me tubing down the cold Metolius river

If you're looking for You Tube videos of someone tubing down central Oregon's Metolius River, look no farther than... me! A few days ago I put up the World''s First You Tube Metolius River Tubing Video. That was shot by my wife from bankside.  Now -- behold! -- I reveal the World's First You Tube Go-Pro Point of View Metolius River Tubing Video. This was taken via a chest mount on a solo tubing run that I made after daughter, granddaughter, son-in-law, and me had tubed down another stretch of the Metolius (video of that needs to be edited; coming…
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Posted inRecreation

Metolius River tubing video — first on You Tube!

Below is rare footage of people tubing down a stretch of the Metolius River in central Oregon, a river known for its beauty, cold water, great fly fishing, and... Notable lack of people tubing down it. I know this, because I've visited the Metolius regularly for over fifteen years. I've only seen a tube in the river once or twice, at most. Like I said, the Metolius is cold. Spring-fed from snow melt in the upper reaches, where the video below was taken on an August, 2013 day. It also is a wild and scenic river, so when a tree…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Recreation

Camp Sherman forest fire raises questions about “containment”

The Green Ridge fire near Camp Sherman in central Oregon is nearing 100% containment. Its been burning away for ten days after a lightning strike got it going on July 31. Though the fire has been heading away from Camp Sherman and the Metolius river, naturally people in the area have been concerned about its spread -- now up to 1,500 acres, according to the latest official fire info. Since my wife and I are part owners of a cabin on leased forest service land, Friday evening I decided to attend a fire status meeting for residents and visitors at…
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Posted inRecreation

My customized Intex River Run tubing approach

You're a genius! I say that a lot to myself. Sadly, I don't hear it nearly as often from other people. But during a recent visit to central Oregon's Metolius River, a place we come to regularly, a couple of fellow tubers noted how I'd made an addition to the River Run tube that they also had been using on the cold river (48 degrees at the spring-fed source; not a whole lot warmer downstream). Genius, they told me. And I don't think it was just their beers-on-a-hot-day talking. I've walked up and down the banks of the Metolius for…
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Posted inRecreation

My Maui stand up paddling lesson goes, um, swimmingly

Stand up paddling (SUP) is the new hot thing on Maui's Napili Bay, where my wife and I vacation frequently. Me, I'm an avid bodyboarder, a.k.a. boogieboarder. I also am an avid land paddler on a longboard/skateboard.  This year on Maui, most days the waves weren't very big. So I spent a lot of time on the beach, boogieboard and fins sitting on the sand, wishing for larger waves. And watching the stand up paddlers do their thing. It didn't look that difficult. I decided to give it a try. So I perused a bunch of surfing/SUP brochures, each of which…
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Posted inRecreation

Photos of Suttle Lake fall colors, 2012 version

lt's a tradition. Every October, around the middle of the month, Laurel and I walk around central Oregon's Suttle Lake. We love the color of the vine maples, even if we don't always love the weather -- which can range from sunny and warm to rainy and cold. This year it was cloudy and cool, moderate. Each year the colors are different. Guess it has to do with changing temperature, rainfall, and such at Suttle Lake. Or maybe the vine maples just get in unpredictable moods. This month the theme was more orange'y and lemon-green than vibrant red. Still beautiful.…
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Posted inRecreation

Photos of Oregon Country Fair 2012: wonderfully weird

Today Laurel and I made our annual pilgrimage to a 60's vibe (decade, not our ages) via the time machine of the marvelous Oregon Country Fair. It's held on beautifully wooded grounds near Veneta, outside of Eugene. If you've never been, go! Wherever you live. A few days ago Laurel flew home after visiting friends in Wisconsin. On the plane to Portland, she sat next to a woman from Iowa who was going to spend all weekend at the fair. There's nothing like it anywhere in the United States, for sure. Temperature was in the mid 80's. Perfect weather to…
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Posted inHome life Recreation

Indiana is weird: down on coffee, up on chickens in swings

Yesterday I got back from a visit to Indiana. It was bizarre there. Starting with the weather. On Saturday we were driving around in our (blessedly) air conditioned rental car. I glanced at the outside temperature display. 108 degrees. One...hundred...eight...degrees. With high humidity. I felt like I was being waterboarded while standing straight up. At first it was difficult for my Oregon lungs to breathe. I kept thinking, "Is this air, or watery gruel I'm inhaling?" Whenever the highly unusual heat wave came up in a conversation with locals, I'd mention global warming as often as I could. Indiana being rather…
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