Recreation

Come November, vote Democratic. And if you’re in Oregon, vote “no” on every Oregon ballot measure. [Update: Oops. When I impulsively wrote the above I'd forgotten about Measure 44, which expands the Oregon Prescription Drug Program. It deserves a "yes." Otherwise, I still advise "no" on the other measures. See my post, "I copy Laurel's ballot. Are we lawbreakers?"] There. I’m done my minimal progressive duty and am done with politics for this blogging day. I’ll turn to photos of our recent walk around central Oregon’s Suttle Lake, a much more pleasant manifestation of physical reality. The big fire a…

Sometimes tough love is needed. Straight talk. Telling it like it is. Black Butte Ranch Restaurant, my friend, you’ve got to get your serving-time act together. Plus, what you serve has got to include a decent vegetarian entrée. Two “got to’s.” Not much to ask. You can handle it. Then we’ll keep coming back. We love looking out your floor to ceiling windows at snow-capped mountains, a meadow, grazing horses, geese on the pond. The atmosphere can’t be beat. But no matter how beautiful the setting, diners get cranky when they wait half an hour to have their order taken,…

This is the title of an article in the August 2006 issue of Sunset magazine. Read it. If you’ve never been to central Oregon’s Metolius River, it’ll make you want to go. If you’re there already, like we are, it’ll help explain the smile on your face. Not that smiles need explanation. And not that every moment on the Metolius is pleasurable. Take, for example, simply standing in the 48 degree water. The air was 90 degrees when Laurel did that this afternoon, on a hike downriver from the Wizard Falls fish hatchery. Yet a few seconds after I took…

So here we are at our cabin on fireworks-free Metolius national forest land, carefully scheduling our visit so our loud-noise-phobic dog will escape the trauma of hearing booms and pops, and the early evening thunder has been enormous the past few days. Serena has spent a lot of time trembling inside closets, defying her name. There’s some profound philosophical message in this, but the 4th of July isn’t the time for deep thoughts. We spent most of the day walking around, enjoying the special character of this holiday on the Metolius River. Some cabins are decorated patriotically. There were low-key…

Yes, it’s one day away from being summer. But spring is in full bloom on the Metolius River in central Oregon, since warm weather arrives later in these parts. Here are some photos I took on a late afternoon walk along the Metolius’ upper stretches today. For some reason I never get bored walking the dog while we’re in Camp Sherman. Here’s a natural bridge over untroubled waters. The wild roses look just like those at our Salem home, though in bloom much later. Lounging on the Metolius, TV not needed. Abstract wood sculpture. Artist: Nature. Water pump and the…

Namely, me. One reason you don’t see a sidestroke trophy in this photo is that the fools in charge of swimming championships don’t consider the sidestroke to be a competitive stroke. Another reason is that no one except me entered the sidestroke event that I’ve been taking part in the past nine days on Napili Bay here on Maui, perhaps because my mind is the only place it’s been publicized. Regardless, I love the sidestroke. It’s a contact lens wearer’s dream because your face stays out of the water all of the time. And you can enjoy the scenery while…

Hey, what do you expect from me after eight days on Maui? The big questions of life have been reduced to meaningless musings. Can a woman match too perfectly? What you can’t see in this photo is the palm tree on Laurel’s cap that mirrors the palm tree on her t-shirt. And note how the innermost color of the shirt’s tree precisely echoes the color of her shorts. Muy matcho, senorita! Isn’t “guys” a masculine term? Restaurant staff always say to us, “Hi, guys. How’re you doing? I’ll be your server today.” What if they said “Hi, gals” to Laurel…

We just strolled to the Ritz. The Kapalua Ritz-Carlton on Maui. As you might expect, it’s, well, ritzy. Laurel heads up the Ritz-Carlton way on her usual morning walk. She had to miss today, so I went with her on an afternoon substitute outing. We began at our Napili Bay condo. This is where I do my own exercising. Thirty minutes back and forth across the bay every day. Laurel’s a walker. When on Maui, I figure ocean swimming is the thing. Laurel usually drives the short distance to Oneloa Bay. We did this afternoon also. Molokai is in the…

Aren’t vacations fun? You spend a week running around like crazy, getting ready to spend a week relaxing. Then when you get home, you spend another frantic week catching up on everything that didn’t get done while you were on vacation. Sometimes vacations seem like a net relaxation loss to Laurel and me. But that doesn’t stop us from meandering off to Maui most every year. As we did yesterday. After a semi-sleepless night spent worrying about what we’d forgotten to pack, we headed up to the Portland airport at the not so jolly time of 6:45 am. With terrific…

Here are some images taken during our long late April weekend in Camp Sherman. Every morning I ride my bike a mile to the Camp Sherman store to buy the Bend Bulletin. It costs me thirty-five cents. The view of Mt. Jefferson over the Metolius is priceless. I pass this horse corral on one of my late afternoon dog walk routes. Black Butte is framed in the distance. I think this is called Johnson Meadow. It borders the head of the Metolius River, which springs full gush from volcanic fissures. The dog and I walk back to our cabin along…

The Head of Jack Creek near Camp Sherman is one of the prettiest places in central Oregon. Heck, anywhere. So even though we’d heard that the spring-fed source of Jack Creek had survived the B & B Complex fire, it was worrisome to see so many burned trees as we walked up from a nearby campground. But when we got to the charming bridge that leads to the Head area, everything looked great. These berries looked good enough to eat. We resisted the temptation, not knowing what they were. There’s fire damage around the Head of Jack Creek and a…

Outwardly golfers can appear completely normal, but the very fact that they golf testifies to their underlying bizarreness. As evidence I submit this photo of Ron Morey (along with his wife, Rita) looking pleasantly normal enough during a bike ride at Black Butte Ranch last Tuesday. Indeed, Ron is a wonderful guy. Laurel and I enjoyed the four days we just spent with Ron and Rita at our cabin in Camp Sherman. But this doesn’t negate the fact that Ron is an avid golfer, which means, ipso facto, that his mind works in mysterious ways, fully fathomable only to another…

My vote for the nation’s most charming Independence Day parade goes to Camp Sherman’s 2005 bike trail event. This small central Oregon town is full of zany characters and beautiful scenery, both of which were on full display yesterday. Laurel and I were riding our bicycles back to our cabin after attending the annual meeting of the Metolius River Forest Homeowners Association. Near the Lake Creek Lodge we encountered some paraders heading to the Community Hall that we had just left. They yelled, “Come join us!” We did, not wanting to pass up a parade. When we got to the…

In the course of meandering along the Sisters Art Stroll this afternoon we encountered belly dancers entertaining passers-by—most of whom stopped passing, as did we, to watch this contrarian bit of cowboy town culture. Sisters is special. It’s sort of central Oregon’s Cannon Beach—a town with character, wise business signage and design rules, and artistic flair—while Bend is growing uncomfortably akin to Lincoln City, a minimally planned sprawl of malls, dense slow-moving traffic, and garish fast-food restaurants. Picking up a copy of Sister’s weekly newspaper, The Nugget, we saw that the city council voted 3-2 to reject a proposed ordinance…

I’ve taken over getting the morning newspaper when we’re at our cabin in Camp Sherman. This used to be Laurel’s responsibility. She'd drive to the store before going for a walk with Serena, our dog. But with my new Taoist sensibilities, I figure it’s more real for me to be riding my bike in the cool central Oregon air than sitting on my butt at the kitchen table, waiting for the newspaper to appear, drinking coffee and reading, in a Tao Te Ching book, about the benefits of living more naturally. It’s a whole two miles to the Camp Sherman…

Reporting from the shores of the Metolius River in Camp Sherman, Oregon, just a few hundred yards from the head of the Metolius, and just a few hours late (hey, I’m on Camp Sherman time): Nobody is on the trails. Except two people and a dog. One of whom (not the dog) says that walking traffic is flowing freely. Just like the rain. Cool 53 degrees rain. And that’s your Metolius River traffic and weather report. 5:30 pm, May 1, 2005.