The rain is falling lightly as I swing my backpack over one shoulder and slip my arm through the other strap. I’ve missed having my backpack be an integral part of my self. I don’t necessarily need it for today’s hiking through Oregon’s Silver Falls, but, like the warming comfort of an old friend that…
Tag: Oregon
The Dundee Treehouse
Fall is in the air as I make my way out of Portland, Oregon and over to the Williamette Valley and wine region. It’s overcast with a slight wind on this evening as I find the town of Dundee and my accommodations for the weekend, the Dundee Treehouse. Rising steeply upward, with three different levels,…
Searching for the Sauvie Island lighthouse
Somewhere on this special island is a lighthouse, a beacon to those trying to find their way home. I too go looking for this shining light, hoping it will illuminate a path of hope for me as well…. I stop on the small beach and try my hand at some morning yoga, slowly stretching muscles…
Ramona Falls
It’s a blue bird Sunday morning in Oregon, majestic Mount Hood is watching over all that make their way into the forest. I weave my way along the dirt roads looking for the trailhead that will eventually take me to Ramona Falls. The water runoff from the mighty mountain has transformed the landscape around me,…
Sauvie Island farm life
A friend of mine shares her tale of a weekend at Sauvie Island, going to the different farmers markets and enjoying a taste of a slower paced lifestyle. I’d never heard of the island community just outside of Portland, but was intrigued. Some research was done, and accommodations were booked. I flew into PDX on…
Saddle Mountain
Far over the Misty Mountains cold, To dungeons deep and caverns old, We must away, ere break of day, To seek our pale enchanted gold. A slight rain starts to fall as the old troll shivers in the morning air. He checks the map the wizard gave him one last time before starting the trek…
Looking for Goonies at Indian Beach
I was the same age as the kids in the movie “The Goonies” when it was released in 1985. I had a similar group of friends, and our outdoor adventures mirrored what I saw on the silver screen. Some 30 odd years later, I make it to Indian Beach, the location where many of the…
Done with Aquariums
Done with Aquariums
Dead and Company
It was in the summer of 1995 that I went to my first and only Grateful Dead show in Salt Lake City. It was also the summer that Jerry Garcia died. I had just broken up (again) with my girlfriend, and was looking to escape the pain in a sea of colorful tie dye and…
Smith Rock
Just outside of Bend, Oregon, is an unassuming rock formation called Smith Rock. The story surrounding the name of this place varies, from a Linn County lawman to a private soldier that died during a battle with the Northern Paiute Indians in 1863.It’s a warm summer’s day in June as I arrive. I check my…
Paul Simon
Driving through the wild Wyoming Mountains with a young hippie girl as “50 ways to leave your lover” plays on the tape that she made for me. I can’t believe that she loves me. I slam the door. “Go ahead and kill yourself” goes through my head. The radio plays “Sounds of Silence”. We get…
Tumalo Falls
The day was quickly fading, yet the call for one last exploration was stronger than the pain in my twitching leg muscles. I find the route to Tumalo Falls, and head out in the late afternoon sun. I get the last parking spot, yet the trailhead is void of people. Most are probably on…