So, I got the chance to drive up in Oregon's wine country (aka, the hills behind Newberg/Dundee) and was surprised by how many wineries now make their home in Oregon. I recall driving up 99W through Dundee in the early 80s and seeing Argyle Vineyards reform a Victorian era farmhouse into a tasting room. As a kid, I thought they were nuts! I'd heard of Napa Valley wines, but who in the dickens had ever heard of Willamette Valley wines?? Not me, for sure!
Well, fast forward some 20-odd years and the hills of Oregon's Willamette Valley are strewn with grape vines. A friend's nephew will be getting married at one such vineyard atop one of the many grape planted hills outside of Dundee, and we drove up to get a look at the site. I have to say I was very surprised by not only the amount of vineyards, but with the meticulousness with which they are kept. The rows of grapes are perfectly trimmed and wired, not a stem out of place.
And the views of the valley below are quite breathtaking. We happened to pick one of the few sunny afternoons we've had this Spring, and were witness to a beautiful sunset, and some spectacularly sunny views of Portland and the Cascade range. Unfortunately, my camera isn't equipped with a bad ass lense to capture those faraway sights, but I was able to snap a few shots of the grapevines and sky.
On the same trip, we also stopped alongside Hwy 99W, just before you turn off to Hwy 18, at a little rundown shack which apparently used to be a roadside stand. It has been abandoned for many years, and I'm sure would make a barnwood frame-maker a very rich man! This shack happens to sit next to a beautiful, lush field of green grass, and as we passed, I noticed the sun about to set over the hill behind the field. So I had to stop and take a picture! As we wandered along this field of grass, I noticed that there was a "perfect shot" through one of the openings in the little shack. When you walked through the building, you came out to this perfect scene of golden light across this grass field. My camera certainly did not capture the absolute majesty of this...but it gives a good impression of what I saw that evening.
After that, we drove back toward Newberg (the "back" way) and my friend showed me the Lafayette Locks. In all my years of living in Oregon, I'd never even heard of them! There isn't much left these days, just some cracked cement and a few nearly submerged wooden pilings. But apparently, this was quite the busy place when they were still logging the area. She said the river used to be filled with logs, and they'd work them downstream (Yamhill River).
Today, it looks like a great river to kayak on, but it's awfully stinky right in that area. I suspect there is some sort of agri-pollutant entering the river nearby, as there was a lot of white foam along the edges of the river. It's a shame that such a healthy-looking, beautiful river is probably not too safe to swim in any longer. We humans sure know how to wreck a good thing, don't we? At least I was only taking a picture...
Well, it's official. My mom is selling her house. It's been official for quite awhile now, but with everything else that's going on...I've only just now grown ready to blog about it.
After many, many total hours of thinking and talking about what to do with the 5 acres that I've known as "home" since I was four years old, the decision was made that it should be sold. What with my life being in the greater Portland area, and my sister virtually homeless before she settles into a new RN job, our childhood home has been lost to neglect and the ever imposing blackberry vines.
Those three big fir trees in the middle of the picture were our first Christmas trees (the center one was our very first in 1979). There is a tree just on the other side of the front steps there that was a mere seedling that I planted back in 1982 (2nd grade) and it is now over a foot in radius. It's over 28 years old now. Crazy how time flies.
While it's sad to walk away from so many memories we've all shared there — every tree, plant and corner of that property holds a memory of my childhood with my dad — it's also a bit of a relief. I have felt guilty for not being able to help my mom out more in taking care of it, because I've had my own life to live. As has my sister. There of course are also residual feelings of resentment for my mom, because i feel she hasn't held up her end of the bargain either... All water under the bridge at this point. 20/20 hindsight and all that. Long story short, after all the tears, laughs, and "what ifs", the decision to sell is probably the best solution to the "what should we do" problem.
While we won't have the trees my dad planted, we will always have the memories we made with him and my mom while growing up there. Thank goodness we have the amazing brains we do, because those memories will remain more vivid than any album of pictures, or videotape could ever hope to portray.
I went to the beach this weekend. Yep, that's right. February at the Oregon Coast. It was beautiful! Sunny and in the 60's! I could hardly believe I didn't need my sweatshirt! Also... the tide was VERY high and that was a bonus for some beautiful scenery. Unfortunately for at least one person who was walking their dog in Lincoln City, the high tide was more of a surprise than they could handle. Apparently, their dog was swept away by a sneaker wave, and they went in to get their dog out – which they succeeded in doing, but in the process of saving their dog, drowned themselves. Very sad. I feel bad for that person's family, yes. But I honestly cannot believe this happens to people. While I was walking on the beach, a young family was walking along the shoreline. The father jumped up on a stump that was about 20 feet out, and his daughter joined him. She being about 6-7 years old, thought it was cool because "daddy" thought it was cool. Just as the dad got off the stump and went back onto the beach, a huge wave came along, and the little girl was left on the stump screaming and crying to get off! The wave was higher than the stump and of course the little girl jumped fearing for her life...and the dad had to run back to her and pull her out of the water to keep her from going under. I just find this complete lack of common sense overwhelming. I don't understand how stupid people can be. It's one thing to put your own self in danger, but to endanger the life of your child? Why are these people parents!?! Okay, I'm off my soap box...
While I was there, I of course took a few photos. I've decided since I have such an interest in shapes and patterns that I'm going to start shooting what I term "Natural Abstracts". It's my new thing! :) Sort of seeing art in nature – not just looking at a wide angle shot of a landscape or a beach, but a close up of a particular pattern or color palette or shape. These are a few of my "abstracts" from this weekend. I'm going to actually frame up a couple of them for my apartment! I like them well enough. I've always had a thing for abstract art anyway, though some of it is TOO abstract for me. I love the natural flow and color of these pieces.
All of these images are of drift wood. Some of them are more obvious than others, but overall, with a bit of photoshop work, enhancing the existing natural colors gives them an artistic abstract quality which I think is quite beautiful.
I think the one below is particularly beautiful, think Edvard Munch "The Scream". The movement in the wood creates beautiful lines. I like it. 
I'll post more as I find new abstracts to shoot. It is definitely my new focus, rather than just typical "snapshots". Not to mention it will be fun to hunt for abstracts!
Today is Thanksgiving and as I sit here listening to the sound of rain falling on the porch around my mom's house, I can't help but think where did this year go? I mean, it's the end of November already and I feel like the summer came and went without so much as a "hey there, how's it going?"
I've made a few promises to myself, one being that next year I'll take a road trip. Even if it's just down to Reno to visit friends, or over to Yellowstone for a few days. Whatever I decide, I have to do SOMETHING. Even though I didn't get to do as much as I hoped I would this year, I did manage to squeeze in a few treks. I'll drop in a few photos here so you can see where I've been over the last five months (since my last post).
Let's see...where to start? Of course! My early morning sunrise moment. One day when I was heading down to mom's house, in July or August, I think. I left my apartment when it was dark, so I could meet my sister for coffee before she started her 7am shift. So, somehow after waking up at 3:30am, I had enough brain function to think 'I should take my camera so I can get a shot of the sunrise if i see one'. So I did. I took my camera. And just about the time I hit Corvallis, I noticed the sun starting to peek over the horizon and decided I'd better stop for a picture. I happened to pass this perfectly picturesque wheat field, and knew I had to go back and take a picture. These pictures don't even do justice to how pretty it was. I'm a sucker for sunrises/sunsets. They're the perfect piece of art, and are different everyday.
That morning, the light was almost surreal, as if I were in a movie. There was nobody else on that road and it was just me and the sun. I know, I know. I sound like a dork. Newsflash! I am!! :) But I just really liked the moment I was having. It was a good moment, in that magical light and I'm glad I had my camera with me!
Moving on...
I did manage to go camping only a few times this summer. What a sad state of affairs!! I promise myself I'll go camping more next year. One of the trips, I trekked down to Siltcoos Lake near Florence. My family used to go there every summer. We would stay at Nightengale's Fish Camp and visit with The Hahns. Well, this summer when I rediscovered it as an adult, I was flooded with memories of my sister and I catching polliwogs and salamanders in the lily pads, speeding around the lake on our 22ft Starcraft boat, enjoying the fight of Blue Gil and Crappy as we caught them from the docks. The Hahns of course are no longer there. They sold out over ten years ago to a nice couple who still own it. And when I told her my history with the place, she was happy to chat with me about all the "old times". Sadly, the lake was hit hard after the 1996 floods and the fish population hasn't rebuilt. The lake is over-fished, but has slightly fewer weeds and it still quite beautiful.
My campsite was at the very edge of the lake, below the now non-working railroad tracks. (The same tracks that used to carry the trains that would wake us up at 3am!) Most of the patrons of Nightengale's are summer dwellers – they are retired and live there in the summer. What a life!! I chatted with a few of the old-timers there and felt very much at home. Regardless of whether there's fish in that lake or not, it's beautiful! And very peaceful to wake up to after a long night around the campfire.
While I was by Siltcoos, I decided to "find out where that road goes..." and took a skinny, winding little road around the lake. Ended up on the top of the hill on a power line road and had a great little view of the valley below and the ocean. Very cool. Wish I had the Jeep for that trip though!!
I went a few other places, did a few other things...but these are the ones that I had my camera with me. I'll post a few more pics another time. Gotta spend some time with the family...Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!
I took a drive today, had to get my coffee fix, and felt the need to get a few miles under my belt on such a beautiful day. I headed west on Canyon Road/Hwy 8/Tualatin-Valley Hwy (yes, same road, 3 names – gotta love Washington County!) headed out to Hillsboro and stopped at Dutch Bros for my regular (no London Fog, sorry DHB). Followed 8 through Hillsboro and toward Forest Grove, and decided to stray from the usual course, when I saw a sign for Hagg Lake. Had never been there so I wanted to see what it was like. I didn't have my camera, just my phone, but here's a quick shot from near the damn (it's an earth dam) the lake isn't that big, the road goes all the way around it (about 12 miles) and it's clear with no weeds and looks like it will be a lot of fun to play in!
After circling the lake and deciding to make a return trip soon, I continued through Gaston, Yamhill and Carlton before coming back through Newberg. It's beautiful out there. The Willamette Valley is definitely one of the best places in Oregon and I'm glad to live here!!
Yesterday, I took a drive out to Oregon's newest State Park: Stub Stewart State Park, near Vernonia. It's very cool! Miles of trails for peds, bikes and horses! I walked for about an hour and a half, and ran into two different horse groups. Made me think of when I was young and took trail rides with my sister and dad. Those were definitely the days... Totally had me thinking about a horse again, but I sure can't deal with all that responsibility just yet. Maybe after I win the lottery and sail the Mediterranean & South Pacific for a few years... :) Then I can settle down on a nice little ranch in Montana and ride the fence line on my nag. haha.
Didn't grab any pictures of SSSP either, but it's definitely a place I intend to visit often, as there are lots of trails and good terrain, not just flat, great hills and beautiful views of the surrounding hills. Too bad they clear clut a lot of it, but it was good to see they'd replanted a few years ago, as the regrowing little Doug Firs are about 3ft tall now.
Next time I go out, I'll drag my camera so I can post pics here for you all to see! :)
Okay, so I've been itching for a roadtrip, but since I have other plans for my available funds, I've been limiting myself to small weekend trips. More to come, but these are a few snaps from my last weekend "away".
I haven't been to Bend/Central Oregon in almost a year! Can you believe that!? I sure can't. So, I needed to get my butt over there to see what's going on in the pines. I left from Salem, taking Hwy 22 over the pass, just a few touches of snow left at the end of May, and luckily not horrible traffic, but I did seem to tweak a few speeders off since I had my cruise set at about 60. At any rate, was a great drive, beautiful day. The valley was in the 70s when I left at about 8am, and was around 90 by the time we hit Bend. Just a nice day to go for a drive and visit old haunts. :)
On the way back I was more inclined to snap a few pics, and did so above Clear Lake, overlooking Mt. Washington. The trees below (and all around you at this point) are recovering from a huge burn that took place a few years ago. In some places you can really see the new baby trees coming back. Likely the area was replanted about 4-5 years ago. I'm glad they made the effort to replant. That area is beautiful, and I remember driving through there right after the fires. It was devastating.
Another trip I took was to the Oregon Coast. Just a quick "let's get cool" trip over 26, down to Newport and back home. Always a nice drive. And the trick to escape the valley heat worked, as the fog had already rolled in and cooled things down very nicely at the coast! This pic is near Manzanita, I believe. As I was barefooting it around on the rock ledge overlooking this view, a truck full of Chicago Italians pulled up to get a few snaps themselves. I haven't seen that much gold around somebody's neck in awhile! Wow! You know you're a northwesterner when... :)
The next day, I spent just tooling around the mid-valley area. Happened upon this beautiful field of orange. Situated among all the green grass and hay fields of Marion and Polk counties, it called to me like a beacon and I just HAD to take a few pictures. Doesn't really do it justice, because the colors were SO vibrant. Of course it was really cool to take the pics because when you got down close to the flowers, all you could hear was the buzzing of busy honey bees!! Which made me happy, because our bee population is dwindling fast and I was happy to hear a couple hives hard at work. Not really sure what the planting was, but it was beautiful. Maybe a type of mustard? Sort of looks like a mustard variety, though the mustard fields I've seen are typically much brighter yellow. If you can spot it, notice the lone California Poppy hiding among it's orange colored friends.
Saturday was a beautiful sunny early February day and I decided that since it would likely be the ONLY sunny day between a myriad of wintry gray days, that I'd take a drive! :) And since I'd only been to Stonehenge once before and without a proper visual capturing device, that I should go back for another look. Besides, a drive up the gorge is always pleasant and I had a tank of gas to kill.
Stonehenge (or Washington State's recreation of it) is a war memorial (I believe WW1, not sure though) and it's just across from Biggs, Oregon. About 2 hours East of Portland on I-84. A beautiful drive through Hood River and The Dalles. High atop the smooth Washington hills sits this little recreation. Its pretty cool to be up there and see the Biggs bridge cross the Columbia River. It's at the point in the Gorge, where you've left the lush treed rocky area and are more into Central Oregon (I believe you're actually North of Bend at this point). So everything looks pretty desolate, but beautiful.
I finally saw a hilltop full of all the huge windmills that I'd seen being transported through Port of Vancouver, WA. It's quite amazing actually. I like the idea of wind energy, but it does tend to alter (ruin in some's opinions) the serene landscape.
At any rate, this cold February day I took a few snaps of the memorial Stonehenge site and then took a walking tour of The Dalles. It's actually quite an old city, home of one of the dams that crossed The Columbia River and has three standing courthouse buildings, and a few older churches, including one quite beautiful former Catholic Church. I love historic buildings! So it was quite fun for me to walk around and see all the various architecture.
This pic is of an old bank – quite a cool building – very narrow and long. It's currently housing a Jeweler/Gemologist, but you can still see the vault from the front door.
So, I got the chance to drive up in Oregon's wine country (aka, the hills behind Newberg/Dundee) and was surprised by how many wineries now make their home in Oregon. I recall driving up 99W through Dundee in the early 80s and seeing Argyle Vineyards reform a Victorian era farmhouse into a tasting room. As a kid, I thought they were nuts! I'd heard of Napa Valley wines, but who in the dickens had ever heard of Willamette Valley wines?? Not me, for sure!
Well, fast forward some 20-odd years and the hills of Oregon's Willamette Valley are strewn with grape vines. A friend's nephew will be getting married at one such vineyard atop one of the many grape planted hills outside of Dundee, and we drove up to get a look at the site. I have to say I was very surprised by not only the amount of vineyards, but with the meticulousness with which they are kept. The rows of grapes are perfectly trimmed and wired, not a stem out of place.
And the views of the valley below are quite breathtaking. We happened to pick one of the few sunny afternoons we've had this Spring, and were witness to a beautiful sunset, and some spectacularly sunny views of Portland and the Cascade range. Unfortunately, my camera isn't equipped with a bad ass lense to capture those faraway sights, but I was able to snap a few shots of the grapevines and sky.
On the same trip, we also stopped alongside Hwy 99W, just before you turn off to Hwy 18, at a little rundown shack which apparently used to be a roadside stand. It has been abandoned for many years, and I'm sure would make a barnwood frame-maker a very rich man! This shack happens to sit next to a beautiful, lush field of green grass, and as we passed, I noticed the sun about to set over the hill behind the field. So I had to stop and take a picture! As we wandered along this field of grass, I noticed that there was a "perfect shot" through one of the openings in the little shack. When you walked through the building, you came out to this perfect scene of golden light across this grass field. My camera certainly did not capture the absolute majesty of this...but it gives a good impression of what I saw that evening.
Today, it looks like a great river to kayak on, but it's awfully stinky right in that area. I suspect there is some sort of agri-pollutant entering the river nearby, as there was a lot of white foam along the edges of the river. It's a shame that such a healthy-looking, beautiful river is probably not too safe to swim in any longer. We humans sure know how to wreck a good thing, don't we? At least I was only taking a picture...
