023 Digging Trenches

October 24, 2008 – Friday

Redmond, OR

Still learning about things around the ranch; I have so many questions and am always asking why.  Why do you have those Alpacas over there?  Why are those separated from the others?  Why are the kids (young Alpacas) kept all together, separate from the Girls (the girl alpacas)?  Etc, etc…  This time, I’m preparing because they’re going to leave me in charge for the weekend while they’re away.  It’s test time!

Today we used the bobcat to dig a trench for a pipeline to get water that drains from the roof away from the building where it tends to gather in large puddles making everything quite messy.  There is a large amount of very solid lava rock in the ground here and some of the chunks are quite huge.  We ended up having to dig three different lines of trench before we had one that was without rock the entire way to the new water hole.  When we finally got the pipe down, we covered it all up and then I used the quad with a palette and some wires attached to drag behind and smooth out the ground.  Basically, I drove quickly in circles for about 10 minutes or so.  Entertaining, I guess!  And afterward, you couldn’t even tell we had just dug up the ground all over the place.  Like magic…

In the afternoon, we decided to have some playtime and hopped on our bikes to visit Grandpa and Mary in Bend.  Just a short visit, but one that was appreciated nonetheless.  When we came back to the ranch just after dark, I helped put “the girls” into the barn for the evening, to complete the chores for the day.  Finally, it was time for a big, delicious dinner and some wine.  You know, it’s simply a healthy thing to do to have 3 glasses of wine a day…  I like the sound of that.

022 Settling in a bit...

October 23, 2008 – Thursday

Redmond, OR

I’ve been settling in just a bit here at the ranch lately.  The last few days have been spent without too much adventure but with much relaxed enjoyment.  Thumbing through thrift stores for treasures and finding deals at the grocery outlet (later known kindly as the used food store) have been keeping my mom, aunt and I busy.  I have found many empty frames from the thrift stores to fill with paintings, in the hopes that it keeps me painting anyway!  It’s been fun hanging out with my aunt, getting to know her a bit more than I have been able to so far.  Yesterday us girls stopped for happy hour at the Red Dog Depot after shopping, had a yummy hummus and pita sort of appetizer and a drink.  As you will possibly find out, it was the first of many stops for me at the Red Dog Depot.  A very cute place on the outside, it was an old rail station that was relocated and redone.  Now, it’s a restaurant/bar with photos of dogs in red frames all over the walls.  Hundreds of them.  And a goat.

I finally have been feeling better, so it’s been time to learn how to do the “chores”.  I really dislike the word chores and prefer to say “feed the animals” or “take care of the animals…”   But people understand the word chores and it’s shorter to say, so I guess I use it sometimes as well.  Anyway, there’s a whole lot to learn about around the ranch.  Especially for me, since it’s a completely different kind of life than I am used to.  So far, I love it; it’s wonderful learning so much about something new, especially hands on.  So, in the morning I hopped on the four wheeler (quad), loaded up the back of it with hay and delivered the delicious stuff to the Llamas & Alpacas, Mini Horses & Ladybug (the big horse).  Patty showed me how she feeds the chickens & doves, cats, dogs, fish & bird.  I took pretty good notes on it all so that if I forget, I can run down the list and figure things out.

Overall, it’s been a nice time.  A bit of a slower pace from running around the country (to say the least) and kinda nice now and then.

021 Riding along the coast...

October 19, 2008 – Sunday

Florence, OR

Another incredible way to start out a day is riding a motorcycle along the coast while the sun is shining down on everything around you.  Even though I didn’t ride my bike to Yachats yesterday, I made up for it today.  Uncle Lyle, my Mom & Dad and I took our bikes along the coast, one of the most incredibly beautiful rides yet, but I’m a sucker for the ocean.  We had coffee in Yachats at the Adobe Resort and Restaurant, at a table overlooking the crashing ocean waves.  

We didn’t spend too much time in the town since we planned on heading back to Redmond when we finished our ride, but I showed everyone where I had spent my time yesterday.  On the way back to Florence, my parents and I decided to stop at the sea lion caves; supposedly the largest Sea Lion Cave in the world.  Since it was a gorgeous day, however, all of the sea lions were out sunning themselves on rocks a couple of clicks down the road instead of hanging out in the cave.  I know I would be if I were them!  We found them there when I stopped to take a couple of coastal photos at an overlook.  There were hundreds of sea lions, swimming, sunning & playing around.  After we left the cave, we finished our ride back to Florence to meet Aunt Patty & Lyle again.

We packed up our things and headed back home to Redmond, stopping on the way at the small restaurant previously mentioned in yesterdays post.  I picked up some literature on the place and took a few photos of it myself.  What a fabulous spot.

And now, we’ll be back in Redmond for a while but my parents swear that they’re really heading back to Minnesota this time…   So, we’ll see!

019 We’re all here cause we’re not all there...

October 18, 2008 – Saturday

Oregon Coast/Yachats, OR

A great way to start out the day is a hike down to visit the ocean.  Even though it was cold and windy, it is most certainly wonderful and beautiful.  After getting back from the hike, I drove my car up to Yachats for the mushroom festival.  I actually turned back once while I was on my way there, to get my bike instead…  But then I turned around again and continued along the road since I knew I’d want to drink some wine while I was there.  It was a gorgeous day, however, and it would have been an incredible ride along the coast.

Once I arrived in Yachats, I found the city hall where they had signs up promoting the mushroom event.  There was a farmers market with some creative goods, canned foods & mushrooms for sale and inside was a setup for the Mycological Society with tons of different kinds of mushrooms on display with detailed info.  While I was there, I decided it was time to pick up a book on mushrooms.  I figured that the people working there would be a good source for helping me figure out which book to start with.  I had a good laugh at one of the signs in the room, “Who says you can’t eat poisonous mushrooms?  You can eat any of them once…”

Before I left the City Hall, I decided to buy a basketful of fresh Chanterelles from one of the vendors who had picked them by hand earlier that day; they looked spectacular.  Also, I asked around to find out where I should go for some dinner, a glass of wine and a special mushroom dish.  On the way to the next venue, I passed by a thin, small guy with a leather jacket on, big grey beard & huge knife sheath who was leaning against a phone booth.  I didn’t make eye contact.  I did make eye contact with some people in the Yachats River House where I went for a glass of wine.  It was a very cute little place with a gorgeous deck and amazing view of the ocean and some city countryside.  While I was there I visited with a couple of people who were also there for some food & wine as well as a couple of people who worked there.  It was quite enjoyable meeting them and sharing stories of where we’re from, where we’re going, and what everyone knows about the town…  Again and again, I love meeting new random people in the different places I travel.

After I finished my wine, I decided to see what else the town had to offer, so I went across the street to the Drift Inn which had been recommended to me for dinner.  The only seat open at the bar was right next to the phone booth guy who was quite excited that I was going to sit by him.  I guess he was smitten from when I passed by him earlier and was happy to have the chance to chat with me.  It was probably the motorcycle jacket that I had on, as well as the big sunglasses, polka dot scarf in my hair and heels that got him.  I was looking pretty styling actually…  He mentioned that he had seen me earlier when I passed him but I probably hadn’t wanted anything to do with him because I saw the big knife.  I wonder if that happens to him often?  We did end up chatting for a while and it was entertaining; Beau was his name and he lives in the mountains, hence the big knife.  Living in the middle of the mountains, he keeps the knife for protection, instead of a gun.  Overall, his life is yet another that is quite different from what I’m used to and it was really interesting talking with him for a while.

When he left, I went back to my car to grab my notebook so that I could catch up on some writing and note-taking.  As I waited for a pick-up to pass by, the driver stopped for me to cross.  When I arrived at my car, I found out that the pick-up driver happened to be parked right behind me.  I smiled at him on my way back to the restaurant and he smiled brightly and got out to say hi to the girl he just let pass in front of him on the road.  I told him his dogs were beautiful and he asked me if I wanted to meet them.  Of course I had to say yes!  Mark’s dogs were Misty and T-Bone, both rescued and now loved.  Mark, with a large reddish colored beard, wearing beige overalls and a plaid shirt, was just starting his own business in the area and calling it Stonewood Creations.  He’s a welder and makes creative stone sculptures.  He didn’t have any cards on him but I’d love to see some of his work!

Back at the Drift Inn, I ordered the special, a mushroom crepe with a spicy pepper sauce which came with a salad that had the most incredible ginger dressing, and I ordered a fabulous glass of white wine with the recommendation from the bartender.  A couple of new guys come in and sit on my right, Matt & Geoff.  They had been out hunting mushrooms earlier, Geoff teaching Matt about them.  Matt ended up giving me a large amount of Chanterelles and told me how to cook them for the best results.  Geoff and I talked a lot about traveling, he was excited about what I was doing and happy for me to be taking notes and writing about it so that I could consider writing a book some day.  He’s taken trips on freighters which excited me since it’s something I want to do.  I wish I had some business cards with my blog site so that I can share it with strangers who I meet along the way.  I chatted with another couple at the bar for a while as well who were also out of town.  Overall, there are very friendly folk in this area and I’ve been quite comfortable!

A band played later that night, led by a young fiddler player with lots of curly gorgeous hair and tons of talent.  His backup was a trio of older, white-haired men who were fantastic.  I guess most of the locals in Yachats were hiding away during the mushroom festival weekend; I can’t wait to go back again sometime when they’re out and about as well.  Besides Beau, I met only people who didn’t actually live in Yachats.

Finally, it was time to move on.  I had heard that the nighttime venue was the Landmark,  so I finished out my night there.  Another live band, this time some great blues & rock, in a dark dive bar atmosphere.  There, I ended up chatting with Matt from Fresno, CA who has traveled a lot, also has a motorcycle, and was there for the festival.  We danced with some other folk in the place to some of the music, though nobody there was partner dancing and it drove me crazy on the great blues songs.  After a while, I decided that it was time to head back and call it a night, so I drove back to Florence on the dark twisty, curvy coastal roads very carefully.

The Unofficial Slogan of Yachats: We’re all here cause we’re not all there.”

018 Finally, The Coast.

October 17, 2008 – Friday

Florence, OR

This last week has been a slow one; I am just recovering from a cold.  It’s been nice, having some time to relax and recuperate in a beautiful spot without many responsibilities to worry about while being sick.  Mainly my days have been filled with having coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner, then doing some painting in the evening and occasionally at other times during the day.  My dad has been helping with the chores around the ranch, my brother left last Monday but he was quite a ranch hand as well.  It was really fun having him out here, even though it was really cold a lot of the time.  We did get in a few rides, but at some point I had enough of my fingers falling off and I skipped out on a couple.  When my brother got back from one of them, he said that his glasses had salt tears frozen to them from his eyes watering and getting onto them.  Yes, it was cold.  Yesterday when it was finally warmer and we were heading to visit Grandpa & Mary again, I stopped to buy new gloves for cold weather.  I’m excited to wear them, they look spectacular!

Speaking of my bike, a few days ago, my Uncle asked me if I had a name for my bike.  I don’t, so I told him that.  He and my Dad had a lot of fun trying to come up with something clever, offering me suggestions all the time.  My Uncle thinks I should just call it “Bitch”.  My Dad, however, came up with “Independence.”  I suggested that I combine the two and call it “Independent Bitch.”  What do you think?  Actually, the latest that Uncle Lyle came up with was iBitch.  I kinda like that one, too.  It’s entertaining, and nice to know where some of my behaviors, actions and thoughts come from.  I’m definitely my Father’s daughter.

By the way, the snow did go away; it didn’t stick around for too long, but I didn’t care at all for it while it was here.  The mountains really look beautiful layered in fresh snow, but it’s not enough for me to want to be too close to it.  While I’ve been staying at the ranch, it has been wonderful to have some time to paint.  I made a larger version of a concept that I worked on at my time in the yurt and finished the other one that I started there which I don’t care for much.  However, I painted one more that I actually do like quite a bit.  I may post it here, as well as its inspiration so people understand a bit more.

There are some kittens at the ranch that are growing up quickly; they’re leaving their basket just barely at this point.  Well, I’ve made friends with them and I just know that one of them wants to come with me and be my car cat.  He/she is adorable, black with bright blue eyes that look directly into mine.  He/she usually comes to greet me when I come to visit, scampering up to say hi.  I adore it.

This weekend I found a mushroom festival in Yachats, on the coast.  I was determined to attend some of it, and was trying to get well all week so that I was ready for the jaunt over to the coast.  By the time today arrived, my Aunt Patty, Uncle Lyle, Mom & Dad decided that they wanted to come with as well.  Originally, or at one point anyway, my parents had decided they were going to go back to MN today but my Mom really decided that she wanted to see the coast before leaving.  So, we packed everything up and headed out this morning.  My Mom, Dad, Uncle & Aunt took the motorhome, trailering my Dad’s scooter and my Uncle’s Harley Sportster.  I, of course, have my car with my bike trailered as well.  I packed everything up before we left in case I didn’t return.

What an incredible drive.  It was nice having a reminder of why I fell in love with Oregon years ago.  It’s gorgeous here and it feels like home.  I may possibly consider living here, away from things, people, life.  My Uncle Lyle knows this land pretty well, the people in it and the places also.  While we were driving through some small sort of village place my Uncle pulled over ahead of me, and I followed of course.  He told me that the restaurant right next to us, now closed, used to be one of the best places to stop for pie & burgers.  I blurted out, “I want it” and he said, “well, let’s put together a business plan…”  So, we’ll see.  I wouldn’t mind running that for a few months out of the year and closing down when it got cold again, actually setting up shop for a long period of time in one place…  Quite the concept for me!  I have already designed a bit of it in my head, and right now it’s called Reese’s Treehouse Café.  I’m sure that will change as the concept grows.

Eventually we made it to the coast, just in time to unpack our bikes and go for a short ride.  It’s nice to be next to the ocean again; I think I prefer the Pacific to the Atlantic but either is better than neither.  When I first laid eyes on it this time, I said, “I can’t live in Minnesota.”  Everyone laughed, but they know how serious I really am.

Tonight is nice and laid back; sounds of the ocean from only a quarter of a mile away, a movie in the RV with my Dad & Uncle while my Mom & Aunt went somewhere to play bingo.  I think I’ll try to get sleepy, maybe have another beer, then get to bed so that I can fully enjoy my day here tomorrow.  

Thanks for coming with me!

017 Ammo Boxes & More...

October 10, 2008 – Friday

Redmond, OR

Ammo boxes, Model T’s, Painting & Napoleon Dynamite…  That’s some of what today held.  My Uncle Lyle was looking at my trailer and saw potential for more…  So, he commenced with the modifications.  My new trailer is now quite spectacular; mostly the same, but so much cooler.  I now have an ammo box attached to the side of it where I can store all of my straps and bungees, or whatever else I want.  Also, with the extra side step on one side, my feet no longer dangle in thin air when I’m loading my bike.  The side step has a pin in it for me to attach my ramp directly to it and use it for storage while going down the road.  With a couple of bungees, I can attach quite a few things and free up lots of room in my car.  Very convenient!  As well, using some zip ties and just drilling a few holes, we attached the cord for the lights to the side of the trailer, running them down the line of it.  Very slick.  No more having to worry about running it around the bike and having it flap in the wind!  Just hook it up and go.

Later in the day, my Uncle Lyle, Buster and I went for a little ride in the model T.  That was great fun since I hadn’t ridden in it yet.  Even though it was a bit of a chilly day, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  It’s not every day that a person gets to ride in a model T!

And finally, I painted some more.  I really enjoyed the little prototype that I created during my time in the yurt outside of Glacier, so I ran with that on a larger scale.  Though it could use a bit of work yet, I like the concept overall.  It feels good to paint.

To finish off the day, we had some dinner and settled in to watch Napoleon Dynamite.  Believe it or not, my Aunt & Uncle have seen that movie almost 30 times…  Crazy!  

I guess there’s not a whole lot for me to report today, just a few items of interest to me…  And maybe some other crazy out there!

016 An old Model T

October 9, 2008 – Thursday

Redmond, OR

Biking is really quite enjoyable.  Warm, sunny days are perfect for getting in a nice long ride.  Now, for a little something different, you can choose to be a bit more ridiculous about it and get in a bike ride whenever you want, despite the conditions…  This is what my Dad & brother and I did yesterday, in our ride to Prineville and back.  Prineville is only about 10 minutes away from the ranch so it is a short ride there.  When the weather is less than desirable, though, it seems much longer than it really is.  The day was cold and it looked like there were storms ready to collide right over the whole area.  Of course, we still went.  It was cold and I hadn’t gotten new gloves yet so I just about froze my fingers off completely, again.  Despite how the weather appeared, we managed to escape most of the really bad conditions.  After we had some coffee and Heath & Dad had a sundae from Dairy Queen, the rain started.  Luckily it wasn’t coming down too hard, but it was still coming down.  And did I mention that it was cold?  We made it back alright, despite the rain, and just in time for dinner which really helped to warm us up.

Last night, it snowed.  Yes, it snowed.  It’s only October 9th and I’m in Oregon and it snowed.  I was none so happy about that, as it's also a large part of why I'm not in Minnesota right now... To escape the snow...

Today, luckily, the snow from last night disappeared though it was still quite cold and winter jackets were necessary.  First things first, we all helped out with polishing up the Model T from 1916 so that it looked loved & cared for.  Many people probably don't know, but I totally have a thing for old cars.  It took a while to crank it up and get it running, but after a while it sputtered to life!  The headlights on the old car work like a lantern, covered by glass and lit with fire, they’re mostly for other people to see the car coming toward you in the dark; not for lighting up the road or anything else.  
My Uncle Lyle bought the Model T with the ranch and once a year the man who worked on it in his younger years visits the car again.  This was the day.  Living in Portland, his daughter comes to get him once a year so that he can spend some time with the car.  Funny, he’s not coming to see his daughter, but his car instead.  His cars and his work were his life, his passion.  As soon as the car was out, ready for him to have a ride and see it, he moved quite quickly.  Did I mention that he’s 96 years old?  My Uncle helped him into the car, they took it for a spin, then sat in it for quite some time while we all listened to him tell stories of the old car, learning quite a bit more about it.  Quite a fascinating experience over all!

Later that evening, after going for yet another freezing cold ride – you would have thought that by now I had learned my lesson – we made it back to have dinner and then finish up the night with a couple of movies, Hot Rod & RV.  They were both pretty funny and it was a great end to the day.

015 Limos & Bikes

October 8 2008 – Wednesday

Redmond, OR

I woke up far too early today, around 730 am but it felt like it was at least 10!  It was, however, nice to wake up to the mountains right outside the window, in the distance, even if they were snow-covered.  My brother and I had some time to visit for a bit before I decided it was time to get showered & clean.  My Aunt Patty made a wonderful breakfast of sausage & cheese biscuits and an egg, so I had a fabulous start to the day.

My mom and I went shopping in Redmond to pick up a few things.  We stopped at a liquor store for some rum and then, bless the states where they have wine & beer in the grocery store, picked up some groceries, wine & 3 different six packs of local beer.  While out, I got a call from the guys (Uncle Lyle, Heath & Dad) who were anxious for us to return to the ranch so that we could go for a ride.  Since my brother flew out for a few days, Uncle Lyle let him borrow his Harley Sportster while Lyle rented a Harley for a few days.  My Mom & I hurried back to get geared up for the fairly cold-weather ride to the Dee Wright Observatory in Willamette National Forest.  
That was really pretty cool, with broken up lava beds everywhere, and the mountains, again…  And really, it was pretty cool; by the time we got there, I thought my fingers were going to fall off!  It’s time for new winter bike gloves, I guess.  To make it back home, I had to borrow a pair of thin leather gloves from my Uncle to put over my own regular bike gloves; at least they were a wind breaker!  The ride was beautiful, through the forest and around the area.  I fully admit that I love being around mountains.

When we got back from our super cool and very cold ride, we hopped into my Uncle’s limo to pick up my Grandpa & Mary for dinner.  Yup, they have a limo which they rent out for parties now and then.  So, my Mom, brother & I grabbed some beer and hung out together in the back of the limo while my Dad & Uncle rode up front.  After picking up Grandpa & Mary from Bend, we decided to stop at a Safeway to find my mom some popcorn that she wanted.  
And we thought it would be entertaining to stop at a Safeway for popcorn while we were in a limo…  Heath & I ended up getting two different kinds of popcorn, flowers for Aunt Patty, one large local beer and a six pack of hard cider for mom, since she kept insisting that she didn’t want more beer but yet seemed very protective over the one that was left from the first six pack.  It was humorous and we enjoyed ourselves.

When we got back to the ranch, everyone sat around and told stories for a while.  I learned quite a bit about some of my relatives!  Uncle Lyle used to be in the military, just as my Dad was.  He told of a time when he was actually mixing bombs with his bare hands, which is crazy.  I have a couple of other Uncles on my Dads side, one of them is named Lowell.  Apparently, he once egged Patty’s car without her knowing.  The next day when she found out, she brought it to the gas station where Lowell was working and told him that someone egged her car, would he please help her clean it…  Nice.  That’s what I call karma.

Then, on my Mom & Dad’s wedding day, a bunch of people were swimming right up until the ceremony.  Ok, that’s not too big of a deal; however, after the ceremony people were dropped off in random places, left to their own devices.  It was because of this that my Uncle Lyle, in his tuxedo, met some people with a boat and went water skiing with them, in his tux.  I wonder less and less about myself, the more I learn about the rest of my family and relatives.  I think we’re all just a little bit of crazy.

Anyway, dinner was great.  I helped clean up a bit while Lyle & Papa brought Grandpa & Mary back home.  Patty & Heath and I visited for a while and my Mom went to bed slightly snockered.  Overall, it was quite a day; exhausting but fabulous.

014 Oregon!

October 8 2008 – Wednesday

Spokane, WA to Redmond, OR

This morning, everyone got up early and met at Don & Barb’s for photo-taking.  Unfortunately, Chad got there just a couple of minutes too late and Don had to leave for work.  We managed, however, to take some fun photos of the whole bunch of us without Don but including my cousin Joe who flew in the previous night at about 11pm.  Joe has been training in the army and will soon be going over seas.  It was great to have the opportunity to see him even though it was for a very short time.  After taking some photos (which I still need to get from someone!), the kids left for breakfast together.  I like local places when I’m in new towns, so they took me to a place called Hogans.  The décor of Hogans was absolutely fabulous; I thoroughly enjoyed the food, atmosphere and the company of my cousins one last time before I took off.

Finally, I was on my way again driving to Oregon.  My brother was flying in the same evening so I wanted to get there as well.  It was a decent drive, but it seemed to take forever somehow!  I’ve come to decide that I believe I really care more for the coastal, lush side of Oregon than I do the other part of the state.  It’s gorgeous everywhere of course, but a lot of the east & central parts are actually high desert; very dry and not very much color.  On the drive to Redmond, a large part of the trip (it seemed, at least) was going through the Columbia River Gorge which was really quite interesting.  If you’re into wind surfing or kite surfing, I guess that’s the place to be; there were tons of people out on the water.  The wind in the gorge never lets up, supposedly, and it’s intense.  Even though I only watched from a distance, it was incredible seeing the people fly through the air, a number of feet above the water, zipping from side to side they had to be going at least 30 mph.  I bet in cases it’s even faster, maybe I should look it up.  I’m not very good at judging things like that myself.

Other interesting places along the drive down were somewhat unremarkable but quite entertaining to me.  At one point, I saw one of most frightening looking runaway truck ramps I’ve ever seen.  Driving up to it, it really looked like a truck driver who had to use it would run straight into the mountain, not go up the hill.  Crazy, I wouldn’t want to have to use that.  Another place seemed to be in the middle of nowhere alongside the road.  Of course I had to stop to find out what it was all about.  It turned out, it was a mountain identifier and it pointed to all the mountains in the area, explaining which each one was.  I quite enjoyed that!  Just before arriving in Redmond, I stopped at the Crooked River area where there were a couple of great bridges and a gorgeous 300 ft. gorge with a river at the bottom.  Those walls went straight down; anyone afraid of heights should beware.  Apparently, dogs should as well; according to the signs in the area, many die there.  I spent a bit of time there, stretching my legs and taking photos before calling my Uncle Lyle to let him know I was close to the ranch.  

After about 8 hours in the car, I was ready to enter Redmond; my Uncle Lyle and Papa drove to meet me; when I passed them on the road, they pulled out and had me follow them back to the ranch; there’s no way I would have found it without them, even with my GPS.  Many roads in the area are under construction right now, being moved, changed and created.  I was road weary when I pulled in and didn’t fully absorb what I was driving into, but gradually the weariness wore off and I noticed more and more what an incredible place they have.  Their ranch house is beautiful with a waterfall/pond area right outside one of the floor to ceiling windowed walls, mountain tops and ranch area outside another.  We weren’t sleeping in the ranch house, however; we were staying in the guest house in the barn.  The guest house is a two story lofted 3 bedroom, kitchen & bath apartment/house that’s gorgeous.  The view of the mountain tops from here is even better, in my opinion, than from the house.  My Uncle Lyle & Aunt Patty love having people here to use it, too.  I grabbed the second bedroom upstairs down the hallway from my parents who decided they’re staying for a little while longer, and my brother will have the downstairs bedroom off the kitchen.

When I walk outside, I am greeted by Llamas, Alpacas, a horse, something like 10 mini horses, doves, chickens, dogs, cats, chickens & new baby kittens…  There's a bird in the house named Kiwi.  I’ll have to find out if there’s another name for the mini horses.  It’s quite enjoyable exploring the ranch and seeing what they have here.  The view alone is incredible and I don’t get tired of seeing the mountains in the distance.

Anyway, it was an exhausting day and I couldn’t stay awake to pick up Heath from the airport, I was just too tired so I called it a night.  My time here will be pleasurable, of that I’m sure!

013 Mushroom Hiking

October 7 2008 – Tuesday (2 Weeks)

Spokane, WA

Yesterday was a spectacular day, getting a taste of the outskirt mountain areas around Spokane.  The word got out that I have wanted to go hiking recently, and everyone knows by now, that I love biking around.  Chad apparently goes hiking quite often and knows a few routes with different levels of difficulty.  I’m not a regular hiker by any means (which most of you know) but I’m not in horrible shape since I dance.  Out of the three options of Difficult, Medium & Easy that Chad provided, we ended up hiking the medium trail.  I was a bit anxious when we got there and found out that the trail was 7.2 miles long and would take us about 4 hours, but I took it in stride and decided that it would be just fine.  It was definitely challenging and completely beautiful.  Besides Chad & I, Chris, Ivan (I’m not sure how to spell that), and Micah came with us!  The trail, around the Liberty Creek Watershed area, was quite difficult in parts, quite humorous in others, and relaxing in a few.  To understand fully, you’ll just have to see the photos that I have posted.  The trail twisted, turned and mostly disappeared, climbed around roots and fallen trees, started at about 2200 elevation and at the top (I have provided a photo for proof) we had climbed to about 3800 elevation.  Impressive!  You may wonder why I said that some of the trail was humorous, so I should probably explain.  Along the way, there were helpful signs showing us where we were, warning us about washouts & telling us about cedar groves, but there were also some signs that read, “More Hiking,” “Waterfall,” and “Scenic Trail.”  I had a good laugh at those but also appreciated their simplicity.  Nobody had to name the waterfall a complicated name claiming it as their own or attempting to describe it, all they needed was to tell people that it was, in fact, a waterfall.  Fabulous.  

As many of my friends and family know, I like mushrooms.  In school, I had many projects based on mushrooms and it became a bit of a theme during my time there.  It just so happens that it’s fall mushroom season right now and they were everywhere along that trail!  One of the first that we spotted was, in fact, the mushroom that I based many of my projects around.  It was nice to see it live in the forest.  Once my fellow hikers found out about my passion for mushrooms, everyone was helping to find more for photos.  When we made it to the end of the trail, I had sure built up an appetite.  A bit amazed that I had made it the whole way and kept a fairly good pace, I felt great about the hike.  Originally, we had wanted to go hiking and then biking in the evening; Chad has a scooter and Chris has a motorcycle.  The weather, however, was very cloudy, partially rainy & somewhat unpleasant during the day so we nixed the biking that evening.

Instead, we made plans to have everyone back for dinner again at Don & Barb’s but first I was able to see where both Chris & Chad lived.  They both have great homes and I’m happy to see that they seem to be quite happy in their lives.  Dinner was nice, especially since I was energized from the day instead of dead tired from driving like the day before.  After making plans for breakfast & group photos the next day before I took off, everyone left and I had a chance to visit with just my Aunt & Uncle again.  Rarely do I have the chance to verify any stories that my mom has told me through the years, so I jumped at it and listened, entertained, as Don told me his versions of many stories from growing up.

One of my favorite stories is the one about how my Grandpa bought their house in Pelican Rapids.  My mom has told me this story numerous times and I asked for Don’s version as well.  Long story short, my Grandpa walked up to the guy who then owned the house and asked him if he would sell it.  The guy said yes.  We now have the greatest location in the town and I never want to let it go.  In that house, the downstairs bedroom has stars covering most of its ceiling.  Usually, the reason for this would simply be that kids like putting stars on the ceiling of their rooms…  This time, it’s because my Uncle Don shot his bee bee gun at the ceiling and created holes everywhere.  My Grandma Esther used gold stars to cover the holes.  I like the effect!

Overall, it was a wonderful day; even though I’ll probably be in pain from the hike in a couple of days, it was definitely worth it, for the beauty and the chance to spend time with my cousins.

012 The Triplets

October 5 2008 – Sunday

Traveling from Glacier to Spokane, WA

I had a nice morning today while I cleaned up my Yurt, took a shower and then started driving again.  There were still clouds in the sky and a bit of rain falling here and there but it was actually kinda pretty.  I drove through Kalispell again and decided to stop for lunch before continuing on, and to plan my route.  There was a place called Montana Wheat that looked like it had character and a sign that said Wi-Fi which is always nice.  While having a fabulous bowl of potato & bacon soup and a mango smoothie, I caught up on some more emails and stuff, and figured out what route I was going to take to Spokane.

Once I was finished with lunch, I headed out and took hwy 2 through Bonner’s Ferry and then went down to Coeur d’Alene which is on the border of Idaho/Washington.  I have heard that the Coeur d’Alene area is gorgeous and I was looking forward to seeing it, but I guess I drove into the wrong side since I drove into the west.  It’s the east that’s really pretty; I guess I’ll have to go back sometime.

I’m not sure exactly where I was when I transitioned into in Pacific time, but I finally entered into it, earning another hour in my day.  When I finally drove into Spokane, I was greeted by a houseful; I guess I should say yardful, of relatives.  Every Sunday, my Aunt & Uncle in Spokane get together with their three sons & their families (two of them are married, one has a son and one has a girlfriend).  I made it just in time to join them all for dinner and it was really nice to see everyone.  A couple of friends of the family came over as well, but my youngest cousin Joe wasn’t in town due to army training somewhere else.  

Now for a story.  Almost 30 years ago, my grandma made headlines for becoming a grandmother 3 times in one day.  My aunt & uncle were in Spain at the time and they had twins who were named Chris & Chad.  My mom gave birth to me a few hours later, she called me Sherrise (obviously…).  Chris & Chad & I call ourselves the triplets.  

The last time we saw each other was about 10 years ago and we didn’t take any pictures of us together at that time.  Before that it had been about another 10-15 years since we had been together, when we were about 5.  We did have photos of us, then.  Anyway, this time we made sure that we had a couple of photos of us taken, since we are the triplets and all.

Well, that night we had dinner with everyone and then gradually everyone called it a night.  I was almost useless since I was so exhausted; the drive was beautiful but tiring!  Well, everyone else left since Chris & Chad worked nights at the nearby prison and it was late.  I stayed up and visited with my Uncle Don & Aunt Barb and talked mainly about guns…  Yes, I said guns.  Uncle Don likes guns and knows quite a bit about them.  I’m not a huge supporter of guns at this point, but I do also understand how sometimes they’re not such a bad thing.  So, he showed me around some of his guns, explaining what the differences were, etc.

A nice bedtime story…  Then, finally, I went to bed and spent a few minutes updating my blog a bit for the benefit of all of you!

011 A day on my own

October 3&4, 2008 – Friday/Saturday

Glacier National Park – Apgar Campground/Yurt Village

What a day!  (That was especially for Abby & Kat…)  But really, it was great.  I woke up today and took my time getting going, making a couple of pots of my French press coffee and restarting my still smoldering fire to warm up a bit.  I burned up the rest of the logs, read through the local paper (see my humorous photo from the police blotter section to the right!), had some beef jerky, a banana & granola bars for breakfast and packed up my camp after I dried things up a bit.  It did actually rain last night but I stayed quite warm, dry & comfortable during the night.  The rainfly on my hammock was dotted with water drops, so I wiped it down before packing it up.  I love my hammock.  Today, the sky was full of more rain clouds and I hoped that they would hold in the rain long enough for me to see what else I wanted to see in the park.

One of the park rangers came by while I was still at camp and I asked him if I could leave my car & trailer there while I ran around the park a bit more; he said that would be ok, as long as I leave a note for the other ranger who might come by later.  While reading the local paper by the fire, I noticed that in the events section, there was actually a jazz festival in nearby Kalispell over the weekend (a few of you may have gotten a text from me around this time, asking if anyone knew anyone in the area)…  I decided that it might be fun to check it out and see if there was any dancing to do, which meant that I should probably clean myself up a bit as well.  So, I did what I could with the cold water in the restrooms and brushed my hair with some water, managed to poorly shave my pits (better than not at all!) and cleaned myself up as much as I could before I left for the activities of the day.  I even put on my nice new clean pair of jeans.  

When I was finally ready to go, I biked up to Avalanche Lake & the Trail of the Cedars which I had been dying to hike around yesterday.  It wasn’t a big hike, only .8 miles which was easy enough to do in my motorcycle boots & chaps; anything more than that is ridiculous and I need to bring some other shoes.  I’m SO glad that I stayed another day to hike this trail, it was gorgeous.  

Peaceful & wonderful; as one of the signs by the waterfall says, “As you return to the parking lot, walk slowly and reflect on what you have seen.”  Especially, I enjoyed the numerous mushrooms growing all over the place.  Tis the season!  After that stop, I started biking back to the campground and stopped at just a couple of other places along the way as well.  It was gorgeous.

I packed up my bike just before the rain started in the campground and headed out of the park, stopping for a bowl of soup and a bit of journal writing at the same place we ate the other night.  The people working there also helped me figure out what the date was…

Anyway, I started driving to Kalispell, making a couple of phone calls along the way to catch up.  Just as I was getting into town, I called the number listed for the jazz festival and was directed right to the Red Lion Hotel where there was a swing lesson just starting up.  Unfortunately, it was an east coast lesson and I didn’t feel like taking part, so I enjoyed and observed.  After the lesson, I talked to the instructor who said that he didn’t do Lindy Hop; mostly ballroom stuff.  Then, I talked a bit to some of the younger kids who were there for the lesson and asked them if they or anyone they know does any Lindy Hop.  The reply: nope.  So, I started thinking about where I was going to stay for the night while having fewer and fewer hopes that I would be doing any dancing while in town.  

My mom called at one point and said that she saw a Yurt village somewhere on their way out of Glacier, so I started looking into that.  The front desk people at the Red Lion Hotel were extremely helpful and I found a number for the Yurt place.  It was located just outside of Glacier Park, where I just came from…  The choice at that point was to either stay in town and hope that I could find some place to sleep that night, or drive back to the Yurt village (nobody answered when I called) to see if I could still rent a Yurt.  I decided to drive back to Coram.  Overall, it was about a 30 minute drive back there; I could always head back to town for the festival after checking in & changing clothes.  

When I arrived at the North American RV Park & Yurt Village, I rang the doorbell and Lisa answered.  She said I could still get a Yurt for the evening, and that there were laundry, shower & lounge room facilities for my use.  I was quite excited!  After showing me around the place and helping me close my window flaps for some privacy, Lisa left me to my own devices.  I unpacked the things I would need for the evening and started realizing that I really just wanted to stay in and catch up on things.  Oh, I forgot to mention that there was wi-fi that reached out to the Yurt as well.  It was a really great night.  I made some dinner with my electric burner stove, Lemongrass soup & cous cous, had a couple of beers & caught up on uploading blogs, emails & phone calls.  It was really nice and relaxing, however I think I slept better in my hammock, outdoors, than I did on the futon, in the Yurt.  I didn’t feel badly about missing out on the jazz festival at all; I like my own company.

The next morning I ended up deciding that because I was thoroughly enjoying myself, I could use another day to relax and take some time on my own when I wasn’t just running around like crazy and going from place to place.  So, I checked in for another night and settled in even more.  The day was a simple one.  Since all the new premieres had started on TV for fall, I caught up on some of those while drinking a bottle of wine and breaking out some of my paints to attempt to record some of the images in my head.  My dirty, campfire filled clothes became clean with the laundry facilities and I became clean as well with the wonderful hot shower.  Finally having time to upload some of my blogs was nice, so I took the opportunity to post a few new ones that I had written already.  Dinner that evening was beef jerky & flavored rice, quite yummy actually!  Eventually, I realized that I needed to get some sleep since I had to continue on the next day, so I called it a night.

I loved my Yurt.

010 Indescribable beauty

October 2, 2008 – Thursday

Glacier National Park – Apgar Campground

Glacier National Park is incredible.  I’m sure it’s beautiful all times of year, but right now it’s absolutely indescribably beautiful with the changing colors of fall.  It’s a good thing that I have my chaps with me since it’s pretty darn cold here; and they’re all full of mud now, too, so otherwise that would all just be on my jeans!  After waking up, my parents packed up all of their camp gear and I moved my hammock to a new location since they were finally out of my way (love you guys!)…  We started biking and found that it was 39 miles to the top of Logan Pass, where the Going to the Sun road was closed from then on for construction.  It was a cold ride at the bottom of the mountain so I wore many layers, including a scarf, & and gradually as the day warmed up as we got up higher on the mountain and it was hot!!  I surprised me, however, that the heights in Glacier weren’t in general as high as they were in Yellowstone.   

I really wish that I could have done a lot of hiking in the area, but my parents wanted to head out pretty early.  As it was, they didn’t leave until a few hours later than they had anticipated originally; it takes a lot of time to see a park like this – even just a portion of it!

On the top of the mountain at Logan Pass, we looked for animals and saw beautiful mountains with snow and trees with changing colors.  We did manage to see one mountain sheep which was pretty cool, but really far away; without the binoculars I wouldn’t have been able to see it.  Also at the top of the mountain we met a 92-year old man who goes hiking every week.  He was sitting, waiting for the rest of his party to finish since he ended a bit earlier, and visiting with whoever came by.  What an interesting man!  I didn’t actually talk to him much but listened to a few of his conversations with other people and really listened while he recited some poetry.  Pretty inspiring, that guy; I hope I’m that interesting when I get older.  Especially, I wish that I could have hiked up in that area a bit, but we had some time constraints and really hadn’t eaten lunch yet.  So, we drove back down and really didn’t stop much for photos and such so that we could get my parents on their way.  Before they left, we had dinner at a place in West Glacier.  My buffalo burger was awesome.

I really felt like I didn’t get enough time here and I don’t know when I’ll be back, so I’m staying another night without my parents.  I’m looking forward to tonight and tomorrow, having more time in the park.

009 It’s a different kind of cold

October 1, 2008 – Wednesday

Glacier National Park – Apgar Campground

Well, I’m camping again in Glacier National Park.  The Apgar Campground is still open for the season, without showers but has running water and flush toilets.  That’s what I call luxury right now.  Again, I was able to easily find trees in which to hang my hammock for the night.  It doesn’t seem as cold, here, as it was at Yellowstone, but I believe we’re higher up in elevation and much more north as well.  So, I’m not sure, but it does feel pretty cold as the night goes on, it’s just a different kind of cold somehow.  I have cushioned myself in my hammock tonight like no night before so far.  To figure out what works best, I have been trying things slightly differently each time I sleep in it.  As we were leaving Yellowstone the other day and stopped for coffee at Old Faithful, my mom started talking to the guy at the counter who said he knew what Jungle Hammocks were and if my feet get cold at night, it’s because girls are shorter than men, generally, and that I should stuff all sorts of extra clothing and stuff up by my feet.  So, tonight I have stuffed my robe (which was superfluous yet I’m terribly glad that I have it) into the area by my feet and I have put my quilt which is folded in half the long way underneath my sleeping bag.  I am wearing my long underwear on top & bottom as well as jogging pants (though I desperately want to get a better pair), a pullover hoodie sweatshirt (I could improve that as well), two pairs of socks (need wool) and a winter cap.  I also stuffed the 6 gear pockets full of gear & stuff for insulation.  We’ll see what a difference that makes and ask someone tomorrow how cold it did get here tonight.  

For firewood, we bought almost a trunkful of big logs.  At this point, I have to say that Erik was right – I was going to want an axe.  The other day, I actually picked one up and tonight I chopped up a few logs to have some smaller pieces.  It was great!  I can’t wait to chop some more wood tomorrow since it’s really hard to burn up in just huge logs.  About tomorrow, we were originally expected in Spokane already, but we’re obviously not there yet.  I have to take advantage of the time that I have in Glacier and spend at least a day or two here, so I’m staying tomorrow night as well while my parents leave to go to Spokane.  We’ll have breakfast at a place in West Glacier in the morning and then bike around the park tomorrow as much as we can.

Today was a nice day, I was able to wake up in a nice comfy bed and take a hot shower to wash everything yet again.  Outside our front door were horses and mountains.  We left fairly early in the morning and stopped in Choteau for some breakfast at John Henry’s.  Gosh, what a fantastic breakfast.  I ordered specifically what I wanted, making my own item – half an order of biscuits & gravy, one egg over easy and three pieces of bacon.  Orange juice to start but I didn’t order coffee; I waited until we left the restaurant and before we left town and ran across to the espresso joint for an Americano for the road.

The land, while driving through Montana, was extremely interesting.  The music for this trip so far has been a lot of Nickel Creek.  Nothing else I have right now is really fitting at all, I have to fix that.  I think I know what I’d like to get, but I don’t know how I’m going to do so at this point.  It seems difficult for me to describe the land; mostly what I can offer is photographs right now.  Rolling mountains and valleys, creeks, blue sky & tons of yellow & beige wheat fields with black cows, beautiful horses and a few missile silos…  Only a couple of oil fields that I saw.  

Having the time and space to think while driving through all of this land has started making me just simply to want to travel and learn about different places even more and how I fit with them; experience each land for the beauty it offers but figure out what is at the top of my list.  Then, buy a plot of it far away from main highways and traffic; find someone who can help me build the small buildings that I want to build and just come stay with me and help me build everything.  After that, I can have my own greenhouse where I can grow herbs and vegetables, flowers & more.  Use solar power, wind power, water power, wherever possible and self-sustain as much as I can.  Simply have time to get away from everything and everyone and finally figure out exactly and admit whole-heartedly who I am.  Then just be me, where I have time and land and space away from everything enough to concentrate on creating somethings beautiful.  I don’t even know what that will be right now; I’m so often consumed by distractions of city life.  Not everyone, I think, has to struggle with these questions as much as I do.  Some people know that they just want to get away and live in the mountains or go to school, etc. etc. and some people know that they want to trade stocks, wear suits, go to an office, etc. etc. etc.  And they do that.  

That’s not me.  I seem to want to do it all and I’m always coming up with more.  So, I struggle and seem to not do anything.  I flounder in my own head and don’t get anything accomplished.  This may not seem true, but I feel as though it is.  I feel as though I’m meant for something else, I just have to go through many more experiences before I know what that is.  

My fire is falling apart right now, so I’m going to fix that, even though it’s burning quite beautifully (it is a beautiful fire).  I’m going to stare at the stars for a while so that I can report back to Shawn about them, and try as I always still do to let my shoulders relax.

Hopefully one day I’ll be able to figure out and fix why my shoulders don’t relax.

Stay warm…