Perfect Day for a Walk

Now that harvest is over we have some time on the weekends to get out and stretch our legs. Today we went for a walk in one of the tree farms above town. It was drizzly, but warm and the sun tried its best to break through the clouds, but by the end the clouds had dropped to our elevation and the sun lost out.

The sun fought a good fight:

But it was a losing battle. However, even rain clouds and clear cuts can make for impressive scenery: 

Along the way we some fauna (are sally-manders considered fauna?):

Then we saw some flora that I could not focus on (mushrooms are flora, right?):

 

We also some signs of the local two-legged trash who just just happened to leave some of the other kind of trash behind. Yay for sugar and caffeine:

 

Bleach anyone:

  

Disturbingly picturesque for trash, but it still makes me angry. If you litter you should eat some razor blades and chase them with a little bleach:

Oh, man. I was wondering where I lost my speakers and the chopped up pieces of my old frame pack:

In spite of the trash we were able to enjoy more clear-cut views:

Again with the pinhole filter:

Franny ready for action:

Kaibu doing her side-eye-kaibu thing:

Almost back at the car. The moss is crazy, but it helps keep things looking green all year long:

I wanted to add this quickly. We have done a couple of camping trips this summer. We don't really do anything special when we camp. We just go up to the mountains and find a national forest service roads that are as remote and unused as possible and search them until we find one with a view. So far we have found a couple of great spots to camp.

At camp we laze around, cook, drink, laze around some more. Occasionally we even hike or bike.

Last weekend I took the bikes along. Akiko didn't join me on the rides, but she very graciously played shuttle driver for the weekend. We were supposed to do a ride together on the last day, but the dogs were so worn out, we just did a couple of easy water fall hikes instead. Yeah, that's right. The dogs were too tired to do much more than lazy hiking to beautiful PNW waterfalls.

Just arrived at Camp:

A few minutes later, the dogs and I snuck out for our first shuttle run of the weekend. Great way to start off. 10 miles of downhill single track.

View the next morning without sun:

View once the sun started coming up:

Looking back up at Camp:

Later that day the dogs and I did the Alpine Trail from top to bottom. Great single track ride. 14 miles of mostly downhill through old growth. I will try to add a picture of that later. Below is a shot of a meadow that we crossed about halfway down. It is not exciting or spectacular, but it was cool to just bomb through!.

Handlebar point of view later on down the trail:

The next morning we took things even slower, but eventually I got some of this brewed up to get us moving.

Then we went waterfalling. The first stop was Pinnard Falls. Kaibu seems to have a little Lab in her afterall.

Overview of the falls:

There were also cool old trees to play on:

Then it was on to Spirit Falls:

Franny was pretty wiped out. She usually does not sit still this long.

The moss was so green and lush.

Then we headed home with a side stop for an OK BBQ sandwich in Cottage Grove.

Cornice Crashing

We went to play in the snow this weekend. Like a dumbass I forgot the camera yesterday so there are only pics from today. No biggie, as the views yesterday were pretty blah.

Here is the view from our highest spot of the day.

Very close to here Ms. Fran (our 3 year old mutt) got too far out on a cornice and it went crashing down with her on top of it. Akiko and I were standing about 3 feet away and felt a rumble and then "boom." It took us a second to realize Fran was gone. It was only about a 10 foot fall, but the cornice that came off was huge. 20 feet wide by 6 feet long by about 4 deep at the deepest point. We were just happy she stayed on top of the chunks!


After she got her bearings and a couple of minutes of slow moving nervousness, she was as good as new. That musta scared the shit out of the poor thing. I am laughing now, but was a little freaked myself when it happened.

This is a different cornice of about the same size that Fran rode down.

Akiko decided that it would be a fun ride if one could collapse a cornice on purpose and ride it down. So at the next small cornice we came to, she tried it out. She started to tiptoe out to the edge and I told her to hang on a second.

The next thing either of us knew she was flopping around on the ground at the bottom of the cornice. It happened so fast I did not even get a picture of her. She is not so interested in riding cornices any more though...

Another pic of Akiko and the girls in the snow ghosts.

And a shot of some snow ball tracks.

Fun day in the snow.

Hmmm...Niagara Falls Oregon?

I was planning on staying home today and washing the mud from yesterdays trip off the Trooper, but Akiko wanted to get out of the house and do something. Since we didn't finish breakfast until a little after noon, whatever we did had to be close. Akiko chose Niagara Falls Oregon. If you have never been there, it is just above Willamina. A 30 minute drive on forest service roads and then a 1 mile hike from the trail head brings you to two pretty big falls. This trip length was perfect, because we could get there, do it and get home before dark even with a late start. My recovering knee didn't mind the short distance either. It would prolly also be a good walk for kids...short distance and fun falls at the end.

We got to the parking lot and I got nervous, because of "all" of the cars.



In spite of the impression you get from wife's attire, it was pretty warm in the woods.



Kaibu had some fun playing on a big ol' log.



First view of the right fall. Niagara Falls is kind of a funny name. I wonder what inspired the "namer" to go with Niagara? Ignorance or Irony? The falls are obviously much smaller than the real deal, but they aren't packed to the edges with tourists and souvenir stands. (No the colors aren't really that red. It is one of the filters built into the camera that I prolly over use...)



Here is the right fall a little closer up.



Kaibu, Franny and I under the right fall.



Kaibu couldn't quite figure out how to get back down. It was very slippery and she wanted to jump off the highest part of that rock into a bunch of big rocks. After a bunch of pointing and hollering from me, she finally took the easy, but colder way down...a little dunk was involved.



Akiko under the right fall, once for perspective:



and once for entertainment:



Here is a shot of me under the left fall for perspective. (I keep saying right and left fall, because there are two water falls. Yup, you guessed it. One on the right and one on the left...)



I liked this shot of me under the fall too. The water looks pretty cool, I thought.



Ms Akiko posing happily on the rocks below the left fall.



A fun, fast, little trip.

Name that Muscle Car

Last weekend I was visiting my friend Mersin in Columbus Ohio. On our way back from shopping for Mersin's traditional Saturday night over-the-top food fest, we saw a small car show in front of a strip club. In addition to being interested in the *ahem* cars, how could I pass up this awesome piece of Americana? Muscle cars and strippers.

I didn't take any pictures of the girls bending over and spread eagling themselves on the cars, because unfortunately, I do find it kinda cheap and demeaning. Go ahead call me a snob, but it ain't my thing.

There was a decent amount of foot traffic at the show, so I couldn't get any great shots of the entire cars either. At least not without getting a stripper and a handful of gawkers. So, I took the pictures below instead. Perhaps not the greatest pictures, but they make for a fun game.

Name That Muscle Car!

Some of the names will be obvious, but can you guess the year as well? So bring it.

#1 This shot is one of the obvious ones too, but what year?

same car:

last one of the same car:

#2 Not so obvious & double bonus points for the car in the reflection. Bring it:

#3 Harder still, but two chances (and bonus points for the cars in the background / reflection):

same car:

#4 Easy one, but what year and what are the cars in the reflection?

 #5 No chance:

 

So what are the answers? 5 cars plus bonus points.

Return to the Fatherland

In April I went back to Germany for a week of work and a week of...well, I am not sure what to call the second week of my stay. It was a week for seeing old friends that we -Akiko joined me in Frankfurt at the halfway point of my trip- hadn't seen for years. It was a chance to romp in our old stomping grounds. Most importantly it was a week that will have an immeasurable effect on our lives. More about that on another day. Yup, I just did that. For now, here are some pictures of a beautiful little corner of Germany. I really wish I had taken more pictures, but I was too busy enjoying myself to pull out the camera every 5 minutes.

  Here is Ms. Akiko sporting her Harpoon hoody with Burg Schwarzenstein in the background. The yellow arrow is pointing right at it. Someday -when I am filthy stinking rich or just really lucky- I will eat in the restaurants and sleep in the luxury hotel there.

Behind Ms. Akiko in the above picture is the Chardonnay Vineyard from Chat Sauvage.  Below you can see her posing like she owns it.

We kept walking for a little longer until we came to one of my favorite piece of architecture in the Rheingau region. Schloss Vollrads. I wanted to say my favorite, but there are so many places that are stunning for Americans and other new-worlders. Sometimes I wonder is the locals even recognize what treasure they are surrounded by. Some are grand and towering like Vollrads & Johanissberg. Some are small and quirky like Schwarzenstein or the old farm house in the vineyards below Johanissberg -can't remember the name now, though.

Below is the tower in Schloss Vollrads, which is now owned by a bank after the tragic story and end of the previous ownership. In the background you can see the main building which is absolutely unthinkably immense. Slate tiled roof that will blow your mind. Really. Apparently, there is a room that is wall-papered with leather too. It is open to the public, but I always feel guilty about clomping around in muddy hiking boots in such a beautiful looking place.

Not 10 minutes before this picture we watched people scurry for shelter as they were drenched with heavy rains and pelted with hail. We were nice and dry inside the vinothek bothering the staff with silly questions in japanese and american accented german.

Below is a picture of the "small" restaurant on the grounds.This place is also on my "when I am filthy rich, I am gonna..." list.

After our little walk we headed back to where we were staying as guests of Erik and Petra - Schamari Muehle. It's beautiful, isn't it?