Philomath Disc Golf

A brief respite from the normally drizzly weather of winter Oregon has provide the opportunity to further procrastinate writing of a thesis and enjoy my favorite leisure activity: Disc Golf. Yes, probably not the coolest thing I've ever admitted to but I don't care. These series of pics are from a new course that just opened nearby, in the clearcut capital of Oregon, Philomath. It's a 9-hole, most are 18, but some of the holes are very challenging and there is a lot of water to lose discs...

One of the many backwater areas alongside the Mary's River, where the course is laid out.

That big log is a legacy of the clearcutting days when Philomath was held in higher regard and the town's economy boomed. The log is shaped into a bench now - I didn't count the rings but it's probably an old-growth Douglas Fir (300 + years).

Lea loves to have her picture taken. That miscreant coyote in the background is Marlowe.

Mt. Bachelor and Sun River Fun

Headed to the mountains for some winter fun this past weekend. A group of us organized a trip to Sun River, a resort town near Bend in eastern Oregon with easy access to plenty of Sno-Parks (parking turnouts along the main roads that provide access to the abundant national forest lands in the area). Sun River is only a 30 minute drive to Mount Bachelor for the hardy downhillers in our group, though icy conditions this weekend made for a rough time on the slopes. 

Conditions for cross-country skiing proved to be icy as well,  I broke a pole on a downhill section at Swampy Lake Sno-Park area. The trail had morphed into two toboggan-like troughs that were completely iced. Directional and velocity control were impossible and I snapped my ski pole in half trying to slow my accelerating descent. After a few nasty crashes and narrowly missed collisions with the native Ponderosa pine, I called it a day and decided to stick with snow-shoes...

Even without the ski option we managed a fun time between copious amounts of food and beverage as well as the obligatory hot tub at our Sun River rental. 

Below are pics from a hike at Tumalo Creek, a municipal source of water for Bend, Oregon. 

Tumalo Falls, from the trail.

Tumalo Falls, looking down from the top. ~ 100 ft.

Tumalo Creek

We Have the Technology!

Most of you will find this pretty dorky and I encourage you not to read further, the non-Luddites among you will relate.

Oregon's winters are dismal and I'd complained of the cloudy, dark and drizzly days to my parents. For christmas this year they graciously gave me a solar lamp that emits light similar to the sun, just not as bright. I stole a programmable plug-in from them and set the light up in my bedroom to turn on a full half-hour before I wake up, and turns off shortly thereafter. So anyone with one of those clappers from the '80s should send it to me; I've got some ideas.

Back to the Vallis on the Empire Builder

After my 72 hour ordeal traveling to Michigan on the Zephyr, I kept my expectations low for my ride on the Empire Builder. The Empire Builder runs northwesterly out of Chicago, traversing the plains of the Dakotas before encountering the spectacular scenery of the Rockies in Montana. I'd made sure to look at the itinerary so I'd have a good view during the daylight this time, unlike on the Zephyr, but delays and problems put us 10 hours behind schedule and we arrived in Glacier National Park in the middle of the night... Weather, maintenance, crew changes and even a broken axle conspired to put us way behind schedule and by the time we arrived in Spokane, WA, multiple buses were waiting to take us the rest of the way so the train we were in could be used for the next day's trip back east to Chicago. 

Crossing the Columbia into Oregon though and my spirits soared, the end was in sight and I would soon be home! Something about the Columbia just reminds you of Oregon's splendor. After 60+ hours on the train/bus, I was ready for a shower.

I loved taking these two trains because it was interesting and really allowed me extra time to relax and reflect on the last few months. The delays and problems though are not enticing me to book another cross-country train trip just yet. Maybe when the weather is nicer and then only if I can splurge for a sleeper car - they've got showers!