return of the empty nest hiking club!

Yep, it's true! See for yourself!

blur = grrrrrrrr

The Empty Nesters went hiking at Silver Falls State Park (in Oregon) today. It's a beautiful area and features a hiking trail that takes you to 10 waterfalls in 7 miles. We hiked a little over 5 miles, saw 8 waterfalls, and called it good.

Here's the first waterfall from the front:



And you can hike behind it too:



I took lots of pictures, but my rackin' frackin' camera was really acting up so the majority didn't turn out. (My Christmas list is growing!) So, sadly, you won't get to see Presbyterian Gal photoshopped going over one of the falls in a barrel.

empty nest adventure

Early Saturday morning was cool and rainy. But the blue sky made an appearance later in the morning, so the Empty Nest Hiking Club set off on a hike to the aptly named Gnat Creek.

You can see our hike (and share in our surprise) here:



OK, so I took some creative liberties.

the empty nesters take on the mountain

Hubby and I spent Friday and Saturday at Mt Hood. We took advantage of a gift certificate (which was set to expire) for the Resort at the Mountain. We went on a couple of hikes, rented bikes, etc.

We set out for Ramona Falls on our first hike. Let's just say it was character building.



(Video notwithstanding, we had a great time!)

at the *gasp!* UFO festival...

That's right! I went to a UFO festival in McMinnville, Oregon this weekend! Hubby has been interested in the topic of UFO's for years, and this was the third year he attended. I generally prefer to just make fun of him, but this year I went along.

The festival (billed as an educational experience for both believers and skeptics) features speakers connected with "ufology" and a costume parade down the main street of the city.

I actually had a fun time! (As you can see, Garbage Puff also attended the festival and was interested in perusing some of the literature.) I maintain a healthy skepticism, but agree we are most likely not alone in the universe.

the empty nest (& bare bottom) hiking club

Guess Hubby and I will have to rethink our next hiking destination... and/or attire. We just read in USA Today that voters in a region of the Swiss Alps recently passed legislation banning naked hiking. Apparently dozens of mostly German nudists had started sauntering through the Alps wearing nothing more than socks and boots, and this upset many Swiss citizens who called the back-to-nature activity both "disturbing" and "irritating".

I suppose we could still go if we've got the 200 Swiss franc ($176) fine money. But come to think of it, I'm supposed to be wearing sun protective clothing anyway.

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Click on picture to enlarge at your own risk. :) And no, it's not me in the photo. I got it from here

spirituality of place

I'm currently reading (and enjoying) Cascadia: The Elusive Utopia. I think this little blurb from Amazon describes the book quite well:

Envied by people around the world, Cascadia - which includes British Columbia, Washington and Oregon - is remarkable for its mountains, evergreens, eagles, beaches, and liveable cities. Cascadia is also home to the least institutionally religious people in the continent. Despite their unusual resistance to old ways of doing religion, this book argues that most of the 14 million residents of this rugged land are often deeply spiritual, gaining their sense of the sacred through the land. The contributors, who include leading historians, economists, poets and more from both sides of the border, explain how the Pacific Northwest is nurturing a unique 'spirituality of place', which could become a model for the planet.



I do like the idea of 'spirituality of place'. And last weekend, Hubby and I "got some churchin'" as we checked out Oxbow Regional Park in the Portland area. I think it would be fairly crowded in the summer months, but (since it was mid-February) we pretty much had the place to ourselves.



One of the trails takes you by the Sandy River...

Another trail takes you into a forest...


The book quotes John Mikes as saying: "We don't have the galleries and cathedrals of Europe here. We have wilderness..."

Actually I think these trees are rather cathedralesque:


(Hmm... they also look a bit Dr. Seuss-ish, but that's veering off topic...)

and still more of the white stuff...

Yep, we had a little more snow today. The amount of snowfall so far this winter in our area is the most we've seen since we've lived here (22 plus years). There really wasn't enough snow for snowshoeing, so Hubby and I went 'shoe-snowing' -- i.e. we just put on our regular footwear and walked in the snow. But I do like the term 'shoe-snowing'. Wonder if I can submit it to Merriam Webster.

Anywhoo, we went to Hoyt Arboretum, a greenspace just a couple of miles from downtown Portland.

return of the empty nest hiking club

REE REE REE ... We're baaaaaaack! Although can we call it the Empty Nest Hiking Club if Offspring #2 joined us?! In any event, here's the kick off hike for the fall.

saturday at the refuge

The Empty Nest Hiking Club decided to check out the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge today. In spite of it being relatively close by, we'd never been there before. According to their brochure, the refuge is home to a variety of animals, including opossums, rabbits, chipmunks, coyotes, mink, deer, and elk. On our hike along the "Oaks to Wetlands Trail" we saw...

drum roll please...

garter snakes.

Yep, that was it. Several garter snakes. Although to be fair, we did see lots of cool birds -- including a pair of eagles. Plus the weather was beautiful (warm and sunny) and the trails were pleasant, winding around a couple of lakes.

Pictured above: The Hub by Really Big Tree. (I'm glad to know I didn't take botany for nuthin' -- see how I remembered the proper botanical name of the tree?)

the case of the missing mountain

The Empty Nest Hiking Club went snowshoeing up at Mt Hood Saturday. We decided to go on the Trillium Lake trail. According to our snowshoe book, it's a 5 mile loop that, at the approximate midpoint, features a picture postcard view of Mt Hood from across a frozen lake. It was a beautiful day with blue skies, and we were ready for the spectacular view with my camera and Hubby's camcorder. Only one problem. When we got to "the spot", a huge bank of clouds had rolled in, obscuring the view of the mountain. And the clouds decided to stay put for the remainder of the day.

Aaargh!

Even so, it was still a pretty trail and we had a lot of fun.

Cape Disappointment

The Empty Nest Hiking Club had high hopes to try out the new webs (yeah, that's hip talk for snowshoes) today, but the weather was totally uncooperative -- including high avalanche risk, sno park closures, etc. The situation could be summed up in one word: disappointment.

So we decided to embrace that word and head to the coast to hike at Cape Disappointment. It was a nice hike which included visits to two lighthouses in the area. Two minute video below if anybody is interested...

when you come to the fork in the road... take it

As predicted, with Offsprings #1 and #2 back at college, the Empty Nest Hiking Club resumed their travels. Hubby & I went to Lacamas Lake (in SW Washington) yesterday.

The good news: In spite of threatening rain clouds, we did not get rained on.
The bad news: We got lost. And more than once!

It was the weirdest thing. We'd be hiking along and suddenly come to multiple forks in the trail -- with none of them marked. Which path should we choose?! (Oooh, now there's a metaphor for life!) Luckily there finally was one sign we encountered where it was abundantly clear that we needed to reverse course:



OK, I made that up.

Anyway, we eventually figured things out. And all in all it was a pretty good hike with nice woods, a lake, and even a couple of waterfalls thrown in for good measure. It was quite overcast, so I really didn't get any decent pictures. Here's a shot of one of the waterfalls though...

and just like that, they're gone...

Yep, the chickens have flown the coop. Winter break is over and Offsprings #1 and #2 are back up at college. How the heck did time fly by so fast?!

addendum to last post

If you're interested, an approximately 2 minute video of our snowshoeing can be found here. I'd highly recommend the smaller screen version when you get to youtube. (I'm not sure how to improve the resolution of these video slideshows, but the smaller screen is definitely better.)

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photo by Offspring #1

another empty nest hike!

Made some minestrone in my beloved crock pot (the perfect lazy person's cooking apparatus), then went on a rainy day Saturday hike at a wetlands not too far from here. When we got home, the minestrone was waiting for us.

Here's the hike!

a 1 minute, 44 second look at my day

So I'm in a new club: The Empty Nest Hiking Club. So far we've got two members. :) Here's our 'inaugural hike' at Battleground Lake. We had a nice day, and the weather cooperated -- skies were gray but no rain so no complaints!

(By the way, for those of you who saw this last night, I fixed the choppy problem! Woo hoo!)

adventures in empty nesting, part I

Ah, the first weekend of the... da da daaaaaaaa.... Empty Nest. Went on an impromptu road trip this morning to Winlock, a little town about 30 miles north of here. We've lived in this area for a long time, but Winlock is one town we've never explored. Turns out they have the (brace yourself) World's Largest Egg. Whoa! Who knew?! It is sort of ironic, yet fitting -- empty nest... egg...