Last Sail

Even though it was 86 degrees out and temperatures are predicted to stay unseasonably high for several more days, on schedule, tomorrow the lake will start to drain for the winter. As a last hurrah, yacht club members who spent the day pulling boats and putting away trailers gathered for a "tailgate" potluck. University of Oregon alumni dominated the decorating crew. (I even wore my Letterman's jacket.)

The full moon came up during dinner. I don't know Ma Nature's school colors but for the evening, her pink and purple contrasted beautifully with our green and yellow..

My sailboat is home. The lake trailer is winterized. Tomorrow officially starts my ski season.

Hot Tub Nookies

Harvesting and canning is hard on the back. Dave decided to take a relaxing break in the hot tub. To the Chinooks, the scene was a novelty to check out.

 Guest Lupin even got in on the action.

Annual Fall Adventure, Take C, Day 2

Nothing like a swim in a hot springs pool after dinner and a McKenzie River lullaby to make for a good night's sleep. We awoke well rested and ready to head back up to Scott lake. Upon getting out of the van, we were showered by snowflake like ash. When we got to the lake side, the far shore was in a haze of smoke and the air was HOT. I really wondered if the high altitude, smoke obscured, sun warmth was not augmented by forest fire heat. Smoke, haze and heat made no difference. Today was sit, enjoy nature and read. We had hauled in our lounge chairs just for that agenda.Paradise: morning coffee, a good book and dogs free to run and swim.

After a couple of hours, keeping track of dogs giving chase to squirrels made concentrating on my book close to useless. I hooked the dogs to a gangline and gave them each a bone. 

Ma Nature then added her own distractions. Next came an honest-to-doG tornado. I was almost asleep when there was a rushing, whistling sound. The temperature dropped significantly. The lakeside rushes swirled, tore and lifted. The entire lake became full of whitecaps. As suddenly as it appeared, it stopped about 20' from where we were and the air cleared. I have never experienced anything like it. 

We then had front row seats to four ducks repeatedly doing mating dances on the lake. They first would flash their bright white sides. They then ran across the surface of the water, flapping wings and flashing white bellies while singing. 

The dogs were not amused. They would have loved to chase the ducks across the water but had to settle for digging up ground squirrels.
This not being our normal wilderness adventure, why rough it?  For dinner we headed over the pass to the town of Sisters. Our table-side show was a brilliant orange glow traveling through the trees as the sun went down. 
The fire from the town of Sisters. Just left of the sun is Black Butte, then the North Sister and the forest fire smoke blocking the view of the other mountains.
 
Further up the pass we stopped for pictures of Mt. Washington and Scott Mt in the spectacular smoke filtered sunset.. 

Mt. Washington

Me taking Mt Washington picture

We stopped again at the top of the pass for the last sunset pictures. The fire information sign said that the fire was now 22,500 acres.

North and Middle Sister from the west. (Fire is on the east slope)

One final sunset shot then back for a soak in the hot springs pool and another good night's rest. 

Note: As of tonight, the fire is at 25,500 acres.

Annual Fall Adventure, Take C, Day 1

Every fall for as long as I can remember, I have taken a trip into the mountains. I have been lucky to have Nonna share my adventure during the last several years. This year was to be the east side of the Sisters Mountains from the Pole Creek trail but the Pole Ck. Fire, a major forest fire, is burning right where we planned to be. Plan B was to hike into and camp at a favorite lake on the west side of the Sisters as a base and take day hikes. The day before we were to leave, the wind shifted from the east. Not healthy for camping and hiking. Plan C was to take the motorhome to the beautiful Belnap Resort; check out our lake and mountain pass from there and enjoy the hot springs pool and gardens.The dogs briefly settled into their bones but they, like us, were restless to get to the mountains.   

Our lake was abandoned and not really that smoky. We could have camped there after all. But then, the resort does have a pool and showers. 

The usual view from our favorite campsite.

With no one around, the dogs were free to run, swim, run... and swim again for a couple hours.


A large plume of smoke can be seen towering over over the 10,080' North Sister. Time to go for a closer look.
The top of the pass had a sign board. The fire covered 14, 500 acres. Up from 7,000 acres the day before. The SW point of the green section is the oldest part of the fire. From near the center it runs SW along the Pole Creek trail and extends up to where Cedar and Willy are in the next picture. Not much to burn higher than that. Had we been there as planned this year, we would have had to climb over the ridge between the Middle and South Sister (pretty much straight up and over from just left of the dog's heads in the picture); bushwhack down the steep, rocky, trail-less west side; and hike out 25 miles to a trail head near our lake - as the unfortunate people caught up there had to do this week. I have done the arduous trek a few times but I was much younger. It would have been even less fun with a forest fire on our tail.

  We had the normally crowded, top of the pass, observatory to ourselves.
 This is what the view should be - same day/time last year.
 What our view was. Nonna with McKenzie and Cedar.
 Wind is from the west so the air really was not that bad where we were.
McKenzie has been having her picture taken at this spot since she was 6 months old. 

 Ever curious Koyuk.

 "Hey Cedar, check this out."

 Meerkat Chinooks.Time to head back down the pass for wonderful food, wonderful wine, wonderful swim - wonderful friendship. 

I Won

WAHOO - I won the KEEN World Wide Recess Day photo contest. Must have been the three good looking Chinooks in the picture. Now I'll get my new deck shoes. Wahoo

KEEN

KEEN is having a picture contest to promote Worldwide Recess Day. Except for a worn-out pair of deck shoes, flip-flops, Bog muck boots and a pair of low heels, I only have KEEN shoes and boots.I decided the best way to craft pictures about "Recess" was to put my KEENs with my toys. I also created a pdf with activity labels for each pair of  KEENs in the picture but I can't get it to post here.

Along with my contest photos I sent a "have pity on me" picture of the shoes I was wearing with a plea to choose me to win a new pair of deck shoes.

It is a lot more fun to drag stuff out to pose than put it away again.

Fire Postponed Wilderness Trip

Willy on our 2011 Bobby Lake trip. 

Every year for as long as I can remember I have taken at least one fall wilderness backpacking trip. Some people go to church, I go to the mountains.  This year I wanted to get backpacking titles on the dogs. I had them officially weighed in preparation for our first "counting" trip. We were going to go to Bobby Lake. The morning I was to leave, the front page of the paper headlined a forest fire at  Bobby Lake that had started overnight. Nix that trip. 

My next planned trip was to head into the Sisters Wilderness from Pole Creek. Last year I went into the wilderness from the west, this year was to be the east. 

2010 Pole Creek Trail-head. Right now where we were standing is a raging forest fire. 

Willy and Cedar camping on Pole Creek trail

Pole Creek Fire from Sisters Oregon The above campsite is on the ridge, about where the smoke hits the North Sister on the right of the picture. (from KMTR news)

Again the dogs were officially weighed and packs were packed. I got up this morning to the radio news headline: "Forest Fire at Pole Creek Started During the Night". 

Pole Creek Fire from KMTR evening news

By the evening news, the fire was zero % contained and over 2000 acres. If Ma Nature and the fires let me, guess it will be the west side again this year. For now the access to primary trail-heads on both sides of the Wilderness are closed. I will eventually get up there this fall. Thanks to working as an Outward Bound instructor, I know some obscure, though less scenic, trails I can use.

Another Chore Checked Off the List

About 20 years ago the area between our drive and large pond was a tangle of blackberry vines, horsetail and a myriad of other weeds. I transformed it into a garden with a small, hand dug pond/waterfall between the spring and large pond. I still do constant battle with the blackberries and weeds and the pond silts in over time. 

Fifteen years ago, my first attempt to reclaim my little pond ended up with me in hip waders stuck crotch deep, in grey clay, suck mud - shovel and bucket in hand - until Dave came home from work to pull me out. We then got my first tractor with it's tiny 2 gallon backhoe. My next attempt at cleaning out the pond ended up with both the tractor and the trailer I was dumping muck into stuck down in the pond. Again when Dave came home from work we pulled them out. 

Rains are due tomorrow so we decided that today would be our last, best day to attempt another dredging. Besides this time I wouldn't have to wait for Dave to get home to unstick me.

After cutting down a 20 year old tree so we could get them in there, his and hers tractors were put to work. Mine has a much bigger backhoe now.
As I took this picture, Dave's tractor bagan rolling toward the pond. A mad dash saved the day - for now.

Back at work with the large tractor moved and better anchored. The backhoe bucket contains the stone side wall I had carefully built oh those many years ago. Oh well - Whats a stone pond wall without a pond? 

The work ended abruptly after this scoop. My, allergic to bees, husband unearthed a yellow jacket nest. Mega dose of Benadryl, ice, Chinook kisses and rest for him. Clean up the last of the muck and tractors for me. My little pond should be good for a few more years.