Linfield College on fri 24 nov 00
This is a brief travelogue, a tribute to Oregon, and naught to do with
clay. When bored, hit delete.
I have had a remarkable Thanksgiving week, filled with company and
adventures. Not the usual feast, but feasts of other kinds.
I've had guests coming, going & overlapping all the week - pleasant
if a bit crowded. Monday, we set out for the east side of the mountains,
leaving the green of the coastal area for the high desert of Madras and
the Deschutes river. Tuesday was an all-day float trip on the Deschutes.
A magnificent trip, a visual feast, utterly fascinating. It was a bit
cold, because of overcast skies, but there was no whining. The canyon
was an endless delight, surprises around every bend. The trip was made
in a Mackenzie-style drift boat, and while it will probably not actually
float on heavy dew, it certainly was drawing only about 3-4" during
the trip. Made skimming over the occasional riffles fun, and the very mild
white water easily navigated. The trip lasted from dawn until just after
dark - we pulled the boat out by flashlight, and trundled slowly off, over a
washboard road, to
dinner & sleep. Wednesday a.m. we drove out the north route, through the
Warm Springs reservation. The trees were all coated with frozen fog - a
wonderland of a different kind. The skies were overcast until about
Government Camp, just past Mount Hood. Then, ahead, we could see the sun
hitting snow-covered evergreens - a startling contrast to the slightly
murky forests we'd been traversing. Sun the rest of the way back, past
Portland and down to McMinnville.
But Thanksgiving day was the best. We drove to the Tillamook forest,
where I'd not yet been. The drive to the coast was fascinating. Arrived
at Meares (sp?) Point around about mid-morning, and hiked up to the
lighthouse and down to the Pacific, through a kind of rainforest filled with
all kinds of birds and lizards and odd bits of unfamiliar flora and fauna.
There was a fine mist in the air, and some fog out to sea, but the
breakers were visible and audible. It was like hiking through an
enchanted forest - wisps of cloud lurking here and there, twists & turns
of the trail dodging beneath huge downed trees, everything, nearly, covered
with green moss, so that there was an eerie glow all about. Tracks from
various game, all very interesting until I came upon some huge cougar
tracks. After that I was a bit uneasy - no doubt a holdover from growing
up in an area where cougar were fairly common. Found myself watching the
branches overhead with a consuming interest.
Drove back toward the east then, to the Wilson river, and spent the
remainder of the
day hiking & fishing along that beautiful stream. Thanksgiving dinner was
a sandwich and handsfull of vegetables, with a crisp Oregon apple for
desert. Couldn't have asked anything better, or enjoyed anything more.
Furthermore, because it was Thanksgiving, there was hardly a soul about
anywhere - it felt quite as though one owned the world.
Oregon's amazing.
regards, and a great holiday to all.
Dannon Rhudy
Hank Murrow on fri 24 nov 00
>Dannon Rhudy wrote;
>I have had a remarkable Thanksgiving week, Monday, we set out for the
>east side of the mountains,
>leaving the green of the coastal area for the high desert of Madras and
>the Deschutes river. Tuesday was an all-day float trip on the Deschutes.
>A magnificent trip, a visual feast, utterly fascinating. It was a bit
>cold, because of overcast skies, but there was no whining. The canyon
>was an endless delight, surprises around every bend. The trip was made
>in a Mackenzie-style drift boat, and while it will probably not actually
>float on heavy dew, it certainly was drawing only about 3-4" during
>the trip. Made skimming over the occasional riffles fun, and the very mild
>white water easily navigated. The trip lasted from dawn until just after
>dark - we pulled the boat out by flashlight, and trundled slowly off, over a
>washboard road, to
>dinner & sleep. Wednesday a.m. we drove out the north route, through the
>Warm Springs reservation. The trees were all coated with frozen fog - a
>wonderland of a different kind. The skies were overcast until about
>Government Camp, just past Mount Hood. Then, ahead, we could see the sun
>hitting snow-covered evergreens - a startling contrast to the slightly
>murky forests we'd been traversing. Sun the rest of the way back, past
>Portland and down to McMinnville.
>
>But Thanksgiving day was the best. We drove to the Tillamook forest,
>where I'd not yet been. The drive to the coast was fascinating. Arrived
>at Meares (sp?) Point around about mid-morning, and hiked up to the
>lighthouse and down to the Pacific, through a kind of rainforest filled with
>all kinds of birds and lizards and odd bits of unfamiliar flora and fauna.
>There was a fine mist in the air, and some fog out to sea, but the
>breakers were visible and audible. It was like hiking through an
>enchanted forest - wisps of cloud lurking here and there, twists & turns
>of the trail dodging beneath huge downed trees, everything, nearly, covered
>with green moss, so that there was an eerie glow all about. Tracks from
>various game, all very interesting until I came upon some huge cougar
>tracks. After that I was a bit uneasy - no doubt a holdover from growing
>up in an area where cougar were fairly common. Found myself watching the
>branches overhead with a consuming interest.
>
>Drove back toward the east then, to the Wilson river, and spent the
>remainder of the
>day hiking & fishing along that beautiful stream. Thanksgiving dinner was
>a sandwich and handsfull of vegetables, with a crisp Oregon apple for
>desert. Couldn't have asked anything better, or enjoyed anything more.
>Furthermore, because it was Thanksgiving, there was hardly a soul about
>anywhere - it felt quite as though one owned the world.
>
>Oregon's amazing.
FOLKS FROM 'OTHER PARTS' SHOULD NOTE THAT DANNON REFERRED TO OUR OREGON
RAIN AS A LIGHT MIST; I THINK WE'VE GOT HER FOOLED! GLAD TO KNOW SHE'S
ENJOYING HER WORKING SABBATICAL, SO CHEERS DANNON!
Hank in Eugene
Linfield College on sat 25 nov 00
>
> FOLKS FROM 'OTHER PARTS' SHOULD NOTE THAT DANNON REFERRED TO OUR OREGON
> RAIN AS A LIGHT MIST; I THINK WE'VE GOT HER FOOLED! GLAD TO KNOW SHE'S
> ENJOYING HER WORKING SABBATICAL, SO CHEERS DANNON!
> Hank in Eugene
Aw, Hank - you guys who live here are just trying to discourage an
avalanche of in-comers. Not that I blame you. Next time I'll write
a long diatribe denouncing - well, denouncing SOMEthing. First I have
to find something to denounce.
best,
Dannon
| |
|
