cape lookout

 

Ava's tail is doing better today so we went for a 5 mile hike to Cape Lookout. It was definitely more about the journey than the destination. There were many beautiful views (such as the one above) that were available along the path and when we got to the end, it was so crowded with people that we didn't really stay long at all.

The long walk was good to tire Ava out too so we went to a pub in Tillamook and played darts for a bit and then grabbed a slice of pizza and a salad. It was pretty much perfect.

wahclella falls

This is one of the easiest hikes I've done in the gorge but I just stumbled upon it this morning and there's nothing wrong with easy and the last minute if this is the result. It's so easy in fact that it's a shame I haven't been here before. It's probably best that I came on a weekday in the fall tho because the parking lot was still full. When Ava and I started out, we ran into a dozen people taking photographs. I thought that it must be a migration or something that they were capturing on film but a guy told me it was a class.

I kept Ava on leash for a while just because of the number of cars but I was afraid she was going to yank me down a slippery stone path so I let her run free. It's what we came here for after all. I'll definitely go back when I need a quick forest and falls fix.

What else?
Yesterday, I just had the Prickly Pear Cider at NWIPA for my new thing. It was unnaturally pink but surprisingly not that sweet.

back to the bridges

A while back, I took Dean to the bridges only to find out that one had burned down. I read recently that they were in the process of replacing it. I felt like taking a stroll down memory lane and introducing Ava to the bridges so I headed back there today. I saw that they have pretty much completed the new bridge. Ava (and I) clearly enjoyed the old bridge more tho and just the hike was nice. I used to do this hike so much with Dean. It felt good to come back here with another energetic dog who could just use the space to run.

self-care day

In my social work graduate program, they were big on coming up with a self-care plan. This was mine.

It was a stressful week (and it's not even over yet) and I needed a day to recollect myself so I took today. I leisurely got up and made myself breakfast, watched some Supernatural, and then took Ava to the river where we sat and listened to cover songs and beach music. I didn't swim but waded in the water quite a bit. On the way back, we definitely explored new-to-me land as we tried to bushwhack our way thru a shorter path and ended up getting caught in some blackberry bramble. I gotta give the dog credit. She's always down for an adventure.

The day did it's job and it gave me perspective. I like being able to do this and I want to continue to work at a social work place that understands the need for self-care days. I also don't want to work at a place that would require me to wear pants because this damn heat still hasn't let up.

hiking by landmarks

Yesterday, Andrew brought home bad Thai food. I'm always grateful when he brings home dinner and the place was my idea but that doesn't change the fact that it just wasn't good. It was so bad in fact that it came with fortune cookies. Regardless of how ridiculous the idea of fortune cookies with Thai is, I still ate mine and the fortune said to try something new tomorrow.

I thought it was funny because that's always my goal. However, I have been grasping at new straws lately. On Sunday, I went to see Train Wreck with Sophia, Tim, and Andrew and it was really funny but going to see a movie at the Eastport is hardly new for me. My new thing was trying the Chocolate Shake Porter at Horse Brass later on. Then, on Monday, my new thing was trying a new tincture. Yesterday, I tried the pretzel bagel from Trader Joe's. Do you see what I'm talking about? So, after I got the fortune, I made up my mind to have a real authentically new experience.

I have various hikes bookmarked in my Kindle and the Aldrich Butte-Cedar Falls hike is one I often skip past because it's in Washington and the authors of the hike guide say that the trail is hard to follow. But I felt like an adventure today so Ava and I headed out there after work. I've got to say that I have never consulted a trail guide as much as I have for this hike. The paths were not clearly marked and, even if they were, the guide states that the paths and waterfall have many names and the locals can't agree on them. The guide had me looking for paths signified by a rock outcropping, the remains of a WWII gun sight, a burnt snag, an old fire pit, two 5-rock cairns, a dried up lake, and an out-of-place cottonwood tree. And surprisingly, I found most of the markers! It was like a treasure map only written out.

The waterfall was a surprise. I didn't expect much at the end but it was beautiful, tranquil, and free of other people which was most likely due to the fact that the path is not a simple one to follow. My one big hiccup on this adventure was setting up my camera on a log in front of the waterfall and turning the timer on for a pic. As soon as I moved to get in front of the camera, I heard it fall. I turned around to see it submerged. The batteries had flown out of it so it must have had a significant impact before landing in the water. Que Sera Sera. I hope it starts back up again once it dries out.

Ava had a great time, which is no surprise but as of this evening, she is exhausted and so am I. But I feel satisfied with our adventure and I may go back. I have a better idea about how to get there so maybe I can take Andrew there sometime or, maybe I'll try a new path.

moulton falls hike

This weekend, Andrew went to his brother's in Reno to get me a new used car. My Geo Metro is about to break down. The transmission is failing and the brakes don't inspire confidence so it was time for a new car. His brother coincidentally asked him a few weeks ago if he wanted the Pontiac Bonneville that he was getting rid of and he initially turned it down but then asked me. I said sure, why not, and he flew down there this weekend to drive it back for me.

I had just filled the Geo up with gas tho so I had a full tank to use up before donating the car to the Oregon Humane Society so Ava and I took a road trip. We went on the Moulton Falls Hike. It was a quick hike, maybe 5 miles in and out but Ava got to run free for the most part and we made it to a great spot on the river for her to wade through the water. I want to go back sometime with Andrew and just hang out there for an afternoon.

some don't like it hot

On what was the probably the warmest day so far this year in Portland (or at least so far this month), we introduced Ava to snow.

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, I love having a hiking dog. I will love her when she gets too old to take long walks but I'm going to enjoy this time when she runs trails and expresses pure pleasure at her freedom in the woods. We took Ava to Umbrella Falls and Sahale Falls, both of which were gorgeous! They're on the other side of Mt Hood, up high enough for there still to be snow. We know next to nothing about Ava's life before she came to us, other than she was kennel trained so we don't know for sure that this was her first time in snow but, as Ava and not whatever she was named before, we know this was her first time and she loved it. The picture above has got to be one of my favorite pictures ever.

I will definitely be back on this hike. I love the Gorge but it's a different and pleasant feel on Mt Hood. It's more arid, more open, and more chill. Plus there's less people which makes for a better time for Ava, being able to be off leash the whole time. We ran into only five other people (and saw two on a bridge) and there was a dog for every one of them. One couple had two little deformed dogs that had white curly hair and looked like lambs so it's not a surprise that their owner was nervous when a wolf-looking dog charges at them full speed. However, Ava just wanted to say hi.

It'd be a crime of the heart to leave her on leash during a walk like this after seeing how much she gets out of the independence and how well she listens to us. It was probably a 4 mile hike but Andrew hiked ahead of me (since I'm slower and wanted to stop and take pictures all of the time) and Ava spent a lot of time running back and forth between us. She had to have walked around 15 miles and ran around 5 miles. She was delightfully tired when we got home. And so were we. We went to the movie Some Like It Hot which I haven't seen in around 25 years. It was a wonderful way to end a wonderful day.

1000 acre park

 

A big perk of my job is having extra holidays off (as well as following the school schedule for cancellations due to weather). Today, I had Presidents' Day off so I took Ava to 1000 Acre Park. I have been there a number of times before but this was the first time with Ava and the first time that I realized it's all an off-leash park. There should be more off-leash areas like this around. It was so wonderful to let her run and not have to worry.

What else?

Yesterday, when I was biking back from playing Lagoon at Muffin HQ, my left pedal fell off, arm and all. It was wobbling slightly before it fell completely off so it didn't take me by complete surprise. However, I've never encountered that issue before so it gave me the opportunity to try something new: riding a one-pedal bike. It can be done. You just have to do it Flintstone style with the missing pedal side, propelling yourself forward with small kicks while your other foot pushes the pedal down and then catches it to bring it back and push it down again. I actually had it going so well that I passed the turn-off to my house by a block.

I tried to put it back on myself today but I didn't have the right wrench size so I went to Lucky 13 bike shop and the guy there tightened it up for me and gave me a lot of free advice on it. He seems like a cool guy who knows what he's talking about and it's not too far from my house so I may use it as my new bike shop.

the orchard ride

Laying in an apple orchard on a late summer evening after biking sounds as delightful as it was. I love this time of year.

We biked to Powell Butte today and walked our bikes up to the top from the Springwater Corridor. There, we played our card game and sat and talked. It was just beautiful.

Afterwards, we biked down (which was a bit steep at parts but very thrilling). It could have been the French countryside by the looks of it in parts. We ended up craving margaritas so we went to the closest place (thank you, Siri) which was La Costita where we had gigantic margaritas which were much more sugar than booze. Surprisingly, the food was pretty good.

We concluded the fun day with an awesome ride through the Springwater Corridor at night. I've never ridden it at night before and it was the perfect night for it. The air was just crisp enough to be invigorating and the crickets were singing and all of the other people who I'd normally have to navigate around on the trail were non-existent. It was fabulous!

What else?
On Wednesday, August 22nd, I made up for my jerkishness the day before and met Andrew for a nice dinner at Circa 33. I had the drink A Drop of Poison for the 1st time.


On Thursday, August 23rd, I homemade a new veggie pizza with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and goat cheese in an olive base. It was okay but I should have let the dough sit out longer. I also fixed the screen door latch again by switching the handle with the old screen door and getting creative. It works now!

On Friday, August 24th, I invited Andrew over to the house so we could watch a movie on Xbox's TV while X and Sophia are in Boston. We've been dating for 16 months now and this is the first time we've watched a movie at home together. It was nice but I kept falling asleep because that's what I do.

waterfall diving

Tonight, I jumped off the side of a rock wall into a waterfall. It's been a goal to jump along a waterfall into the pool below for some time now. I can't imagine how awesome it must be when the water isn't glacial-cold! Still, it was pretty awesome!

As per our hot weekend tradition, I went to Oneonta Gorge with Ashes, Victory and Raven today. Andrew, Bastard and Emily also joined us. It wasn't as hot today as it was yesterday but the coolness of the Gorge was still worth the trip. After the log jam (pictured in the first picture above), we hiked to the waterfall through chest deep water. I love this trail because it's not for everyone. People with start the hike, see the log jam and give up. Then, if they make it past the log jam, they may not be prepared for the deep water and might turn back. However, if they make it to the end, they still might not approach the waterfall and jump in. But we did.

Ashes was the first person that we saw climb the rock face today next to the falls to jump in. I saw that he climbed it and then Andrew swim over that way. I knew that I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't do it too so I jumped in. The water was FREEZING and the falls pushed me towards the edge of the pool so I had to struggle just to get to the wall. Ashes had already made it up the cliff and into the pool by the time I started. Andrew tried and then swam back a ways to reevaluate how it was to be done. I got a hint from Ashes and then I went for it. At one point, I had to hoist myself up onto a ledge, using just my arms. It was a ways up out of the water but thankfully I go to the gym. :)

When I was on the rock wall, I began to lose my nerve. I don't like jumping a long ways into water but I was convinced that it was going to be okay and random strangers started coaxing me so I did it. It was pretty epic for me. I can't say that I do this every day but it's pretty damn wonderful to know that it is realistically an option for me.

What else?
As per usual, we headed down to where the falls spill into the river. I went to retrieve my phone at this time to capture some memories from this awesome day. Then I dropped my phone in the river. It was in there for a minute before Andrew spotted it and retrieved it. I was told by Victory, Ashes and Bastard to put it in a sack of rice which I did. I've tried this trick years ago with the droid which got we in my pocket after biking in the rain and it didn't work. Even if it doesn't work, it was still an awesome day!

hiking behind falls

 

 

We've all needed a break after this past week and I've been itching to get to Silver Falls for a while now. It's unlike any other place in that you get to walk behind so many waterfalls. Ashes, Victory, Andrew and I went out there today. I've only been around the falls one other time with my parents years ago but I got to see more of the park today. The nice thing is that there's still so much more to see so I get to come back sometime down the road and explore even more.

What else?

On Friday 5/4, my new thing was taking a client to the Cinco De Mayo celebration on the waterfront. It would have been better if it hadn't rained the whole time we were there but we got the chance to look around and see the dancers for a quick moment.

cardio weekend

One of the many things that I enjoy about dating and specifically about dating Andrew is that he likes to get out and exercise. I can pretty much bank on at least one long bike ride during any given weekend. Yesterday, we biked up to Forest Park and then hiked up to Pittock Mansion for my first visit there. It costs to tour through and we weren't that interested in going inside but the view from the hill was wonderful.

On the way back down from the hike, I found out that Jen was going to see Wanderlust. I didn't know anything about the movie other than Jennifer Aniston was in it and I tend to like her in movies so we biked across town to Montavilla with enough time to grab some food at Ya Hala before meeting Jen and Donald at the movie. It was really good and funny. I enjoyed how it wonderfully illustrated my recurring nightmare about being forced to live in suburbs.

Today, for exercise, we biked 33 miles today in an effort to find the end of the I-205 bike path. It took us along the Clackamas River and we ended up biking back up river road. We stopped in at Duffy's Irish Pub for my first visit there and had a pint or two and then went into Sellwood. To reward ourselves for a lot of cardio exercise over the weekend, I made Andrew stop at Sock Dreams then and we each bought fun socks to reward ourselves for our adventurousness. (Pictured below. I got the Ape socks.)

 

What else?
On Friday, 4/27, my new thing was trying Herb's Mac & Cheese food cart which opened up not too long ago near me. It's a good thing that I'm exercising because I could see this being a habit. I had Mac & Cheese with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and Gorgonzola cheese sprinkled on top. Sooooo good. There goes my dream of getting abs before country fair.

returning to the real world

I'm going to miss this place but the good thing is that I can always return.

What else?
Andrew and I went for breakfast at Grandma's Country Kitchen. The French Toast was awesome and the Home Fried Potatoes were great as well.

On the way back, we stopped at Four County Point Trail in the Clatsop Forest for a quick hike because it's traditional to go on a forest hike on my birthday getaway weekend.

bagby 2012

I love that a trip to Bagby Hot Springs during the SuperBowl has become an annual tradition for us. Justin, Ashes, Victory and I again went to visit Bagby. This year, Raven opted to not go but Jen went instead. We didn't get lost this year but we did still have to wait a while for a tub to open up so we went walking back to the car after soaking in the dark. It was almost a full moon and the sky was clear so the moonlight was strong through the trees. It was beautiful.

We soaked in a different tub this year. I liked the tub last year better but I was just grateful that we got a turn. And it's soaking in a hot springs hot tub in the middle of a forest with awesome friends in the middle of winter so I can't really complain. I will work next year to help ensure that this tradition continues.

Below are some more pictures:

What else?
A new and hopefully on-going part of the annual Bagby trip was stopping at Fearless Brewery in Estacada afterwards. They had $.75 beers (cream ales and porters) and great veggie burgers!

Also, before we got started, we all met for brunch at AND cafe. My food (a vegan pepperoni sandwich) was more normal this time and was pretty divine. I will come back just for that sandwich.

preparing for 90

Today was the hottest day of the year so far in Portland. I think it may have gotten to 90. One of my co-workers is originally from Oklahoma and said that it got to be around 115 degrees there. That's insane. I complained today that it was too hot and Ashes, Victory, Raven and I all headed out to Oneanta Gorge to save ourselves.

It was awesome! I love the hike in there with the log jam and the deep pools in the cavern. It was too deep in parts for most people to touch the bottom and they had swim it. Raven and I tried to climb the rock walls over the deepest pool but you could only go so far so I gave up and dove in. Ashes said that I let out the loudest, highest pitch scream that the Gorge has ever heard because it was damn cold. I also lost my sandal. I started looking around the bottom for it, dreading the seemingly inevitable dive to the bottom to look for it. Fortunately, it floats and some guy down the way found it for me.

What else?

 On our way back from the Gorge, we stopped by Ashes' parents' house where Raven showed me his treehouse there. He and his cousins hang out in there and have even slept in there. It reminded me of the fort that my sister, my cousins and I had at my grandparents' farm. While I was back in Alaska, my aunt, uncle, dad and one of my cousins reminisced with me about the fort. My cousin Tesha reminded me how I pulled a dead chicken out of the bare-bones spring mattress that we wanted to use for our fort. As a reward, they made me a certificate for doing the deed.

It was nice seeing Ashes' parents again. Since I moved out of the house, I don't get to see them very often. While we were there, his mom had us move a treadmill from downstairs to the garage. I was happy to do it just because they're good people.

And...

 I also went to 442, Portland's best soccer bar to watch the Timbers game. We won and it's an awesome bar with great atmosphere. I think we'll be watching games there from now on.

Afterwards, I went to see TrollHunter with Dominic, Jesse, Sophia and her friends. I've been wanting to see it for a while and I think I let my expectations get too high. Still, it was pretty cool.

Overall, just a stellar day!!!

the waterfall wedding

I'm so damned proud of this photo!
I was expecting a typical family wedding when I originally decided to come up to Alaska for my cousin Kelsey's wedding. Kelsey has always been less traditional than most of the the other cousins that have gotten married but I figured it would an outdoor wedding but otherwise it would be by-the-book. Well, today I found myself in a bus-limo, being driven out to a waterfall outside Anchorage, drinking champagne with four other gay guys and their supportive family. How f***ing fabulous is that?

A half-brother of the groom and a cousin of the groom are both gay and partnered and pretty awesome. The parents, grandparents and siblings are all really supportive too which made me feel super comfortable too. I just loved it all. Plus the ceremony was simple and sweet and under two minutes.

What else?

My aunt, my cousin, my parents and I all went outside Anchorage to see some sights and some salmon. I was a little disappointed by the lack of wildlife around but I did get to see some salmon.

downtown anchorage

I wrote this in the morning before I got out and took pictures. I was going to keep in private but I decided that it perfectly conveys the feeling of this morning.
 
I feel like writing this morning and I didn't bring a journal so I'm using my blog. Right now, I'm sitting in a kitchen in Spenard Hostel in Anchorage Alaska. The rooms here are different colors and none of the furnishings match. The table that I am sitting at has four different styles of chairs with it. It reminds me of the old Red and Black or the kitchen at Lenin's place in Berlin.

I had to wait behind a elderly Russian man who wanted his own room this morning before I could check in. Two guests, presumably a couple, started watching Angels and Demons in the living room. I have no interest in seeing Ewan McGregor play the action-hero priest so I'll probably leave before too long. The guy who slept in the bunk above me last night joined them and is wearing a "Snow Makes Me Horny" hoodie.

The sun is out, the sky is clear and there's a vegetarian breakfast place three miles away that I plan on visiting, even if I have to walk.

What else?
After heading out from the Hostel, I walked almost four miles to downtown for some veggie biscuits and gravy. I ended up at the Snow City Cafe which I highly recommend. The food selection was good, the staff was friendly and the b&g was probably the best I've ever had.

My parents called after I got on the bus and headed back to the Hostel where they picked me up. My dad, my cousin Allen and I ended up hiking up the Flattop Mountain trail which overlooks Anchorage.

In the evening, we all headed to the house where my cousin was having a gathering. Traditionally, it would have been the rehearsal dinner but the wedding is going to be very casual and requires no rehearsal. Therefore, we just used the gathering as an excuse to get together and drink. It didn't get really dark until after 10pm. It's pretty cool because it's like an endless evening. However, it also meant that people kept drinking including myself. We told a lot of family stories from growing up together. It was super-sweet.

I was also happy to see that my cousin's soon-to-be groom has two gay guys on his side of the family and they each brought a partner. Yay! A good hike, vegetarian food, friends and family and other gays! What a vacay!