Where There Are Waterfalls, So We Shall Be

I've always been in awe of water. It has such immense power, such a mighty presence, combined with a sense of beauty and peace. I'm sure I've written in the past about how much water reminds me of God. I come to it with a mix of awe, fear, love, respect, and wonder, much as I come to Him.

So it is no surprise that our journeys into nature often lead us to magnificent water sources. We first ventured out to Silver Falls back in the fall, and were thoroughly doused by both the falls and the rain. Even as we soaked in the impressive grandeur of the area, we were so cold and wet by the end that it was hard to really enjoy it all. Therefore, early in April we went back for another round. There was no sign of rain in the sky this time around, so we were able to make the most of our hike as we took in the sights.



While there is a five dollar parking fee at Silver Falls, I would highly recommend this hike to anyone. There are few places in the world where you can see so many spectacular waterfalls in one hike. There are at least ten falls on the hike, and each one of them is unique and amazing. While the trail can occasionally be treacherous, they are well cared for, and offer the opportunity to walk behind these mighty walls of water.

Unlike the popular and easy to get to Silver Falls, Oregon's Niagara Falls are well off the beaten path. I'd found information about them online months ago, but the first time we tried to find them we ended up driving in frustrated circles, which ultimately led us to discover an ATV road up in the mountains. We enjoyed our first drive on this random and isolated road so much, that a couple weekends ago we decided to drive up there again. This time, much to our surprise, we actually found signs for Niagara Falls, so we decided to try again.

I've spent a lot of time living in the country, and I've driven on more than my fair share of junky dirt roads, but the one leading to these falls takes the cake. We're talking pot holes bigger than our car. The first holes were so large and full of water I was pretty much certain we were going to get stuck. Fortunately, we pulled through, and continued for five miles over chunky rocks I kept praying would not pop our tires, and around countless massive car hungry pot holes. Mark was certain I had completely lost my mind and my way, but thankfully a Forest Service sign suddenly loomed before us stating that we had arrived at the parking lot, which basically means a muddy flat area next to the road.

It was already about 6:30 when we came to a stop, but we knew we weren't likely to ever brave that hideous road again, so we jumped out and headed down the dark and heavily forested path.



It was eerily silent as we made our way along the twisted trail. I heard a fly or two, but there oddly weren't even any birds around. I should mention that before we arrived we drove through a patch of snow at the top of the mountain, so maybe the birds were just too cold to sing up there. We also met a herd of Elk and a family of deer on the road. That doesn't happen often with the city driving we do every day, so it made the afternoon just that much more special.

Anyhow, we hurried down the trail for about ten or fifteen minutes and then the sound of water began to filter through the trees. The falls we came across were nice, but not very spectacular, and Mark wasn't sure all the trouble was going to be worth it. I just kept walking, and the booming began to grow louder until, at last, we glimpsed the real Oregon Niagara Falls in the distance.



We kept walking, and there were actually two falls down at the bottom of the trail.



In the end, he agreed that it was worth it after all. Obviously, we had to the place to ourselves, which made the finding even more special. There were tracks showing that someone had been there earlier in the day, but it's not a place most would venture for an evening hike :) We hurried back up the trail, and made it back to the car before it was too dark. I definitely was not looking forward to wending my way back through the pothole nightmare, but we made it to the main road before we were totally out of light, so that was a relief.

Just further proof that you never know what you'll end up finding when you wander around this big crazy world of ours. It's not quite as wild as finding a castle in the woods, like you can discover over in Europe, but still pretty cool.

Walking In A Winter Wonderland Part 2

I'm really having trouble trying to decide if I should post all these great pictures in one post, or break it up into two. There's just so much good stuff in here, but I don't want to overload a single post. We'll see... Like I said, I took this great walk last week, and was definitely snap happy. The best part was that so many of the pictures turned out looking good in my own personal opinion. I know all sorts of people swear by having the right camera. Well, let me just say that my little Olympus that I bought in Hong Kong 8 years ago, still does the trick for me. Plus, it fits in my pocket. And, it has survived being dropped and visiting sub freezing temperatures on multiple occasions, so I really can't complain. Sure, it gets grainy when the lighting isn't right, and there is only one lens, and the effects are limited, but when I snap a moment of brilliance, it turns out and that makes me smile :)

Again, an apology for if these paragraphs all get smashed together. I promise I pushed return and added an extra line for space, but this program has been idiotic for the past month or so, and continues to push it all together in a hard to manage mass. Perhaps they're hinting that I would write shorter blog posts so as not to intimidate people. Who knows, but it does bug me, and I want people to be aware that I still know how to properly construct a paragraph. End Vent.

After walking around Usovice for a while, I took a turn to steeper trails and made my way up into the woods. I started out walking through a little park that houses a lovely spring. It was currently closed, but still looks sweet at the end of the trail.

I was feeling adventurous and decided to follow the signs. I've walked this way several times in normal weather, but the snow was about to get extreme.

I did find one spring still open along the way. There was an assortment of plastic cups sitting there, but I opted just to take photos and to leave the funky tasting, and naturally very healthy, water for someone else to enjoy.

I wish you could see how the water literally bubbles up here. It's hard to tell from the pictures, except for the expanding circles, but this spring produces three liters a minute, so that's quite a lot of water passing through.

At the top of the stairs leading away from the spring I walked through this lovely snowy meadow. I didn't bring a measuring stick, but I would say there was at least a foot and a half of snow up there. A lot more than down in town.

The trail came out up near the Boheminium park which I think is closed at this time of year, and also near a little enclosure where they have some unusual deer. They were pretty far away, so I climbed up the tower to get a peek at them. The snow on the stairs was deep, and the climb was steep, but I was up for it :)

I was still determined to reach the Rozhledna Hamelika, which is a nifty observation tower, so I kept on going, until I heard random music playing in the air. I had hiked this way plenty of times in the summer, but never when the ski slope was actually open. Oops. So I had to do a little improvising to skirt around the slope. I'm sure the skiers thought I looked crazy, but eventually I made it around and at last reached the object of my hike.

I did actually climb to the top, but it was fairly hard to get a good picture due to the low hanging snow clouds that kept sending down little flurries along the way. I then proceeded past a place that makes me sad. Back in its heyday, Marianske Lazne was very popular with tourists from around the world, who made the pilgrimage here to care for their health. As a part of their cure, they would walk along the magnificent trails, and take in the fresh air and lovely views. In order to make the whole experience even more romantic (as Anne Shirley would no doubt find it) they built lovely hotels in the woods with little cafe's where the seekers could find a good cup of coffee and a spectacular view. Most of these places are now closed, including some of the incredible hotels in the town itself. Makes me longer for those "Golden Days" of yore.

All right, I've decided to leave myself up amongst the trees for now, and save the city pictures for my next post. Imagine me sitting at the old cafe and warming up after my freezing walk, and come back for more soon :)

(Oh, and I just might have figured out the paragraph issue. They seem to have added a new options bar to assist me after I sent feedback saying the new program was driving me crazy. Here's to hope!)

I'm Not a Dancer

No matter how you look at it, I'm just not. I'm not graceful. I can't make my body sway, unless holding a tiny baby, in which case I naturally rock back and forth to that mysterious music that is an infant.
The point of all this, baffling as I'm sure it no doubt is, is that I have a new Denise Austin workout video. I've been a fan for quite a while. It all started in a tiny apartment in Albany, OR. It was a cheap place to live, complete with "special" neighbors, and a gang of children who oddly decided "tu casa is mi casa" or something to that effect. (No Spanish is not a language I have any sort of fluency in.) Seriously, these kids would just walk into our house and ask for candy. Had to start locking the doors and pretending not to be home in order to get any peace.
This is all beside the point. I could do a long post on all the weird that went down at that flat, actually it's part of a book I started writing way back then which continues to sit incomplete on my computer along side quite a few other beauties. One of these days... But I really will focus. The point is, Jessie got me hooked on Denise. There is something about this woman who is now in her fifties and still looks and moves like she's 25 fhat is positively infectious. She has some of the best catch phrases EVER!
"If you don't squeeze it, no one else will."
"Burn that butter."
"Shuffle, Shuffle, Shuffle, Squat."
"You'll look GREAT in a bathing suit."
Just a few faves there. She does it all with a smile. Workouts that make my whole body burn, and the air come in little painful bursts from my body, and she smiles and chats just like you're sitting in a cafe drinking coffee. It's the sort of thing that would generally make me want to slap a person, but you just gotta love Denise.
Beyond all these things, she manages to make every move she makes look like she's dancing. I don't care if it's kick boxing, or basic stretches, the woman has moves! Sadly, I just don't. I'm sure that if anyone actually were to watch me through the lace curtains on the fourth floor (which I swear is literally - and thankfully - impossible) they couldn't help but laugh.
Right now I'm still just trying to get a basic handle on the new routiens. I'm sure that in a few weeks, if I manage to keep it up, I'll at least look slightly less like a bumbling idiot. I'll figure out where she's going next, and hopefully my body will respond in a positive way to the exercise in order to counteract all the heavy greasy food we eat around here. I don't care what people say about American cuisine (or lack thereof) the Czech's definitely know how to lay it all on thick. From creamy sauces and hearty dumplings, to fried cheese and krokety, my only hope is that Denise will keep my rear in gear, even if she can't make me svelt and graceful.
Just a little heads up here at the end, we're heading to Germany this afternoon for the weekend. Time to wrap my mind back around language number three. I did manage to send birthday greetings on the phone to our niece Jenny who just turned 11. Quite a feat actually. At least in person you can rely on body language, but talking on the phone has to be one of the most challenging skills to master.
So, language overload, here we come. Should be good fun. :)