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.

Floral Scented Breezes

It wasn't exactly hot today, but there was no doubt that winter has passed. Even at eight in the evening, the smell of flowers was heavy in the air, and there was enough warmth and light to finish up some yard work. Maybe one of these days I'll share about my attempt to mow the lawn with the ancient push mower...I call it an attempt, because eventually the neighbors decided I wasn't just celebrating Earth Day, and offered the use of their motorized mower...Anyhow, I'm more interested in sharing our little beach venture today.

In case I haven't pointed it out before, we like going to the beach. Today, we took advantage of the lovely weather, and set out in search of a beach free from people. Shockingly, we actually found one. Moolack Beach was just the place. Thanks to a horrendously steep and treacherous approach, as well as a wild wind that did its best to make sure my eyes were being attacked by my own hair or sand, no one else really wanted to hang out on this pristine strip of sand.



It is amazing the bits of wonder there are to discover around the beach. I love having a chance to focus on the details.



If I ever visited this beach before, I missed out on the most fascinating part. There is an entire foreign landscape, made up of hairy rock formations surrounded by tide pools. These weren't the type of pools where you find animal life, but we could definitely imagine some tiny community living in this other worldly place.



Well, it's getting late, and my brain is shutting down, so I'll end before I really start to ramble. Just wanted to share some of these photos while they're still ultra fresh. I have some other beach photos form earlier in the month that I'll have to post before long as well, but for now, I'm off.

A House in Lafayette

On the edge of town, shrouded in trees, sits a two story white house. The porch is rickety, sagging with dejection, the wooden panels a dingy gray. The whole thing looks tired, lonely, and mysterious. It is impossible to pass without turning to take a look.
When we first saw the house, abandoned seemed the best description. Every night when we passed by, the porch light was on, as if protecting the neglected residence. It went on like is for several weeks, until one day, the light was out. Now, it might seem that compulsion to check on the place would slowly fade, especially as it faded into even darker obscurity, but this was not the case. Instead, quite the opposite took place. Each day in passing, we craned our necks to get a view, feeling ever the more curious.
Lafayette is a sleepy sort of antique town. The old two story school has been repurposed into a literal antique mall. It seems the primary goal of the tiny strip is to slow life down and recall another era. The past just seems so close. Perhaps this is why we felt so compelled to watch, to wonder, and to wait.
The light came back on. No longer on a timer, it was on all the time. It seems someone wanted to highlight the darkened dwelling in the wood. Looking up through the arch of the white front gate, it seemed that something had been altered. That night, when we drove past, the change was brought to light. The upper left hand window was illuminated. A bright glow emanated through the lacy window treatment.
Who could possibly have taken up residence in the ancient place? Had some grandmother been returns to her home to sit quietly in the evenings, reading with her heavy glasses perched on her nose? Had a family moved in, ready for a new beginning?
But here's where it gets interesting, the lights are only on at night. Some might think that sounds normal, but it is more than something so basic and simple. On a dark morning, not a glimmer to be seen, except the porch light, which still blazes at all hours. But come sunset, the upper light is there, and so it goes all night long. Curious? I say, indeed.

2012 Photo Review

After being devastated when Mark told me that my photos had all been lost, I was thrilled when he figured out how to get the computer to work again! Yeah for being married to someone who knows how to make things function :) I thought I'd post a few photos to go over the past 12 months, and finish off some that I never got around to posting before.

January saw me working frantically on the last few pages of my novel (my goal is to get that thing published this year, one way or another) and continuing to enjoy the good life over in Czech.

February saw us enjoying every last minute of our time in Marianske Lazne, while planning for the future. Who knew that a year later we would know the shop we were contemplating so intimately. (We just finished inventory yesterday, which means we now know everything that is and is not in the store.)

Need I remind you, it was really cold there?

March brought us back to the US, and into silence. We spent a dizzying month making business deals left and right, and driving back and forth to Idaho. We relocated to McMinnville, and there really aren't any pictures from that month to speak of.

In April, May, and June we continued to settle into the new routine. Daily drives to Portland became the norm. In what little free time we had we took in some of the local sites, and planted a little garden.

July was a super busy month. We finally had a little vacation which we kicked off with my nephew Ryder's wedding, followed by a week long family reunion to celebrate my parent's 50th anniversary.

My previous posts about the family reunion were cut short, so I'll share just a few more pictures from the trip to Sunriver.

My second cousin runs a ranch for abused horses called Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch, which is located out in Bend. We headed out there for a day, which had all my horse crazy nieces and nephews ultra excited.

There was also an afternoon of rafting that lent itself to some lovely scenic shots, and left my front half a brilliant lobster red.

What can I say about August and September but that they were lovely warm months. There were a lot of beach trips, but with the computer not working, and my obsession with Instagram growing, most of my photos were not taken with my camera. October also lent itself well to beach trips, and I think that is when the incident of the seagulls took place. My parents had come for a visit, and we had to entertain them by making the birds fly!

In November I aged once again. I was joined in the celebration by my dear friend Rebekah, who flew up for the weekend to celebrate both of our birthdays, as well as the birthday party for Jessie's girls who are Novemberians as well. My sister Janet also planned a little surprise, which meant she, my sister Julie and her baby Myrtle, and my mother all landed on my doorstep Saturday morning. It was good fun to spend the day shopping, celebrating, and eating more than my usual share. Good times were had by all. No photos, I'm afraid. I think I'm getting too old for posing...perhaps...

December was a crazy time at work. Anyone who has ever done retail, or worked in a post office, can understand. We were excited by it, of course, because it meant we had a little extra to start our insanity January.

And that pretty much sums up my past year. Except for the fact that I spent 80 percent of my time trying to wrap my simple little brain around the concept of being a business owner, I don't have a whole lot of excuses for being so blog silent. I won't promise a hundred posts this year, but hopefully as things progress I'll be better able to keep it all in stride. I'll also have to add a few shots of our renovation progress. Wish us luck in this big new undertaking as we attempt to improve on all levels in the new year.

Happy All Hallows Eve

It's Halloween. How did that happen all of a sudden. Weren't we just experiencing lovely summer weather a couple weeks ago? Now we're socked in with clouds that can't seem to stop dripping (although we really can't complain in comparison to the mess in the East! Blessings on those poor folks...)

For some reason I have a poem I wrote in college stuck in my head. Okay, the reason is pretty obvious, seeing as you it was all about Halloween. I was in this creative writing class, where most of the students seemed to think that their writing was so far beyond the understanding of mere mortals that any interpretation or critique was clearly nothing but foolishness.

No doubt, it was arrogance that provoked me to write a poem in a standard rhyming format, littered with innuendo regarding the world of masks we live in, and how only on this classically darkest of days can my real self be revealed. I wanted them to sweat through interpretations:

It's Halloween, Oh Halloween,
A night by ghouls and goblins seen,
Oh what a dream, a perfect dream,
To dance with death on Halloween.

It's getting dark, I see a spark,
I wonder, could it be a lark,
Or could it be, a breath so free,
That only darkness lets me see.

A mask comes out, a scream a shout,
Now freedom, true, can come about,
etc, etc.

I can't remember the whole thing verbatim, but you get the gist. Seems to me, my classmates weren't quite so savvy.

Anyhow, I'm dressed in black today, in silent witness to the bygone era of trick or treating in the past. I left my eyeliner stitch marks by the wayside this year, figuring they wouldn't fly so well for postal customers :) All the same, I'm full of memories of years gone by. Mark and I did get a little pumpkin to carve and stick outside our door, although it'll be after 7 by the time I'm home, so we're not likely to have any trick or treaters this time around, but at least a couple cuties have come through the shop today, so I'll enjoy it all I can.

Where I Live...

I've lived in a lot of places. Three countries. Five states. Nine cities. I've lived in houses, apartments, dormitories, a colonial mansion (converted into an orphanage), a panelak, and rebuilt flat in an ancient city center, and a few basements.

Right now, I'm living in the home where my grandparents lived all my life. At this very moment I'm curled up on their old rocking couch where I watched cartoons as a child while petting the original Mitzi the poodle. I have a couple throw pillows from Hong Kong tucked in around me, and the blanket my friend Julie crocheted for my wedding wrapped around me.

This is a place filled with old memories, and is the first home my husband and I have shared on our own. Across the street, the Browns have been living for countless years. Mr. Brown is a few months younger than my Grandpa would be if he was still alive. Some nights, when I am cleaning the kitchen after a late dinner, I can see him framed in the window, keeping an eye on the neighborhood. In the morning, if he is outside when I am leaving, we wave and greet one another. But we aren't home often. The daily drive to Portland takes a lot out of me, leaving little time or energy for spending time with the neighbors.

It's the fourth of October, but miraculously, the rains have not begun to fall. Tonight, on my drive home, the horizon was the color of a fresh peach. The winds have started to blow, and a chill is in the air.

I don't know what the future holds. Will our little shop blossom, or fade? Will we continue to live an hour away from work, or one day find ourselves in the city? Will I suck up enough courage to publish my book (and those yet to come), or continue to let the fear of failure keep me unmotivated?

All I can know for certain is that this is where I live right now, so my primary goal is to make the most of it.

Bright Spots On Gray Days

I started this post a few days ago, last week actually, then got off track, but the idea is still a good one, just tempered by time. I still haven't got the hang of the ups and downs of business ownership. People all have theories of how things will go, but I'm stuck on the daily things: hoping for sales, figuring out the bills and budget, and dealing with the surprises that come up, like having my bumper scraped up and not having an extra car to drive while it gets fixed, or suddenly having a massive crack in the door to the shop with no idea how to get it fixed.

It's moving into Fall, and I can sense the bite in the weather rapidly approaching. We've been blessed with a few more days of warm sunny weather, but if I know anything about life in Western Oregon, the gray rainy weather will sweep in soon. My mood is quickly turned by the bleaker months, so it is good to look for the bright spots.

Here are just a few from recent days:

A surprise firework I saw blossom in the gray sky, solitary and beautiful on a midweek evening.

A visit from some of my parents oldest friends at the shop. The wife, Jeanie, used to be a postal worker and was delighted to see me with a post office of my own.

A family game night with Jessie's family.

Meeting a new friend who I formerly knew only by blog reading.

Setting up all the new Halloween merchandise.

The little things can make all the difference. This evening it was the sweetness of my husband writing me a card with the insistence that I schedule a real massage. Yes, I got all teared up at that one.

All these things remind me of how important it is to stay positive. I lean on the side of worry and occasionally, despair. It is easy for me to get down, but there is so much more to life than the gray days. People come in every day, and I have the chance to be a bright spot in their days. Whether I am merely the vehicle to their purchase of joy, or being genuinely interested in what they have to say, I can give something to them, and just knowing that shines a light in my world as well.

Oh, and I almost forgot the amazing sunset tonight. Had me so transfixed I had trouble keeping my eyes on the road. Apparently nature is as dangerous as texting...

50 Years...

On July 20th my parents celebrated their 50th anniversary. There is no denying that 50 years is a long time for anything. 50 years of marriage, now that is definitely a serious commitment and something to be celebrated. We weren't actually able to be there with them to commemorate the day, but after my nephews wedding we headed to Central Oregon, Sun River to be exact, and met up with the rest of my siblings and their kids. It's quite an accomplishment to get us all together, seeing as how there are 26 of us in the family these days, spread out in Kansas, Alaska, Idaho and Oregon. Everyone managed to make it to our wedding, but that was a hectic time to say the least, so this was really the first time we were all together since my parents retirement party back in 2007.

For those that don't know, Sun River is literally a town built for tourists. There are all these beautiful vacation homes that the owners rent out to guests. In the winter it's a skiing destination, and in the summer it's a haven for bikers, hikers, and outdoor enthusiasts. We rented two houses, each with hot tubs, and one with a single lane lap pool, and enjoyed all the pleasures of being together.

I've always had a rather unique position in my family. Being the youngest, I'm actually closer in age to a couple of my nephews than I am to my oldest siblings. I was never one of those married women, so at holidays and family gatherings I was more than happy to keep the kids entertained and leave the kitchen things to the "real" women. Things haven't changed a whole lot so it's not surprising that most of my pictures are of my fabulous nieces and nephews.

I love watching the cousins interacting together. Finally, at the age of six, Josh and Rowan have decided they can be friends, rather than competitors, and the girls have always had a great time together.

Of course, Miss Myrtle was a big attraction as the newest addition to the family. The older girls all took turns oohing and ahhing over the cutie little baby.

I don't know how it works out for other people, but when our family gets together we have to have a plan or basically nothing gets done. We had a few events planned, but mostly the days started slowly with big pancake breakfasts, then there was the general discussions about what to do, who would go where, and the endless amount of time it took to actually get people ready to go anywhere.

Once we got together, however, there were lots of great experiences to be had like a bike trip along the river. We stopped to check out this bridge

so we could enjoy this view

but when I went to stand in a photo I slid my hand along it and filled it with slivers. And I mean seriously filled. There were at least twenty of them buried in my flesh. Amazing how easily they slide in and how brutal they are to remove. Once I got over the shock of it, I decided to continue with the bike ride. Maybe not my brightest moment, but such is life. We went to a waterfall and got a nice bit of exercise as well.

After the ride we attempted to remove some of the slivers, but it was so brutally painful that I just gave up. It was a good week before they finally made their way out. Leave it to me to injure myself at the very beginning of the fun.

Well, I still have quite a few more pictures to share, but it's getting late and so I think I'll leave you with one last one of my fun girls. Today, my oldest niece turned 17! They grow up way too fast for sure.