For whatever reason, we have seen multiple bucks (male deer) in the last couple days. These little guys are pretty young bucks… and looking to ‘hang’ with the does.
Whatever the reason, we enjoy seeing them and watching them interact.
Category / Uncategorized
Oregon Coast
Oregon does it right. With about 362 miles of coast land, they celebrate it at every turn. I counted over 70 State Parks along the way… on the coast alone (no mention of inland Parks). These parks offer Day Use & Camping (for hikers, bikers, campers, and RV’ers). They are full of scenic trails, picnic tables, fire pits, and nature walks. I so respect and admire their preservation of this absolute beauty and their embracing and sharing of it to their own and other communities.
There are wooded rainforest lands, lighthouses along the way, and rock outcroppings in the sea afar. It’s diverse, stunning, and gorgeous.
Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is in the northwestern part of Washington state. It is home to the Olympic National Park, but the park itself weaves in and out of the Olympic Wilderness and National Forests. Several small towns sprout up here and there between the park and the wilderness areas, Quinault, Forks, Port Angeles, Sequim. It’s hard to know where the park begins and the wilderness ends.
You can see my post here on Olympic National Park.
It’s a huge wooded area and beautiful drive in and out of the park and forests. We love the eerie fog and rain forest trees.
It’s hard to imagine the amount of rain this area must have to get to develop the lush green that is evident by the result of it, but very interesting and beautiful to see.
Pendleton Woolen Mill
When I was in grade school I hated history… it was my least favorite subject… that and geography. Now that I am older, I find history and geography fascinating. We tour places around the world and seek out museums and tours to heighten our knowledge, whether it’s home or abroad. Education gives one new perspective and insight.
We recently had the opportunity to tour the Pendleton Woolen Mill in Pendleton, Oregon. Not something I would have normally took a great deal of interest in, but given the opportunity all knowledge and education is good right?
Well, I was fascinated by the vast work and manipulation that goes into the simple task of not just making a Pendleton blanket… but the YARN, that goes into the Pendleton blanket.
It starts from the ‘fur’ from the sheep. It begins as coarse clumps of fur, which is picked through by large rollers with fine comb brushes to pick it apart. This fur goes through the rollers several times before it starts to resemble cotton.
These woolen fibers are then layers like puff pastry and kneaded through a series of rollers to press it into fine layers of strands until it can be funneled into a fine singular strand of fibrous wool, then twisted into individual strands of woolen yarn.
The yarn it then threaded onto individual bobbins that can be loaded into looms to weave Pendleton products.
It takes 2-1/2 sheep to make one blanket, and about 2 months of work and process. It’s a fascinating process to watch as this dying art comes to life. Only 5 woolen mills still exist in this country, and 2 are owned and operated by Pendleton.
Leaf Peeping
Fall cometh early to Northern AZ. I have told anyone that would listen, winter is coming. It’s getting cold early and fast. We’ve already had overnight lows below freezing. So with it, the leaves are popping. We have been out several times to see them, and plan on several more trips. I think October 1 is the earliest I have ever seen this abundance of color. Usually it’s not until at least 2nd or 3rd week of October. My guess is by then we’ll be taking photos of snow instead of leaves.
But we’re loving it. The beauty is incredible. I don’t know how I every lived in the valley without getting the 4 seasons. I’m addicted… and love it.
Talk about photographic fodor. The color variations and possibilities are stunning. We packed a lunch and had an amazing view amidst the burst of color we found ourselves in.
Fantastic!
The one that got away
Unfortunately, despite our many trips to the Mogollon Rim looking for animals, we just haven’t seen that many. I don’t know where they are, but they just aren’t here. It’s rut season here on the mountain, so the bull elk are collecting their harems. We did just see a small herd of elk the other day.
We saw a few little babies born this year with fading spots, and few cow elk, along with a young single spike bull.
But the one I really wanted to get a photo of was the one on the way out and I only got a fleeting view of this big bull.
Darn. He was just the one that got away. It astounds me how these big boys can walk (not to mention run) through our tangled forests with those big racks on their heads.
Maybe next time.
Mushroom Foraging
Since the first time I tasted a porcini just outside of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, I was hooked. The flavor of a porcini is like none other. Fresh, fried in butter it melts in your mouth with a umami elegance and buttery nuttiness. It’s the best mushroom ever.
Walking through our AZ forests I have thought for years that I wish I could forage for my own mushrooms. After our rains, they are everywhere. Surely some edible. Hmmm.
It’s only recently that I was able to actually join a mushroom club to help me determine which are edible, and which to stay away from. With this knowledge and practice I could fill my table with delectable mushroom treats.
So it seems… I have a new hobby. What’s not to like… walking in the forest on a quest for something delicious that you can consume. Awesome!
This year alone we have been on 7 mushroom hunts… and we’re building confidence, safety, and our coffers with a finite collection of edible beauties. We have chosen to only pick mushrooms that are easily identifiable with easy to spot look alikes in order to avoid all risks. The mushrooms we can now collect and consume with confidence include the prized porcini (how amazing is that), morels, chanterelles, oyster, and lobster mushrooms.
With all the recent rains we are starting to not only build experience, but product as well. We are de-hydrating and cooking up mushrooms to freeze… and hosting mushroom dinners with fresh varieties. You can check out our most recent mushroom feast here.
It’s about time we took on a hobby that didn’t require WORK. 🙂
A Year in the Grand Canyon
Every once in awhile you come across something you really want to share. Point in case, my friend, Dave. Dave, is like my dog… in a good way (I do love my dog, Journey, by the way, and Journey adores Dave – she has good taste.). I mean that in the way that he has never met a stranger. Everyone he meets is a friend. He’s affable, friendly, talented, intelligent, and kind. He’s one of those interesting people that you just love to know, and someone I am super proud and happy to call my friend.
But this isn’t a plug for Dave… not really. It’s a plug for his book. You see, Dave is quite the aficionado on the Grand Canyon. He has been down the Grand Canyon over a year. And by that I mean IN the Canyon OVER 365 days. Pretty impressive. In that time he has had quite the many experiences. We are very fortunate that Dave heeded the advise of many who know him to write them down and publish them in a book. He finally did.
His book, A Year in the Grand Canyon, is a collection of those adventures. It reads like stories around the campfire. It’s engaging, inviting, fascinating and intriguing. It’s one of those books you just can’t put down. It’s a man’s tales of life through passing through the Grand Canyon and it’s many lessons it teaches. It’s fun, dead serious, and entertaining.
He got an impressive endorsement from none other than the famous Arizona story teller himself, Marshal Trimble who gives it a glowering review:
“Dave Elston’s passion for spending time in the beautiful Grand Canyon wilderness has produced a series of riveting stories that makes it a must read for anyone who’s ever been bitten by the “Canyon Bug.” His quest to spend 400 days in “Natures Grandest Architectural Masterpiece” over a period of years turned him from a green novice into an experienced veteran.
Elston’s stories also provide many important lessons in survival. Nature can be very unforgiving. The vicissitudes of the wilderness including the capricious elements, ankle-twisting terrain, lack of preparation, not understanding one’s limitations, and a myriad of others have endangered or cost the lives of many who fail to give it proper respect.
This book should be on the shelves of anyone who’s ever hiked the challenging trails of the Grand Canyon or ever wanted to.”
I don’t recommend a lot of books. In truth, I don’t find the time to read a lot. But this book is hard to put down, and a great read, one I highly recommend. Check it out..
A Year in the Grand Canyon, by Dave Elston
It is published by Vishnu Temple Press, Flagstaff, AZ . Online orders can be made at vishnutemplepress.com. The price is $15.95, and the book will ship around mid-August. If you would rather have an e-book, it will be ready by the end of August. Both versions will soon be on Amazon as well.
Order yours today.
Wagon Wheel Park
We are always on the lookout for a nice place to relax and have lunch. It makes for a great little outing in a tranquil, peaceful environment. It keeps us sane and stress free from life’s stress inhibitors. So when a Firefighter friend mentioned this cascading stream just outside of Payson, only an hour or so from the house.. we were all in.
Wagon Wheel park is unmarked, and uncrowded, yet right in the city. The turn off is actually directly across the street from the Home Depot. As you wind through a residential looking road you wind up with parking areas on either side allowing one the opportunity to walk the creek and settle in for a picnic.
Even the dog had fun playing in the water as she chased a stick and wore herself out.
It was great fun, relaxing, and a pleasant way to spend the afternoon.
I’ll take Flagstaff over Sedona
Blasphemy, I know! Sedona has stunning views, no doubt. But there is something real and genuine about Flagstaff. What’s not to like in city that is littered with start up breweries and coffee roasteries. Flagstaff has more boutique breweries (NOT affiliated with any big beer company) than anyplace I know. Let’s see there is Beaver Street Brewery, Flagstaff Brewing Company, Mother Road Brewing Company, Lumberjack Brewing Company, , Darksky Brewing, and Wanderlust Brewing Company. That’s SIX small breweries. You don’t have to like beer to understand that there is a mentality and state of mind that comes with small breweries. The people are free birds, a little hippi-ish, and proud of their passion and want to share.
It doesn’t stop with breweries… Flagstaff is home to not 1, but 2 Farmer’s Markets weekly PLUS a Farmer’s Market store PLUS an Urban Market every 2nd Saturday. It has SEVEN coffee Roasters spread across it’s charming but condensed small city. Now maybe that’s common in big cities… but it’s unheard of in such a small town. This entrepreneurial mindset demonstrates the passion that Flagstaff residents exude and want to share with their community. It’s not out of sense of making big bucks or charging high prices, but moreover sharing the products they care about and are proud of, with their community.
While Flagstaff may not be have the stunning landscape that Sedona has, it makes up for it in character and the great outdoors. It’s filled with walking paths, trails, hiking areas and National Forest. It’s a great place to camp, hike, forage and enjoy the abundant wildlife and unburdened (no fee) forests.
It also DOESN’T have the high prices, ticky tack souvenir stores, floods of tourists, or hoity toity-ness that define Sedona. You don’t have to pay to park on the side of the road (like in Sedona) or fight the insane traffic to get from one end to the other (though Flagstaff has it’s fair share of traffic – unfortunately).
Did you know that Sedona has the only McDonald’s in the world with a turquoise arch (rather than the standard yellow)? The Sedona city council deemed the yellow McDonald’s arch ‘too garish’, despite the fact that many business (including Hertz) have yellow logos along the same street. That’s Sedona. Flagstaff’s McDonald’s arch is yellow. Need I say more?
kritterspaw 