Cascara Camp Ground

Click on Title for link to state park site.

On Saturday, Judi and I went to Cascara Camp Ground to visit the McMullens and spend the day in the sun. Jerry's partner, Mark, was also camping and had a nice mastercraft boat launched at the lake. We went for a boat ride just after supper. After we have played in the water. Mark, the captain, got on his 5' 6" surf board and did just that. He began by being pulled by ropes and in seconds he was surfing on the boat's wake. It looks like he was following the boat on a surf board. Seeing is believing.

Adios Cafe

We had to surrender Cafe to another family. Even with the erection of a fence, we had to face the fact that 5 dogs was to much to handle. Cafe is living with a family in Corvalis, near Salem, and the family reports that Cafe is doing well and has adjusted to his new home. Cafe was taken swimming and it was reported that he loves the water. Cafe is the second dog in the family so he has a canine pal to play. We miss Cafe a great deal, but we are happy that we were able to find a good and loving home for him.

Mission Accomplished

Here are pics of the project completion. Now, in a year or two when I regain my desire to work on the yard again, I will build a patio deck high on the hill so Judi and I can stare at Mt. Jefferson. Stay tune for updates on that project :-) By the way, I have been offered a position with the Department of Human Services as a manager. Starting date is August 18th and a six week training starting on the 21st.

Teresa Got Hitched

Click on title to link to wedding photographer page Judi went to Auburn, Alabama on July 20th to attend Teresa and Brian's wedding. Teresa was the maid of honor in our wedding. Teresa married an Auburn business man and a War Eagle fan. The couple went to Charleston, SC for their honeymoon. Brian and Teresa we love you and wish you the best in life.

Up With The New (Part II)

Here is an update on the fence project. Jerry and I have worked hard building the fence. Dr. Ron Palm helped us work on saturday. We constantly challenged by the weather (sunny and 105 degrees) and the contour of the land. This is the first time either of us have attempted to build a fence. Is not rocket science, but not a walk in the park either. So we are learning as we go along. Two more weekends of 10 to 12 hours days and we should be done.

Meet The McMullen

This is Jerry's family and our next door neighbor. We were invited for dinner and had a delicious meal of smoked RIBs (excellent), potato salad, baked beans and corn on the cob.

Up With The New

Mike, Jerry and I began our fencing project by digging 2 feet deep holes around the perimeter with an auger (not sure about spelling), a shovel, and a pick. The clay was hard as rocks; and some times we actually had to deal with real rocks. We struggled, but we overcame the obstacle. Once Jerry and I began to set the poles in the ground, we quickly learned how hard it is to work on a side of a hill in a hot sunny (not quite like Alabama, but hot in the mid 80's) weather, bringing rocks by buckets to set the poles, setting the guide lines for the poles, leveling the poles, measuring the poles, adjusting the ground holes, and how heavy those poles become after few trips up and down the hill. We now have deeper respect for those men that have chosen a more physical line of work; but we still refuse to pay for work we can do ourselves. It does not matter how much we cry and lick our wounds at the end of the day.

Down With The Old

On July 8th, Judi and I went to Mike & Mary Ann's to help them bring a deck down. Work was hard, but a lot of fun. After all what is not to love about breaking stuff by brute force alone? After a day of work, we were treated to ride the City of Salem carousel and dinner at Geppetto's Italian Restaurant.

Oregon Trail Interpretive Center

Click on title for access to link.

Judi and I read a book called "It happened in the Oregon Trail" a copilation of short stories about trail adventure. We went to visit the interpretive Center in Oregon City, the oldest incorporated city west of the rocky mountains. Oregon city was Oregon capital for a short period of time and is the official end of the trail.

Cannon Beach (Sandcastle Day)

The picture does no justice to the sculpture There are two bears in this sculpture, the wide angle lens was not wide enough to get both bears. Bi-polar, Get it? On June 17th, and on an impulse, Judi And I jumped into the car and drove to Cannon Beach. Cannon Beach was recently voted one of the ten best beaches in the United States. On this date, it was hosting a sand sculpting contest. Of course, I took the route I thought best which happened to be the long way; and I mean long way. Thank God it was also the scenic way, along the coast. The event happens always in June and this was it 42nd annual. Judging by the participation, the event seem to be dying down. Since I expected more entries and therefore more sculptures. Here are some pics of the day.

All Videos Finally Fixed

I believe all issues about the video clips have been solved. Enjoy the clips.

Detroit Lake

This island will be explore this is how close we have come to it so far; God bless the invention called "zoom". I used my time machine to snap this pic of the road to the lake. It is not that far from shore, but I ain't (for my southern friends) swimming to it. Click on title to open link. Today was one of those days when we just woke up and hit the road in search of adventure. We went to Detroit Lake without doing any research as previously done with others sites; so, we missed all the trails and amenities that we later learned about. The Lake is awesome as you approach it driving down the road. The water is crystal clear and surrounded by wilderness paradise. You come across couple of dams as you get closer to the Lake. There were several locations to stop and snaps some pics. We will return to Detroit Lake to explore the area from the comfort of our Kayak. We left the lake area and stopped at another park with the dogs (see previous post).

North Santiam State Park

As I said: "He is the boy".

Campeon is looking for a rock that I threw in the water. They do love the freezing water. Come on Morena!!!!! Morena kept the search alive after Campeon lost interest in the rock. As I said before: "Morena is just a shy girl".

Click on title to see link. Today we went to North Santiam State Park. We took Campeon and Morena along. They had a great time running like wild animals as you can see in the pics above. It is June 8th and the water is cold, very cold, painfully cold. We are thinking about investing in dry suits to go kayaking, or getting seat in style kayaks, or both. Today was a little cold, temperature was down in the 60's, and partly cloudy. This is a picnic and fishing type of park, lots of tables and a trail by the water.