Thanksgiving

As has been the custom of late, I took the week of Thanksgiving off for a little adventure.  I drive up to Salem, Oregon every year and I like to take the long way around.  My plan was the good old stand by route, Salem via Redwood and Olympic National Parks.

Mount Shasta, CA

It was not to be.

My dad had a mild heart attack the weekend before Thanksgiving and had a triple bypass on Monday.  Instead of a leisurely drive up the coast I bombed up I-5 on Sunday.

Yet another family emergency.  That seems to be all I blog about these days.

American Kestrel -- Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, OR

On top of all the time spent in the hospital, it rained most of the time I was up there.  It wasn't the kind of rain you can just button up your jacket and go out for a hike in, either.  It dumped buckets for a good part of the time I was up there.  Pongo and I drove out to the coast anyway, but it was too wet to do anything outside.  We got some smoked salmon at Barnacle Bill's and some cheese and fudge at the Tillamook Cheese factory but stayed in the car for the rest of that afternoon trip.

Bald Eagle -- Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

The Willamette Queen -- Salem, OR

Salem, OR

Actually, we had one good day for getting outside.  It was Black Friday.  Based on the crowd at Silver Falls State Park, the stores probably weren't as crowded as they have been in the past.  Dogs aren't allowed on the Canyon Trail where most of the waterfalls can be experienced, but they are allowed almost everywhere else.  I wore Pongo out hiking on some of those other trails.  Poor guy.

South Fall -- Silver Falls State Park, OR

South Fall -- Silver Falls State Park, OR

South Fall -- Silver Falls State Park, OR

There is a quarter mile trail to the Upper North Fall that dogs are allowed on, so we were able to see one of the waterfalls up close.  I took some pictures there that all turned out blurry because I couldn't keep the lens dry from the mist and the rain.

Lower North Fall -- Silver Falls State Park, OR

Lower North Fall -- Silver Falls State Park, OR

Upper North Fall -- Silver Falls State Park, OR

For the record, by dad is doing well.  He was on his feet the very next day after surgery and was at home watching John Wayne movies and football on Thanksgiving day.  He's grouchy from being bossed around, but he's just going to have to deal with that for a little while.

Silver Falls State Park, OR

Soundtrack:

• The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
• The Police - Message in a Box [1]
• Pearl Jam - Ten
• Pond - Pond
• Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
• Wilco - The Whole Love
• Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Sacramento to Salem

A Peaceful Passing

December 26-28, 2014

No one ever accused Uncle George of doing things the easy way.  By all accounts I heard, though, he slipped away quietly the weekend before Christmas.  So, it was with a somewhat heavy heart that I made another drive up to Oregon, my fifth trip up to Salem in roughly fourteen months, my third to attend a funeral.

Northern Harrier -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

By the end, Uncle George was a shell of the man he'd been earlier in life.  Alzheimer's disease beat him down, but as a younger man he was larger than life.  He had a big voice with a completely unique tone and phrasing.  I have never heard anyone that talked like Uncle George.  He also seemed to live without fear.  He charged after what he wanted and he encouraged others to do the same.  Often, what he wanted to do was help others.  He was as generous a man as I have even known.  Yeah, I looked up to him quite a bit, and I certainly wasn't the only one in my family who did so.

Greater White-fronted Goose -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

I stopped at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge on the way up.  I took the auto tour, as usual.  There wasn't a whole lot happening there.  I saw more northern harriers in one place than I've ever seen before.  At times there were four harriers in close proximity hunting in the tall grass or buzzing the ducks.  I also saw some ring-billed ducks, which I've never seen there before.  I didn't see a single hawk or eagle there, though.

Mount Shasta, CA

There's not a whole lot else to share.  It was a pretty quiet trip.  I didn't take a many pictures.  Well, not many good pictures, anyway.  It was dark and overcast the entire time I was in Oregon except for patches of sun on my drive home, but I was in no mood to stop for pictures at that point in the trip.

Mount Shasta, CA

Willamette River, Salem, OR

Oregon State Capitol, Salem, OR

Union Street Railroad Bridge, Salem, OR

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge & Salem, OR

Saying Goodbye

November 9 - 11, 2013

My mother called me Thursday night with some bad news.  My Aunt Caroline had passed away.  She'd been fighting leukemia for a couple of years.  The funeral was on Sunday in Salem and I made the drive up to attend.

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Red-shouldered Hawk

Even though I'd been there just the week before with Pongo, since it's along the way I decided to take the drive around Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge again.  Pongo and I certainly enjoyed it the first time and I thought I might get lucky and see a few different types of birds.  Unlike the week before, it was a bright, sunny day on Saturday.  As far as waterfowl goes, it was  pretty much the same as before.  I'd also seen about a dozen northern harriers the week before (I know, right?) but I didn't see a single one on this trip.  The hawks were out in force, though.  I talked with one of the ladies working in the visitor center and she said a lot of different types of birds had arrived over the last couple of days, but I guess I'm not sharp enough to tell the difference.

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

I saw a couple of pheasants on the loop.  the first one was too quick and too far away for me to get a picture.  I almost missed the second one.  I had to back up to pick him up.  They sure are beautiful birds.

Ring-necked Pheasant -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

White-fronted Geese

After leaving the refuge, I bombed my way up to Salem.  I met my brother downtown and we had a  couple of beers.  Salem has a few nice places to hang out now.  That didn't used to be the case.  It's still a town dominated by chain restaurants and strip malls, but smaller, more interesting places have been sprouting up over the last few years.  I kept my mom up until after 2:00 in the morning talking about this and that.  She's not used to those late nights.

Mount Shasta, CA

Beaver Lodge

The funeral service was on Sunday afternoon.  Roughly 1100 people were in attendance.  It was way too religious for my taste, but it suited Aunt Caroline and my cousins did great delivering eulogies.  Before the service, I went in search of a beaver dam my brother had told me about.  Unfortunately, the river was running too high and had flooded out the field on which the dam was built.  I couldn't get close to it, or even really see it for that matter.  I was able to find the lodge the beavers had built, though.

Minto-Brown Island, OR

Boo Radley's House

I also visited the neighborhood I grew up in.  The house my parents owned was small, but the neighborhood was full of kids.  Of course, everything looked a lot smaller to me than as I remember it.  This neighborhood has been the setting in my mind for just about every book I've ever read.  Some books fit better than others, of course.  As I recall, it was a great place for trick or treating.

European Starling

After the service, I met my brother and my oldest friend Eric for drinks.  Eric's mother and my mother were close friends.  Our dad's were in the service when we were both born a couple of months apart.  My mom said Carol drove her to the hospital and she drove Carol to the hospital.  I'd never heard that before.

Wallace Marine Park, Salem, OR

I drove back to Alameda on Monday.  Before leaving Salem, I drove around and took a few pictures.  It was foggy, which gives the city a more romantic feel than it normally can pull off.  I don't really have a whole lot of nice things to say about this town, but it sure looks good when it's hard to see.

Riverfront Park, Salem, OR

On my way home, I stopped for lunch at King's Estate Winery near Cottage Grove.  They make some darned good wine there.  The food was pretty good, too.  I met my aunt and uncle there, who were hooking up with a couple of old friends from Texas.  It was a nice ending to what was basically a tough trip to help put a family member to rest.  There are times when being a part of a family seems important, and this was certainly one of those.

European Starlings -- King's Estate Winery, OR