My Father's Daughter

Today I could really tell that I was a Gentzsch, my father's daughter and my grandparents' granddaughter. The Gentzsch's LOVE good dirt. No, I'm not talking about gossip, though Grandma could give any Mrs. Grundy a run for her money, I'm sure. But really dirt filled with detritus, worms and various creepy crawlies.

When I was talking with Natalia about coming to visit, she mentioned how much yard work she's been doing this year. Because I love dirt, I asked if she had any big projects that I could help her with. So, this afternoon we went to the nursery to get a few bulbs, The nurseries here are wonderful. The first one we went to had complimentary coffee and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, both excellent. That won me over right then. The second one we went to was big enough to get lost in. (There are nurseries here that are nurseries AND coffee shops! No kidding. I swear this was designed with my dad in mind.) Natalia picked out some crocuses, hyacinths, and ranunculus to go with the daffodil bulbs she already had.

We came back and did the "grunt work" first, including raking, trimming and putting greens into bins. The best part, though, was digging up the arum, a nasty invasive. I got to get my hands really deep into the dirt (and it's great dirt!) and get really dirty. (I know, Mark, you can't take me anywhere! ;) We haven't actually gotten to the bulbs yet, but there's still tomorrow.

I know some of you are thinking, "You're in Portland!! Why aren't you going to Powell's or the art museum or ..." Well, I visited Natalia a few years ago for a week and we did a lot of that then. And, for where I am most of the time right now (SF), getting into dirt is rarer than an art museum. Plus, Mark is going to come up here in two weekends and I'm sure we'll spend at LEAST a whole afternoon at Powells...

Willamette Valley

I love Oregon.

Today I drove up from Valley of the Rogue State Park, which is 25 miles north of Ashland. I pulled into camp there last night at about 7:30, which was exactly half and hour before it started really raining, which it did all night. I was cozy and dry, though, and at times even a little too warm. It was after dark when I arrived, so waking up to fall colors I wasn't sure were there was a treat. I tried to take some pics of the trees there, but my camera was on a funny setting and they didn't turn out.

I didn't figure out what was wrong with the settings until about 100 miles later after having a hazelnut ice cream cone covered in chocolate and nuts for lunch. The ice cream was made in Junction City, about 10 miles north of Eugene, with hazelnuts from a local farm and candy maker, which is where I bought the cone. My car saw the sign "Nuts and Chocolate" and just turned off the road, much like my bike turned around for bacon at Burning Man.

[Bunny Break. I'm staying with my friend Natalia in Portland, who has two of the softest bunnies EVER! More on them later.]

The Nuts and Chocolate farm/candy factory was off of 99W in the Willamette Valley, directly West of and parallel to I-5. I decided to take the scenic route through farm country. It was so gorgeous. I can't help it. I love farm country. It reminded me very much of mid-Missouri with the green, the clouds, the trees turning, the little farms and the rolling hills.

Oh, and a fabric store in Corvalis pulled my car into a parking spot. This is probably the best quilting fabric store I've been to in a while. (I stop in them whenever I see them, whereever I go.) It has a larger batik selection than even Eddie's in Mountain View! There was this orange batik bundle of fat quarters I was drooling over. But instead of the fabric, I bought a book. A very big book full of contemporary art quilts, which I am Very excited about. (Ah, the pleasures of being easily amused. I'm ecstatic over a book about quilts!)


This is one of the great quilts they had in their store. Sooo Cute!!

And now, I'm in Portland. Natalia lives in a cute neighborhood in NE Portland. I arrived safe and sound this afternoon. She's a friend from Wash U in StL and is now teaching anthropology at Portland State. She'll be home soon, and we'll figure out what adventures we want to take this weekend!

On the Road Again

I'm leaving in just a few minutes to head up to Oregon. It's 11am. I should make it to Ashland tonight and Portland tomorrow. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and snow in the mountains, so maybe I won't make it to Crater Lake.

Ciao!

Party Party Party

This has been a very busy week. I've had one to three engagements every day. (Note to self: a flurry of contacting people results in a flurry of seeing people two weeks later.) It was a good week that would have been even better had I not had a cold.

This picture is of the warehouse in West Oakland where Scott had his going-away party, which was the party Friday night.

Montara Mountain

I went down the coast today for a hike with Chris, a friend from CGF. We went (at least partially) up Montara Mountain. This is some land that CGF has worked for three decades to protect from development. Unfortunately, they haven't been able to protect it from the pampas grass. While the fluffy fronds make for a nice picture, they are one of the worst invasive species in the area. They thrive in disturbed land, like along the trail on which we were hiking, and are nearly impossible to eradicate. Their leaves have edges similar to serrated knives and only Round Up Pro seems to beat them into submission. Even with all of the pampass grass around, it was still lovely to be among trees and within sight of the ocean.

Watermelon, Watermelon, Watermelon

This is what Jess and Carley are repeating to each other because they've heard that it makes it look like natural conversation in photos.



Last Sunday, Jess and Carley came over to model scarves for updated photos on my website. During the last hour of light before the sun went down behind Twin Peaks, we went up to the roof for a photo shoot complete with many changes of shirts and a glass of wine.

This is a picture of all three of us. You can see my shadow in the corner!

New Rule

I am not allowed to use my computer after 10pm.

Last night, I typed for half an hour, pushed a wrong button and deleted my post. I then typed a three sentence cliff notes version of the post and accidentally closed my browser! Frustration!!



The post was about Winnemucca. I'm not going to recreate the full version again, so you'll have to be happy with a photo and this synopsis:

1- I stayed at the really old Winnemucca Restaurant and Hotel (built in 1863) after driving 10 hours from Yellowstone.
2- I ate family style Basque food and drank a lot of wine. It was yummy.
3- I slept really well and had The Best Donut Ever the next morning at the bakery down the street.

Conclusion: I like Winnemucca.

After leaving Winnemucca, I drove to Sierra Hot Springs, which is 30 minutes north of Truckee, near Lake Tahoe. It's in an absolutely beautiful forested valley in the Sierra Mountains. Soaking in the pools here was a perfect way to end my trip.

I arrived home the next day. It's been VERY nice to be here.

Wildlife

This happened a lot. Buffalo are quite intimidating and very big. There were several times when ones passed right outside my car - that were taller than my car.

I also saw elk, wolves (through a spotting scope) and a small, black bear (that was crossing the road).


The colors in the hot springs are wildlife, too. They're various forms of bacteria - by far - some of my favorite species in the park.

Yellowstone

This was the first time I've crossed the continental divide - not in an airplane. I felt like such a tourist, but I didn't care!


The first day I drove into Yellowstone, I pulled into the Old Faithful Complex and made it to the geyser just as everyone was leaving.


Here, I'm talking on the phone to Mark - in the middle of Yellowstone about 100 yards from Old Faithful. I had to get off the phone - because I was supposed to be having a wilderness experience, right?

Yellowstone was very pretty. I took many pictures of the hot pools, trees and wildlife. But, traveling on my own was hardest here. It's unsafe to go hiking on your own. So, I didn't. Which meant that I spent my days driving around, parking, walking and driving some more. Which was ok, especially the two days it was rainy, but wore me out by the third day. There weren't "many people," but there were still too many people. I look forward to going back when I can get out into the backcountry.