Monday, June 14, 2010
Dear Stalker: Give me a job
Someone with the National Park Service was stalking my blog. It doesn't really bother me. I was a bit surprised to see that someone in DC was cruising posts for half an hour. Thought big brother was coming after me until I found out the source was the NPS. Of all the government offices out there I think they're the most non threatening. In fact I'd work for them if given the opportunity. So to the NPS people following my blog I have this to say: Give me a job. Any job would do. As long as I can spent a couple weeks a year getting paid to chill in the parks...Speaking of the NPS, I started watching the Ken Burns documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea. It's been really good so far. I'm about halfway through. I didn't realize it was 12 hours long when I started watching it. So far the most interesting part has been about the flooding of Hetch Hetchy in Yosemite. You might remember that when I visited the park I went to Hetch Hetchy. Seeing all the old pictures from before the dam was build was really sad. The place was gorgeous and they buried it in water. Nothing would please me more than for San Francisco to find a better place to get their water from and tear down the damn dam. I think that John Muir said it best, "One may as well dam for water tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man."...
The documentary is also loaded with stuff about John Muir, who was fascinating. I had no idea that before heading out west Muir's plan was to hike all the way to South American and find the head waters of the Amazon. That's hard core. I could also really get behind that guys philosophy. I think I'm going to have to find a good biography about him. I totally agree that in nature you can find the most impressive "cathedrals", more breathtaking than any church in Europe. It makes me want to see more. I guess I just need to be patient. Two more months and I'll get to check out Rocky Mountian NP and a bunch of others around Utah...Don't you agree?
Yosemite Valley
Thunder Creek, North Cascades
Mount Rainier
Friday, June 11, 2010
Blur - 13 (Live Blog)
After a conversation with the NESF a few weeks ago I've decided to live blog the Blur album 13. For those of you that don't already know it is my favorite Blur album, if not my favorite album period. I'm not going to go too much more into it since you're going to be getting a play-by-play. Track 1 - Tender
0:20 Alright Blur, if you want to start off slow let's do it.
1:22 Break out the choir!!!
1:50 Yes it is. Yes it is! I feel like I should be in a church pew.
2:15 This guitar rift is hypnotic.
2:57 I really hope they hired an actual baptist choir for this track.
3:50 If I ever meet the girl that did this to Damon I'm not sure if I'd thank her for inspiring such great music or if I'd punch her in the jaw.
4:55 Gotta turn this up.
5:50 This choir is getting more intense by the second.
6:20 We're all waiting
6:40 The harmony is perfect.
7:12 I don't want this to ever end.
Track 2 - Bugman
0:01 I don't know if I should turn it down a bit or crank it up.
0:10 Okay I've got to blast this, we're kickin' it up into overdrive.
0:31 We've traded the choir for rockin' distorted guitars.
1:06 Catchy "na na na"s.
1:24 Who or what is Bugman?!?!
1:54 This is turning into a jam track. Lots of drive but no definitive path.
2:40 Oh, I will.
3:23 Great fade out return.
3:50 Toning back the distortion. Great guitar work.
4:11 Hold up! How'd we end up in outer space?
4:25 You know what, I don't care, I'm just glad I'm here.
Track 3 - Coffee and TV
0:14 This is the closest thing to the Brit Pop roots so far.
1:12 Not blowing me away like the first two tracks, but still very solid. Anyways I need a break.
1:47 Definitely radio friendly single material
2:16 I could use some coffee myself.
2:50 Great line: "agree to marry me so we can start over again".
3:47 Very light hearted music for such depressing vocals. Works well.
4:52 I guess blur gave up on 3 minutes tracks. It's for the best.
5:23 Organ outro FTW
Track 4 - Swamp Song
0:06 Is that water or aliens?
0:11 Definitely aliens.
0:20 Okay, this is going to get real good real quick.
0:40 Bringing it out of the background.
0:46 Space brain?
1:10 Faint back vocals are creepy, in a good way.
1:35 Perfect song for prefunkin' on a Saturday night!
2:32 Distortion is back. Did it ever leave? I can't remember.
2:57 Desperate pleas to the world.
3:21 "Stick it in my veins!" If I could, I would.
3:43 "La la" screaming. This isn't your fathers pop music.
3:53 Maniacal laughter. Fits perfectly but I have to question whether someone is being tortured.
4:21 Classic trail off.
Track 5 - 1992
0:13 Time to chill out again.
0:36 I'd punch her.
0:59 Very haunting.
1:07 Now even more so.
1:40 Very minimal sound but extremely effective.
2:10 Good use of the "wah".
2:36 Love the whistle.
3:05 It's like being dragged into a black hole full of bees.
3:20 Pulling the vocals back and the wah forward - clutch.
4:30 Crashing and spiraling.
4:45 It's starting to break apart.
5:17 This track should really be listened to alone. Just let it absorb you before it seeps into your pores.
Track 6 - B.L.U.R.E.M.I
0:04 Do do do do do...
0:19 YAY!
0:32 Great beat.
0:46 Duck voice!
1:01 Reminiscent of "Chinese Bombs" or "Bank Holiday".
1:18 Are we on Sesame Street?
1:40 Doesn't matter, it's all in good fun.
1:55 !!!
2:06 Why E M I?
2:15 Dropped back into another killer outro. Nice let down.
Track 7 - Battle
0:10 I think we've left Sesame Street and are back in outer space.
0:40 Imagine being lost in nothingness with only a space suit.
1:35 If you've even been in a relationship that all you do is fight you'll understand - this is the moment you gave up.
2:20 Nice add of grunge.
3:06 Everything is going wrong in space. I can see the metallic debris.
3:24 BATTLE! Love the accent.
3:58 Mellowed out, but no sign of stopping.
4:22 Did we just lose our deflector shields?
5:18 We most certainly did. Nothings protecting us for the echo.
5:52 Can't tell if I'm floating away or if I just spontaneously combusted.
6:09 Screeching bliss, another side effect of the missing shields.
6:35 Cue the organ for the wrap up.
6:42 This must be the rescue anthem.
7:30 Genius. Pure genius.
Track 8 - Mellow Song
0:22 Living up to the title. Seems more orthodox than the last few tracks.
0:41 Guitar and vocals, that's it. Maybe the band didn't make it?
1:08 Add in some kind of flute? Perhaps it was found in the Battle. Perhaps not.
2:00 There's the rest of the band. Glad they were left behind.
2:05 Complete with space flute!
2:27 Is that a xylophone? Sure, why not.
2:33 Zoning out a bit, still very mellow.
3:12 I want one of those flutes.
Track 9 - Trailerpark
0:24 Down tempo dance thing, I could get to this.
0:30 Always love a good freestyle.
0:47 Bob your head.
0:56 Sorry bro, that sucks.
1:09 Drop the beat.
1:32 Pick it up.
1:57 You want to know where the Gorillaz came from? Listen to this.
2:42 I could listen to this for hours.
3:20 Drop it again.
3:51 Bring it back car chase style! YAY!!!
Track 10 - Caramel
0:16 We're lost in space - again.
0:47 Disoriented
1:51 Great back chanting.
2:20 RIP Brit Pop
2:34 Right here.
3:00 Simple and eerie.
3:09 Get in there cymbals.
3:52 Picking up.
4:02 Quickly.
4:22 Time no longer hold sway here.
5:10 Okay I wouldn't hit her.
5:36 Beautiful.
6:22 WOW!
6:40 Strolling through the wreckage.
7:04 Actual cars! Red line that shit!
Track 11 - Trimm Trabb
0:08 Is that her address?
0:30 I'm going there.
0:42 You got more style that you know what to do with.
1:15 I don't know what Trimm Trabb is but right now I feel like I have it too.
1:30 We all do from time to time. Some more than others.
1:55 This beat is addictive.
2:03 Flash boys? Who are they?
2:11 I don't want to go back.
2:31 Okay so I'll hit her, but only once.
2:54 Turn it up a notch.
3:26 Perfect vocal effects.
3:30 Back to a sort of normalcy.
4:10 Best track so far.
4:35 It's clambering onto itself.
4:52 The sounds are attacking each other.
5:10 So massive it's collapsed upon itself much like a black hole. Apparently we haven't made it back into the atmosphere yet.
5:20 Nice mumbles.
Track 12 - No Distance Left to Run
0:07 Good. I needed something a bit more mellow.
0:39 I feel like I just broke up with someone.
1:06 Slight snare and cymbal. It's all we need with this guitar.
1:31 The chorus is dragging me into an abyss.
2:20 Beautiful lyrics. Painful eloquence.
2:49 Perfect vocal pitch. The agony.
3:15 Speechless.
Track 13 - Optigan 1
0:05 We're back in space again, but it seems like we're about to land.
0:43 Very soothing instrumental. Like coming down from the best day of your life. If heroin was like this everyone would be a junky.
1:48 The sounds ebb and flow like a calm cerulean sea.
2:20 And with that it's over. Master piece.
Like I said, hit me up in the comments and let me know what you think of the format. I actually enjoyed the project so I'm definitely going to do it again. Mostly I'd like to know what you liked and didn't like so I can fine tune the process. Next up: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
"I wonder how it came to be my friend"
Actually I don't wonder, it's one of the strange things from a long time ago that I remember quite well. It was back in middle school. I'd hear it on the radio all the time. Then for a long time I never thought of it. Until one day I was riding in the car with a friend of mine. Well he was more of an acquaintance than a friend. It was near the end of high school. He grabbed a disc of mp3s and before he started playing it he said, "I heard this song recently and had to download it immediately. I would bet money that you'll do the same." He was almost right. I went out and bought the whole album. Now this video isn't the best, just the album cover, but it does the job. I really wanted to find the full version but alas I couldn't. Sometimes that's just how it goes. Anyways. Enjoy.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Eel is one of Adam's favorites
It's true. I like eel. But this post isn't about eel. Sorry to disappoint you.I’ve finished reading Kafka on the Shore. I was so impressed with the style and story I think it’d be a great disservice not to give this book a “formal” review. Formal probably isn’t the right word. But it’s the word I’m going to use regardless, even though it's probably going to just be my haphazard memory of the book along with some poorly placed clichés...
Kafka on the Shore is the story of a young boy and an old man. Sounds simple enough right? Far from it.
It begins when young Kafka Tamura, the strongest fifteen year old in the world, runs away from home to get away from his father and the oedipal prophecy he placed upon Kafka. He travels south to the Takamatsu where he finds refuge in a private library and befriends the librarian, Oshima. While hiding out in the library he falls in love with the head of the library, a beautiful woman with a troubled past, but their time is cut short when Kafka’s father is found dead in his home the police begin searching desperately for Kafka. In order to protect him Oshima takes him to a cabin in the mountains where he spends his time reading and exploring the surrounding forest. However the police aren’t just searching for Kafka, there’s another man.
The other man is Nakata, an elderly fellow afflicted by a childhood “illness”, maybe phenomenon is a better word, that left him illiterate and, as he regularly reminds us, a little slow. He lives in a small flat in Tokyo where he makes it days to day with a little help from relative and his “sub city” from the Governor. While Nakata struggles in his interaction with other people he has the peculiar ability to take to cats and, as we are soon to discover, a bizarre influence over the weather (it rains mackerels, there I said it) . He uses his ability to communicate with felines to help reunite lost cats with their owners. One particular runaway cat changes his life forever when he tracks him to a house whose owner has a particularly unorthodox way of making flutes. His encounter with this musician of sorts forces Nakata to head south in search of the ever elusive “entrance stone” and a series of events that had been set in motion long before.
The two continue on their different paths barreling towards one another while encountering many memorable characters such as a back alley pimp appearing as Colonel Sanders, a sociopathic Johnny Walker, a trucker who’s willing to follow the winds of fate, a mysterious boy named Crow, and a few cats to keep it all interesting.
Now some of you may think you're starting to understand it at this point. I assure you that you're not. Kafka on the Shore is full of plot twists that once you think you’ve got something figured out they reveal a new piece to the puzzle and send you through another loop or dimension or reality or something.
This is the first Murakami novel that I’ve read and it won’t be my last. His writing style is both riveting and sublime. Each chapter demanding that you read the next, while every question is answered with another question.
Now for those of you who have already read the book I’m including a little back and forth that I had with the NESF regarding my thoughts on the ending and the book in general. If you haven’t read the book I guarantee that reading this is just going to confuse the hell out of you so you probably shouldn’t even bother. I also wouldn't want to give away any of the ending. It's really something that you should experience for yourself first...
* * * * *
Desomniac: There was only one thing I didn't really understand.
NESF: Only one?? Wow!
Desomniac: Is the person that the Crow attacks the thing that came out of Nakata's mouth?
NESF: Hmm, it's possible. I really have no idea what that wormlike creature was. What was your take on that?
Desomniac: I think that Johnny Walker, the crow victim and the worm are all the same thing.
NESF: Yeah, I could see that. I could also see that they are all different spirits from this other world.
Desomniac: See, I think that Colonel Sanders is a different spirit, a good spirit, while the others are all bad spirits.
NESF: And so, what was the point of opening the entrance stone in your mind?
Desomniac: I see it as the "entrance" into the afterlife, or possibly a sort of purgatory. But I definitely think everyone there is dead.
NESF: Right, and so Nakata sought the entrance stone and had Hoshino open it because he was psychically linked to Kafka? I guess a broader addendum to that question is: what do you think Nakata's role in that story really was?
Desomniac: I've been thinking about this a lot. So Nakata got all fucked up as a kid.
NESF: Right.
Desomniac: And I kind of think that that whole scene had to do with the entrance and that the woods they were in are the same woods by the cabin. Possibly being that they stumbled upon the spot when the entrance was closed, however it's still a powerful spot but only so much so that it affected the children. Nakata got lost in the entrance which is why it took him so long to come back and why he was changed, because part of him was left on the other side. Now this is where Walker et al come in. I think that the reason Nakata was chosen by these spirits is because they met him at this time. As such Nakata subconsciously knew about the good and evil that was present there, most notably the evil. After this experience in order for Nakata to be at peace he had to open the entrance in order to lure this evil out of the shadows so it could be killed.
NESF: You mean they met him when he was a child?
Desomniac: The spirits? Yes. He was with them when he blacked out.
NESF: And they were the good spirits?
Desomniac: Both good and bad.
NESF: But there was also evil in this world and he couldn't feel at peace until he got the evil out?
Desomniac: Yes. So when he blacked out he came in contact with both the good and the evil. Then after that he was sort of in limbo between both worlds, which is why he could talk to cats. In the end Hoshino could because he was in the same place, having met with Sanders and being affiliated with Nakata and the stone.
NESF: yes, that's a very good point
Desomniac: We also have to consider one more thing, that Saeki said she opened the entrance before when she was young. I got the impression she was younger than Nakata so that would mean that in recent history it was accessed three times. Four if you include when Oshino's brother went there, which I think that we should. Now this all suggests to me that whatever happened to Nakata is what started all of this.
NESF: Interesting.....how did Nakata's experience affect Saeki's experience originally?
Desomniac: I’m starting to think that Nakata's experience in essence created the entrance and without that Saeki would never have been able to open the entrance because it never would have been there.
NESF: Yes! Very interesting.
Desomniac: However Saeki was wrong to open the entrance and that's what started the whole tragedy of Kafka.
NESF: So, do you really think it was his mother?
Desomniac: Oh yeah, no question about it.
NESF: So explain to me then what Saeki really did then in terms of the tragedy of Kafka?
Desomniac: Okay. Saeki couldn't deal with the death of her love so she opened the entrance to see him again but that wasn't forever. Then she was left with her memories and feeling of loneliness. She went on touring about the country and met Kafka's father and they had a child, Kafka. She was so insecure about his father or Kafka himself doing something to hurt her she abandoned them both. Kafka was then left with only his faint memories and a feeling of loneliness. Now throughout the story Kafka was bitter about the DNA he received from his parents but in the end the psychology condition passed onto to him from his mother was far more impactful on his life.
NESF: Ok, but what do you make of his father's oedipal prophecy?
Desomniac: Lightning
NESF: Pardon?
Desomniac: Lightning. So before his father was struck by lightning they said he wasn't all that interesting of a person, it wasn't until after that that he became a devote sculptor. The lightning strike didn't just open his mind to art but also gave him a sort of foresight into his sons future
* * * * *
We trailed off into something else after this. If you've read the book and have some of your own thoughts about it I'd love to hear them.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Memorial Day Mayhem 2010 Part 2
Aight, here's part 2. If you haven't read Part 1 you probably should. It's the post just before this one so I'm not going to include a link. Ah hell, maybe I should? Would it really make it all that much easier? Will people really struggle to figure it out without one? Do I even care? I guess I do.
So we woke up at the Elk Prairie campground and made some breakfast.
Now if you've never been camping in Northern California you might not be familiar with a "bear box". Every campsite has one. It's this metal box with a hidden latch that you have to store your food in and anything else that might attract a bear. It looks like this:
But enough about that. We tore down the camp and headed out to the visitors center. This is where we started off on our 11 mile hike. Now I should probably mention that I'm so far out of shape that I was definitely concerned about taking on this venture. The first bit of the hike was kind of strenuous. We started climbing immediately. This went on for about a mile.
SK and P were definitely handling it better than I was. But I kept on trucking. After a little while we came across a tree that had recently fallen over the path. Not too much of an obstacle, but more a minor inconvenience:
The trees were enormous and everywhere. It was pretty breathtaking. After a few miles we reached our destination: Fern Canyon. Now there were ferns everywhere along the trail and we continually questioned if we were there or not. Once we arrived there was no mistaking it:
The ferns were everywhere! We hiked down into the canyon and at first didn't know where the trail was. After some deliberation we decided that the little creek we were following was actually the trail. About half way through the canyon we stopped to have lunch. This is quite possibly my favorite memory of the trip. Little waterfalls trickled down the wall around us while we ate our sandwiches. The sun was shining and every once in a while you could hear bird or other forest creatures.
Leaving the canyon was equally as amazing. The creek spread out at the end and opened into a large area where you could see the ocean just over the hills.
Somehow we missed the cut off to go along the beach and ended up just walking along the road that accessed Fern Canyon directly. It was midday and the sun was intense. I'm pretty sure this is when I acquired a slight sun burn on my face. As we were going down the road there were amazing views of the forest fading off into nothingness:
This is when I started to cash out. I really wasn't a fan of the last leg of the hike. I just focused on the finish line and drudged on. When it was all over I was not in the most pleasant of moods. I was sweaty and ached all over. We took a short break at the end and then all piled back in the car and drove up to Jedediah Smith St Park.
I actually liked this campsite more than the other because there were actual redwoods in the site. We got all the tents up and then SK made spaghetti for dinner. P was determined to get a tarp up even though there wasn't really a place to tie to. After eating I was completely dead and called it an early night.
I woke to the sound of rain. Lots of rain. I mean LOTS of rain. This is when I was VERY grateful that P was able to secure the tarp. If he hadn't I would never have left my tent. I gathered my wits and decided that I'd grab a shower before everyone woke up. P got up while I was making breakfast, SK shortly there after. They both seemed to be hating the rain. It was slightly unpleasant but I was enjoying it for the most part. The view of the Redwoods in the torrential rain was beautiful:
Once breakfast was cooked we high tailed it out of there. Unsure what happens next we stopped at a coffee shop in Crescent City for a while. The rain steadily increased as the hours passed. I've only seen it rain like that twice in my life, once in Chicago and once in Seattle. At this point everyone's patience was being tested. We didn't know where to go next or what we'd do there if it was pouring rain. It was finally suggested that we check out the Oregon Caves. If nothing else it couldn't be wetter than where we were.
It was a couple hours to get there and the weather showed no signs of stopping. The only way to view the caves was by guided tour. Luckily they started all the time and we only had to wait about ten minutes. Now I don't have the best pictures of the caves because my batteries died on my camera but here's a little preview:
P however got a ton of great pictures from throughout the caves. I'll try to add some more once I get them.
When we left the caves the rain had stopped. Thank the maker. The last thing that I wanted to see was more rain. We drove out to Medford, so we'd be better positioned for our final plans, and got a hotel room. It was a pretty nice room. SK and P went swimming and I just chilled out reading Kafka on the Shore (you'll hear more about this in another post).
Thursday the sky had cleared a bit and I was trying to keep positive thoughts. Crater Lake was our first destination and it was a real possibility that when we got there we wouldn't be able to see the lake due to cloud cover.
The road to the lake took us through the Rogue River Valley. The river was swollen and appeared ready to spill it's banks at any time. This comes more into play after the mountain.
So we reached the lake and everything was still buried in snow. Literally:
However we did get lucky and the clouds lifted just enough to give us a view of the lake:
After the lake we took the advice of the Les Schwabb guy (we had to stop and get chains just in case) and went to Wallace Falls:
Our final destination was the Umpqua Hot Springs. We ran into a bit of trouble though. The Umpqua river is usually pretty shallow and tame that far up, but the recent rain turned it into a raging river. The bridge we had to cross was nearly non existent.
We pondered our options for a while then finally I decided to just hop in the river and build a new bridge. It was frigid and difficult to move around in, but it only took a few minutes to gather enough logs so the other guys could make it across. This isn't a pic of the bridge, but give you an idea of what we were facing:
Now my feet and shorts were soaked. It was only .5 mile to the springs so I figure there was no point in putting my shoes back on and just hoofed it in the mud. One of the best decisions I've ever made. The mud between my toes felt great and once we reached the hot springs, after a short snafu (we took the wrong trail), I immediately dunked them in. It was nearly orgasmic. There are pictures of all this, but again I don't have them yet. In time.
We left the springs, I forded the river again and then had to change real quick before getting in the car. The bathroom I changed in was disgusting and I struggled to make sure that I was always standing on my flip flops while trying not to let any of my clothes touch any of the surfaces.
We followed the road along the Umpqua river for some time. Some of the view were spectacular.
Eventually we made it to Roseburg. This in a lot of ways was the end of our trip. We ate dinner in Eugene, spent the night in Salem and then bombed up I-5 back to Seattle.
All in all the trip was great. Highlights were definitely Fern Canyon and the Umpqua Hot Springs, but the Oregon Caves deserves an honorable mention as does the Avenue of Giants. I'd like to give a huge shout out to SK and P for putting up with me and keepin' it real in general.
Next vacation is Labor Day. I'll be trekkin' across America with my ol' man. Until then it's just back to the random ramblings that you've come to expect here...
So we woke up at the Elk Prairie campground and made some breakfast.
Now if you've never been camping in Northern California you might not be familiar with a "bear box". Every campsite has one. It's this metal box with a hidden latch that you have to store your food in and anything else that might attract a bear. It looks like this:
But enough about that. We tore down the camp and headed out to the visitors center. This is where we started off on our 11 mile hike. Now I should probably mention that I'm so far out of shape that I was definitely concerned about taking on this venture. The first bit of the hike was kind of strenuous. We started climbing immediately. This went on for about a mile.
SK and P were definitely handling it better than I was. But I kept on trucking. After a little while we came across a tree that had recently fallen over the path. Not too much of an obstacle, but more a minor inconvenience:
The trees were enormous and everywhere. It was pretty breathtaking. After a few miles we reached our destination: Fern Canyon. Now there were ferns everywhere along the trail and we continually questioned if we were there or not. Once we arrived there was no mistaking it:
The ferns were everywhere! We hiked down into the canyon and at first didn't know where the trail was. After some deliberation we decided that the little creek we were following was actually the trail. About half way through the canyon we stopped to have lunch. This is quite possibly my favorite memory of the trip. Little waterfalls trickled down the wall around us while we ate our sandwiches. The sun was shining and every once in a while you could hear bird or other forest creatures.
Leaving the canyon was equally as amazing. The creek spread out at the end and opened into a large area where you could see the ocean just over the hills.
Somehow we missed the cut off to go along the beach and ended up just walking along the road that accessed Fern Canyon directly. It was midday and the sun was intense. I'm pretty sure this is when I acquired a slight sun burn on my face. As we were going down the road there were amazing views of the forest fading off into nothingness:
This is when I started to cash out. I really wasn't a fan of the last leg of the hike. I just focused on the finish line and drudged on. When it was all over I was not in the most pleasant of moods. I was sweaty and ached all over. We took a short break at the end and then all piled back in the car and drove up to Jedediah Smith St Park.
I actually liked this campsite more than the other because there were actual redwoods in the site. We got all the tents up and then SK made spaghetti for dinner. P was determined to get a tarp up even though there wasn't really a place to tie to. After eating I was completely dead and called it an early night.
I woke to the sound of rain. Lots of rain. I mean LOTS of rain. This is when I was VERY grateful that P was able to secure the tarp. If he hadn't I would never have left my tent. I gathered my wits and decided that I'd grab a shower before everyone woke up. P got up while I was making breakfast, SK shortly there after. They both seemed to be hating the rain. It was slightly unpleasant but I was enjoying it for the most part. The view of the Redwoods in the torrential rain was beautiful:
Once breakfast was cooked we high tailed it out of there. Unsure what happens next we stopped at a coffee shop in Crescent City for a while. The rain steadily increased as the hours passed. I've only seen it rain like that twice in my life, once in Chicago and once in Seattle. At this point everyone's patience was being tested. We didn't know where to go next or what we'd do there if it was pouring rain. It was finally suggested that we check out the Oregon Caves. If nothing else it couldn't be wetter than where we were.
It was a couple hours to get there and the weather showed no signs of stopping. The only way to view the caves was by guided tour. Luckily they started all the time and we only had to wait about ten minutes. Now I don't have the best pictures of the caves because my batteries died on my camera but here's a little preview:
P however got a ton of great pictures from throughout the caves. I'll try to add some more once I get them.
When we left the caves the rain had stopped. Thank the maker. The last thing that I wanted to see was more rain. We drove out to Medford, so we'd be better positioned for our final plans, and got a hotel room. It was a pretty nice room. SK and P went swimming and I just chilled out reading Kafka on the Shore (you'll hear more about this in another post).
Thursday the sky had cleared a bit and I was trying to keep positive thoughts. Crater Lake was our first destination and it was a real possibility that when we got there we wouldn't be able to see the lake due to cloud cover.
The road to the lake took us through the Rogue River Valley. The river was swollen and appeared ready to spill it's banks at any time. This comes more into play after the mountain.
So we reached the lake and everything was still buried in snow. Literally:
However we did get lucky and the clouds lifted just enough to give us a view of the lake:
After the lake we took the advice of the Les Schwabb guy (we had to stop and get chains just in case) and went to Wallace Falls:
Our final destination was the Umpqua Hot Springs. We ran into a bit of trouble though. The Umpqua river is usually pretty shallow and tame that far up, but the recent rain turned it into a raging river. The bridge we had to cross was nearly non existent.
We pondered our options for a while then finally I decided to just hop in the river and build a new bridge. It was frigid and difficult to move around in, but it only took a few minutes to gather enough logs so the other guys could make it across. This isn't a pic of the bridge, but give you an idea of what we were facing:
Now my feet and shorts were soaked. It was only .5 mile to the springs so I figure there was no point in putting my shoes back on and just hoofed it in the mud. One of the best decisions I've ever made. The mud between my toes felt great and once we reached the hot springs, after a short snafu (we took the wrong trail), I immediately dunked them in. It was nearly orgasmic. There are pictures of all this, but again I don't have them yet. In time.
We left the springs, I forded the river again and then had to change real quick before getting in the car. The bathroom I changed in was disgusting and I struggled to make sure that I was always standing on my flip flops while trying not to let any of my clothes touch any of the surfaces.
We followed the road along the Umpqua river for some time. Some of the view were spectacular.
Eventually we made it to Roseburg. This in a lot of ways was the end of our trip. We ate dinner in Eugene, spent the night in Salem and then bombed up I-5 back to Seattle.
All in all the trip was great. Highlights were definitely Fern Canyon and the Umpqua Hot Springs, but the Oregon Caves deserves an honorable mention as does the Avenue of Giants. I'd like to give a huge shout out to SK and P for putting up with me and keepin' it real in general.
Next vacation is Labor Day. I'll be trekkin' across America with my ol' man. Until then it's just back to the random ramblings that you've come to expect here...
Monday, June 7, 2010
Memorial Day Mayhem 2010 Part 1
So here's how it all went down:
Friday was crazy. I was serious non-productive at work. Short timer's syndrome set in about 1pm on Thursday. We shut up shop early and I was in a mad dash to get everything accomplished. Hit up NESF and got him some keys to water my plants. Then I headed home to get the place in order. I cleaned for hours and still didn't accomplish everything that I had hoped. P came by to drink while I was cleaning and helped by leaving the instructions for watering. (I'm hoping to get a picture of it because it was a great note).
Saturday morning woke up early, 6am, and packed the last of my stuff up. SK showed up around 7 and we got it all packed up. Swooped up P by 745 and we were on the road. The first bit of the journey was very uneventful. Just I-5 down to Olympia and then cuttin' through SW Washington.
Crossed the Columbia at Astoria and hit up a Costco for some supplies. The drive down the coast was very pleasant, but time consuming. We rolled into Newport around 6 and hit up the Rogue brewery. They were having their garage sale and I picked up a hoodie. P was set on getting some of their whiskey so we cruised over to their distillery and he picked up a bottle of single malt.
We got some beers and appetizers at the brew pub. Now I don't like to speak bad of Rogue, but I have to. The service was wretched. They forgot one of the things that we ordered. It took forever to get a beer. And then to top it all off the "view" from the window was of a bird shit covered awning (indoors!) and a dead bird. They really need to step up the appearance and service because it's a good spot otherwise.
Back on the road we realized that our initial goals might be unreasonable. The plan was to get to Sunset Bay St Park, which is just south of North Bend. However the sun was fading quickly and we opted to stay a bit closer to our location. Before we called it a day with the driving we hit up a little view point and I got some great sunset pics:
We ended up camping just south of Honeyman St Park in a forest service camp ground. Pretty chill spot, the place was only half full. The only down side was the occasional ATV noise. Turns out ATV'n is huge down there. We set up camp and started a fire the easy way.
Sunday we started back down the 101. The first thing we came upon was a buncha dunes. For miles we went along side them, though usually they were blocked by the forest. We stopped at the North Spit to get out, stretch our legs and take some pics:
P even stopped to pick up some litter:
So we got back on the road and made a b-line for California. There isn't much to speak of between the dunes and the Redwoods other than a fruit check point and some killer views of the ocean:
The first notable thing we ran into in California was Paul Bunyan and Babe, his blue ox. They're huge. And Paul talked. "I'm Paul Bunyan. I'm 50 feet tall and I've been wearing these same shoes for 50 years. My feet are pretty sweaty and I'm just they stink." It was a very strange sight:
It took a bit of time but we finally broke ourselves free of Bunyan's hypnotic spell but didn't make it far before we stopped again. This time to drive through a giant tree! I have to admit I wasn't too into the idea, but it was pretty cool:
Our next stop came in Crescent City. That town is full of hippies. We had to turn around in a park and they were everywhere. A couple of girls sitting in the flowers, some people running around blowing bubbles, etc. And it wasn't just in the park, they were everywhere.
As we were going through the parks we noticed a bunch of elk just chillin' by the roadside. We missed the turn initially so had to back track. Turned out to be a good thing because on the way back we saw a black bear strolling across the highway! Wasn't quick enough with the camera unfortunately. I did however catch some elk:
After we checked out the elk for a while we busted out of there and down to Eureka where we had a room reserved at the Travelodge. Now anyone who has stayed at a Travelodge knows they are the worst. However it was the only thing available that was reasonably priced. We ate dinner at Lost Coast brewing. Better service but the beer wasn't as good. Decent but not great.
After that we went over to a lil bar called the "Shanty". However not before Scott misunderstood were the brewery was and traipsed in the shadiest part of Eureka. I was surprised how seedy the whole town was to be honest. As we were about to go into the bar a group of kids wanted to buy weed from us, then they wanted to sell it to us. Go figure.
The bar was pretty chill. Talked to the bartender about some hikes and stuff. Then the place got slammed. It took forever to order a drink. The place redeemed itself when a magician showed up and did some illusions for us. Got a bit wasted and decided to call it a night.
We decided that Monday was going to be very relaxed. Woke up around 10 and checked out of the hotel. Drove south to Humboldt St Park to check out the Avenue of the Giants. Let me tell you, they were giant. HUGE. This should give you an idea:
We hit up the visitors center and discovered that the biggest trees were yet to come. We headed out to a different corner of the park and found a GIANT tree. It was insanely large. So big in fact that I had to bear hug it:
Now at this point I took over driving for the only point in the trip, but I was felt that P was going to kill us looking at the trees and not the road. We bombed back up the 101 to Elk Prairie. Which was very aptly named being as when you enter there's a giant prairie full of elk. We checked into our site and got set up for the night. It was a pretty sweet site right on the river:
This brought us to the half way marker on our journey and as such the half way point in this post. I've got some other things I need to be doing. To be continued...
Friday was crazy. I was serious non-productive at work. Short timer's syndrome set in about 1pm on Thursday. We shut up shop early and I was in a mad dash to get everything accomplished. Hit up NESF and got him some keys to water my plants. Then I headed home to get the place in order. I cleaned for hours and still didn't accomplish everything that I had hoped. P came by to drink while I was cleaning and helped by leaving the instructions for watering. (I'm hoping to get a picture of it because it was a great note).
Saturday morning woke up early, 6am, and packed the last of my stuff up. SK showed up around 7 and we got it all packed up. Swooped up P by 745 and we were on the road. The first bit of the journey was very uneventful. Just I-5 down to Olympia and then cuttin' through SW Washington.
Crossed the Columbia at Astoria and hit up a Costco for some supplies. The drive down the coast was very pleasant, but time consuming. We rolled into Newport around 6 and hit up the Rogue brewery. They were having their garage sale and I picked up a hoodie. P was set on getting some of their whiskey so we cruised over to their distillery and he picked up a bottle of single malt.
We got some beers and appetizers at the brew pub. Now I don't like to speak bad of Rogue, but I have to. The service was wretched. They forgot one of the things that we ordered. It took forever to get a beer. And then to top it all off the "view" from the window was of a bird shit covered awning (indoors!) and a dead bird. They really need to step up the appearance and service because it's a good spot otherwise.
Back on the road we realized that our initial goals might be unreasonable. The plan was to get to Sunset Bay St Park, which is just south of North Bend. However the sun was fading quickly and we opted to stay a bit closer to our location. Before we called it a day with the driving we hit up a little view point and I got some great sunset pics:
We ended up camping just south of Honeyman St Park in a forest service camp ground. Pretty chill spot, the place was only half full. The only down side was the occasional ATV noise. Turns out ATV'n is huge down there. We set up camp and started a fire the easy way.
Sunday we started back down the 101. The first thing we came upon was a buncha dunes. For miles we went along side them, though usually they were blocked by the forest. We stopped at the North Spit to get out, stretch our legs and take some pics:
P even stopped to pick up some litter:
So we got back on the road and made a b-line for California. There isn't much to speak of between the dunes and the Redwoods other than a fruit check point and some killer views of the ocean:
The first notable thing we ran into in California was Paul Bunyan and Babe, his blue ox. They're huge. And Paul talked. "I'm Paul Bunyan. I'm 50 feet tall and I've been wearing these same shoes for 50 years. My feet are pretty sweaty and I'm just they stink." It was a very strange sight:
It took a bit of time but we finally broke ourselves free of Bunyan's hypnotic spell but didn't make it far before we stopped again. This time to drive through a giant tree! I have to admit I wasn't too into the idea, but it was pretty cool:
Our next stop came in Crescent City. That town is full of hippies. We had to turn around in a park and they were everywhere. A couple of girls sitting in the flowers, some people running around blowing bubbles, etc. And it wasn't just in the park, they were everywhere.
As we were going through the parks we noticed a bunch of elk just chillin' by the roadside. We missed the turn initially so had to back track. Turned out to be a good thing because on the way back we saw a black bear strolling across the highway! Wasn't quick enough with the camera unfortunately. I did however catch some elk:
After we checked out the elk for a while we busted out of there and down to Eureka where we had a room reserved at the Travelodge. Now anyone who has stayed at a Travelodge knows they are the worst. However it was the only thing available that was reasonably priced. We ate dinner at Lost Coast brewing. Better service but the beer wasn't as good. Decent but not great.
After that we went over to a lil bar called the "Shanty". However not before Scott misunderstood were the brewery was and traipsed in the shadiest part of Eureka. I was surprised how seedy the whole town was to be honest. As we were about to go into the bar a group of kids wanted to buy weed from us, then they wanted to sell it to us. Go figure.
The bar was pretty chill. Talked to the bartender about some hikes and stuff. Then the place got slammed. It took forever to order a drink. The place redeemed itself when a magician showed up and did some illusions for us. Got a bit wasted and decided to call it a night.
We decided that Monday was going to be very relaxed. Woke up around 10 and checked out of the hotel. Drove south to Humboldt St Park to check out the Avenue of the Giants. Let me tell you, they were giant. HUGE. This should give you an idea:
We hit up the visitors center and discovered that the biggest trees were yet to come. We headed out to a different corner of the park and found a GIANT tree. It was insanely large. So big in fact that I had to bear hug it:
Now at this point I took over driving for the only point in the trip, but I was felt that P was going to kill us looking at the trees and not the road. We bombed back up the 101 to Elk Prairie. Which was very aptly named being as when you enter there's a giant prairie full of elk. We checked into our site and got set up for the night. It was a pretty sweet site right on the river:
This brought us to the half way marker on our journey and as such the half way point in this post. I've got some other things I need to be doing. To be continued...
Back in business
Finally! I've been trying to post something all morning but it's been down. I was starting to have withdrawals...
So I made it back from California. Great trip. I'm going to do a full post about it later but here's a little pictorial teaser for now. This one is from Fern Canyon in the Redwoods...
I want to give a major shout out to Raynnifer. Congrats on signing the deal. I hope that the next 10 years (and many decades more) are as good to you as the first 10...
Okay so gimme a second to address the whole College sports scene. Pac-16? Really? There are a lot of people who are all about it, but I'm not sold yet. Some of the proposed additions are going to need to prove they're worth it. And not just in athletics but also in academics. Part of being apart of the pacific conference is that you have to be held to a certain standard. I really hope that they don't dismiss the bar just in order to create a "super conference"...
Ah damn! I just remembered that I also have the live-blog album review to put up. Hopefully this week. I have it all written out just need to type and add video. Look forward to that though...
I think I should also mention that while I was away I finally got to see the Pacific Ocean again. It'd been far too long...
So I made it back from California. Great trip. I'm going to do a full post about it later but here's a little pictorial teaser for now. This one is from Fern Canyon in the Redwoods...
I want to give a major shout out to Raynnifer. Congrats on signing the deal. I hope that the next 10 years (and many decades more) are as good to you as the first 10...
Okay so gimme a second to address the whole College sports scene. Pac-16? Really? There are a lot of people who are all about it, but I'm not sold yet. Some of the proposed additions are going to need to prove they're worth it. And not just in athletics but also in academics. Part of being apart of the pacific conference is that you have to be held to a certain standard. I really hope that they don't dismiss the bar just in order to create a "super conference"...
Ah damn! I just remembered that I also have the live-blog album review to put up. Hopefully this week. I have it all written out just need to type and add video. Look forward to that though...
I think I should also mention that while I was away I finally got to see the Pacific Ocean again. It'd been far too long...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)