When I watch my twins playing together around our yard or out in the woods, I often think of all the important things shared between siblings. Although I don't know what it's like to have a twin, I am lucky to have a little brother. There is no other person in the world who shares my wealth of childhood camping memories. Of course, our parents have fond memories ...
Camping
Winter Camping at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park
With a few farm work weekends under our belts for the new year, we set off on another Winter yurt camping trip to enjoy some rejuvenating time in the outdoors. This time we picked a spot we had never visited before, Umpqua Lighthouse State Park near Reedsport. It tends to be a rather popular one, and the yurts and cabins fill up fast, so I had never managed to get the timing right to make a ...
Winter Camping at Washburne State Park
The best way our family has found to unwind from the holidays and start out the new year is to get outside and go camping. I especially love going to the ocean this time of year, with the churning waves and more frequently sunny skies than we have farther inland. For rock lovers like myself, this is also the best time of year for agate hunting along the mouths of creeks. ...
November Yurt Camping
Could I ever say enough about winter camping in yurts? We are so fortunate to have these simple, economical camping shelters at our Oregon coast state parks. They are warm and snug, they are round, they are fun, and they really get us out there in the winter time. It's quite the experience to lie in bed and look up through the skylight in a rainstorm or on a clear night at the stars. If you have ...
All That She Wants is a Canvas Wall Tent
(Photo from http://www.montanacanvas.com/ ) I have loved canvas wall tents since I was a child, camping out with my little brother all summer long in our field in a big old green tent. It was the size of a room and required alder poles to be cut for the supports. We would plan our camp set-up for weeks as soon as it started to warm up in the spring. When I came home from school, I would head ...
Camping at Blair Lake
Of all the places I have ventured out in the world, one of my very favorites is a small, shallow lake in a high mountain basin outside of Oakridge, Oregon. I discovered Blair Lake by accident while exploring around on some forest service road with friends right after I moved here. It was September, and the huckleberry bushes were beginning to dot the hillsides with bright red. I think that was the ...
Camping at Crane Prairie Reservoir
This time of year, when the weather in the Willamette Valley is stifling hot, it's nice to find a mountain lake to camp by with the promise of cool breezes and refreshing swims. We made plans to escape to one such place by the name of Hosmer lake for the weekend, and ended up at a beautiful spot on the shores of nearby Crane Prairie Reservoir with some adventures in between. Both lakes are in the ...
Women Who Dig Rocks
Recently, my old friend Thena came through town to visit on an Oregon rock hounding/fossil hunting road trip with her daughter, Raine who has big plans to become a Paleontologist. Being the rock collector that I am (I can't help it! They just come home with me everywhere I go!), I was very intrigued by their trip. Armed with their rock hammers, pick, shovel and a book called Gem ...
There’s Huckleberries in Them Thar Hills!
For the last seven years, our family has travelled to Mt. Adams to pick huckleberries. We make the drive up the Columbia River Gorge, cross the river into Washington, and head up through the little town of Trout Lake to the dry forests of the eastern Cascade Mountains. This has become a popular area to pick over the years, and at first sight of all the cars pulled off along the main forest service ...
Arriving by Canoe
Sometimes, it's really nice to go somewhere you can't get to with a car. Whether you walk, climb, or paddle, there is a certain satisfaction in going somewhere no vehicle has gone before. One of my favorite ways to do this is canoe camping. You can have your pick of campsites, often creating your own on a sandy lake shore. You can pack much more cushy than when you go backpacking. ...