Juneteenth, June 19, 2025
After many beautiful vistas, many miles of epic hikes and bike rides through lush Pacific Northwest forests, and many delicious fresh picked cherries and strawberries, we are now turning back east.
When David and I first got married, I began to notice his normal states of being. He has two: busy and asleep. At first, I started to notice the disparity between he and I. I would be having a nice rest and see David zipping around and perceive the difference. He really doesn’t have much down time. No leisurely reads or long meals. I have managed to teach him the luxury of being at rest after dinner but the rest of the day, he’s accomplishing things. I quickly learned not to feel guilty. David is David and I am me.
We’ve done lots of fabulous activities on our trip so far and honestly I am more active now than when I’m at home. There is lots of driving of course, but we have been doing hours-long hikes and bike rides.
Waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge
Summer Skiing
David and I like to ski. The degree of like is different. David would ski everyday, all year if such a thing were available. I love summer and so would not sacrifice a single day of it. There’s a beautiful mountain in Oregon that offers skiing all summer on a glacier. Mt Hood is famous for the quality of its summer skiing. David and I agreed that he should ski it!
Too bad we didn’t bring any ski equipment but there wasn’t room in the van for bikes and bike stuff and hiking boots and ski equipment. David was really missing his customized boots, perfect skis and helmet and goggles.
Here’s his report on the day: “An indulgent and unexpected treat!This was not a ski trip, I owed Jane a warm trip that wasn’t centered on skiing. But knowing I’d be an hour from Mount Hood was too tempting. the tease started with an email from Liberty Weinbrecht race camps for $1,999 for a week of masters race camp at Mt Hood…
So a clear Monday would be an exceptional thing! Jane loves to ski, but “it’s a Winter sport”. So off I went without my favorite accomplice. The Summer skiing there is legendary and hundreds or thousands take advantage. It is a perfect, open snowfield, glacier that offers consistent and ideal snow lasting from 7:00 AM till 2:00. The shop sent me out on a pair of Volkl Deacons, 79mm underfoot. A decent compromise though the boots felt like trying to ski wearing a pair of helmets. After a tentative hour, wondering where the next turn began, I found aggressively tilting the skis and dipping my hip was the only answer. Hard driving fun. And of course I met someone who moved the same pace. Simon (Jin Mon) was taking a break from flight school in CA and visiting from South Korea. As usual his English is far better than my Korean, and we shared a great day!”
The Trail of Ten Falls
More waterfalls! There’s a beautiful trail in a canyon in Silver Falls State Park in Oregon that takes you up and down beautiful paths where you can view and, in a couple of cases, walk behind 10 stunning waterfalls.
The trail to view all 10 falls is 7.2 miles but David and I took a wrong turn somewhere (in our defense, the signage is terrible) so our mileage for the hike was 10.8.
Before the state park was established in 1937, some shenanigans used to take place here. A logger named “Daredevil Al” plunged from the top of one of the falls in a boat. Miraculously, he didn’t die. In the 1920’s, an ‘owner’ of the South Falls charged visitors to watch him push junk cars over the edge. It was a different time, when resources and beauty seemed endless and we would never run out. Thankfully, subsequent generations have learned to love and respect these treasures. As did the original inhabitants, the indigenous tribes of the area, the Kaliyah and Molalla.
Jane
(Written at Juniper Cookhouse and Bakery in Hines, OR)
The Voyage of the Tramper 