(F)unemployment: Pacific Northwest

This summer's (first) road trip put me eastbound to Ohio from Southern California after stepping down from my six-year post at High Trails Outdoor Science School.  I had the great fortune of traveling with Jason again, casual historian/photographer/videographer and recently affiliated with the map-making community.   We made a soft pact over either some some coconut water or pie (I can't quite remember) that he would (once) again generate tons of great media and I'd write some colorful banter to explain them in a blog.  We hope you enjoy.

Friday June 8th, 2012: Beckie's Cafe, Oregon

"Heritage" statute, Dave Kazee 1996

It happened.  June, that is.  A complete sneak attack, blindsided by the end of May.  Yesterday Jason and I headed up this way from Oakland and made it to the Williamson Campground in the National Forest after a scenic drive up the 5 (i.e. Interstate 5), leaving California for an undetermined amount of time.  Along the way I saw Mount Shasta and pinched a lumberjack's cheek.  All in a day's work.

The Williamson River Campground was a sleepy, tucked away spot amidst the ponderosa pine forest.  It let us stay close to the park without having to snow camp at elevation.  A pot of bubbling oatmeal, some pressed coffee (apparently the Italians resent the term "French" press) and some long johns were all I needed to prep for a day at Crater Lake National Park.  And so the antics began.

Crater Lake National Park was more of an idea than an actual destination once we got there.  The lake was hidden by clouds, which spat snow at us fairly consistently.  The weather cleared twice, showcasing Wizard's Island, the top of a cinder cone inside the old volcanic caldera.  We checked out the renovations to the historic lodge and decided to adventure despite the visibility and trail conditions.  As we hiked in the general theme of Garfield Peak, the sun kissed my cheeks enough to realize I should have worn sunscreen and softened the ground enough for me to slip and slide on the snow.

Back in the car, we peeled of gaiters and rain jackets and went over to the National Park entrance sign for a battle with the self-timer setting on my camera.  In the first battle against the robots, Technology came out ahead 2:1 versus the humans.  I suppose that's an arbitrary score, but it made for an entertaining montage.

What was Beckie thinking?

So now, I'm in Beckie's Cafe, a restaurant outside of Crater Lake's West Entrance in a town called Union Creek.  Beckie consoled me with soup (best food group ever) & coconut cream pie before entertaining me with a heated picture/painting thing in the restroom.  No joke.  It's one of the most random things I've ever seen.

So now: onto Bend, Oregon!  The Williamson River USFS campground was only $5.00, so here's hoping for similar luck tonight.

Sunday June 10th, 2012: Creswell, Oregon

Kickin' it old school at Uncle Ed's house in Creswell, Oregon.  Since Crater Lake and Beckie's, Jason and I have gone to Bend, camped outside of Sisters, Oregon and come over to Creswell.

We enjoyed a scenic tour of Bend inspired by my slow reflexes.  Visualize me pointing to a sign, driving past it saying, "I think that was our turn."  Yeah, it's like that.  My style took us across Mirror Pond, one inspiration for a popular Deschutes beer, down the unimpressive Business 99 cutoff and eventually to Ford Street, where I parked, then re-parked.  Rough driving afternoon!  Perhaps there's a reason it took me twice to pass my driving exam...

The Ryed Trees of Doom was crazy!

We put our name in at the Deschutes Brewery for dinner, accepted our personal tracking device and then left the premises to go on a stroll through town.  We stopped by the historic Reid School from 1914.  On the way back to the restaurant, Jason recognized another converted school, St. Francis's Catholic School now turned McMenaman's of Bend, Oregon.  It's a theater, pub, restaurant and place for cool people.  After sharing a taste of a few special beers and enjoying some dinner, we returned to see a movie Jason vaguely remembered hearing was supposed to be good at McMenaman's.  

With a name like, Cabin in the Woods, you'd think I would have expected a zombie/horror/comedy, but you would have been wrong.  About halfway through the flick I assumed my slouched, eye-averting default during scary movies.  Of course that was interspersed with wild laughter since the movie was absolutely ridiculous.  

So naturally, we went to make the sequel to the film by tent camping on an abandoned logging road.  Yay!  I feared zombie attacks only three times that night, and I warned Jason that I would make no promises about sacrificing his body for my own survival.  Crude?  Yes.  But open and honest communication is really important.

Great news.  Writing to you right now is a sign that the zombies got diverted away from our actual camping spot by my lack of direction.  Ha!  Camped on a random logging truck turnaround because I couldn't find the designated Indian something something campground in our directions.  Poor bearing have non-standard benefits given the circumstance.

So, we re-packed the car, ate some leftover coconut cream pie for breakfast and got on the road.  On to Creswell to see Uncle Ed!

Monday June 11th, 2012: I-205 South, Oregon

Creswell!

Look how awake I am!

After hugs, of course, Uncle Ed made us some afternoon coffee.  He had called at 9:15am thinking we would have been up and moving, but instead we used his call for our wakeup and he realized immediately that us young kids were all about the sleeping in these days.  Since all we really did was wake up and pack the car from the logging spot, afternoon coffee was a delight.

Uncle Ed chopped lots of vegetables for pasta salad while Jason and I took a trip to the store to scope out Eugene and buy a mango.  The Saturday Market seems to be a popular gathering of crafts, dreadlocks and food carts.  We made a rather weak effort to look for the Farmer's Market side of the square (apparently it was directly behind the central court), and decided to hit up Market of Choice for our fruit offerings since it's one of Uncle Ed's favorite spots.

When we got back to Creswell, we enjoyed very nutritionally balanced, trans-fat-free dinner conversation.  

Jason picking strawberries

Then, we went on a walk to inspire digestion and came back for movie night.  The first feature we watched was, You Should Really Meet My Son: He's a Catch!  Then, Uncle Ed and I took turns falling asleep during Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.  A diverse double-feature.  Eventually we called it a night and went to bed.

In the morning, Uncle Ed had us pick a few strawberries from his garden to accent his a fruit salad and I made some steel cut oats before we left to tour the Univeristy of Oregon grounds that he maintains.

Look how excited Uncle Ed is to take a picture.

Before we left we had a mini-photo shoot to capture the aesthetics of his landscaping.  Then, he asked if I drive the speed limit.  "Yeah, usually!" I replied, to learn that he prefers to drive 4mph over the speed limit since they won't ticket you for that.  Oh Uncle Ed.  You're adorable.

We headed into Eugene and got to walk the grounds he maintains at the University, which includes the perimeter of the athletic facilities, including the very popular scene of the US Track and Field Olympic Trials.  When we saw the maintenance yard I had half a mind to get a photo on the riding lawn mower, but I resisted.

Squirrel!

Touring campus was fun.  It's neat to see people's passions enacted.  Uncle Ed is gifted at what he does, and he's really proud of his work too.  The result?  Campus is beautiful because he cares.  Very few people remember to thank him for his contribution to the community.  It just helps me to be grateful for all the people who do notice the small things and say thanks so often.

So alas, we said goodbye to Uncle Ed...for about fifteen minutes...like most Macko-family send-offs tend to last.  Next stop was Portland, but we decided to hit up a rest stop outside of Salem instead to enjoy some of the leftovers Uncle Ed packed us for lunch.

Onward to Portland!

We parked right next to Voodoo Doughnuts, flabbergasted by the wait to eat fried, glazed confectionary.  Instead, we walked up the block to Stumptown Coffee Roasters and I re-schooled myself learning all about fancy coffee.  

• I knew that an americano was hot water with a shot of espresso, because Addie taught me that when I came to Portland in July of 2007.  It's my favorite.
• I knew that lattes are mostly milk with espresso and that cappuccinos are mostly foam with espresso.  In Italy I'd order two cappuccinos just for the sake of having some liquid to drink.
• I learned that con panne is a shot of espresso with whipped cream on it.  It's traditionally served with some sparkling water on the side.  Interesting!
• I also learned/re-learned that a macchiato is espresso with a little milk.  Paulo would be so disappointed that I forgot his important lesson.  Shh!  Don't tell him.
• I also remembered that biscotti is delicious.  Duh.

We wandered around Portland for a little while, seeing the tail end of the Rose Festival with the conclusion of Fleet Week, which is when all the tall ships dock and give tours.  Then we headed over to REI to try out some new camping pad technology and then went to la casa de Roseanne (Raychel's mom).  Oh my goodness, this was exciting.

Greeted with hugs and smiles, I saw my postcard from Italy proudly displayed on Roseanne's postcard cupboard.  Such an honor!  (Raychel's aunt), farms and slaughters a cow every year.  And that's how we sourced our dinner, neat!  We hung out until Raychel got home, at which point she presented me with a care package (even though it was her birthday the next week).  During dinner, Raychel and Roseanne asked for a re-cap of the year at High Trails.

Roseanne and Me

That's when it hit me; $#!% was crazy this year!

It sunk in when I said it all out loud in one conversation.  Staff exploded.  Stuff at home seemed calm in comparison, which is a new perspective.  I decided I didn't really like talking about it all.  But those two ladies understand better than really anyone else, so it was good to have their listening ears.

I realized I'm just having such a good time enjoying a gentle, drama-free trip home.  It's a much-needed contrast to nine months of survival mode.  Thanks for bringing normalcy, tech support and balance to the force Jason!