Finley Never Disappoints

  One winter, many years ago, I was up on the OSU campus in Corvallis. I'd just gotten into my car and was starting to head home when a humongous flock of Canada geese flew over head. In awe, I pulled my car over, rolled down my windows and watched. I had never seen so …

Alesong Brewing & Blending

Do yourself a favor. Just stop for a minute. Step off this treadmill we call life, get together with some friends, and relax for a bit. We recently did just that at Alesong Brewing & Blending, and I can't recommend it enough. I am not a beer aficionado. But I do love thoughtfully-crafted food, and …

Susan Creek Falls: Hwy 138

Heading east from Roseburg, waterfalls dot Highway 138 and the North Umpqua River. Personally, I think the road from Glide to Diamond Lake should be called the "waterfall highway." As an extra bonus, the hikes into many of these waterfalls are relatively short and the trailheads are easy to get to. A couple weeks ago, …

Willamette Valley Cheese Company: Salem

I love driving Oregon's back roads. You never know what you are going to find among the tractors, corn fields, and filbert orchards. Yesterday, it was Willamette Valley Cheese Co. We were somewhere west of Salem on our way to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville. The directions we had started out with …

Easy Rider

Earlier this summer, we pulled our bikes out of a back corner of our garage, dusted them off, and hauled them down to Rainy Peak Bike Shop for maintenance. With the sun shining beautifully last weekend, we packed a couple PB&J sandwiches and hit the Row River Trail. My goal for this trip was a …

Signs, signs, everywhere

It's been fun this spring and summer to see all the new signs that have been appearing around Cottage Grove. As someone who loves to be outdoors, and loves learning about history and nature, I've enjoyed discovering these signs as we've been out and about.   I blogged last fall about the History Here posters …

Just. Let. Go.

Typically, I like to keep both of my feet firmly on the ground. Yet, earlier this spring when a friend asked if I wanted to join her ziplining I didn't hesitate to say yes. There is something about flying through the trees that seems so appealing, how could I say No? Our adventure started on a …

Waterfalls!

Western Oregon has experienced a lot of rain this past winter and spring -- so much, that we've set a record for the number of "rain days" since October 1. Couple that with a good snow pack, and the rivers and creeks are running full right now. You know what that means? It is the perfect …

Eel Lake: Winchester Bay

I know that many people go to the coast specifically to walk the beach -- and I love the beach too -- but I also like walking through the coastal forests with its salal and rhododendrons filling in the understory. While at the coast a couple weeks ago, we stopped by Eel Lake to explore. Eel …

Pick it up. Pack it out.

While walking at Row River Nature Park recently, we found a baby Canada Goose that had become tangled in fishing line. Its parents swam nearby as we freed it, but I'm not optimistic about its survival. It did swim off and join its family, but the encounter left it tired and perhaps injured. It wasn't …