I had a great time off..I had almost three weeks off from April 10th through the 28th. I spent a few days in Boise with friends, watching the BillyGoats play some, went four wheeling with a bunch of co-workers(I'll add pics later) and going to the Komyozan Dojo to practice Aikido. I needed some alone time and my Aikido Sensei (teacher) suggested I visit Leslie Gulch, which is in Oregon, but it's only an hour and a half away from Boise. I got direction from my buddy Ty and headed out. I camped there for two nights in the dry campground [View Full Entry]

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Last weekend we did a road trip to Boise, Idaho, where Jason grew up, and I lived for the bulk of my twenties. I have always had mixed feelings about going to Boise since moving away in 2003, but this time I fell a little bit back in love with it again. Even though it was just as cold as Seattle, and rainy, there is something about Boise that tugs at my heart. Last weekend we spent time with Jason's family; I also got to spend time with my friend Becky, whom I have not seen in a year or so. [View Full Entry]

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Our first leg of the trip is complete. Tony and I set out this morning from Seattle on a beautiful day (the 1st day of Spring). We headed over Snoqualmie Pass, and said goodbye to the snow and ski area. Then we drove south-east for awhile until we arrived in Oregon. Most of the drive today was in Oregon, and we saw some beautiful and desolate land there. Much of our trip was over the original Oregon trail, which made it very intersting, imagining crossing that land on a covered wagon, rather than a temperature controlled truck! Also, Tony said the [View Full Entry]

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I flew home in February to attend the Winter Count primitive skills conference in Maricopa, Arizona. I had an amazing time, sleeping in my tent in a warm Arizona winter, 65 degrees is heaven compared to the average at work of 20 degrees during the day. I had a few co-workers to keep me company at Winter Count, but I wouldn't have been lonely had they not been there. Everyone at Winter Count was very friendly. Friendly and usually a bit eccentric in one way or another. There are people like me, Wilderness Instructors, from various programs around the West. Anthropologists [View Full Entry]

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Hey this is Brooke getting ready to go with mom to the country of large warriors and skinny poets. I guess I have to dress up my luggage also so it wont get lost. Cant wait to leave. 7 days to launch time. [View Full Entry]

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Obfuscator writes: 110 Miles of dirt and gravel roads. I can see why prior to the Interstate system, it took people forever to get anywhere in this country. Even with tires and cars that are far more dependable and safe, you can only drive so fast on roads like that, particularly when these roads are at 16% grade and curve sharply to hug cliff faces. Onaxthiel woke up at about 5:30 when a neighbor turned on his radio and floodlight, and so forth. After a week indoors, this was a very cold morning. I had no desire to stand out in [View Full Entry]

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070925 Boise, ID I wanted to drop some stuff off at Base in Idaho so I could sleep in the back of my truck while I was in Colorado because it was getting cold. It being a two day drive to Denver from Portland I’d have to stop anyway and Boise is about half-way in between. I figured I’d stop in for a night and then be on my way…it didn’t happen that way. I stopped in and met up with Jonathan and Evan. They’re room-mates and both work with me. That night we toured the bars of Boise, however; not [View Full Entry]

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After the Slocum's Grand Tour of Boise, complete with homemade tacos, we played Phase 10 card game. Both Craig's girls are very sweet and even look like the Craig we knew long ago. To prove it Cathie pulled out meticulously kept photo albums which showed our young families together...great memories! Said our good-byes this morning and headed for McCall, ID via hiway 55, the Payette River Scenic Byway. It was truly beautiful following the river under blue skies and warm temp. No smoke but plenty of areas which have just been burned. This is ID's worst fire season. Mel & Cathie [View Full Entry]

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Oh, the drive through eastern OR is just as we had remembered it...sagebrush covered hills. That sums it up. We did learn from our mistakes on Day 1 and ate in a city park in Hines; we thought we were in Burns. Did the driver switch and forged ahead to Meredian, just outside Boise. Once there we resumed a friendship with the Slocums that began at COP in Stockton. Their daughter Cheryl (Rebecca's age and first playmate) came to dinner with her husband Dan and also Craig's 2 daughters. We had lots of fun talking about old times. Mel gave us [View Full Entry]

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Tuesday August 22, on the road again this time heading east. As we were leaving Oregon we took a scenic road that parallels the highway and stumbled upon the most beautiful Multanomah waterfalls. There's a big visitor's center with a restaurant so we stopped for pictures and breakfast. It turns out this is the most visited tourist attraction in the entire state of Oregon. We got back on Interstate 84 that follows the Columbia River. This is the prettiest interstate highway and there are various stops with information about the Oregon Trail which passed close by. There are even areas [View Full Entry]

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