The Rock

As some of you know I get to travel from time to time for meetings in hub cities around the country. Usually I get very little time to enjoy whatever city they plunk us down in. Sponsors often go for was is most convenient for them and/or is cheapest so that often means Chicago in the winter (or any time of year really) and Florida during hurricane season. If they are feeling especially thrifty there are also any number of suburbs around the Dallas/Fort Worth area, each with it's own brand of NOTHING to do.

This time however I lucked out. I was allowed a rare west coast meeting in San Francisco! Just a quick puddle jump down after work and a two day meeting in downtown. Now, 4th street directly across from the Bloomingdale's/Nordstrom building would normally be super exciting but my schedule was jam-packed with meetings and what I consider mandatory dinners. Okay I'm not complaining about the dinners, they are usually very good and always involve an open bar. I don't know what you call a rum, pineapple, orange, cranberry, and grenadine beverage but it was quite lovely. Cran-Daiquiri Sunrise perhaps? I'm not usually one for sweet drinks but this one ended up tasting a bit like a pink grapefruit daiquiri. Yummy.

Inebriation aside...on the second day I lucked out yet again...the meeting didn't last as long as originally planned and we were able to explore a bit. Some crazy lady in the lobby bought $500 sneakers *ack*. Never mind the shopping, I went to Alcatraz! It was a snap decision and the fastest wardrobe change the Marriott had seen in a good while I'd wager. Everything just fell right into place and there was just enough time to get to the island, take the audio tour and wander a bit before heading back and grabbing the shuttle to the airport. I wasn't planning on having time for an outing so I only had my cell phone for pictures. For a broke-down old prison it was beautiful! It was smaller than I expected inside but outside the crumbling masonry and strategically planted lilies and creeping vines were fantastic!

Everyone talks about Capone, Stroud, and the 5 or 6 other famous inmates in the last 40 years of it's operation but the older history was far more interesting. The army regularly imprisoned Native Americans there in the mid- to late-1800's for not agreeing to send their children to government schools. They were basically given life sentences and their children were taken from them anyway. The old prison is more like a brick cellar with arches and gates every so often. They use it as a theater now but I would guess it was pretty awful in it's time with no heat or drains. I am generally for the idea of prison being a negative experience but I'm glad we've moved past dungeons as a society.

I probably won't get many more meetings this year thanks to the economy but this was a nice way to start off the year. I'd like to visit Alcatraz again later in the season to see what the gardens look like in sun. It's hard to fully appreciate a place like that on a tight schedule but I certainly enjoyed what little time I had there.

Dashing through the snow

This year the folks and I split the holidays. They came down here for Thanksgiving (which was graciously hosed by the Cannons) and I traveled up north for Christmas. It was extremely nice to only have to make the trip once. I'm not a distance driver.

There was no Solstice party this year as the temperatures were well below freezing and close to if not below zero thanks to the wind. I guess that means the fire will be extra big next year. In any event the Gods seemed to understand and the days are getting longer despite the lack of bonfire.

The trip home was rather uneventful and the new snow tires performed beautifully over the snow pack. Hwy 62 was amazing. The trees are so large here it is hard to gain perspective in the photo. Perhaps I should have taken the picture facing the car to show that the snow banks on either side of the road were around 5 feet high. But that would have meant actually getting out of the car and that would have been far too cold.

There was quite a bit of snow on the ground at the homestead but it packed down to a reasonable foot or so by the time I left. The noise that accompanied the sheets of snow falling off the roof was impressive and from what dad tells me, it even broke a window in the kitchen after I left.

The dogs enjoyed their Christmas morning swizzels with the required festive hats. Chaucer didn't appreciate the humor for long. We learned that even Wubbas are no match for Mirrhi as she made a big hole in her's in under 10 minutes.

We were also visited by some Oregon Reindeer or Elk just before sunrise. It was lovely but I had a very hard time getting the photo to come out.

The Dude enjoyed the snow, following me around in the single-file dog trails. This made turning around rather difficult. No one likes to break fresh trail if the snow is over your boot-tops. We went on a nice walk down the road and everyone took turns off-lead. It's so nice to finally have a dog that isn't interested in taking off. Stromy still would I think if she was a little less fat and had it been warmer but Chaucer is very good about herding her back to people.

It was a more eventful drive back to MFR as 62 was closed when I got there due to downed trees and heavy snowfall. The drive between Diamond Lake and Roseberg was terrible. Somehow the road stayed almost completely in the transitional zone for the first hour leaving the roads rutted with ice and snow but still warm enough to be raining buckets. Again thankful for the snow tires. All in all the trip back took about 9 hours thanks to the weather but once 138 West met the Umpqua River the view was fantastic. Thanks to the storm, twilight came around 2:30 pm so the photos were all very dark but I managed a shot or two when I stopped to stretch.

I hope the holiday season finds you all well. Happy Solstice and ChristmaHanuaKwanzaka!

Home...

The dogs and I went on a little road trip last weekend. We visited my friend Michael and cousin/aunt Flirt in Vancouver the first day. Flirt has her own MySpace page, http://www.myspace.com/flirtykins, and Michael is in the process of building her a lovely new fence. This way, next time we visit the humans don't have to stand around and supervise outdoor activities.

We stopped at Multnomah Falls on the way through the Gorge. The rain clouds of the previous night burned off early and made for quite a lovely day. The hike to the top was about what I expected *gasp* but worth it by far. I was glad Michael joined us for this portion of the trip. Rule #1, when planning to give yourself a heart attack, bring a buddy...someone has to make sure the dogs get back down okay.

Fall is beautiful and there's nothing like the golden fields and amber oaks of the old homestead. I'm sure Maine is lovely but it's not my home. The breeze was cool with just a hint of rain, the trees somehow seemed to give off warmth, and the grass had a hearty, earthy sent that was simply fantastic. Of course when the wind is just right that smell is also spiced with O'de Sheep Poop but that's all part of the charm.

Mom and I went on a nice morning walk and gave the dogs a chance to take in all the smells of the neighbor's cows and the coyote trail. It was a pensive time for all and apparently very interesting just to the left.