Oregon Garden Birthday Party

My two sisters and I took Mom to the Oregon Garden Resort for her 77th birthday.  The Garden is located South of Mt. Angel and East of Salem.  We took the scenic route through Woodburn and Mt. Angel.  Beautiful countryside. 

The Garden has been around since 2000, but the Resort part is new since October.  It has cottages that each have about 6 separate rooms in each.  There is a restaurant, lounge, spa, swimming pool and hot tub.  We didn't get a chance to use the spa, not enough time.  Kammy and my room came with dinner (entree and bottle of wine). Quite the deal.  The dinner was great.  We hung out in the lounge afterwards and listened to the live entertainment.  The band was a little sketchy, but we had fun.  In the morning we took advantage of the free hot breakfast, but my recommendation is to get there early because by the time we got there, they had basically run out of food.  They may have a few kinks to work out.  The room rate came with free entrance to the Oregon Garden, so we shopped a bit in the gift shop and then caught the tram that takes you all around the Garden in about 20-25 minutes. 

 We got a great overview of the Garden, but you really need to get out and wander.  The Garden is a series of themed plantings:

This was my favorite in The Bosque.  The reflecting pools with the maple trees growing in the water.
The Conifer Garden.


The view down to the Garden from the Resort and the Willamette Valley.

The Wetlands.  This is a joint venture with the city of Silverton using treated wastewater.  They also have the Lewis and Clark Garden featuring plants that the duo discovered; the Children's Garden, the Sensory Garden, and others.
A great idea for birthdays, girls getaways, anniversaries!  We had a great time and I am ready to go back and walk every garden.

My New Kayak!

In the Fall of 2008, we did a kayaking/mt. biking trip down in Moab, Utah on the White Rim and the Green River.  It was an epic adventure with lots of good paddling, biking and a 100 year flood that kept us camped in tents on the top of a mesa during the biggest thunderstorm I've ever been a part of.  One of the times in my life that I was really really afraid for my life.  I just knew that a lightening bolt was going to hit our tent.  The kayaking on the twisting Green River was so much fun! We survived and left Utah with a love of being on the river in a kayak.  

Mark bought a kayak from a friend about a year ago and has enjoyed a few forays out on the Willamette and other local waterways.  I've been a little slower to buy one, but we did this past week and christened it this week on a short evening ride on the Willamette.  I bought an Perception Essence 16.5 foot and I love it!  It glides through the water very nicely I must say.  It has a scag that pops out of the bottom of the boat and recesses when you are done.  Much nicer than the one on the exterior.

My maiden voyage was on a perfect warm late spring evening.  The sun had come out late in the day and there was no wind.  We rolled Mark's kayak out of the parking garage (where it is stored on a rented rack) and took mine off the top of the Suburban.  Mark pulled his on his new wheels and held one end of mine, while I held the other end of mine.  Quite a site.  We have a launch area at the river by our building.  It is steep and gravelly, so it was a little shaky getting the boats down the incline.  We launched in the cold water and glided across to Ross Island.  What an amazing feeling to be in the middle of a city of one million and feel so far away.  It was quiet all except for the songs of the birds on Ross Island.  We had a great rivers-eye view of our building and the others in the South Waterfront.  

We paddled along the Island and then crossed back to the other side of the river and made our way back up to the launch area.  We explored the pilings that are left from ship building operations from days gone by.  The creosote smell was strong!  Several Dragon Boat teams paddled by, including my good friend Kelly's team.

We wrangled the boats out and put them back in their rack snugged up against each other.  I see many more trips on this river out our window in our future!

June Storm

On Thursday, June 4 an unusual storm blew threw the Willamette Valley.  It packed most of its punch south and east of Portland, but arrived here with plenty of wind, rain and lightening.  I'm a self professed weather geek so really enjoyed watching it roll in.  The windows of the condo are a perfect viewing platform.  Mark was returning from climbing Mt Hood earlier in the day, so was thankful they got off the mountain before the storm came in!