A perfect day with J & J

The morning started with breakfast, a walk and a planning session. Joe and Joline checked the map to get an idea of the day trip Scrabble Queen had planned. They look pretty terrific and very much like native Oregonian in their new tie dyed shirts (Joline has one on under the sweater)

We took the Musemobile, otherwise known as the Forest City Flash.

We stopped at the Westfir Covered Bridge and our family/friends checked out the map at the visitors kiosk.

The J's walked across the bridge's pedestrian walkway and posed for a picture and Scrabble Queen snapped a few pictures.


Joe even did a solo pose.


Then I rumbled through the bridge in the Musemobile as Scrabble Queen backed up cautiously snapping away.

I think my "creative" technique is rubbing off on her with this great John Ford through the door/window framing effect image of the railroad trestle up river.


We left Westfir and headed to Salt Creek falls ready to walk the trail to the bottom of the falls.

Before we went down we went up these stone stairs next to the falls.


Looking back and leaning over the retaining wall I got a look at some daisies growing on the rock face above the falls.

I also took one with the forest in the background.


Looking back the falls looked magnificent with the Salt Creek flowing over them.


A rather sad sight on the trail was this tree bleeding sap because of an infestation of beetles.

There was another tree next to it that had already died - sad.


The trail was a little steep but didn't stop either Joline or...

...Joe. They are both great hikers and wore me out walking back uphill.


Joline stopped at an observation point to look back at the falls.


I caught a picture of some great blue - berries (not blueberries) with red stems - very colorful.


This log looked a lot like the Loch Ness Monster.

I guess someone dropped a raspberry on the side of the trail because I never found the bush.

I got this broken tree again (I got the same tree last time up here) I like the contrast with the falls in the background.

When we arrived at the top again Joline took a long look at the falls and the scenery.

The view up here is breathtaking.

This is a repeat of one of my favorite images of a rhododendron near the falls. This time it's not blooming but still looking awesome.

On the way back we stopped at the Fish Hatchery near Oakridge, Oregon. That section of the blog will be up sometime in the next few days.

Scrabble Score Scrabble Queen 312 - the Contender 324

Quote of the Day -

"Eugene is located in western Oregon, approximately 278 billion miles from anything." - Dave Barry

Dave Barry is a humor columnist. For 25 years he was a syndicated columnist whose work appeared in more than 500 newspapers in the United States and abroad. In 1988 he won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Many people are still trying to figure out how this happened.

Joe & Joline - wonderful friends in more ways than one

Ken Kesey was reading on the square in Eugene and Joe & Jo decided to listen.


Ken Kesey lived in Oregon (off and on) and wrote some great things

One of my favorite Kesey stories was "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

The square where this memorial resides is colorful and very special.

We dropped into the Saturday market and just had to get the J's a tie dye shirt.

Of course this is Eugene Oregon so I glanced at the Cro-Magnon Croquet set

The ladies chatted over lunch and in front of the Honey Buckets.

Meanwhile Wayne Morse presided over "Free Speech Square" in front of the courthouse across from the market.

Finally before we left the market we saw Willie Nelson (not really) walking down the street.


Next we visited Supperputter where Jo (his first cousin) went through some old family pictures.

I think this was the most animated and attentive I've seen Superputter since he made the hole-in-one on my birthday last year.

We all had a great lunch with J&J&E you can tell from the smiles.

Finally it was time to go and the cousins hugged goodbye for now.


We saw on the map a some waterfalls up the road from Cottage Grove and went to see them. Scrabble Queen was all excited about this place because we had not been there before.

After a perilous trek down a muddy, steep, slippery trail we arrived at the falls.

They were all of 20 inches high but they were nice and Joe mentioned they were not "Tall Fall snobs" (great poetic play on words) and enjoyed the the adventure.



Next we played the "Sideways" game Oregon style and hit the tasting bar at King Estates.

They were also having a garlic festival in the great Oregon weather.

The festival was just down the hill but still on the King Estate Property.

I thought this Iron Eagle was great.

Of course I had to get a flower this one is a fuchsia

Scrabble Score - I'm not sure of the score but The Contender beat Scrabble Queen by five points.

Quote of the Day

"There must be amidst all the confusions of the hour a tried and undisturbed remnant of persons who will not become purveyors of coercion and violence, who are ready to stand alone, if it is necessary, for the way of peace and love among men." ~Rufus Jones 1940

Music Abounds at the Saturday Market

* Note ~ This Blog is not necessarily on chronological order.

I just had to mention the musicians that were present today from the Cello player...

... to Banjo Man ...

... to the off beat trio playing "Hey Diddle Diddle." They were all very good and the trio was as energetic as a mongoose fighting a cobra.

We parked in our usual spot across from the alley next to the Hotel Smeede.


The Hotel Smeede has some ground floor windows that look into a very nice art gallery and from the inside look out on the alley.

At the end of the alley is a cool looking building in a blue-grey with lots of angles, white trim, and one red door.

It also have a rather over planted patio at the entrance.

To say the booth operators are colorful is an understatement.

The chillies were colorful.

The honey sticks were even more colorful.

Even the veggies were at high color.

I took a couple of close ups of the garlic and ...

... something that looked like Brussels Sprouts but my neighbor Scott says it is something else a tomatillo pepper. Soooo try this recipe:

Corny Tomatillo-Red Pepper Soup (Mexican)
Chunky, colorful, and with a pleasantly sour undertone to the sweet summer corn, this mostly all-New World soup is an excellent stimulant to appetites that flag in the summer heat. Serve hot to 6-8 people as a first course.

* 1 Tablespoon corn oil
* 1 onion, finely chopped
* 5 tomatillos, husked and quartered
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 4 ears fresh corn, corn sliced off and divided two into equal piles
* 4 cups vegetable stock
* 3 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
* 1 Tablespoon corn oil
* 2 large red bell peppers, diced
* 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped fine
* 1 Tablespoon sugar
* salt and pepper

Garnish: A tomato, cilantro sprigs, and green onions, chopped into a relish with lime juice

Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a saucepan on high, then sauté the onion, tomatillos, and garlic for about 5 minutes, until softened. Stir in half the corn kernels, 3 cups of stock, and the cilantro. Heat to a boil, then purée in a blender, solids first.

Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large saucepan on high, then sautée the red pepper and jalapeno pepper for about 5 minutes, until softened. Pour the purée back into the pot and stir in the rest of the corn, the remaining 1 cup of stock, and the sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Chop the tomato, cilantro, and green onion into a relish, squeezing on lime juice.

When ready to serve, ladle the soup into bowls and swirl the relish through each.

Some of the buildings around this market have lots of character and even more bricks.

Here is another look at the Hotel Smeede and gallery inside.

Of course the front of the Smeede is a little dressier...

...and you can even get a haircut next door.

So where do you go after the Farmer's Market? To PC Market of Choice for a couple of pounds of shrimp.

Scrabble Score ~ Scrabble Queen +? the Contender -? (I'm just guessing because the Queen was being humble and didn't mention the score - my guess is she won by at least 50 points)

Quote of the Day ~

"I used to wake up at 4 A.M. and start sneezing, sometimes for five hours. I tried to find out what sort of allergy I had but finally came to the conclusion that it must be an allergy to consciousness." ~ James Thurber (1894 - 1961) was a U.S. humorist and cartoonist. Thurber was best known for his contributions (both cartoons and short stories) to The New Yorker magazine. Dorothy Parker, contemporary and friend of Thurber, referred to his cartoons as having the "semblance of unbaked cookies."

Here is one of his cartoon images.