My Trips and Tips

Hello, friends! It’s time for an update. And when you read through this post, you’ll understand why.

First, I need to let you know that I’ve been trying to fix the categories on my blog this month, and for some reason, most of them disappeared. I can still see them in my account, but not on my actual webpage that you see. So bear with me while I figure that out. Currently, all you can see from the tabs at the top are the “Journeys of Women” posts and the “Uncategorized” posts. I think you can see the rest of them (like the teaching overseas ones) if you scroll through all the posts. Also, I’d like to write more travel-article-type posts of short trips, so keep an eye out for those. I’m summarizing our recent ones in this post.

This summer has been so great in so many ways. If you don’t follow me on Facebook, you may be surprised to learn that I left teaching for now and am working in an insurance brokerage office. I miss having students, but am enjoying the change of pace. However, since I’m working all year now and not getting even the three week break between summer school and the new school year that I had at my last school, I’ve been making the most of my weekends this summer. Namely by doing road trips with my fiancé and his five kids.

What fiancé you say? Okay, so I’m pretty private concerning my romantic life on both my blog and on Facebook. Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

Three years ago I met a really nice, nerdy guy named Chris. We became fast friends, and the following year we started dating. It wasn’t the right timing for us to date yet, so we parted ways but stayed friends. The next year we tried dating again, because we realized how much we enjoyed spending time together. But we had some major differences that kept things from working out between us at the time. We stayed friends again, because we just couldn’t not (despite our best efforts to give each other space). This year, we decided that we needed to find a way to be together. We talked and talked, and found common ground to build from and found ways that worked for us both without compromising who we are. I’m so grateful to find a man who loves me fully, and is willing to work on things to make things work! He is sweet, generous, and strong but gentle. A true gentleman. He even wears a top hat (keep reading).

So here we are! Engaged. (More on how that happened later)

But wait, you say. You said something about five kids? Yup, he comes with five adorable sweet goofy kids ages 5-13. Just call me Maria von Trapp (actually, I’d be honored if you called me that; I’ve read her memoirs and the real person was amazing!). They are all so adorable in different ways, from the oldest to the youngest. And great artists like their dad. I’m so excited to have a great husband and kids! I feel so blessed at this second chance in life to have a family.

Speaking of second chances, I got to have a real-time live conversation with my ex-husband last week. It’s been so great to have his friendship again, especially before I remarry. Talk about closure. I’m glad he’s happy in life, too. It’s been 11 years since our divorce, and I’d have liked to be remarried by now, but I’m grateful for the way it worked out.

You’re not getting off that fast by distracting us with your ex, you say. Who is this guy you’re engaged to? Well, his pen name is Professor Popinjay, and his first name is Chris. You can find his humor column in old copies of the recently defunct local newspaper, the Springfield-based Free For All, or join his group page on Facebook if you want some good laughs and deep thoughts.

So how did this “professor of comedy” propose? All right, I’ll tell you. And now I’ll get to those weekend trips this summer that I mentioned earlier. I could write a separate blog about each of them, and maybe I will sometime, but for now I’ll just summarize and show a few fun pictures.

The first big trip we took in July was to the Enchanted Forest. If you haven’t been to Western Oregon, the Enchanted Forest is Oregon’s own adorably podunk version of Disneyland. I grew up going to it with my family and my cousins every summer, and my fiancé went there once as a kid. We were so excited to take his kids there for the first time! And they loved it. Ice Mountain was their favorite ride, and I think the maze-like caves and the Crooked House were their other favorite things to do there. And they were fascinated by the Fantasy Fountains display. But the big finale happened right as the park was closing. Chris pulled me aside in the picturesque European Village (right below the animatronic gossiping English ladies in the 2nd story windows) and asked me to marry him. I was a little distracted because the young kids didn’t know what was happening and were asking to play in Pinocchio’s Playhouse, but I said yes and figured well, that’s probably how our romance will continue to be for the next 10 years or so. Fun and frequently distracted by adorable kids. We left the theme park and ate dinner at my old favorite Méxican restaurant in Salem, La Hacienda Real, and then played for a while at the Riverfront Park. I miss Salem sometimes!

The following Monday was Independence Day, which saw a great time at a church barbeque out in the country at the home of one of our pastors. My mom and stepdad came, too. We’ll be having the wedding there, so Mom was excited to see the epic treehouse we’ll get married in front of! Later we watched fireworks at the driveway of my future in-laws.

The next weekend we took a break from day trips so I could spend time with my cousins. One of the twins was hosting a birthday party for his twin 4-year-olds on Saturday, and on Sunday I went wine tasting at Walnut Ridge vineyard with his twin. I don’t spend nearly enough time with either of them considering how close we live. I’m hoping the change of pace with me working more normal hours now will help that.

The next weekend was back to big day trips. Chris and I took the kids hiking to Iron Mountain at Tombstone Pass, making a clockwise loop by heading up Marcola Road to Sweet Home and then east on Hwy 20 (stopping at the Shortbridge Ghost Town along the way, of course). The Iron Mountain/Cone Peak trails are the best kept secret from Oregonians. Everyone else knows about the area because it was on the cover of an Oregon tour guide book. Two summers ago, my friend Natasha and I did the whole loop hike. It was spectacular, with full meadows of every color of wildflowers all mixed together. This summer with the kids, we just did the Iron Mountain section. We hit the beginning of the wildflower season (all the plants in Western Oregon are two weeks late this summer because of the cold rains late this spring), so the trails had some wildflowers along them but not as many as when I went before. Still beautiful, though. At the top the old fire lookout has been converted to an observation deck, where you can see almost all the big volcanoes of Oregon and even one in Washington. My fiancé’s little boy struggled a bit to make it to the top, saying “This mountain is too big for me.” But he made it, and we ate a picnic lunch. Heading back on our loop road trip, we stopped for ice cream at Clear Lake and ended up renting a rowboat. That was a hard lesson in teamwork, but everyone loved looking down through the crystal clear water. We stopped at Sahalie and Koosah Falls, ate supper at the outdoor Obsidian Grill in McKenzie Bridge with live music (at which the youngest daughter wanted me to dance with her), and got an impromptu free private tour of River Run Gallery in Leaburg. What a magical day! The sad part is the next day I found out my best friend’s mom was dying of cancer. The last time I went to Iron Mountain, I found out my friend Meranda died of cancer. I’m a bit nervous to go again, but I don’t believe in superstition, and it is a beautiful place. Next time I go, I will honor both of their memories.

The next weekend, we did more than a day trip. We went camping! With friends I used to work with at the military school. And their friends. And all 5 of our kids plus their kids. We had campsites on the other side of the river at Belknap Springs, so we lugged our gear out there in wheelbarrows and set up camp. The kids loved swimming in the hot pools and running around the Secret Garden (Little Man did laps around it to burn off excess 5-year-old boy energy), and I loved eating s’mores by the campfire. My friends took Chris and his oldest daughter whitewater rafting on the McKenzie River while I took the rest of the kids hiking to Proxy Falls. We all met up at… guess where… the Obsidian Grill with outdoor live music again! This time the youngest girl danced with her daddy and her little brother and their new little friend that we camped with. I love the McKenzie area. And I’m happy to report that wildflowers and underbrush are popping up below the burnt trees from the wildfires there two years ago, and homes are being rebuilt.

Not to be outdone, the last weekend of July had a beach trip. We drove out to where Chris’ parents were camping, and then headed to North Jetty for some sand and waves. It was nearly 100 degrees in the Valley, but only in the 60s at the coast. The kids had a blast running up dunes and rolling down them, drawing in the wet sand, letting the cold Pacific waves tickle their feet, and playing in a driftwood fort someone had built. Then we ate supper and s’mores at his parents’ campsite with them and his brother.

But with all this summer fun (I haven’t even mentioned weeknight activities like my company party for my office at a baseball game this week) and planning a very quick-turnaround wedding (it’s in September because we’re too old for long engagements), we’re exhausted. So I canceled our plans to go to a family reunion in Washington this weekend so we can stay home to work on things. And clean house. And relax.

What fun, adventurous, or relaxing things are you doing this summer to beat the heat (or embrace it)? Or for my Southern Hemisphere friends, how is winter going? I’d love to hear you all! Please comment below if you are willing. Happy August!

And welcome to the 100th post of the Compass Rose Queen!

Whether you’re fairly new to this blog or have been one of my faithful readers for many years (I think there are two of you, and bless you both!), I want to start this post by thanking you for taking the time to read it any time that you have done so. This project started many years ago when the conventional wisdom for aspiring authors was to host a blog so they could have a “platform.” I settled on a theme of writing about the journeys of women. At first, I focused on women (both historical and fictional) who went on some sort of journey. Sometimes I commandeered it to write about my own journeys and sojourns, such as trips I took or living abroad as an international teacher. Other times I’ve used it as a space to write about the female protagonists of my writer friends’ novels. And occasionally I’ve strayed altogether from the theme of the journeys of women. But thank you for travelling this journey with me over the years.

But back to the 2-part series I’m on. (Quick! If you haven’t read yesterday’s post, find it now so you know what I’m talking about). I tried to line up my 100th post with this weekend’s centennial celebration of Oregon State Parks, celebrated yesterday at Sarah Helmick State Recreation Site. Every state park offers the opportunity for a mini-journey to somewhere beautiful or historical, whether you stop to stretch your legs at a state scenic viewpoint or camp at a full state park for a weekend. Some parks are a simple green space, while others offer beautiful beach views, wonderful waterfalls, or other spectacular scenery.

So now I will pay my homage to my favorite state parks in Oregon. I found a list of them, and discovered that I’ve been to at least 34 of them. I’ll just list my top 5 and why I like them, as well as best parks for camping and honorable mentions for waterfalls. Please, in the comments below, tell me about your favorite state parks! Or provincial parks, or county parks, or whatever you have where you live (besides national parks).

Type of park key: SP= State Park, SSV = State Scenic Viewpoint, SRS= State Recreation Site, SRA= State Recreation Area, SNA= State Natural Area, MSP= Memorial State Park, SSC= State Scenic Corridor, SHA= State Heritage Area, SHS= State Heritage Site

Jessie’s Top 10 Favorite State Parks

1. Silver Falls SP: It’s the crown jewel of Oregon State Parks for a reason. With miles of hiking through lush forest in the foothills of the Cascade range, more than 10 substantially-sized waterfalls, including three very tall ones (and some that you can walk behind), it is fantastic. When I lived in Salem, I hiked there at least a few times a year. Also nearby is the Shellburg Falls area, with three beautiful waterfalls to hike to. Other great places to visit nearby are the Oregon Gardens and the German-style village of Mt. Angel.
2. Smith Rock SP and Peter Skene Ogden SSV: Spectacular rock formations in the high desert of Central Oregon rising into the sky above the steep canyon of the Crooked River make Smith Rock my second favorite SP. It has world-class rock climbing routes and both easy and hard hiking trails. Misery Ridge is painfully steep but rewards those at the top with views of nearly every snow-capped volcano in the state. Hike down the other side a little to watch climbers tackle Monkey Face rock. Last time I went there (2021), the nearby Juniper Junction store was closed. It used to have climbing gear and delicious huckleberry ice cream. Fortunately, some neighbor kids down the street sold lemonade in their front yard. And hopefully that was only a temporary closure. Mostly I go hiking there, but once right after college I went rock climbing there with the youth group I volunteered for. The nearby Peter Skene Odgen SSV, accessible from right off the highway, also has great views of the Crooked River Gorge.
3. Heceta Head Lighthouse SSV and Carl G Washburne MSP: These two parks are connected by hiking trails, and make up my favorite stretch of the Oregon Coast. In between them is Hobbit Beach, which I believe is actually on the property of Washburne park, but you get to it from an unmarked pulloff on Hwy 101. In the old days, there were two trails leading down from the parking area, and you could choose between the one that had hobbit-like tunnels made by vegetation or the easier but longer path. Officials have blocked the more adventurous one to reduce the risk of erosion, but the beach is fantastic no matter how you get there. Tidepools, sandstone cliffs to carve your name into, and beach that no one can drive up to are a view of its draws. A newer trail from the same trailhead takes you up onto a cliff and over into the Heceta Head Lighthouse area. You can also get there from the main parking lot (it used to be called Devil’s Elbow State Park. It has a great mini-beach protected by cliffs as well as tours of the lighthouse and the lighthouse-keeper’s house (which is supposedly haunted).
4. Crown Point Vista House SSC and Guy V Talbot SP/Latourell Falls Trailhead: Heading up to the Columbia Gorge, these two parks are close enough to each other to make another double-header. Together, they demonstrate what the Gorge has to offer: breathtaking views of the gorge itself from up high and crazy-tall waterfalls. But they both have more, too. The Vista House is an architectural wonder, a castle-like structure perched on a cliff. Inside offers an espresso stand and gift shop, as well as historical artifacts about the Gorge. Latourell Falls has two waterfalls if you’re willing to hike, but the big one that you can see from the parking lot is surrounded by geometric basalt columns.
5. Fort Rock SNA: This one is newer to me, having only gone there a few years ago. But it quickly became one of my favorites. Every view of it is different and awesome, depending on where you’re standing. From farther back, you can see how it’s a ring left by an ancient volcano. It has more than geologic history, though. The oldest sandals in the world were found near here at Fort Rock Cave. I went with old college roommate and her kids, and we had a blast climbing all over it. It’s in Oregon’s “Outback” area, and has many other epic things to see nearby. I especially loved hiking through Crack-in-the-Ground, a slot canyon formed by volcanic fissure. Seeing the petroglyphs on the rock at Picture Rock Pass was also amazing!

Honorable Mentions:

Wonderful Waterfalls: White River Falls SP in Central Oregon looks like something straight out of a travel magazine. You have to hike a steep and treacherous trail to get the best view, but you can see the gushing semi-circle top tier right from the parking lot. Munson Creek Falls SNS at the coast is tall but difficult to photograph. Bridal Veil Falls SSV in the Columbia Gorge area is beautiful and an easy hike, and the same goes for nearby Shepperd’s Dell SNA.

Beautiful Beaches: Face Rock SSV in Bandon has giant rocks jutting out of the ocean. D River SRS in Lincoln City has endless beach going out from either side of the world’s shortest river. Fort Stevens SP near Astoria has history galore. Seal Rock SRS has fantastic rock formations on the beach that you can climb on. Agate Beach SRS has… you guessed it, agates to collect. Devil’s Punchbowl SP has a giant rock bowl that fills up with ocean water depending on the tide.

State History: State Capitol SP of course has our state capitol building, which is neat to tour or just walk around inside or the grounds. Wolf Creek Inn SHS is an old historic inn which has had guests including Clark Gable (while filming nearby) and Jack London (while writing a book). They preserved Jack London’s little room for people to see. The writer in me was big time nerding out when I saw that! Willamette Mission SP has filbert/hazelnut orchards, the nation’s largest black cottonwood tree, and the site of the 1834 Willamette Mission. Champoeg SHA is where Oregon’s first provisional government was formed in 1843, and is probably the most recent state park that I visited for the first time, when visiting my stepsister who lives nearby.

Great Campsites: Cascadia State Park has small campsites for RVs and tents as well as two group sites with a big field to play in. Families and youth groups also love playing in the river, hiking to Soda Creek Falls, and walking around the historic site of an old resort based on the healing powers of the spring. Cove Palisades SP has epic cliffs all through the reservoir. You can drive to the top of one of them from the city of Madras, and a park host there told me you can rent the clifftop meadow overlooking the dam for weddings for $50! Jessie M. Honeyman MSP, aka Honeyman SP, is also great for families with a pond to paddleboat in, sand dunes to explore and surf, and nearby dunebuggying. LaPine SP has small wood cabins and the nearby Deschutes River for rafting.

I didn’t realize until making the lists above just how many great state parks I’ve experienced here in Oregon. I’ve also enjoyed some in other states. Kudos to Nevada for putting together a Nevada State Parks passport, complete with color photos, that you can fill up with stamps to get a free annual parks pass. What are your favorite state parks?

Hello readers! I hope you had as fun of a day as I did. This post will need to be split in two for a couple reasons.

Today I was hoping to publish my 100th blog post, but was not able to write last night, so tonight’s is only #99. Which means I need to write about Oregon State Parks again tomorrow to line up my 100th post with their 100 year anniversary celebration that was today. Plus, it works out well to split up this theme to two parts. Today I’ll talk about the party we attended, and tomorrow I’ll talk about some of my favorite state parks.

I may be a big national park nerd, but state parks are also near and dear to my heart. The biggest and most impressive of them are like miniature national parks that are often easier and cheaper to get to.

Today Oregon State Parks held a big “birthday” party at Sarah Helmick State Park near Monmouth. 100 years ago, a real pioneer woman named Sarah Helmick donated land to the state, which became our very first state park. She had come to Oregon in the late 1840s, and evidently loved it enough to donate her land to it. (Hey, I managed to tie this to my blog’s theme of the journeys of women! But I couldn’t find much online about her actual journey.)

It’s not a big park. A small forest and grassy meadow is about it. But it’s nice, and I have old memories of it. I attended Western Oregon University in Monmouth in the late ’90s. My field geography class went there once to practice using handheld GPSs (long before we had them installed in our phones) to navigate by foot.

I had a couple young kids with me, and despite the rain, they had a blast. The event, titled “2022 Centennial Birthday Event” had activity stations including a classic car expo, “recreational sports through time” such as croquet and disc golf, ODOT history, volunteers, natural resources, and others. The kids loaded up on freebies like stickers, mini-frisbees, activity books, and more. I was given a cool blanket for outdoor use (like picnics, sitting in sports bleachers, etc.). And we got free lunch and cupcakes. It was great! Many thanks to the people who volunteered for this event, and did it cheerfully in the rain. The state parks mascot beaver (maybe the cousin of OSU’s beaver?) also made an appearance giving hugs and high-fives to kids. We did not stay for the presentations and dedications because my nephew’s high school baseball state championship game was at the same time at the Keizer Volcanoes stadium. We made it there late in the game but in time to watch my nephew hit and pitch awesomely, and his team won!

To reward the kids for being great sports going to both of these events in the rain (we loaded up on coats, rain ponchos, rainboots, and umbrellas, but still…), I took them to the Gilbert House children’s museum in Salem so they could play indoors and a little outdoors on the giant vertical Erector Set. They loved it. We also walked through nearby Riverfront Park to see the giant Eco-Earth and the riverboat, the Willamette Queen. A great end to a day of celebrating our great state.

Stay tuned tomorrow for my top favorite Oregon State Parks, and be ready to share yours with me! (And if you’re outside of Oregon, feel free to share your state or province’s best parks!)

Hello friends and followers! I hope you all had a good Memorial Day weekend, whatever it means to you. For many here in the USA it is a time of outdoor fun and food, for many a time of reflection and honoring fallen loved ones, and for others a mix of the two. I’d like to give a quick update and share some fun I had this weekend. I’m trying to get better at sharing about my travels more often in travel article styled posts. This week I also plan to write about some amazing women’s journeys. If I keep on schedule, this Saturday will be my 100th post, just in time to celebrate the 100th year of something awesome! Stay tuned!

Before I share about some fun I had this weekend, I want to pause and honor the innocent lives lost in the two recent mass shootings, one at a grocery store that appears to be racially motivated, and the other at an elementary school where the motive is as yet unknown. Please join me in sending a prayer for comfort for the loved ones of those lost. I’m sure that this Memorial Day was extra difficult for them.

And a quick update: my new “civilian” job is going well. I’m working in an office to support account managers for employee benefits for clients including nonprofits, governmental and educational agencies, and businesses. My coworkers are all great, and my favorite part so far is helping the account managers put together publications for clients to send to their employees.

This Memorial Day weekend, I was supposed to go camping and rafting on the Deschutes River with my Central Oregon friends. But Oregon weather hijacked those plans. So instead I got to revisit some favorite places with people I love.

On Saturday, we went to Silver Falls State Park. Yes, it was raining, but that’s actually a great time to go there. Evidently we weren’t the only ones to think that, because there were a fair number of brave souls there, most of whom were wearing plastic ponchos. But it was still way quieter than sunny summer days that draw crowds. We decided not to hike the whole loop trail but just see the highlights and warm up in-between them. It was my boyfriend’s first time there, and he was awed by the scale of South Falls. We ate lunch, played cards, and warmed up by a fire in the lodge. Then we drove to North Falls and hiked the epic stone stairs down to the viewpoint. We took in the view of the falling water and rain from a bench in the giant cavern behind the falls.

After that, we drove to the picturesque town of Mt. Angel. It has been structured and decorated to look like a German town. We attended the Vespers service at the Abbey church where we sang along with monks. Then we ate dinner at the newly reopened Glockenspiel restaurant. The chicken schnitzel was delicious! We wandered around downtown a bit, and then headed south to come home. But we stopped in Salem to top off our German-themed evening with cake and coffee at the Konditerei. They’ve revamped a bit, and I swear it tasted better than it ever did when I lived in Salem!

Yesterday (Sunday) I stayed mostly home and got some things done that I needed to. My church service is in the evening, and after it everyone went to an ice cream shop, despite the cold outside. Worth it!

Today I got to take my boyfriend’s family to Sweet Creek Falls trail (Homestead Trailhead) for their first time there. Like the Silver Falls State Park’s “Trail of 10 Falls,” this trail also has 10+ waterfalls. They are much smaller in stature than at Silver Falls, but so is the trail, making it a family friendly treat. The creek itself is beautiful even between the waterfalls, and fort-like stumps, rocky shallows to splash in, and cliff-hugging catwalks provide lots of fun for kids. The biggest waterfall is the official Sweet Creek Falls at the farthest point on the trail. You can’t see the whole thing at once but can hike a steep trail to the upper viewpoint. It rained on us as we hiked back to the trailhead, so we ate our picnic lunch in the car and headed back. We stopped at the Gingerbread Village restaurant to buy baked treats (gingerbread cookie people, gingerbread cake, and carrot cake with like an inch of cream cheese frosting) and use the bathrooms. There were some fun photo ops set up outside, and we visited the giant pig out back as well. The restaurant was overwhelmed with guests who stopped to eat on their way home from a weekend at the coast, so I’m glad we didn’t get a table and eat there.

All in all, it was a lovely weekend. I may add some photos eventually, but as I said earlier, I’m trying to get better at writing more often, so I’m not going to wait until I download pictures from my phone to my laptop. I’m going to try to write a post a day this week, as part of my countdown to 100 posts and 100 years of something I love. Hint: one of the places I went this weekend is part of that celebration. Can you figure out what it is?

And now for the rest of the story, or at least the rest of 2021’s adventures. If you haven’t read Parts I and II yet, go back and read/skim those first, so you know what this one is about. I know I usually don’t make my end-of-year-review posts this long and drawn out, but for some reason I want to post about last year’s highlights in more depth than usual. Maybe it’s because many people considered 2020 and 2021 to be “throwaway years”, and I just don’t want to remember them like that. Because yes, there were hard times. But there were also good times. So anyway, here’s the rest of the year after my big Texas road trip, at least what I can remember from seeing photos.

Fall fun! My church was doing hikes on Wednesday evenings, and we enjoyed the sunset from Swing Hill on Mt. Pisgah. My friends Chelsey and Rachel and I went to Johnson Farm for the pumpkin patch, and enjoyed hot cider and homemade doughnuts. And I went to the Oregon Ducks vs. OSU Beavers women’s soccer game on Halloween with friend Brit and her kiddos. Also in the fall, I attended friend Mollie’s beautiful outdoor wedding, hiked with friend Paola, played at a park with my cousin Josh and his family, went to backyard firepit evenings at friends’ houses, took Chris’s kids to parks, and lots of other things that I might post pics of on Facebook. And around Halloween, I hosted my first ever “Black Forest Party” with Black Forest foods and drinks. Friends and family came, and we watched Into the Woods. Very fun!

Fall foliage! I hiked up Angels Rest on the Columbia Gorge with friend Alex and her husband and pooch. And got this surprise sight on the back side of the Hult Center in Eugene when I was there to get weekly Covid tests for work. It’s a Japanese Garden dedicated to the Japanese-Americans who were sent to internment camps during WWII.

Then for Fall Break over Thanksgiving week, I flew to Arizona to spend it with friend Jas and her roommate and family. Can you tell that I really needed out of Oregon in 2021 after 2020 being stuck close to home? Jas and I hiked to the vortex at the top of Cathedral Rocks, to an old mine and petroglyphs on the Dixie Mine trail, and with her family and friends we hiked around Watson Lake in Prescott. On Thanksgiving Day, we took a walk near her and her roommate’s house through saguaro and lots of other cactus and interesting plants. Arizona is beautiful in autumn!

Last, we come to Christmas. I did all the normal things with family, of course. My coworker Tammy and her kids and I got drenched getting Christmas trees from a local farm. Jas came to Oregon to visit, and we went to see White Christmas at the Elsinore Theater in Salem. And Chris and his kids spoiled my cat Arwen with her own Christmas tree.

That pretty much wraps up 2021! I’m sure I missed some important things, but hopefully I got most of the highlights. There were hard times, too, of course. And hard work at the school. We got to go back to school in person in summer and full time in fall, and it was great to see my students and colleagues in the flesh. I’ll try to do a better job of posting more often this year instead of waiting till the end of the year (or four months after it!). With that, spring is in swing and summer is coming, so let’s enjoy 2022!

This is Part II of my 2021 highlights post. If you haven’t read it yet, go back and read (or at least skim through) Part I so this post will make sense.

After summer school ended, I went on a big road trip in August. And by big, I mean Texas-sized! I got to visit relatives I hadn’t seen in forever as well as friends that I used to work with in Afghanistan. I made a big loop to Texas and back, not repeating any states, and staying with friends and family on every leg except one night hotel stay in El Paso. The whole trip was amazing!

The first night, I visited my cousin Julie in Utah. The view of the mountains from her backyard was beautiful, although the wildfire smoke settled in by the next morning. I need to visit again and go hiking with her. Next I stayed in Colorado with friend Cindy that I’d worked with in Afghanistan. She took me out for ice cream at a famous place in Denver. Her cat Little Chicken (a tough but sweet city girl from the streets of Kabul) sat on my road atlas, either to show where she wants to go, or to keep me from leaving.

After Colorado, I drove through Kansas to get to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I visited my friend Lauren (another colleague from the school in Afghanistan) and my cousin Tricia. Kansas had a neat Catholic church dubbed “The Cathedral of the Plains” with a neat raised cemetery. Tulsa is gorgeous! Lauren took me kayaking, and Tricia took me to a neat restaurant by the river. There is amazing art-deco architecture along with other styles, especially with the various churches downtown, as well as the “World’s Largest Praying Hands” statue. It also had this amazing park called The Gathering Place, which for you Oregon people, would be like Salem’s Gilbert House children’s museum plus Riverfront Park but times 20. I went there to work on my novel while Lauren worked. I hung out with her dog at a nearby park, and Tricia’s cat Amelia (Tricia’s husband is a pilot) was very helpful with the map of Ireland on her table, there for the purpose of planning their next trip.

Next stop, Paris. Okay, Paris, Texas, that is! And other places in the northern part of the state. From Tulsa, I took a scenic route to see the cowboy version of the Eiffel Tower, because, well, why not? It also has a war memorial next to it. I stayed with my cousin Brenda and her family in McKinney, which has this neat little artificial Croatian village nearby (the guitar store there is awesome!).

We also took a few trips into Dallas and its suburbs. Brenda’s husband Leon showed me around when everyone else was at school/work (school starts earlier there than in Oregon). He showed me Dealey Plaza overlooking the spot where JFK was assassinated. We ate so much good food, too, like hot pot and Texas BBQ. We all met up with our cousin Clay to eat Tex-Mex, explore the Dallas Arboretum, and see his new house and sweet pup in Mesquite.

Then I headed south to stay with my aunt and uncle in San Antonio. I’ve always wanted to see San Antonio, and it did not disappoint! Plus, my mom surprised me by visiting them, too! We visited a Japanese Garden (called a Chinese Garden during WWII), the Alamo, and the Riverwalk. I definitely need to go back! Mom and I walked around the grounds of the Alamo, which were beautiful.

Having reached the farthest point on my journey, I finally headed west. I drove through Texas and stayed the night in a hotel in El Paso. I did not see the Río Grande as I drove right by it through the city, but I could see México and later crossed the river once I was in New Mexico. I stopped at a couple ghost towns in New Mexico and at a pretty rest stop in Arizona that had cool rock formations. Eventually I reached Scottsdale, where friend Jas lives, and stayed with her a couple days. We hiked local Pinnacle Peak and enjoyed popsicles back at the trailhead (every trail needs a “trail granny” as we called her, this sweet lady running the info booth by the bathrooms).

From Scottsdale, I next drove the Carefree Highway to Highway 93, also known as the Joshua Tree Parkway. It was beautiful! So many saguaros and Joshua Trees. There was hardly anyone on the road, so I slowed down to snap a pic. I stopped in Kingman for some obligatory Route 66 photo ops, but then got back on 93 and made my way over the Colorado River to the Las Vegas area. I stayed in Henderson with high school friend Katey and her sweet family, where we played board games and watched episodes of Corner Gas. She and her husband recommended a lunch stop at the Happy Burro Chili & Beer in Beatty on my next drive. I ate my chili outside under a big tree, and the adorably short bartender lady came out and chatted with me for a while. We talked about the pandemic and state of the world and she told me how things were going for her relatives back home in SE Asia. I wish I’d stopped by Rhyolite ghost town nearby, but was kind of ghost towned-out after New Mexico.

Next I drove to Reno, where friend Jesie and her sweet family were staying in a hotel for a couple days. I won’t embarrass her with pictures, but it was really fun to watch her practice ice skating. Her husband picked up a hearty breakfast for us and we parted ways too soon. I’m glad I visited her earlier in the year at spring break, because the next time I saw her was at the memorial service of her precious grandma-in-law. The last stay of my trip was back home in Oregon, near Crater Lake. My friend Teresa and her husband were camping there. She was the other math teacher at the school in Afghanistan. It was so great to spend time with her, since I hadn’t seen her since I left the country. We hiked to some nearby waterfalls and Watchman Peak trail at Crater Lake. The wildfire smoke was super thick in the area, but it cleared over Crater Lake when we got there for a beautiful sunny day!

I finally made it home after that, just in time to start prepping for the new school year. It was a whirlwind trip, with not nearly enough time with any of the friends and family I visited. Worth it, though. I love where I live, but I needed a break, some sunshine, catching up with far away loved ones, great food, and adventure.

Stay tuned for Part III of 2021 Memories Near and Far: fall and beginning of winter.

Usually I do a “Christmas newsletter”-style post at the end of the year, either at Christmas or New Years with all the trips and things I did during the year. Well, this school year has been crazy busy, so during winter break I was catching my breath. I was working on this and hoping to post it during the week of Persian New Year (the beginning of spring), but that got busy, too. Then I quit my job in early March, worked on job applications for a few weeks, and then subbed for the last few weeks at the military school I used to teach at. Unfortunately, I got sick at the end of the week, and am still feeling icky, so I’ve been home several days with not much to do. I finally finished these posts up!

So here’s a bit about my journeys and adventures for 2021, at least what I can remember thanks to photos. I’ll try to post more personal photos (with humans in them!) on Facebook for friends to see, but here are some great highlights of the year. I ran out of space with all my photos, so this post is Part I of three.

2021 Highlights Part I

Winter 2021 was busy but fun. We were still teaching remotely then. I went hiking to Blue Pool with friend Tracy and her sweet kiddo for the first time. So beautiful! And went snowboarding with friend Jocelyn for the first time. So hard! And climbed the columns at Skinners Butte in the middle of Eugene with friends from church. So fun!

Then came Spring Break. I decided to get out of Oregon for a bit and visited friend Jesie and her family in the mountains of NE Nevada. Caught more winter there! But it was beautiful. Lemoille Canyon looked like cross between the Garden of the Gods with a little bit of Yosemite. I also went to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn with friend Rainie and her adorable baby before vacation was over.

In the spring, I ate Easter brunch with my cousin Sarah and her family, toured historic Champoeg State Park with my stepsister Tammy and her family, and lots of playground/park visits with Chris’s kids. For Memorial Day weekend, I rafted the Deschutes with my Madras friends, and stopped to explore the Metolius on my way home after hiking at Smith Rock State Park. A beautiful sun-filled weekend!

Summer came with visiting relatives and sunshine. I had a couple weeks break between teaching spring and summer terms. Summer was our first time being back in the classroom in person after a year and a quarter of distance learning! So that was nice. The first two pictures are from activities with my uncle and aunt that came to visit from Nebraska, and got blasted with unusual heat (for Oregon) in June. We went to a day of the Olympic trials at the newly remodeled Hayward Field (looks different than when I ran the track in middle school track meets!) and to cool off at the coast. I went to the coast a few days later with my boyfriend Chris and his kids, and got crab chowder at my new favorite seafood place, Novelli’s.

The school I taught at is a year-round school, so July summer activities were mainly on weekends. My stepsister and nephew and I explored The Grotto, a really neat place in Portland with beautiful gardens, chapels, and a cave recess that is a place of worship. Friend Natasha and I went drove partway up and then hiked to the top of Marys Peak. From the top, you can see the ocean! Friend Sarah and I ate Afghan food at the Saturday Market in town.

To be continued…. in Part II.

Note: I had originally posted a version of this at the end of my previous post, but kept adding to my list, and it got overgrown. So here it is in its own separate post for your convenient reference (when you’re getting cabin fever!). Enjoy! And coming soon will be another post about two more women with amazing journeys, called “Two Young Queens.” Stay tuned! 

For those of us who love journeys and adventures, this Coronavirus Quarantine we’re all in is tough, even if we’re lucky enough to not be sick or laid off work right now. My heart goes out to all of you who are affected by Covid-19, and I do want to take that seriously. I imagine that many of you are looking for new jobs, caring for sick relatives, trying to home-school your kids since school is out, or other important tasks, and of course just trying to survive emotionally with all the isolation. As for me, my hours/income has been cut in half and I’m trying to figure out how to teach online. It’s tough, but not as tough as it is for those of you on the front lines (health care professionals, grocery store workers, social workers, etc.) I’m praying and cheering for you! Safety is first, of course! But we all need some fun, too, in order to make it through this. So this list of fun activities is for any of you who are feeling the Coronavirus Quarantine Cabin Fever.

When I lived in a conflict zone in Central Asia, we had fun ways of dealing with “compound fever” when we weren’t allowed to leave our school/home compound for extended lengths of time due to security situations in the city. I think our favorites were playing Wii Just Dance, having fun parties (masquerades, murder mystery parties, themed movie nights, etc.), planning trips and outings for the future, and of course keeping busy teaching our awesome students. For your amusement or benefit in any way, I’ve made a list of things you can do to tide you over until you can get out. Some of these have more educational/cultural value than others. But they’re all fun. And they can even be done if you’re sick, with Covid-19 or anything else (but I sure hope you’re not!).

15 (at last count) ways to enjoy the journey from the comfort of your own home: (in no particular order)

1. Make a dream/wish/bucket list of all the places you want to go. Choose one that is possible to go to in the next year. Plan the trip. For big trips, make a savings plan, and if you haven’t been laid off work, start saving. If you’re not able to work, plan to start saving when you can.
2. Go for a walk in your neighborhood, if you can. Try to notice something new you’d never noticed before. This one, of course, is dependent on the level of the “stay at home/shelter in place” policies that your city/state/province/country has placed you on. Don’t do anything you’re not supposed to do.
3. Watch travel shows or National Geographic episodes online.
4. Watch movies or read books that take place in areas of the world that you’d like to visit (preferably by people who have actually been there). Since my previous blog post was about Afghan women, I highly recommend the book A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (the man that wrote The Kite Runner). I also recommend the film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” with Ben Stiller, where he travels around the world (including Afghanistan!). Another option: read a book by/about a real person who has been on a journey. I’m currently rereading Berlin Diaries by Marie Vassiltchikov, a Russian princess who worked in Berlin during WWII. And hey, if you need books, consider ordering online from Powell’s City of Books (in Portland) instead of Amazon. They were at risk for closing for good because of the stay at home orders, but good news; everyone who bought online helped them hire back all their employees! Here’s a link to a site with a button at the bottom to order in a way to help their Worker Relief Fund: https://ilwulocal5.com/?fbclid=IwAR0MsxRl4hOQylBLV5b2vJxhILD92TjyYDYC1BIvz9Gx_Uba8ZNaNUnzgMg
5. Chat on the phone or online with friends who live far away from you and ask what it’s like there. Don’t forget to chat with your close-by friends, too! We all need each other right now! And of course, take time to call people who may be extra lonely right now, including those who have lost their job/livelihood, people living alone, and the elderly.
6. Take this time to organize your collection of travel things: maps, brochures, postcards, etc. Okay, maybe you don’t have an extensive collection of these things like I do. I may or may not be a hoarder of such things. I’m sure there’s a 12-step group out there for people like me. “Hi, my name is _____, and I’m a compulsive collector of maps and other things related to travel…” If this is true of you, perhaps set aside some items that can be given to others.
7. Order some photos online, break out your old scrapbook or art supply stash, and make some scrapbook pages, greeting cards, or other artworks of places you’ve been. Remember when we used to do that? Before we just posted photos on Facebook or Instagram? Reminiscing about past travels reminds us how much we’ve gotten to experience already, and can help us be content during this time of staying home. If you’ve lived/traveled places with other people, call them to reminisce together.
8. Break out that puzzle you got years ago of some beautiful place in the world, and put it together. I recently did a Dollar Tree puzzle of Strasbourg, France. My parents have been there.
9. Do lunges and other workout activities to keep in shape for hiking/exploring. This is good for you anyway, even if you’re not missing traveling. Of course be safe and consult a doctor first if you should.
10. Break into your kids’ toybox (or your own stash) and build a Lego replica of a place you want to go. My friend Chris just finished Big Ben, which he’d been working on for months.
11. Visit famous museums virtually! Or other cool places! https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ten-museums-you-can-virtually-visit-180974443/
12. “Explore” the world on Google Earth. It’s super fun to zoom in on a famous place and look at it from different angles. Several years ago I made a geography “passport” project for students based on this. I’m not sure where I have the digital files for it, or I’d share it. But I remember it involved writing latitude and longitude for the places they “visited” (and drawing them, because that’s fun), and a map in the back that’s divided like a coordinate plane (X and Y graph like in math class) and some questions to get them thinking geographically.
13. Journal what your life is like right now! It’s part of your journey. Write about your thoughts, hopes, fears, relationships, and anything else that’s part of your life. Don’t be afraid to write about the trivial things: what little (or big) things are you doing to cope with being cooped up?
14. Check out these activities about USA’s national parks that you can do from home! https://www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/park-activities-you-can-do-comfort-your-home
15. Explore my home state of Oregon! Whether you’re from here, been here once, or only dreamed of coming here, this is one way to check out some new places.    https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/trip-ideas/parents-guide-oregon-activities-home/

Whatever you do with your time, you have my best wishes for your health (mental, physical, emotional, etc.) and happiness. Enjoy the journey, however you can! And please share your ideas for doing so in the comments below! And in case you’re wondering about the photo, that is my neighbor’s goat, peaking his head through the fence by my apartment. It has no official purpose for being in this post besides being adorable. And I’m glad he’s right next door so I can see him during this worldwide quarantine!

Hello friends and family! Happy 2020! My cat, Arwen, politely informed me that she wouldn’t be writing my annual end-of-year newsletter this year. Do your own dirty work, she told me. Like I don’t do hers every time I clean her litterbox! But oh, well. She knows I love writing and need to do more of it, so here goes. I did not get this done before Christmas or even before New Year’s, so this will be a blog post recap of 2019.

2019 was a pretty exciting year! Unlike 2018, I didn’t go on any road trips to Oregon’s Outback to visit my college roommates or raft the Deschutes with friends or hike above timberline on a bunch of giant volcanoes, but I did have some great adventures and sweet times with family and friends.

There was lots of family fun this year. I got to have fun with my stepsiblings and their kids doing things like exploring Mt. Angel Abbey and Opal Creek and watching the kids play baseball and American football for their high school. There were lots of mini-hikes in the Ridgeline Trails and a coast trip with my mom, eating Afghan food at the Saturday Market with my dad, and frisbee golf with my brother. Then there was the Schmidt Family Reunion, where I was the President last year. Lots of cousins came to this part of the state to play in a pool and a treehouse and eat potluck (mostly desserts) and catch up with family. I even camped in the treehouse with my cousin and his kids! In autumn, Mom and I drove the Aufderheide Memorial Drive loop to see the fall foliage. That had been on my Oregon bucket list for a few years, and I kept getting thwarted by forest fire damage. It was beautiful!

I also had some great adventures with friends. For Memorial Day weekend, I drove to Montana to surprise my friend Jessica for her birthday (pulling it off with the help of her husband and teenage daughter). We got to watch a show at the opera house in Virginia City (a smaller but very similar cousin to the Virginia City in Nevada). In June, I backpacked in the snow with coworkers (we took the senior trip for the kids, who opted not to go on it) along the PCT near Willamette Pass. I frequented the bouldering gym with friends from church who have memberships there, and even got to go rock climbing at the Skinner’s Butte columns, which I’d never done before, despite growing up here! I also partook in local festivities, like eating good food at the Scandinavian festival with friends, watching Lifehouse perform at the county fair (we got spots in the free section, of course!), watching one of our church friends perform with his up-and-coming acoustic punk band, and even going to an artist’s fair focused on writers, where one of my childhood teachers was selling books he’d written. Then I got to go camping at good ol’ Honeyman State Park (lots of memories there from my youth) at the coast with one of my other best friends Jas and her family. Her cousins’ kids are so cute and fun to play with! The other big summer highlight was camping and kayaking at Waldo Lake with church friends. It’s one of the world’s purest lakes, isn’t far away, and had been on my Oregon bucket list for over 15 years since my ex and I tried to go there but got chased away by mosquito season. It was so beautiful! And such a blast to camp with friends. And of course the year was filled with waterfall hiking trips with friends old and new, as well as fun activities like murder mystery parties (we rang in the 2020s with a 1920s-themed one!) and watching the World Cup at local establishments. I’m sure I’m forgetting something important and awesome that I did with people special to me, so please don’t feel bad! I do that every year! It’s because I’m so blessed with so many great friends and fun things to do. And if I haven’t gotten to hang out with you in a while, please call!

As for work, I finally left the military charter school and went to teach at another school. I miss the staff and kids at WLA, but it was time for me to move on and work in a “civilian” school. Now I teach in a Special Education classroom at a private school. It’s very different from my last school. It’s hard, but I love the kids and the staff. And I like not having to iron and wear a military uniform to work every day, although it made it easy to decide what to wear to work!

In December, a few writer friends and I wrapped up meeting together to go through the book The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. It was a great experience, and helped me with my writing. I started working on a short story in the fall that I hope to finish soon (Christmas break flew by with friends and family, and I can’t believe it’s almost over!). This year I hope to focus on learning guitar. Last year I was given a nice one from a friend who’d gotten a new one and didn’t need this one anymore, so I want make good on the potential musician he must have seen in me. Please feel free to ask me if I’ve been practicing! I fell off the bandwagon in the autumn with all the stress from work, so my one New Year’s resolution is to get back on and practice and learn.

In response to my previous post, I kept so busy during fall and winter breaks that I still haven’t seen the Harriet Tubman movie. But I did just get to see the new Star Wars last night, so my Christmas vacation is complete and I can go back to teaching this week! 🙂 There are other cool things happening in my life, but I will save those for personal conversation. I have a good feeling that 2020 will be a great year, even if it turns out to be a tough one (because life happens).

Happy New Year! Please get in touch if you haven’t heard from me in a while. I love you all! And so does Arwen, even if she doesn’t always show it when you come over!

 

Meowy Christmas! My name is Arwen, but you can call me Your Royal Highness. I’ve been living with my faithful servant Jessie for almost two years meow, since she ransomed me from the orphaned pets castle (1st Ave. Shelter). This is my second Christmas at Jessie’s small quarters in the rustic lodge (old apartment building) at the base of the hills outside town. This year she wanted to write a Christmas newsletter, but she has an affliction called Writer’s Block, so she said I could write it. I am honored to continue this tradition, because I heard that my late uncle Fritz Charming III (dog) used to write them for my grand-human Vicki. His sister Sophie (cat) is too busy chasing mice on their country estate while her humans enjoy retirement, my aunt Toto (also a cat) is too busy following around my grand-human Jeremy while he works on fun projects, my big sister Tuppence is too busy being a muse to her artist humans that she lives with in Salem, and my cat cousins Pickle and Zelda do the same for my uncle-human Ben who now has a patron for his art. So it’s up to me to be the royal record-keeper for the family.

Since coming to live with Jessie, I have been a purr-fect companion for her. I cuddle and look cute and help her de-stress from her job at the military high school. She enjoys helping students prepare for college and careers. Her favorite parts of that are arranging field trips to colleges and career events, and seeing students get excited about careers during their  job shadows. She’s very thankful to her friends and people in the community who have helped with this! I’d offer to help, but none of her students plan to become an adorable cat when they grow up, so they can’t follow me around for the day.

Jessie is having a blast at the church she goes to meow. She sings on the worship team and sometimes helps with the little kids. They’re not as cute as me, of course, but she likes them anyway. She feels very blessed with friends and community there.

I deserve extra cat-treats for Christmas, because Jessie leaves me alone sometimes to go travel. She didn’t do any big trips this year like last year’s Montana and Arizona road trips, but she did go on an epic road trip through Oregon’s Outback where she visited her college roommates during spring break, a summer trip to Mt. Rainier and then camped and rafted on the Deschutes with friends, and later hiked to the top of South Sister volcano with my Auntie Alex (neighbor human who lets me play with he

r cat Misty).

All in all, it’s been a nice year. Jessie and I like living here, although she’s saving up for a 2-bedroom townhouse so I can run up and down the stairs. And so she can host friends and family and international students. It will be fun! I hope you all find the same peace and joy she has this year. Meowy Christmas!