Gary-Summer: OR-Silver

Showing posts with label OR-Silver. Show all posts

Saturday, March 28, 2026

March 28, 2026 - Go to Roseburg

Lawrence and Andrea

Title: March 28, 2026 - Go to Roseburg
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's

Hike Info:

Type:Touring

Description:

By the time I got up on Saturday morning, both Andrea and Lawrence were already gone to Silver Falls State Park for their March Madness walk. That is 20 miles with an elevation gain of 2700’. Ah, to be young again and do that kind of challenge.

I got up at 7:00 and had my normal breakfast of granola. I putz around a bit until Sherri gets up at 8:30. I finished packing. There was a discussion of how long to pack for. For an explanation of what really seems like a silly statement: we have found that when we are going for a shorter stay, it is easier to carry in only the essentials and minimize that baggage. I put my medicines together and some underwear, socks and shirts. We had decided to only pack enough for the next two nights. If we stayed a night on the road back to Fresno, I would deal with that later.

The original plan was to spend 1-3 nights getting back to Fresno. But rain is forecasted starting Monday and with Sherri being banged up, we will probably take one night to get back. First we will spend a couple of nights at Dennis and Bonnie's house. Dennis was my best man and roommate many years ago. If we got there early enough, they had talked about taking us on a hike to Toketee Falls, just east of Roseburg.

When we leave Salem at 11:00, that dims the possibility of going to the Falls. We had talked about doing the “No Kings March” in Eugene, but we also started late for that. Also we wanted to avoid the crowd there and not eat in Eugene. About the time we were thinking of stopping at a rest stop and having a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich, we saw an inviting sign for Creswell Bakery.

We get to the bakery about 12:30. Even for a small town, there is a nice line-not terribly long, just that there was one is an indicator that we will be in for a treat. There is a turkey provolone sandwich special today. We decided to take that and split it. Pretty tasty. By the time we finish, it is a little after 1:00.

We stopped at a rest stop for a few minutes and then we are off again. We get to Bonnie and Dennis’ at 2:20. They are waiting for us. It is good to see them and talk with them. We talked for over an hour. Bonnie had mentioned to Sherri earlier that they could take us to Wildlife Safari which is about ten miles away. They have season tickets to it with enough for guests. Sherri wants to go and I mention this to Dennis. They made it possible.

What is Wildlife Safari? It is a Jurassic Park type place, only thing instead of dinosaurs, it has all kinds of exotic animals: giraffes, antelope, elephants, rhinos and hippos, bears, lions, tigers and many other animals. You stay in your car and drive the premises on their roads. It is one way traffic. Today there is not much of a line in most places. The one place where the grizzlies are playing, people are trying to get good views of them and not moving. They are fun to watch. Another place is the tiger area.

When we get back, Bonnie gets dinner on the table and we have pot roast, carrots, potatoes and a salad. She has it all together within an half an hour of us returning. Wonder Woman she is. After dinner, Dennis serves us some soft-serve ice cream. Then there is more talking.

Dennis and Bonnie have a tradition to play a game each night. At 8:00, we started to play Wingspan. Sherri and I have played it before, but it has been awhile we have to get refreshed on the rules and strategy. This causes the game to be a bit slower than usual. We finish up about 10:45 and are back in the Barn to go to sleep by 11:00-a long day it is.

Extra Photo's

Friday, March 27, 2026

March 27, 2026 - Salem

Title: March 27, 2026 - Salem
Description : Extra Photo'

Description:

The Helical Planter

I seem to be making a habit of getting up at 7:20. I guess I am looking at what kind of light there is. My CGM says that I have low blood sugars, but the meter says I am OK. Everybody says to rely on the meter. I still have my granola breakfast. Lawrence goes off to work. Then Andrea gets up about 8:30 followed by Sherri at 9:00.

We had brought lemons from Fresno. Some of them are getting a bit soft, so Sherri is making lemon bars for the Salem group-which temporarily includes Sherri and I.

As Sherri is working on the bars, Andrea and I continue working on her planter. I look at what pieces we need to make the under the sidewalk piece work, Andrea continues to fill up the planter with dirt-actually augmenting the soil, trying to add nutrients and breaking up the clay.

Then it is off to Lowes for supplies and parts. When we get back, the pipe goes under the sidewalk and the various pieces and parts go on it to bring it to the surface. Then the irrigation line goes through the pipe. Lawrence and Andrea will put the soaker house and connect to the water supply later on. My part gets done by covering the whole with the dirt I took out of there. It almost seems like I knew what I was doing on this little project.

We have lunch at 12:30. I finish off the remains of yesterday’s lunch at Word of Mouth. Very filling. Then I take a rest for about 40 minutes.

Next up is a walk over to Oregon State Hospital. This is where One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest was filmed. There is a small museum which has a combination of information about this place, its history, the history of confinement for mental health, as well as sections about the movie. The museum is proud of serving as the backdrop for it. At first there was a strong dislike for the book, but as the director saw changes in care for those under his care, he realized that the book’s portrayal could be very beneficial. It was an interesting time there.

We got back to the house about 4:20. Andrea has a 5:00 book decorating appointment=not sure that book need to be decorated to be attractive, but she is thrilled to go to it. Lawrence comes home shortly afterwards.Sherri gets my muddy clothes soaked and washed.

Then the question is where do we eat? Lawrence said that he had not been to Wolfhound’s Bar and Grill. So that is where we go. Andrea meets us there. I am not terribly hungry after my lunch-just like yesterday. Sherri and I split a Shepherd’s Burger which comes with tater tots. Andrea has the same thing, only the whole burger. Lawrence has a Wagy Burger which is a slider. Sherri ordered a side of brussel sprouts-which the three devoured. Also Lawrence and Sherri have a ginger shake-there is oohs and aahs over that.

What is Andrea doing to her father?

After eating, we took a trip down to the Capitol Mall. The cherry trees are in full bloom and even though it is after 8:00, the mall is crowded with people strolling, enjoying this scene of nature. Salem has strung Japanese lanterns, which cast a subdued light on the blossoms. Oregon’s Gold Man stands tall above the Capitol building.

It is time to go back to the house as Lawrence and Andrea need to get ready for their 20 mile walk tomorrow at Silver Falls. Sherri and I try to leave them alone so they can get ready-we can get ready tomorrow morning. Then it is time to say good night and good bye as they will leave well before we get up. I get to bed about 10:20.

Extra Photo's

Exhibit at the Oregon State Hospital

Cherry flowers

Lawrence, Gary, Andrea, and Sherri on the Capitol Park

Gold Man

Sunday, March 24, 2024

March 24, 2024 - North Falls, Silver Creek State Park

Title: March 24, 2024 - North Falls, Silver Creek State Park
Hike Info : Description : Extra Photo's : Flowers and Plants

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking

Trail head: North Falls Parking Lot

Trail: Upper North Falls, Silver Creek, Winter Falls

Destination: Loop

Actual Destination: Winter Falls Parking Area

Distance: 4.86 miles

Start Time: 12:26

End Time: 4:06

Travel Time: 3:40 (1.32 mph)

Moving Time: 2:45 (1.77 mph)

Elevation Rise: 1,073'

Descent: 1,030‘

Maximum Elevation: 1,858'

GPS Tracks

Getting ready to hike in the rain

Description:

Last night was a long night. My CGM kept alerting me to a low blood sugar level. I am suspecting most of them were false.

12:51 - reading: 62. I had a granola bar. After a few minutes, the levels rose to an acceptable level.
4:45 - reading: 54. This is really low and when I saw it, the level had gone down to 51. So I went downstairs and had a scoop of peanut butter and a scoop of Nutella. But even before I took a bite, the reading was up to 98. Was this a false low?
5:42 - Reading 64. I was pondering what to do and decided to go to the bathroom. Had to go downstairs. Got another scoop of peanut butter. Already the readings was in the 80’s
6:11 - Reading 64. Ignored and went back to sleep.

Upper North Falls

I finally got up around 7:45, definitely not rested. David had gotten up before me and went out for a walk. We had breakfast around 8:45. Lawrence and Andrea are up at 9:15. There had been a request that we not have an early start. That is fine with me,

Lawrence made French toast for those who had not eaten. David and a little bit of me worked on a jigsaw puzzle, that is until word was given that we should get packed and go. You might be asking where are we going? Back up to Silver Creek State Park is the answer. The “backup” is that Andrea and Lawrence have taken us up here before-it is a wonderful place. So it is a good choice by Lawrence and Andrea. It will be David’s first time there.

North Fork Silver Creek

It is raining-all of us grab our rain gear, including the rain pants Sherri bought yesterday. Andrea makes us lunch. We pile into our car-because there is enough room. Andrea is driving. It is only a short 40 minute, 25 mile drive to the North Falls parking area. This is our first time hiking from this trailhead.

Did I say that it was raining? And raining pretty hard? It was. There were some people at the parking lot whom this was a bit much and they just returned back to their cars. Us? Never! We are in full rain gear mode.

Trail to North Falls

Our first stop will be Upper North Falls. (Hint: keep track of which North Falls we are at throughout our adventure.) It is a short walk to these falls. As we get closer, the rocks look a bit slippery, particularly with all the rain. But the falls look pretty nice under these gray skies. This was a good set of falls to start with.

We retrace our steps, going under the road and then down the trail, following the North Fork of Silver Creek. The trail then descends about 75’ by way of stairs. This gets us level with North Falls--no elevation attribute with this one. But the trail continues on the other side of Silver Creek. The secret is that the trail goes behind the Falls so there is no bridge.

Stars to North Falls

I do not stop being amazed whenever we go behind a waterfall. Maybe it is all the times being on the Disney Safari ride and going behind Schweitzer Falls. But this is reality and so much better. This is not the first time behind a set of falls, but I have not lost how awesome it is. May I never lose this sense.

Turns out David took a picture which reminds us all of the eye of Suaron from the Lord of the Rings. All which it needs is a piercing red glow of an eyeball. We stop and have lunch here before moving on. It is a bit cool, but this large overhang keeps us well sheltered from the rain. After about 20 minutes, we move on.

Gary and North falls

We traveled down the trail for about a mile. This mile is a gentle downhill. We gawk at the little water rivulets descending down off of the steep slopes on the other side of the creek. Also, there were little moss covered creeks on our side of Silver Creek. We see the next set of falls-Twin Falls. After seeing the other falls above this one, this one is ho-hum. But if it was not set around the other falls in the area, it would be worth ranting and raving about.

North Falls

The rain is still there, but it is decreasing. And so does the trail descend. We wander past the trail to Winter Falls. The next set of falls is the Middle North Falls-remember to keep track of all of the North Falls. Each is different. This is another “go behind the falls” trail. Only this time it is an offshoot of the main trail and dead ends. Not sure if it is the rain, being tired, having been to this fall before, or we just had the behind the falls experience a little while ago, but I am not as enthralled with this one. Even though last year I thought it was pretty good.

Our next stop is Drake Falls. As I was writing this up, I was thinking that Drake was not that big of a deal. But now when I am looking at the pictures, I am thinking that Drake may not be getting its due and it is being eclipsed by the other awesome falls in this park. It has the same problems that falls around Yosemite Valley have. They are awesome in their own way, and yet compared to the Valley’s falls, they seem inconsequential.

A short distance further is a short trail to Double Falls-not another Twin Falls. This one is a single narrow fall in two steps. Last year when we were here, I thought the view, particularly of the top fall, was obscured by some trees close to us. Looks lots better today.

Double Falls

We had a small discussion among the five of us. Andrea, Lawrence and David will continue a short way down the trail and see Lower North Falls, while Sherri and I start our return trip via Winter Falls.Sherri and I do pretty good-Sherri actually gets a couple hundred yards in front of me. My excuse is I am taking pictures. But is this just an excuse for a lack of energy?

Behind Middle North Falls

Drake Falls

I caught up with her at Winter Falls. The three have already passed us and will pick up the car and bring it around to the Winter Falls Parking Area. After getting a good, long look at Winter Falls, we climb up to the rim and wait. I read while I wait. That would be about half an hour or so.

Andrea drives us back to Salem. There we rest and recuperate. Lawrence serves us the leftover curry chicken he made last night. Still good. We enjoy each other’s company and then go off to bed.