Sunday, May 15, 2005
Carlsons and Collinets at High Desert Museum
A Trip to Bend and Fossil Beds in Oregon
My husband and I met up with friends in Bend. On the way there, we were surprised to see so much snow along the sides of roads. We expected snow on The Three Sisters, Mt. Bachelor and other peaks and were not disappointed. It was great getting away from the Portland area and feeling the joy of open country.
We visited the High Desert Museum -- enjoyed a talk on owls and close up to an injured great horned owl. There are good exhibits of tribes that dwell along the Deschutes River, showing how the 18th and 19th century Indians combined modern things with their traditional dwellings and clothing. For ex., one teepee had an folding aluminum chair in it and a necklace had been made by stringing metal thimbles. Outdoors are exhibits of equipment formerly used by sheep herders and cowboys. Fee for seniors was $11 -- kinda steep for a museum still in the mid stages of development. The place is good for bird watching. We saw pygmy nuthatches and a western tanager. Our friends did the identifying.
We also visited Lava Butte. Seeing the vast lava fields from on top of the cinder cone was spectacular, especially with the snow-clad mountains in the background.
Next Day -- Left the way too noisy Motel 6 in Bend. (Don't stay there if you can't sleep through trains, noises from trucks and loading heavy cargo.) We headed out to The John Day Fossil Beds. Along the way, we stopped at the Painted Hills Unit to see awesome stripes of red and yellow on the hills. Then we drove to the Sheep Rock Unit to look at the indoor exhibits of fossils and to learn a bit about the ongoing research. Strange for me to be back in a dry climate -- reminded me of my 30 years in Tucson. The views were interesting, but we never did see any fossils outdoors at that unit. Later in the day, we drove to the thriving (down to 24 kids in the high school) town of Fossil, county seat of Wheeler County.
COOL -- behind the high school, you pay $3 and get a shovel and hammer with claws to tap open rocks and an explanation of what to look for. Then you are let loose to climb on the rocky hill with exposed layers and explore. We all found fossils of metasequoias and other plant parts. Some of these are as old as 30 million years. They are somewhat fragile because the rock is from compressed volcanic ash and tends to be powdery. But we made it home with some. Another highlight of Fossil is the Bridge Creek Flora Inn, where we had a 4-bedroom, wonderful old house to ourselves, as well as a delicious all-you-can-eat breakfast.
Whew, this is a lot of writing, but our trip covered a lot and about a total of about 15 hours of driving. It was a good time to go -- not too hot yet in the desert areas, but roads free of snow.
We visited the High Desert Museum -- enjoyed a talk on owls and close up to an injured great horned owl. There are good exhibits of tribes that dwell along the Deschutes River, showing how the 18th and 19th century Indians combined modern things with their traditional dwellings and clothing. For ex., one teepee had an folding aluminum chair in it and a necklace had been made by stringing metal thimbles. Outdoors are exhibits of equipment formerly used by sheep herders and cowboys. Fee for seniors was $11 -- kinda steep for a museum still in the mid stages of development. The place is good for bird watching. We saw pygmy nuthatches and a western tanager. Our friends did the identifying.
We also visited Lava Butte. Seeing the vast lava fields from on top of the cinder cone was spectacular, especially with the snow-clad mountains in the background.
Next Day -- Left the way too noisy Motel 6 in Bend. (Don't stay there if you can't sleep through trains, noises from trucks and loading heavy cargo.) We headed out to The John Day Fossil Beds. Along the way, we stopped at the Painted Hills Unit to see awesome stripes of red and yellow on the hills. Then we drove to the Sheep Rock Unit to look at the indoor exhibits of fossils and to learn a bit about the ongoing research. Strange for me to be back in a dry climate -- reminded me of my 30 years in Tucson. The views were interesting, but we never did see any fossils outdoors at that unit. Later in the day, we drove to the thriving (down to 24 kids in the high school) town of Fossil, county seat of Wheeler County.
COOL -- behind the high school, you pay $3 and get a shovel and hammer with claws to tap open rocks and an explanation of what to look for. Then you are let loose to climb on the rocky hill with exposed layers and explore. We all found fossils of metasequoias and other plant parts. Some of these are as old as 30 million years. They are somewhat fragile because the rock is from compressed volcanic ash and tends to be powdery. But we made it home with some. Another highlight of Fossil is the Bridge Creek Flora Inn, where we had a 4-bedroom, wonderful old house to ourselves, as well as a delicious all-you-can-eat breakfast.
Whew, this is a lot of writing, but our trip covered a lot and about a total of about 15 hours of driving. It was a good time to go -- not too hot yet in the desert areas, but roads free of snow.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Evil Thoughts
WHAT EVIL LURKS IN THE HEART OF MAN?
Every few years, I like to ponder the 7 deadly sins:
Greed (avarice)
Lust
Sloth
Pride
Envy
Gluttony
Anger (wrath)
As I age, anger has subsided, but sloth has increased. All of them perform a seductive dance with the 7 virtues. What a spectacle!
Every few years, I like to ponder the 7 deadly sins:
Greed (avarice)
Lust
Sloth
Pride
Envy
Gluttony
Anger (wrath)
As I age, anger has subsided, but sloth has increased. All of them perform a seductive dance with the 7 virtues. What a spectacle!
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
A Typical Morning
This is my first attempt at creating a blog. It wasn't my intention a half hour ago. All I wanted to do is send a comment to the ranch101 blog. But the site said I had to first create an account. It led to this.
Since it's past 10 AM and I'm typing in my niteshirt, which is a typical event in the morning, I'm making this my first attempt at blogging. At night, I weakly resolve to get an early start in the morning so I will get dressed and go out for a walk -- good for this aging body. But in the morning, I open the door, get the paper, wake husband to make coffee (he has the measuring down to a science) and work on the NY Times puzzle. By the time the puzzle is done, the coffee swallowed and e-mail read, it is no longer morning.
My conclusion: a change in my daily activities won't happen unless I make a change in my daily activities.
Since it's past 10 AM and I'm typing in my niteshirt, which is a typical event in the morning, I'm making this my first attempt at blogging. At night, I weakly resolve to get an early start in the morning so I will get dressed and go out for a walk -- good for this aging body. But in the morning, I open the door, get the paper, wake husband to make coffee (he has the measuring down to a science) and work on the NY Times puzzle. By the time the puzzle is done, the coffee swallowed and e-mail read, it is no longer morning.
My conclusion: a change in my daily activities won't happen unless I make a change in my daily activities.
