Another Summer of Pandemic Life, or Not?

Before we ponder the question above, looks like I haven’t posted for quite awhile. What have you been up to? 

Just before July 4, Oregon reached its vaccination goal of vaccinating 70% of those eligible. That’s good news. However, our cases are high in the county we live in and certainly out-of-proportion with our population. That’s not good news. Once again, we are flooded with tourists— mostly from California, Washington, and Idaho but people from all states are visiting Bend. Who knows if they are vaccinated or not? They certainly are not wearing masks.

Thus my sanity project continues.

What’s kept us mostly sane over the last six months?

We are fully vaccinated -first R and then me. That means some basics of life— doc appointments, hair cuts (I went 15 months cutting my own hair), inside visits to stores— have resumed. Eating inside restaurants is still off the list but outside dining is fine, and we wear masks.

We’ve hiked frequently and during the winter the badlands was a favorite.

Interesting arrangement of wood.

With friends, we visited the Summer Lake Wildlife area, a new place for us.

Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge where we saw lots of birds

In Spring, we headed to Lincoln City on the coast for some serious time staring at the ocean, walking the beaches, and eating seafood and taking in the dazzling sunsets. 

Pretty, isn’t it?

Oregon coast never disappoints.

With friends, we kayaked.

R enjoying a paddle.

Admired wildflowers

Celebrated a birthday at the coast, sitting outside on a patio, eating and listening to music with our best girl, Lu.

Lu refused to join us in this photo, perhaps because we look demonic….

We hiked Ecola State Park, a beautiful coastal rainforest.

And then, Lu had hip surgery…….

Like all dogs, she hates the cone. But she really wears it well.

Who knows what the rest of summer will bring. Perhaps more tourists, extreme heat and if history repeats, the risk of fires. Oh and those damn variants. Stay safe. Mask up. Respect others and have fun…..

My Sanity Project

Pretty isn’t it? Nature helps keep one sane. Thankfully, we live in a place of beauty.

Been quite a January in the good old USA.  Many of us, at least 80 million, but I bet more, were holding on for January, especially January 20 and the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. We were ready to kick the shit storm known as 2020 out the door and welcome in something better, something adult, something competent, something calm and reassuring.

The month started out ok with two Democrats winning senate seats. While winning two seats was wonderful, all the criminal behavior leading up to the win….well it left many of us nauseous, anxious, and frightened — just like the previous four years. Millions, I believe, of Americans feared what additional terror the previous president might unleash in his final days.

That’s when I started mulling the idea of a sanity project.

Then January 6, as millions were watching (especially those who mostly hunker down during the pandemic) what was supposed to be the rather uneventful administrative process of certifying the electoral college votes, we witnessed the former president and other elected officials incite armed rioters, urging them to fight and march toward the Capitol, where our country’s leaders were meeting.

I watched in anxious horror as the riots unfolded, our Capitol desecrated, people killed and seriously injured. You’ve watched it, you’ve seen the videos. Millions of us felt nauseous, anxious, frightened, again, and filled with rage.

Time for my sanity project………

While the evening before the inauguration gave Americans a needed opportunity to remember, honor, and grieve those who passed from COVID-19 and all we’ve lost as a nation and while the inauguration was inspiring, emotional, beautiful and full of competent, strong smart women, 

I still needed a sanity project.  I felt, had been feeling, my grip loosening on…..everything. Go figure.

Vaccinations, while on their way, are still weeks? Months? Who knows how far away….? As a nation we are under threats from domestic terrorists, new strains of the damn virus, financial ruin and according to the scientists (Yes, science is back) we need to double-down on our COVID 19 precautions for….well a long time.

January has felt like a year and 2020 felt like 20 years. For now, I’ll attempt to remain mostly sane by posting nature photos, photos of my street dog, and a few of my other pandemic partner. Since we now don’t travel or do much of anything else, I can discuss what’s good on HBO, Netflix, PBS, Acorn TV, and the like.

Distancing snow shoeing in Edison Sno-Park wonderland. I felt fairly sane that day.

On Feb. 1, my guy will celebrate 4 years post-cancer surgery. That’s something to celebrate with my two pandemic partners.

I’ll end with some cuteness. Cuteness helps with sanity.

Hooray, We Made it to Labor Day…

I thought Americans were supposed to stay close to home this summer, thereby protecting themselves and others from COVID-19.  That’s what we thought, what my  friends thought, what we were told. Apparently, the message wasn’t sent to people in neighboring and far away states because tourists are visiting Oregon from California, Washington, New York, Florida, New Hampshire, Maryland, Texas, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Idaho, Tennessee ….and on. On any given day in our neighborhood, we can see 15 or more out-of-state cars. This we find discouraging, especially since adherence to the mandatory mask requirement is woefully inconsistent.

But let’s move on — we made it to Labor Day….the last holiday of summer and traditionally the time when tourists return to their own cities and states. Here’s hoping that happens.

So what have we been up to this last part of summer while avoiding contact with tourists and others?

Lu doing what she likes doing — sleeping

Lu playing hard to get with her friend Chica

We adopted a two year-old female street dog from Guadalajara. On days when I’ve run out of ways to entertain myself before cocktail hour, I photograph the dog, brush the dog, walk the dog, feed the dog and love the dog. She is a sweet addition to our lives.

We kayaked on Hosmer Lake where we struggled to avoid unmasked people at the launch but loved seeing ducklings.

We were masked

Adorable ducklings

And more adorable ducklings

We kayaked with friends on Little Cultus, a beautiful, not as heavily trafficked lake about an hour from our home and visited Crater Lake National Park, about two hours from our home. The park was packed with out-of-state visitors who we avoided. Felt wonderful to view that magnificent lake.

Lu seems indifferent to large bodies of water

A friend guided us on a special hike to a magical little area of the forest. Who knew such beauty existed in Central Oregon.

Deer chewing our neighbor’s bush…He is a beauty.

That’s it. Stay safe and healthy and sane……

More of Life During the Pandemic

Big Summit Prairie in the Ochoco National Forest, our first visit there.  We visited a little late for wildflowers but enjoyed the area anyway.

I’ve stopped counting how many days we’ve been sheltering in place. How long doesn’t really matter. In May, much of Oregon reopened with Phase 1 restrictions and some places, like Bend, moved into Phase 2 in June while other areas, because of outbreaks, lingered in Phase 1. As a recreational destination, Bend welcomes lots of tourists seasonally and tourists are here, seeking some form of modified summer fun, though not necessarily safely. But if one is of a certain age (over 60) and has underlying conditions, life is pretty much still locked down to medical visits, strategic trips to the grocery store, and precious time spent outdoors.

The time outside, in nature, has made sheltering tolerable for these two aging, at risk, seniors who hope, in the future, to travel again.

I’m sure you’ve read story after story about the stress reducing and healing power of spending time in nature. Experts encourage people to take time in nature, while still social distancing and wearing a mask around others. We’ve used our time to explore places new to us and to revisit some favorites.

Another view of the beautiful Big Summit Prairie

With a friend, we took a socially-distancing, mask wearing hike on the Peter Skene Ogden Trail from McKay campground. This is a spectacular waterfall hike.

Paulina Falls, an old favorite that did not disappoint.

Our first kayaking trip of this strange season was to Crane Prairie, an area new to us. Our friend Lynda and her sweet Chica kayaked with us and Lynda pointed out lots of birds. Here they are about to be launched while a mama duck with her ducklings look on.

Crane Prairie 

I miss wildlife viewing but seeing this beaver lodge has to do for now — even though we did not see any beaver.  I’ve longingly looked at photos from Yellowstone, Galapagos, Africa, Baja and wondered…..will I travel again? I hope so.

 

And finally, we took a hike along the Fall River Trail, a new hike for us. Happily, wildflowers were still in bloom.

That’s how we are trying to stay sane. How about you?

Life during a pandemic

Neighborhood deer, emboldened by a reduction in traffic enjoy lunch near our house

It is our 47th day of sheltering-in-place, but perhaps you’ve been sheltering longer than we have and are ahead of us in figuring out, sometimes day-by-day, how to create some kind of life within pandemic guidelines.

We practiced social distancing, compulsive hand washing, and disinfecting weeks before the official order for Oregonians to isolate because in mid March we traveled to the Un of Washington Medical Center, Seattle for my appointment with a specialist. The Seattle area was hit early and hard by the virus. We were there just days before Washington State locked down. As we wandered the mostly deserted streets, distancing when anyone approached, or sat in mostly deserted restaurants, hand sanitizing anxiously, we imagined what lay ahead for the rest of the US. R and I were happy to return to our small town and began preparing for whatever form of lockdown was coming our way. Of course, that meant a trip to the grocery store and wine shop and then some time thinking about how we would manage.

Forty-seven days in, the free-floating anxiety, mostly, is gone. Each morning, I no longer compulsively paw through the freezer, taking inventory (like someone would steal food from us during the night?). While food shortages exist — who is buying all the gluten-free bread?— we both know we’ll have food. I haven’t been inside a grocery store in more than six weeks, though R has a few times, so we’ve patched together a system of Instacart orders, online shopping, quick grocery stops during deserted hours and —helpful family and friends who let us add our necessities to their lists. We are indebted to these folks.

Gluten free rolls, usually readily available pre-pandemic are nowhere to be found, except online.

How are people managing? In different, various ways, I suspect depending on where they live and how seriously they take the pandemic. In Oregon, we are lucky because we live in a beautiful area and can escape outdoors, at least for a long walk, each day.  Doing so has helped us both remain somewhat settled.

One day a month into sheltering-in-place, we drove the 20 miles or so to The Badlands for a hike on the Ancient Juniper Trail.

Only two other couples were on this wide trail.

Desert flowers brightened the walk

Another day, we visited the Crooked River Wetlands Complex in Prineville.

Beautiful yellow-headed blackbirds in the wetlands

Like so many others, we’ve cooked and cleaned up the kitchen everyday, cleaned out closets, cleaned out the garage, finished most spring cleaning (lots of cleaning!), made masks, read or listened to lots of books, watched shows like Belgravia, Miss Fisher (thank goodness for Acorn TV) and Homeland (we’d already finished Grace and Frankie) and as many documentaries about whales and the ocean as I could find, picked up pine needles in the yard, played too many games of Words with Friends, engaged in curbside, distancing visits with friends, watched birds build their nests, completely unaware of a virus danger, and tried to remain sane, which some  days was damn hard. We haven’t delved into discussions about future travel because…..it feels too soon with so much uncertainty.

And now states are beginning to reopen and reopening brings new anxiety about what might happen and what life will be like.

What’s life like in your community?

 

The Traveling Celiac Eats…..

Sunrise in Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Lovely.

We are just home from traveling. More about that in another post. This post is about food. There are many conditions way, way worse than celiac and in fact, I have a couple. The issue with celiac is that humans need to eat fairly regularly and when one is traveling and has the autoimmune disease celiac, finding safe, appetizing food may or may not be problematic. At home I manage just fine, as long as I’m careful.

In February, we flew to the lovely little town of Loreto, located in Baja California Sur on the Sea of Cortez where we stayed at La Mision Hotel. Because my guy is one of the good ones who looks out for me, he contacted the hotel general manager ahead of our visit, explaining that I have celiac. The GM contacted the chef who instructed his staff and voilà, the food part of our travels were worked out — as long as we ate at the hotel. Contacting places ahead of time is a best practice and allowed the chef to bring in safe corn tortillas for me since most local ones contain wheat. Go figure.The chef at La Mision prepared this beautiful array of vegetables and seafood for me. Yum.

Of course, eating only at the hotel means we forego the travel pleasure of spontaneously buying street tacos or popping into a local joint to eat. That doesn’t work out for someone with celiac. Since we booked our tours through the hotel, the concierge and tour guide also partnered to make sure I was given safe food on tours. On one tour, we stopped at a restaurant in López Mateos, a small town that is a launching point for gray whale viewing. The restaurant owner/chef spoke with our guide and our hotel several times to make sure she prepared a safe meal for me. Traveling adds complicated layers to any trip for us but mostly works out, in part because I have a partner who helps me.

Grilled shrimp and fish tacos at Los Olivos at the La Mision Hotel and the view from the restaurant’s outside dining area. What is not to like?

All went well until we hit Monterey, CA where we’d planned to spend a few days. Before checking into the hotel, we stopped at a restaurant we’d been to before. I ordered from the gluten free menu (salad with grilled fish), asked the server to tell the kitchen I am celiac, and guess what — I got really, really vomiting sick back at the hotel from what must have been hidden gluten or gross cross contamination. Our stay was cut short because I was so ill and we both decided to head home. Even for those of us who are careful, planful travelers things can go wrong because as celiacs we rely on servers and kitchen staff to be upfront about what they can do and to follow safe practices. That did not happen in Monterey.

I’ll be back with more about the trip.

A Traveler Remembers, Worries, and Hopes

Kangaroo Island, 2014. This is what it looked like before devastating bush fires.

I’m watching MSNBC, a story about wildlife workers hustling to save koalas on Kangaroo Island. As I watch one rescuer, a bulky, bearded focused man dressed in shorts and a brimmed Australian bush Safari hat, grab a squealing koala from a tree and deposit her into a safety cage, I notice the name on his vehicle — Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park.  The rescuer brusquely tells the reporter that he works fast to save the animals, at times less gentle than he might be. He is an important part of a koala triage operation that is taking place at the KI Wildlife Park, a sanctuary he and his wife own. Back at the sanctuary, the camera scans the scene — rows of resting koalas, snuggled in laundry baskets, paws bandaged, burned noses treated. These little guys have been hydrated, fed, and treated. They represent hope for the species’ future. They are the lucky ones.

A sweet koala on KI, 2014

I’ve visited Kangaroo Island, fed female kangaroos at the Wildlife Park, watched sweet kangaroos in the wild grazing, joeys peaking out of their pouches, photographed wallabies in the bush, and observed koalas in the eucalyptus trees.

A news report shows a relief worker giving a small koala a much needed drink of water, the normally shy koala reaching out to clutch the worker’s hand. I remember feeding kangaroos on KI, a female bending back my fingers so she could better reach the treats in my palm. In my history of world travel, this moment was extraordinary. These mammals are precious. As Australia burns, I think what have we done?

Female kangaroos at KI Wildlife Park, 2014

It is commonly known that humans protect what they love. We sent a small donation to KI to help with their efforts to save the species. That is but a token.

A wallaby in the bush, KI, 2014

There’s much on our planet we need to protect. I’ve watched and rewatched Adam Schiff, my country’s best statesman, make an impassioned plea that right must matter, doing what is right must matter.  In the USA, we are in a fight to preserve and protect democracy and our constitution, both priceless as is nature. Unless we do what is right to protect the first two, we have little chance to protect the earth.  If you’ve traveled to Kangaroo Island, you know it was a magical place, a place where visitors enjoyed an Australian safari. As travelers, we must do our part to protect what we love.

Beautiful Bryce

Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon

While all the Utah parks are beautiful in their own ways, I think none matches the magical beauty of Bryce Canyon.  I vaguely remembered visiting Bryce as a child in the very early 60s when my parents took the five of us on a road trip to visit parks in the West. As new transplants from the East coast, we were all in respectful awe of the dry attraction of the West.

In 2009, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan produced the documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, a luminous series that traces the history of the national parks. If you haven’t watched this series, please do.

At times throughout their history, the parks have been over-loved, their roads clogged with cars and buses, their trails trampled, their monuments defaced. We saw some of this recently in Bryce Canyon. We witnessed young children climbing under and over barriers and up fragile rocky walls, ignoring the “Keep off” warnings, while their parents gazed at the rocks. On the hike down the Queen’s GardenTrail, we watched an adult hiker scramble up a delicate area, bypassing the “Stay Out” sign, only to then relieve  himself on the pinkish rocks. 

However not all was discouraging about the park visit. Most people stayed on the trails and minded their children. Bryce Canyon has an excellent system of park shuttles with buses picking up visitors at hotels and dropping off folks at various stops within the park. This allows visitors to leave their vehicles outside the park, thus reducing traffic and related issues. The park also maintains wonderful walking paths so moving from one place to another is easy.

Beyond that, the canyon itself is stunning. What’s not to love?

 

Searching for my Travel Mojo

Capitol Reef, Utah. Pretty, isn’t it?

We are flying over Seattle, gliding through gray, cloudy skies, high above equally gray, but still water. As I look out the window, I wonder where my travel mojo has gone.

This year, I’ve logged more medical appointments than any 65 year-old should. Among too many pulmonology, cardiology, dermatology appointments, as well as weird appointments for infusions, hand surgery and busting a vein while traveling, my usually active travel mojo vamoosed.

Where does travel zest come from and how does it leave?

The simple answer is that travel mojo springs from curiosity and a desire to know more about the world. How it evaporates, I do not know. Perhaps I mistaken left mine at a doctor’s office.

We are beginning a trip, our first in many months, a tour of four Utah national parks. As our plane floats over the deserty red lands of Idaho and then Utah, passing mountain peaks dusted with snow, I wonder if travel mojo can be rediscovered while traveling.

Given the unsteady, chaotic political state in DC, an impeachment inquiry, unrest, protests and violence worldwide, rising hatred…. I could go on — my missing mojo doesn’t really matter — except to me.

How did the mojo search/trip go?

As our plane glided over the beautiful, desolate Great Salt Lake, I felt hopeful and a little excited. We arrived in Salt Lake City on a late Sunday afternoon. On the taxi ride to the hotel, I watched the sprawling, unpretty Salt Lake City pass by. I witnessed a disorganized mess of strip malls, industrial buildings, car dealerships, and big stores threaded along freeways and all living under smog ladened skies. I expected something prettier. The next day as we set off in our rental car, wanting to put miles between us and the freeway villages’ clutter, I knew travel mojo could not live in such a place. 

Somewhere outside Boulder, Utah

On car trips like this one, I’m reminded that the west encompasses vast, uninhabitable lands, places mostly devoid of water, with harsh, unwelcoming soil, hazardous terrain, uncertain weather.  Land wild and unused by humans.

Capitol Reef was our first park visit. We stayed about an hour from the park in Boulder, population 225, at Boulder Mountain Lodge. On the hotel property is Hell’s Backbone Grill, a renown restaurant that offers mostly celiac safe food.

On arrival, my first thought was — we really are in the middle of nowhere…..Cows, the free-range type, were everywhere and noisy. We slept with the hotel room window open and fell asleep to cows vocalizing well into the night. What in the world do cows discuss at 1am?

For mid-October, Capitol Reef seemed busy. I understand why some folks say the national parks are being loved to death. We hiked the old-people’s paths and marveled at the rocks, taking in the beauty.

A stop in Escalante National Monument before reaching Bryce. Beautiful.

Next up, Bryce

A Summer at home and the power of nature

I have a new camera….a birthday gift. This beauty was in my front yard.

For the first summer since we moved to Bend almost five years ago, we decided to hang around just about the whole summer. When you live in a place as beautiful as Bend, a place blessed with rivers, lakes, mountains, and beer — that’s not much of a sacrifice. By the way, I don’t drink beer.

We’ve spent lots of the summer outside, enjoying nature. You’ve probably read stories about the benefits of spending time in nature. According to current research, even five minutes participating in “green exercise” like cycling, walking, or hiking can improve mood and leave one feeling revitalized. That’s significant. Given the chaotic, upsetting, disturbing times in the states, feeling better for even five minutes is….something good.

What have we been up to?

Hiking Sahalie Falls and Tamolitch Pool.  Lynne & Lynda above.

We”ve been kayaking. Thank you Lynda for this photo from a birding outing on Hosmer Lake.

We rode up the ski lift (!!) to join friends for dinner with a view. Nice view, huh?

We kayaked more….weekly, I think.

We protested — not in nature, note the cars but it was a way of channeling anger and frustration.

We listened to family members make music, joined friends and family celebrating life, drank, ate, attended concerts, and practiced tai chi. But in nature, on the hiking trail or in my kayak, I felt the best.

Hope you continue to enjoy what is left of this fleeting summer.