Saturday, September 5th
Today we went to the Snag Boat Bend Unit of Finley Refuge. The area had been closed for a few months because of work to reopen an old side channel of the Willamette River. The work involved cutting a wide notch in an earthen dike that was built many years ago by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The aim is to restore fish habitat in the area near Lake Creek. Along the way we took in the sights.
Thursday, September 10th
Lots of news reports from Yemen today. The Houthis have defeated government forces and captured the port city of Mocha. This allows them to have greater control of the Strait of Mandeb at the southern end of the Red Sea. This is significant because all ships that use the Suez Canal must also pass through the Bab al-Mandeb. In theory, then, Houthi control of Mocha gives them the ability to effectively shut down the Canal.
M passed through Mocha a several times while he was living in Sana’a, Yemen in the late 1980’s. The country was peaceful in those years and Mocha seemed like a sleepy sort of place. M took this photo in 1988 on a beach at the north end of town:
Mocha has grown and become more important in recent years. Here’s another seaside photo, this one from just yesterday:
Saturday, September 12th
We went to see a play today, a production of Come From Away done by the Albany Civic Theater. (Albany, OR, that is.) It was tremendous! Who knew there was such talent in Albany? Well…I guess our friend J knew. Big thanks to her for suggesting this. We had dinner with J, B, and M before the play. The new Sybaris restaurant is pretty great also.
Sunday, September 13th
We went off to do some camping again today. The nice part was that we were going to Yukwah campground in the Cascades, which is only about an hour away. The bad part was that it was raining as we left. We considered this at some length. The forecast, however, was for the rain to stop, more or less by the time we would get there. So off we went. And sure enough, when we arrived, the rain was petering out. Things were pretty damp though, and we heard a constant pattering as water dripped off the needles of the fir trees high above and splatted down onto the leaves of the understory.
Yukwah is a very old campground, close to the highway but located within a small segment of natural old growth forest beside the South Santiam River. Such places have magic and as we busied ourselves with pitching the tent and making dinner we could feel peace descending upon us.
The patter of falling drops continued all night. We heard it whenever we awoke. It must have been mostly from Oregon drizzle–the kind of rain that isn’t really rain but which gets things all wet anyway. There was one period of real rain, sometime around 3:00 AM. That was worrisome.
Monday, September 14th
When we got up in the morning, the weather was starting to improve. Patches of blue sky appeared while we were making breakfast. Around 10:00 we set off for our planned hike up Iron Mountain. We took the short version of the hike, just a little more than two miles, but steep all the way.
The first fire watch station at the top of Iron Mountain was established in 1929. For the first few years the fire lookout person lived in a tent for the summer. In 1933 a cabin type watchtower was built by the CCC. To build it, they used blasting powder to create a flat area at the very top of the peak, at an elevation of 5,455 feet. Nowadays, there is a spacious observation deck in its place. It’s probably best not to wander out into the area around the deck. In 1997, a lookout staffer died from a fall there. The views are very fine.
We got back to camp around 3:00 and had time to relax a little. E went off to find a way down to the river so she could put her feet in. When M went to join her, he didn’t know exactly where she had gone. At Yukwah there is a path along the river, but it runs along the top of a mostly vertical riverbank about ten feet above the level of the water. Pretty soon M found a place where people had made a way down–a steep scramble of roots and rocks and bushes–just the kind of place E would try. He couldn’t see down to the river from where he was, but he went down anyway. He knew she’d be there.
Here’s what the South Santiam looks like in this low water season. Can you see what looks like a petrified fish?
We had guests for dinner both nights–chipmunks and Steller’s jays. The chipmunks were too quick to take pictures of; the jays were easier.
Tuesday, September 15th
We spent a relaxed morning packing up and heading home. When we got home we had an unrelaxed afternoon unpacking and drying things out.
Wednesday, September 16th
From the day we moved in, we’ve never liked the color of our house. And now, finally, the old paint is worn out. Painters are coming tomorrow and things are going to change. M spent the morning trimming some plants and tying others back so that the painters will have room to move.