If you want a glimpse of understanding into how insignificant we are in the world and how quickly the forces of nature can blink us out, visit Mt. St. Helens. It is the site of the largest landslide in recorded history (and the concurrent volcanic eruption).
We had a 'private' Ranger-led hike, because no one else wanted to go on the interpretive hike, Karl didn’t even really want to go but I insisted (I love talking to Park Rangers, I kinda want to be one of them). It was splendid, since our US Forest Ranger was a kind young geology major, ready with lots of good technical info (which Karl enjoyed) and photographs (which I enjoyed) as long as we stayed on the trail and did not step on any of the delicate wildflowers. Honestly, getting to watch a Park Ranger scold the stupid people picking the wildflowers or tramping off the trail (as if the signs did not apply to them) made me absolutely giddy because I want to yell at people like that all the time!
Hearing about those who died and/or witnessed what happened on May 18th, 1980 from an actual person rather than reading those same accounts on the plaques or memorials really made the stories feel so much more personal, more real, or relatable in a way. Most of us know about Mt. St. Helens, but do we think about the power of that natural force that day or the fear of those who were in its way? Just something to think about…
Onward to Portland and the ABC&Ds!
A is for Animals
B is for Books
C is for Climbing
& for everything in between
D is for Deschutes
A is for Animals… More importantly: Asian Elephants! The Oregon Zoo has an epic Asian Elephant exhibit and enclosure. This was something I was very excited to see (who would have thought I want to see that, right?). We even got to see an Elephant Keeper talk and witness some enrichment training.
B is for Books (and a few Beers)… When we were at Mt. St. Helens, we met a couple that was from Portland and asked what we should do in the city and their answer was to visit Powell’s. So we head down to checkout this multistory, city block bookstore that one can easily get lost in. I imagine that they do have at least 1 new copy of every book ever published in English, and then there are the used books, books in other languages, and audio books too. After hours of separate wanderings through the shelves (I found Karl in the climbing information section) we decided to limit ourselves to one paperback object each to keep us occupied. We could have stayed there for much longer, but we had a date with my former coworker and current friend, Nick S (I know everyone at 101 is jealous!). Actually, we sort of stalked him at REI in Portland (made one of his co-workers page him) and then went to explore Powell’s until Nick’s quitting time so that we could go enjoy a killer all day “happy hour” with him and his fiancé, Megan.
Which brings us to the letter C:
C is for Climbing! Nick’s
suggestions are how we found ourselves sleeping on top of a cliff overlooking
all of eastern Oregon. Bulo Point has some really good climbs, and not on
the types of cliffs and terrain we are used to back in PA. No, we seriously got
schooled (or at least I felt that I did).
Especially the first day we got there as I was struggling on a 5.8, feeling
frustrated with my climbing abilities while Karl was running on pure adrenaline
and joy, making every climb look like an easy hop, skip, and a jump. (Story of
my life: him with his damn coordination, balance, and confidence in his
placements/grips makes me look ridiculous in comparison…) Picking up on my slow adjustment to the
new more challenging surroundings, we did not get into anything too crazy, mostly
played around with top roping some routes at
first. But, despite Karl saying he was “kinda scared” he moved onto sport
leading the same routes, and then even started to play with placing our new
trad gear (which he was been itching to do for a while). 
After a good night’s sleep under a starry sky and being woken up to a stunning sunrise, I felt much stronger in that environment and actually kicked ass on some 5.9 routes too! Karl, to use his own words “grew a pair” and took his first purposeful falls on bolts and nuts, which he placed. Afterwards, in exhilaration he asked if I wanted to take a purposeful fall on my next climb as well… My reply was the truth: I don’t need to try to fall; I do it on my own all the time without intending too. No need to practice for me! With that said, the iconic climb of the area is a lead 90+ foot 5.8/9 with some serious open air up top and somehow, we made it look easy. Boo yah!
Feeling the day’s work out in our muscles (and proud of ourselves), we ended the night by Karl teaching me some new knots, practicing prusiking, and chatting with the local climbers about gear and the love of just being out here doing our thing. These are the kind of nights we imagined having when we first started planning this trip, it felt good.
The third day at Bulo was just the morning, but Karl got to play with all kinds of climbing protection and I even cleaned a climb!
After all that climbing we felt like we earned some “down time”… so we drove the scenic route around Mt. Hood again and headed for Bend, Oregon. Along the way, we stopped in Portland again to stretch our legs by walking through the free International Rose Test Gardens. Admittedly it was beautiful and the sheer amount of different roses they are grooming and growing are impressive (not as fragrant as I thought it would be) but I would still prefer a field of wild flowers (or daisies) any day over roses any day.
Back on the road, and to the letter D (because D is for Deschutes Brewery). For a while now, a favorite beer of ours has been Deschutes’ seasonal brew: Red Chair. That beer is the reason we wanted to visit Bend. Of course, our timing is off and Red Chair is not in season but a free tour of where the magic happens plus 4 free samples each was still worth it!
With the lengthy detour to get to Bend and the fact that we would be consuming various amounts of alcohol, it seemed like a good idea to find a place to spend the night in the area (easier said than done due to it being the Thursday before the 4th of July weekend). Luck was with us and we found a B&B with a room still available at a decent price, so we were ready to drink, eat, and then drink some more! After the tour and samplings, we walked to the brewpub for burgers (and more beer) and then the rest of the night was spent in a slightly buzzed state of happiness, doing laundry (free use of a washer & drier = major score!) and soaking in a hot tub. It was all amazing, even the laundry (even if we did manage to blow a fuse at the B&B! Apparently, not many guests use the free laundry and they didn’t know that running the washing and dryer at the same time would do that. Haha) Oh, and the free breakfast at the Mill Inn was phenomenal!
P.S. We made another critter friend (or rather, Karl’s foot did). While we in the hot tub, a slug seemed to think Karl’s shoe was a good place to explore. After our soak, we grabbed our shoes to walk barefoot back into the B&B. A little while later when Karl realized he needed something from Ele, he went to put his shoe on and made the funniest face I ever saw. It was a slow motion combination of shocking “what the hell is that” and uneasy confusion of “why is my toe slimy and cold all of a sudden”… and there he was: I shall name him Slurms MacKenzie, making a nice mess in Karl’s shoe. Do no fear, Slurms MacKenzie was not harmed, just went on a lil adventure with us. Karl relocated him from shoe to shrub shortly after I stopped laughing and Karl cleaned his shoe out a bit.
<3 S
-K
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