19. Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, 9/25/10

As most of you know, I really like to take pictures of almost anything. I really enjoy shooting flowers, sunsets, nature, and landscapes. So, when Katrena suggested that we go to the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge (RWR), I was up for the challenge. I knew that there would be some wonderful opportunities for some amazing nature shots; however, I was not prepared for the challenge of shooting wildlife. A lot of you laugh at my paparazzi lens for my camera, well, let me tell you, it was NOT BIG ENOUGH for shooting at the Refuge. While I was able to get a few decent shots, I did not get anything 'spectacular' because none of my lenses were big enough.

The RWR is an exciting place for all to explore and enjoy wildlife. Enjoy viewing wildlife while driving the 4.2 mile Auto Tour Route and use your vehicle as your personal observation spot on wheels. Wildlife viewing and photography from the road is excellent, allowing you to encounter wildlife with minimal disturbance. We were going to make this trek later in October but were fearful we would not have good weather so we opted to go this day, a day when it hit over 85. The sun was bright and the bugs were out, the combination of the two made it difficult to get good pictures. Two days later, as I sit here blogging, I have to take breaks to scratch at my numerous bites. Anywhere that was not covered by clothing is covered by bites; some of them are mosquito bites and others I am not so sure about. I will spare you the nasty details, but know it is very uncomfortable. I have since learned that when out walking at the Refuge, it is a wonderful idea to wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts, cover your skin. I have also learned that the best time to go to the Refuge is from October thru the spring, when the animals are migrating.

It was amazing driving through this refuge - as I drove I was struck by the beautifulness God has created. The sounds, smells, and visions are incredible. The beauty of God's creation - no words I can use seem adequate. I felt so much closer to God in this environment. I would encourage each of you to go out and experience the beauty of His creation, be it a wildlife refuge or outside your front door. I am already planning my next trip to the Refuge.

18. Pigtucky Derby, 9/25/10

You my friends all laughed or thought I was joking when I talked about going to the pig races, but indeed that is exactly what Melissa and I did this past Saturday. We went to the Pigtucky Derby. This was French Prairie Gardens 12th annual Harvest Festival, also known as, Swines, Steins, and a Race to the Finish Line, but it was my first.






People will 'squeal' with delight watching the fast-paced pack of pigs race to the finish in hot pursuit of a cider donut (the prize for the winning pig). Melissa and I went out there bright and early on the first morning of the festival. It was supposed to be 80 degrees this day so we thought we would go early, get there before the crowds, and get some good pictures. We were told the first race was not until 11 o'clock so we decided to enjoy a cup of coffee and sit and visit for a bit. While we were sitting there visiting, we heard the pigs squealing but we did not think anything about it (it is a farm after all) and just kept visiting. We finally decided to walk outside and see all the happenings. We visited the barnyard animals, the 2-acre corn maze, and the 30-foot hayslide. As it approached 11 o'clock, we ventured over to where the pig races were to be held, but there was not much activity going on so we inquired as to what time the races were to begin. We were informed that 3 of the pigs had made a break for it earlier in the morning and the farmhands had to hunt them down. Apparently, that was all the squealing Melissa and I had heard and ignored. I hear that it was quite hilarious watching the hands chase the pigs, now that would have been a great picture op, boy I am sorry I missed that.

Finally, at 12 o'clock, the pigs were rested from their morning adventure and ready to race. We were first entertained by Farmer John and Farmer Eric with their silly jokes and quirky antics. Then, finally, the moment we had waited for, the Pigtucky Derby was about to begin. OMG...it was hilarious watching the pigs. Heat #1 - The Yorkshire pigs had names like Kevin Bacon and Jennifer Lopigs. They came out racing and off they went. Heat #2 - The Duroc pigs had names like Shania Swine and Brad Pigsley, but they were not much into racing. They came out of the gate and just stopped. Farmer Eric had to 'motivate' them to race. Heat #3 - the ducks, Farmer Eric pretty much had to follow them around the track to keep them moving. Melissa and I had a wonderful time, worth every penny!

17. Crabbing, 9/24/10

Today, I took a vacation day from work so I could go crabbing with Jim and Judy (my inlaws), Uncle Mickey, and Aunt Nancy. Mickey had apparently scoped out a place over at Fort Stevens Park near Seaside. He had even been crabbing earlier in the week and stockpiled 11 crabs just in case we did not catch anything. Mickey, Judy, and I all love crab; however, Jim and Nancy not so much, but I think they had fun anyway. Jim was able to catch up on his napping and his reading while we crabbed. He also went for a walk and found $20, but I still think we came out better with our crab find than he did with his money.

I had NO idea what to expect since I have never been crabbing before, and I think even Judy was a bit surprised. She apparently is used to crabbing with 'rings' and Mickey used nets attached to fishing poles, which after you have bait and set them you stick them into a contraption that sits in the sand and holds them. I guess the best thing to bait the traps with is chicken legs. Mickey taught me how to bait the trap, and then he "attempted" to teach me how to cast the pole. Thank goodness there are no pictures of this feat as it was no easy task. I cast it once, and once is all it took for me to make a "rat's nest." It was not as easy as it looked. For the rest of the day, I reeled the nets in, used a net to chase/scoop up the crabs as they tried to get away, and I could even bait the trap; however, after my first attempt I never cast another net the rest of the day. That is okay though because Nancy, Judy, and I were plenty happy with doing the rest of it and letting Mickey cast the nets out.

It was a learning experience on so many levels. I first learned that you cannot keep the female crabs. I then had to learn how to tell the difference between the 'he'mit and the 'her'mit crabs. I learned how to measure the crabs because no matter the sex, you have to throw them back if they are too small. I also learned after a time or two of reeling in the nets (this was harder than I expected), that it was imperative we use the big net because as one person is reeling in the nets, another person needs to be ready with the net to scoop up the catch. We learned this lesson the hard way after a few crabs got away.

We started catching crabs relatively soon after casting our nets; however, for every one crab we got to keep, we had throw back two crabs and five pounds of seaweed. Mickey and I each had a license so that meant we could catch 30 crabs. The crabbing was fun but slow. After almost 5 hours, we only had 13 crabs so we decided to call it a day because we still had to go to Mickey's to cook and clean our catch, and because we could only cook them two at a time, this process was going to take a while. Thank goodness he had caught those additional 11 crabs for us because that meant Judy got 12 and I got 12.

After I learned how to cook and clean the crabs, I then got to enjoy eating fresh crab. I have always liked crab, but I have never had crab that fresh, from water to belly in a few short hours. It was awesome, one of the true pleasures of life.

16. Race For The Cure, 9/19/10

Last year in August I did my first 5K, a local event that maybe had 30 people in attendance. In May, I did my second 5K, the Heart and Stroke Walk. I thought that was impressive with about 7,000 walkers in attendance, but I was told that I had seen nothing yet, that the Race For The Cure (RFTC) was truly a sight to behold.

Well today was the big day...I got up early (5 am) so that I could meet my coworkers at 7:15 to walk in the biggest event ever. The RFTC in Portland, Oregon is the largest event per capita and the largest on the West Coast. About 40,000 people were there...they come from all over the U.S. to participate...it truly was an amazing site.

Since I have been on my weight loss journey, I have been doing a LOT of walking. When I first began walking, I literally could only walk a block or two before I would break out into a sweat and get terribly winded. Over the course of time, 1 block gradually turned into 2, 2 into 4, and so on. For a very long time now I have been walking 1.5 miles in just under 30 minutes. About 3 months ago, I ramped up my walking to 3.4 miles in just under an hour so I knew walking the 5K (3.2 miles) was not going to be an issue. What I was not prepared for was the massive amount of people taking off at the same time and how that would slow the pace of the walk. The group of women I did this walk with completed the event in 1:46:14 minutes, which definitely was not a record but what I gained was so much more valuable than any record I could have achieved. I learned that participating in this type of walk was not for the exercise but for the experience, the camaraderie of being part of something so much bigger than yourself.

The vast majority of those participating in today's event wore white T-shirts with the RFTC logo on it. You also saw many participants with pink sheets of paper on their backs with the names of their loved ones, either celebrating somebody in their life that was a survivor or in memory of someone they have lost to breast cancer. You also saw a much smaller group of participants, yet no less important, wearing bright pink T-shirts commemorating the Survivors, like my coworker Joce. I was overwhelmed with emotion as I would see these women, old and young alike, all in different stages of their journey, making their way through the crowd. All of these women are fighting the good fight; some of them are on the other side of their journey while others are just at the beginning of their battle. One of the most powerful moments for me was when I saw a woman in a bright pink T-shirt, probably in her late 70s, pushing an empty wheelchair through the crowd. That moment was a defining one for me. While I was crossing the finish line for the race I realized there is no finish line yet for breast cancer, but I knew that today I was helping to find the cure.

15. Oktoberfest, 9/18/10

I have lived in Woodburn since late 1982, or almost 28 years, and I have never been to the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest. Now, I am quite sure those of you who have gone to the O'fest year after year after year probably cannot even begin to fathom those of us who have never gone, but if you have never been there you do not know what you have missed.

I seriously laughed when my son, Josh, and my daughter-in-law, Sara, told me that they literally eat their way from one end of the O'fest to the other. I thought they were joking, but I was to soon learn they were dead serious! When we first arrived, Josh and Sara wanted me to have the "full experience" so we did view a few things such as some of the craft areas, the absolutely exquisite church, the car show, and the myriad of booths, but it soon became abundantly clear that the food was the main attraction in Mt. Angel.

I say when in Rome do as the Romans do SO we started on one end and ate our way to the other end. I partook in garlic & cheese mashed potatoes, a meatball sampler, and veggies/bread/fondue; however, what trip to a German festival would be complete without a German sausage with sauerkraut, yummo, and what meal would be complete without dessert, so I had to try the raspberry dough boy, right? I ate SO much food I think there will be NO dinner tonight :)

13.1 Detroit Lake - Jet skiiing part 2, 8/24/10

How many times have you seen a really great movie and could not wait for the sequel only to be disappointed by the hype. More times than not, the sequel does not live up to the original...well, this time I think the sequel was worth waiting for.


I was blessed when a friend took pity on me (thanks Jeanette) and offered to take me out for jet skiing part 2 when she heard that I wanted to feel the wind in my hair and the water on my face. We went out onto the Willamette River from Newberg.

We went fast, we cut cookies, and I even got to drive the jet ski. I have to admit, I was a bit frightened when we first went out onto the water. I had heard rumors about how Jeannette took great pleasure in dumping people off the jet ski; however, Jeanette was gentle with me. She explained everything she was going to do before she did it. We started out by going fast, real fast. As we went zipping down the river, Jeanette said that we were going 53 MPH. After she got me used to that she started cutting corners, whipping around, and then riding the wake. Then she let me drive...OMG...now I have a whole new understanding for the fear of jet skiing; however, once I got over it, it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E! All I have to say is "When are we going again?"

14. The Oregon State Fair, 8/31/10

Everything is bigger at the Fair. This is the biggest wiener I have ever had! I enjoyed a 16-inch, 1/2-lb, hand-dipped corndog and a strawberry lover's funnel cake.

The 2010 Oregon State Fair is too big to miss...because where else can you spend the day with wonderful FAMILY, great FOOD, and lots of FUN. I know for many of you, you cannot imagine how somebody can live in Oregon their entire life and not have gone to the Fair. I guess you do not know what you have missed if you have never done it. When my sister told me that we could/would probably spend the whole day there, I thought that meant we would be home by 5 or 6. I had no idea I would not get home until after 9 p.m. We were there for more than 8 hours. Just for the fun of it I decided that I would wear my pedometer, and I am so glad I did. Imagine my surprise when I got home that night and checked it to find that we had walked 8-1/2 miles or 19,722 steps. It is probably a good thing because hopefully it helped offset the 16-inch, 1/2 lb, hand-dipped corndog, the strawberry lover's funnel cake (can we say yummo!), some of the best ice cream I have ever had, and something I never thought I would try...deep-fried Twinkies and Oreos. We visited the animals, haggled with some of the vendors, were marveled by many of the exhibits, and even went back in time to see dinosaurs. We rode the Fairlift from one end of the fair and back again. It was so cool to ride above the crowds; to see the entirety of the Fair from such a vantage point was incredible. I was struck by the size of the Fair, the enormity of it.

One of the places we visited was the reptile house. Michelle and Gary wanted their picture done with the snake (yuck!) There is no way in the world you were going to get that snake around my neck, but I had to take a picture of Michelle and Gary, even if it did creep me out!!!


The Statesman Journal, the local Salem paper, has a contest during the Fair called "Click It." Each day you can enter one photo that you took from the Fair, and then the online readers vote each day on the entered photos. The following day, the photo with the most votes gets published in the newspaper. Then, when the Fair is over, the online voters once again get to vote on the winners from each day for the grand prize, an iPod Shuffle. The photo to the left is the photo that I entered and was published in the Statesman Journal on Friday, September 3, titled Three Little Pigs!


Sinful Treats...Can you Fight the Temptation? Apparently, I was not strong enough and I caved. I tried the deep-fried Twinkie.