The big day is here at last, and I’m now ready. The only thing I wasn’t able to figure out was how to make my own fangs, but I guess that’s all right.
Since my friends were all either working or taking their kids around on Halloween this year, I gave up on the notion of having a party. Such affairs don’t seem to work out as well as when we were all in college—now we’re all working and have kids to think of, so things such as parties have to take the back seat. I should say that most of us have kids—Sam and I have a dog, and the only thing with her is that she has to go in the back yard while we’re handing out treats to the little ghosts, goblins, and witches who may show up. She got a cut little bandana from the kennel when we picked her up last week that is covered with pictures of ghosts and pumpkins and says “Boo!”
I’ve got plenty of scary music to play this evening, though I will most likely be watching Rosemary’s Baby or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein tonight, or it might be Bram Stoker’s Dracula instead. We watched The Ninth Gate last night—a movie production which grows in my estimation each time I watch it. Since Roman Polanski produced and directed both Rosemary’s Baby and The Ninth Gate, I would say he knows what he’s doing.
I hadn’t decided what to do about my costume until just today. I finally settled on being a vampire, since I had the clothes and make-up for it. I didn’t have the hem in my black crushed velvet cloak, but I solved that by pinning it up. I have a long black satin slip that works fine as my vampire shift, plus a silver cord belt, black stiletto heels, and some black crystal earrings. Wearing glasses was not going to work, though, so I put in my contacts. I applied the very palest shade of foundation make-up I owned to my face, purple eye shadow, lots of eyeliner and mascara, bright red lipstick with loads of lip gloss, and dusted a huge amount of rouge on my upper cheekbones. The hair was easy: I just fluffed it up as high and wide as I could with my fingers until it stuck out all around my head. Gee, even without the fangs I look pretty convincing!
Earlier today I carved the jack o’lantern for the front porch. I decided to put some votive candles around out front, too, since it’s been raining today and candelarias were out of the question. I wish I’d gotten some dry ice for fog, but that’s okay—it gives me something to shoot for next year.
I have a bowl full of candy by the front door, ready and waiting, so bring on the kiddies! I’m looking forward to seeing who shows up at my front door!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
More Great Things about October
I felt it was only proper, since my last blog post extolled the many charming qualities of the Halloween celebration, to mention some of the other things observed during the month of October. I went to Google (my search engine of choice), typed in "October: Month of," and voila, I found Brownielocks and the Three Bears' 'Website (http://www.brownielocks.com/october.html). This Website shows an exhaustive list of things or organizations selecting October as their official month of awareness, etc. There are also weeks of things. For instance, who knew that October 6-12th was National Financial Planning Week? You'll have to excuse me for finding this much too much of a coincidence! Some of us were busy re-organizing our 401Ks, I'm sure. The rest of us either wished we could or decided the best course was to look the other way and pretend it wasn't happening for as long as possible. If you were fortunate enough to still have a roof over your head, a job, and food to set on the table after the past couple weeks, I have no doubt you're counting your blessings and hanging on--but I digress.
In my own family October has a couple anniversaries of note: my niece Chelsea was married Saturday October 18th this year, and her daughter Riley will be three years old on Halloween--perhaps the best day of the year to have a birthday, other than July 4th (which is mine). I don't know what costume Riley intends to wear this year. She may choose to be a pony, because she loves the equine set every bit as much as I do.
Most of us knew that this was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. October is filled with all sorts of programs and events designed to raise our consciousness and money for research. Being a breast cancer survivor myself, I heartily applaud all of it and join in where I can. This year The Breast Center where I get my annual mammograms initiated a program to give out hand-made pink scarves to their patients which were made and donated by members of our community. In one week's time, they took in 250 scarves! Everyone was amazed at the tremendous outpouring of emotional support these scarves represented, and when the folks at The Center began giving them out, the women who received them cried, they were so overcome. Meanwhile many of the scarves were put on display. The Gift Shop crew had to deflect a number or offers to purchase them, but these scarves were not for sale. I made and donated one myself, and I count myself fortunate to participate in something which produces so many benefits to all involved. Right on, ladies! You go girls!
That's not all there is to October, but I HAD to mention these at the very least. Enjoy a great month to be alive!
In my own family October has a couple anniversaries of note: my niece Chelsea was married Saturday October 18th this year, and her daughter Riley will be three years old on Halloween--perhaps the best day of the year to have a birthday, other than July 4th (which is mine). I don't know what costume Riley intends to wear this year. She may choose to be a pony, because she loves the equine set every bit as much as I do.
Most of us knew that this was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. October is filled with all sorts of programs and events designed to raise our consciousness and money for research. Being a breast cancer survivor myself, I heartily applaud all of it and join in where I can. This year The Breast Center where I get my annual mammograms initiated a program to give out hand-made pink scarves to their patients which were made and donated by members of our community. In one week's time, they took in 250 scarves! Everyone was amazed at the tremendous outpouring of emotional support these scarves represented, and when the folks at The Center began giving them out, the women who received them cried, they were so overcome. Meanwhile many of the scarves were put on display. The Gift Shop crew had to deflect a number or offers to purchase them, but these scarves were not for sale. I made and donated one myself, and I count myself fortunate to participate in something which produces so many benefits to all involved. Right on, ladies! You go girls!
That's not all there is to October, but I HAD to mention these at the very least. Enjoy a great month to be alive!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Thanks for the Proximadade Award!
Thanks to Sooz for awarding me the Proximadade Award recently. I had no idea there were any awards for Bloggers, but this seems like a good one. According to Sooz, this award is recommended for bloggers who encourage people to become closer to each other. Since I don't read many other blogs, I can't currently "pass it on," but I will keep it in mind.
Your new kitty Desi looks promising. I always gravitated to the black or tabby-colored cats, too. Best luck with your new friend!
Your new kitty Desi looks promising. I always gravitated to the black or tabby-colored cats, too. Best luck with your new friend!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Hooray, It's October!
Including: NOT A NATURAL BLONDE's Top 25 Halloween Movie List
Well friends, it’s that time again—when we’re all loading up on fun-size candy to hand out to the little urchins in a few more weeks. If you’re like me, you’ll have to buy two batches of candy; because you ate the first one before handing any out (I never keep anything like that in the house, so consequently I find it nearly impossible to resist it when it is here). If you are fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have the night to yourself, you’re probably making plans to either (1) turn out all the lights and pretend you’re not at home; (2) dress your kids in their costumes and take them out as soon as it’s dark, and then pretend you’re not at home when you return while going over the kids’ haul; or (3) decorate and put together the best and scariest costume ever, complete with low lights, weird music, and ground fog for when kids turn up at your door. You may even be planning a party.
For many years I honestly believed my favorite holiday was Christmas (and in some ways it still is), but I have to admit that I’ve always regarded Halloween as loads more fun. Ever since I was a little kid, I loved dressing up and pretending to be someone or something else every year—even more than the prospect of all that candy. No stuffed shirts are allowed on Halloween, except the real ones, of course: scarecrows filled with straw, for example. You can let your imagination literally run wild and be absolutely outrageous. Please don’t misunderstand me, however. I DO NOT advocate any kind of malicious violence or destruction of property! There aren’t many outhouses to overturn any more, but egging cars is a NO NO, as is spray painting stuff. TP-ing houses, or writing on things with soap bars, etc. is okay, because that’s annoying without causing any permanent destruction or defacement of property. You get the idea.
Most years I've had to work on Halloween, which totally takes all the fun out of it, since I work in the Emergency Department of a major medical center. Believe me, the crazies do come out, and some of them are not very nice people. That’s aside from the ones who choose to indulge in excessive amounts of drugs or alcohol—those folks are never any fun, and we see them every day of the week anyway. It seems as though nearly every year some sicko feels compelled to find a new way to hurt little kids, such as putting pins or glass in their candy. For a number of years we always got a few phone calls from parents wanting to know if we were x-raying candy for foreign objects, though I don’t think we got any of those calls last year. Most parents solved this problem by never letting their kids trick-or-treat strangers or by having their own Halloween parties (AKA supervision)—both excellent solutions, and it also assures that your kids aren't off doing anything you'll be liable for.
This year I’ve taken some vacation over Halloween. I had wanted to have a party, but that prospect is waning, since many of my friends and co-workers have little kids or grandkids to take out or other commitments to attend. Actually, I don’t care, because I know I’ll get plenty of trick-or-treaters from the surrounding neighborhood, so I’m going to enjoy myself anyway! I plan on decorating the walk and entry to the house and having a scary costume for handing out treats. Doesn’t everybody? I haven’t decided on what it will be yet, though. Last year I thought it would be great fun to be a pirate, but I don’t want to be one this year. Pirates are now passe. As a kid, my favorite costume was gypsy fortune teller, partly because it was relatively easy to come up with some likely looking clothes and then dab on lipstick and rouge. I’ve liked Cleopatra and Morticia (from The Addams Family TV series) in years past, too. My first impulse this year was Cat Woman, from the Batman movies, but I have to admit that I’m a bit too chunky to be a credible Cat Woman. Maybe next year. Maybe I’ll just be a witch this year—they don’t have to be skinny.
Another tradition, which I began last year, is my list of Top 20 or 25 Halloween movies. I was sure I had saved my previous list, but try as I might, I couldn’t find it in my computer anywhere. That meant I had to start over, but that’s all right. I made a point of watching most of the movies on my list from last year—since I was recommending them, and seeing some of them again made me wonder why I had ever thought they were good in the first place! So, starting fresh and making a new list was probably for the best.
I should explain that my list does not include many of the obvious choices, because they do not have anything to do with Halloween. This means many science-fiction, monster, slasher, and plain old horror movies will not make this list at all. That’s because (gasp) either they’re not any good; or, they belong to another genre. Sorry, but guts and gore alone will not get a movie on this list. If it did, Carnosaur would be here. No, Godzilla, Alien, Hostel, Saw I, II, III, or IV, Amityville Horror, or Night of the Living Dead will not be on this list—sorry, but that’s just how it is: My rules rule. I require that the movie be about Halloween itself, the supernatural, magic or witchcraft, or the perversion of the laws of God and/or nature. That’s why Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy made it, but Godzilla and Alien did not, though a case could be made for the presence of Alien Resurrection. I must explain, too, that I am partial to the old classics. It’s also VERY hard to limit the list to only 25. One criticism of last year’s list was that most of the movies were made before 1950, so I tried to include some newer ones for those of you who don’t watch anything that was made before you were born. I understand also, that many of you consciously avoid horror films in general—well, me too! Most of the current crop of what I call horrendous movies involve little more than vulgar gobs of carnage and gratuitous violence. Definitely not what I like to subject myself to, so I have attempted to compile a list of entertaining and reasonably tasteful movies for you to enjoy watching this month—with me if you like. Hey, if you think I left a deserving movie out, be sure and let me know! My rankings are purely subjective, and in some cases I couldn’t make up my mind, so I put them in the best order I could. I also regret that I had to leave out a few features I might have otherwise included, if I’d made a longer list.
Not a Natural Blonde’s Top Twenty-Five Halloween Flicks:
Well friends, it’s that time again—when we’re all loading up on fun-size candy to hand out to the little urchins in a few more weeks. If you’re like me, you’ll have to buy two batches of candy; because you ate the first one before handing any out (I never keep anything like that in the house, so consequently I find it nearly impossible to resist it when it is here). If you are fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have the night to yourself, you’re probably making plans to either (1) turn out all the lights and pretend you’re not at home; (2) dress your kids in their costumes and take them out as soon as it’s dark, and then pretend you’re not at home when you return while going over the kids’ haul; or (3) decorate and put together the best and scariest costume ever, complete with low lights, weird music, and ground fog for when kids turn up at your door. You may even be planning a party.
For many years I honestly believed my favorite holiday was Christmas (and in some ways it still is), but I have to admit that I’ve always regarded Halloween as loads more fun. Ever since I was a little kid, I loved dressing up and pretending to be someone or something else every year—even more than the prospect of all that candy. No stuffed shirts are allowed on Halloween, except the real ones, of course: scarecrows filled with straw, for example. You can let your imagination literally run wild and be absolutely outrageous. Please don’t misunderstand me, however. I DO NOT advocate any kind of malicious violence or destruction of property! There aren’t many outhouses to overturn any more, but egging cars is a NO NO, as is spray painting stuff. TP-ing houses, or writing on things with soap bars, etc. is okay, because that’s annoying without causing any permanent destruction or defacement of property. You get the idea.
Most years I've had to work on Halloween, which totally takes all the fun out of it, since I work in the Emergency Department of a major medical center. Believe me, the crazies do come out, and some of them are not very nice people. That’s aside from the ones who choose to indulge in excessive amounts of drugs or alcohol—those folks are never any fun, and we see them every day of the week anyway. It seems as though nearly every year some sicko feels compelled to find a new way to hurt little kids, such as putting pins or glass in their candy. For a number of years we always got a few phone calls from parents wanting to know if we were x-raying candy for foreign objects, though I don’t think we got any of those calls last year. Most parents solved this problem by never letting their kids trick-or-treat strangers or by having their own Halloween parties (AKA supervision)—both excellent solutions, and it also assures that your kids aren't off doing anything you'll be liable for.
This year I’ve taken some vacation over Halloween. I had wanted to have a party, but that prospect is waning, since many of my friends and co-workers have little kids or grandkids to take out or other commitments to attend. Actually, I don’t care, because I know I’ll get plenty of trick-or-treaters from the surrounding neighborhood, so I’m going to enjoy myself anyway! I plan on decorating the walk and entry to the house and having a scary costume for handing out treats. Doesn’t everybody? I haven’t decided on what it will be yet, though. Last year I thought it would be great fun to be a pirate, but I don’t want to be one this year. Pirates are now passe. As a kid, my favorite costume was gypsy fortune teller, partly because it was relatively easy to come up with some likely looking clothes and then dab on lipstick and rouge. I’ve liked Cleopatra and Morticia (from The Addams Family TV series) in years past, too. My first impulse this year was Cat Woman, from the Batman movies, but I have to admit that I’m a bit too chunky to be a credible Cat Woman. Maybe next year. Maybe I’ll just be a witch this year—they don’t have to be skinny.
Another tradition, which I began last year, is my list of Top 20 or 25 Halloween movies. I was sure I had saved my previous list, but try as I might, I couldn’t find it in my computer anywhere. That meant I had to start over, but that’s all right. I made a point of watching most of the movies on my list from last year—since I was recommending them, and seeing some of them again made me wonder why I had ever thought they were good in the first place! So, starting fresh and making a new list was probably for the best.
I should explain that my list does not include many of the obvious choices, because they do not have anything to do with Halloween. This means many science-fiction, monster, slasher, and plain old horror movies will not make this list at all. That’s because (gasp) either they’re not any good; or, they belong to another genre. Sorry, but guts and gore alone will not get a movie on this list. If it did, Carnosaur would be here. No, Godzilla, Alien, Hostel, Saw I, II, III, or IV, Amityville Horror, or Night of the Living Dead will not be on this list—sorry, but that’s just how it is: My rules rule. I require that the movie be about Halloween itself, the supernatural, magic or witchcraft, or the perversion of the laws of God and/or nature. That’s why Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy made it, but Godzilla and Alien did not, though a case could be made for the presence of Alien Resurrection. I must explain, too, that I am partial to the old classics. It’s also VERY hard to limit the list to only 25. One criticism of last year’s list was that most of the movies were made before 1950, so I tried to include some newer ones for those of you who don’t watch anything that was made before you were born. I understand also, that many of you consciously avoid horror films in general—well, me too! Most of the current crop of what I call horrendous movies involve little more than vulgar gobs of carnage and gratuitous violence. Definitely not what I like to subject myself to, so I have attempted to compile a list of entertaining and reasonably tasteful movies for you to enjoy watching this month—with me if you like. Hey, if you think I left a deserving movie out, be sure and let me know! My rankings are purely subjective, and in some cases I couldn’t make up my mind, so I put them in the best order I could. I also regret that I had to leave out a few features I might have otherwise included, if I’d made a longer list.
Not a Natural Blonde’s Top Twenty-Five Halloween Flicks:
1. The Ninth Gate (1999) starring Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, and Lena Olin; directed by Roman Polanski. This movie had me on the edge of my seat till the end, and it’s one I have to own.
2. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, and Keanu Reeves; directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Won three Oscars: Best Costume Design, Best Effects, and Best Make-up. First rate all the way.
3. Rosemary’s Baby (1968 ) starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavettes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer; directed by Roman Polanski. Ruth Gordon won an Oscar in this movie for Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Roman Polanski was nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay Based on Materials from Another Medium.
4. The Omen (1976) (this movie and its sequel Damien, Omen II {1978}, are not bad, but III is really boring—unfortunately, by then you’re roped into watching it to see the conclusion) starring Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Stephens, Billie Whitelaw, and Patrick Troughton; directed by Richard Donner. David Selzer wrote the script as well as the novel on which the movie is based. Someone just made The Omen IV, which I have not seen.
5. The Exorcist (the original was scary enough for me, but you can watch the un-cut version now that includes deleted scenes if you must); (1973) starring Jason Miller, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, and Linda Blair; directed by William Friedkin. Won two Oscars: Best Sound, and Best Writing: Screenplay from Another Medium.
6. Nosferatu: The Vampyre/Phantom Der Nacht (1979), starring (and directed by) Werner Herzog, and Klaus Kinski. English subtitles, but worth it.
7. Young Frankenstein (1974) starring Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Chloris Leachman, Terri Garr, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Gene Hackman; directed by Mel Brooks. Nominated for Oscars in Best Sound and Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium. One of the funniest movies ever made.
8. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick; directed by Jim Sharman. This is the ultimate Halloween cult classic.
9. The Witches of Eastwick (1987) starring Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer; directed by George Miller. Based on a novel by John Updike.
10. Frankenstein (1931) starring Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, and Boris Karloff; directed by James Whale. Based on the novel by Mary Shelley and the play by Peggy Webling.
11. Wolfen (1981) starring Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Edward James Olmos, Gregory Hines directed by Michael Wadleigh. Suffers from poor editing, but the movie has enough suspense to make up for it, and Finney is great as always. 12. The Witches (1990) starring Angelica Huston and Mai Zetterling; directed by Nicolas Roeg; based on a book by Roald Dahl.
13. Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugos, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, and Frances Dade; directed by Tod Browning. Based on Bram Stoker’s novel and the play by Hamilton Dean.
14. The Mummy (1932) starring Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Arthur Byron, Edward Van Sloan; directed by Karl Freund. The original and the best—forget the sequels! The new Mummy movies, starring Brendan Fraser, are also good.
15. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) starring Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, and Angela Lansbury; directed by James Whale.
16. Cat People (1942) starring Simone Simon, Kent Smith, and Tom Conway; directed by Jacques Tourneur. Another great film that doesn’t get the respect it deserves, being lauded by Martin Scorsese and influencing such films as The Blair Witch Project.
17. Interview with the Vampire (1994) starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt; directed by Neil Jordan. Nominated for Oscars in Best Art Direction/Set Decoration and Best Music/Original Score. Based on Anne Rice’s novel.
18. Poltergeist (the original, none of the sequels—actually, I haven’t seen any of those, so I can’t rate them), (1982) starring Jeff Bannister and Helen Baron; directed by Tobe Hooper. Nominated for Oscars in Best Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound Effects.
19. Ghostbusters (1984) starring Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis; directed by Ivan Reitman. Nominated for two Oscars: Best Effects, Visual Effects, Best Music, Best Original Song. One of Murray's and Ackroyd's best.
20. The Devil’s Advocate (1997) starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron; directed by Taylor Hackford.
21. Army of Darkness (1981) starring Bruce Campbell and Embeth Davidtz; directed by Sam Raimi. This is part three in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series and was Bruce Campbell’s one big starring role. It has a tremendous cult movie following, and should have boosted Bruce into instant mega stardom, but Universal Studios unceremoniously dumped him because they had lawsuits to deal with (unrelated to Bruce or this movie) and probably didn’t know how to market it. One of the very few zombie movies I like. Most recently he was in Spiderman 3.
22. An American Werewolf in London (1981) starring Jenny Agutter and Griffin Dunne; directed by John Landis. Won an Oscar for Best Make-up. Great transformations.
23. Practical Magic (1998) starring Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, and Stockard Channing; directed by Griffin Dunne. *See note below!
24. The Craft (1996) starring Robin Tunney, Fairuz Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True; directed by Andrew Fleming.
25. The Blair Witch Project (1999) starring Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams; directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez.
I hope you will watch a few of these in the spirit of the season (pun intended). It’s all about having fun, after all, isn't it?
Postscript: Thank you to those of you kind enought to email me your comments or post them here. I DO appreciate your comments, and they are always welcome!
*Note: Actually, the only movie on this list I had not previously seen, but taken somebody else's word on it's value as a Halloween movie, is Practical Magic, starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. Aaugh!!! It's a chick flick! Don't waste your time on this one--unless, of course you are a big chick flick fan. This movie is not in the least bit scary and it's not a parody or satire, so it does not belong here. There are a number of deserving movies I could put in its place, but one that immediately comes to mind is Wolf (1994), starring Jack Nickolson and Michelle Pfeiffer; directed by Mike Nichols. Won an ASCAP award for best writing. I believe I had included it on my list last year.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Adventures in Camping
I'm home at last, after spending a week (mostly) camping out in Eastern Oregon. I left here on Tuesday, Sept. 23rd and returned yesterday on Wednesday, Oct. 1st, driving the Miata down through Central Washington: to North Bend and I-90 via Hwy 18, thence to Ellensburg, Yakima, past Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco), across the Columbia River at Umatilla below McNary Dam, on to I-84 near Hermiston, through Pendleton, La Grande, Island City, and finally out to Cove and my sister Laurie's place. The drive is 315 miles and five-and-one-half hours, though it's fairly pleasurable in the Miata. No, I did not drive with the top down.
I stayed at my sister's the first and last nights, since Sam was to pick me up there and he didn't arrive until late. Then, I figured it would be un-sisterly to just shower, wash my clothes, and leave without a visit, so I stayed an extra night. We didn't end up talking a lot (which was probably just as well), though I did get to see my niece Alyssa's new baby and drive out to where my niece Chelsea lives with her fiancé Chris (they're getting married on Oct. 18th). Chris introduced me to all their horses, since he knew I was interested in perhaps borrowing one the next time I go up to Eagle Cap Wilderness. I will probably take him up on his offer of using his seven-year-old grey gelding the next time out, because that trail is murder. Besides, I'd like to have a horse to ride around up there. I thought it was terribly nice of him to say I could take his own horse out anytime I wanted, since all he knows about my horsemanship skills is what he's heard from my family—though he has talked to me a couple of times. He must have been favorable impressed, because I wouldn't loan my horse to just anybody!
We stayed at our base camp at Two Pan down at the trailhead on the Lostine River for the first three nights. The parking lot was full of big horse vans and stock trailers belonging to outfitters who were busily engaged in ferrying parties of elk hunters in and out (plus their kills) from a special archery hunt up in the Minam Canyon--at least that was our speculation. Sam used the time to make improvements to our camp site there. To those of you who don’t know him, Sam has never found anything that cannot be improved. The first night he leveled the spot where the dome tent was to go. The second day he put in a different (and a much nicer) fire pit that he'd found, complete with a brick hearth and a couple of logs next to it to set items on while cooking; he also leveled the floor of the screen tent where we keep food and cook on the propane camp stove. The third day he dug out a hole in the river for storing cold beverages. I spent my days helping him when I could, organizing all the stuff we'd brought along, playing with the dog, and hiking around. I also managed to write a journal and read two books while there. The weather could not have been nicer, though it was really cold at night (40 degrees F.). Also, it got dark pretty early, and there was nothing to do but go to bed, making the nights REALLY LONG. Mind you, I'm used to only sleeping about six hours a night, and I get off work at 1 am, so this was a radical change to my schedule. I found myself tired enough to sleep when I went to bed, but then I'd wake up at about 2 am (and several times afterward) and try to go back to sleep. You can probably understand that I was bored out of my mind by the third day.
On Saturday, we finally tackled the trail up the mountain. Mind you, Sam had warned me that it was quite difficult, but I knew pack strings of horses and mules went up and down it all the time, so I wasn't too worried. It was only three-and-a-half miles, after all--how hard could it be? Sam had also told me that it was like the Glacier Basin trail I'd hiked on Mt. Rainier a couple of years ago, but I must say that I was nowhere near being adequately mentally prepared for how bad it was. Yes, it was "like" a part of the Glacier Basin trail--but this one went on and on for three %&@$ing miles!--straight up! Thank God I had really good Gore-Tex hiking boots and some trekking poles, or I would have never made it. And, going up was nothing compared to coming back down again on Monday. How do you limp on both feet? I know the answer to that! Yes, I can and most likely will make the trip again, though next time I will know what I'm in for--and I may well take Chris up on his offer to loan me Grey Gelding to haul my backside up there.
Once we got to the meadows and the river valley, the scenery was truly impressive, and I managed to get some nice photos of Eagle Cap while Sam was fishing, but I didn't have the time or the gumption to go on to Mirror Lake, which I had really wanted to do. That undertaking was another three-and-a-half hours of trekking, and I just did not have it in me this time around. It will have to wait for next time (!) and (probably) the horse.
The first night at what Sam calls Two Creeks Camp, we listened to a bull elk bugling up and down in the valley below all night. He began at about 7:30 pm and ended up on the ridge above us about twelve hours later. At one point I seriously thought he was coming into camp to check us out (Roxi the dog and I were huddled in sleeping bags in the tent trying to keep warm--Sam had gone back down the mountain to bring up a second sleeping bag and a few other items we needed), but he didn't. Even though it would have been dangerous, I was disappointed at not getting to see him. The second night I heard him start out on the ridge top above us, but he went east into the box canyon up there. He must have found what he was looking for, because we didn't hear from him again.
The next day, after a breakfast of coffee, instant oatmeal, and sausages, we hiked up the canyon trail and Sam fished in the Lostine River (which at that point is little more than a creek). All the fish in the Lakes' Basin were originally planted long ago by the Forest Service, but there are now brook trout literally everywhere. You cannot walk down the banks of any stream there without seeing schools of fish, though by our standards they're pretty small. Seven-inchers are pretty good-sized fish, but most are three- to five-inches in length. It takes four or five of them per person for a meal, but they are nice meaty little fish. Sam brought one in nearly every time he stuck the fly he was using (a grasshopper) in the water.
While Sam was fishing, I hiked up the trail with the dog, since she likes to "help" Sam fish. I took a few more photos, but then I turned back and we sat down for a bit of lunch: a couple of taco wrap sandwiches, a nut bar, and a piece of fruit apiece. Carrying water was not necessary, since we could get a drink anytime we wanted. Sam fished a bit longer, until he felt we had enough for dinner, and we returned to camp.
Monday morning we broke camp and then hiked back down the trail to our base camp. That took all day, and we barely got to camp before dark. I can honestly say I cannot remember feeling more miserable in my entire life (I’d say it was an “8” on the pain scale), and the only thing that kept me going was that I had no choice. Going down that boulder-filled trail was no fun at all and a real challenge to my attitude. Was Sam going to leave me on the hillside and get an outfitter to pack my sorry butt down? Not unless I had a broken leg or something! Sam even told me he was proud of me several times, though I was beginning to whimper and whine near the end. We stayed overnight at base camp and the next morning divvied up the things I would bring home with me in the Miata. Sam intends to stay up there for another week, so I left the bulk of the food with him. On Tuesday night I stayed at my sister's and then drove home Wednesday afternoon.
I am so very glad Sam was a boy scout and has excellent woodsman's skills, beyond what I'd thought of in the past. He's tougher than I knew he was, and I have a new appreciation for what he usually does out there on his own. I know it's a cliché, but now that I'm home, there is absolutely nothing like sleeping in your own bed. You can believe it.
I stayed at my sister's the first and last nights, since Sam was to pick me up there and he didn't arrive until late. Then, I figured it would be un-sisterly to just shower, wash my clothes, and leave without a visit, so I stayed an extra night. We didn't end up talking a lot (which was probably just as well), though I did get to see my niece Alyssa's new baby and drive out to where my niece Chelsea lives with her fiancé Chris (they're getting married on Oct. 18th). Chris introduced me to all their horses, since he knew I was interested in perhaps borrowing one the next time I go up to Eagle Cap Wilderness. I will probably take him up on his offer of using his seven-year-old grey gelding the next time out, because that trail is murder. Besides, I'd like to have a horse to ride around up there. I thought it was terribly nice of him to say I could take his own horse out anytime I wanted, since all he knows about my horsemanship skills is what he's heard from my family—though he has talked to me a couple of times. He must have been favorable impressed, because I wouldn't loan my horse to just anybody!
We stayed at our base camp at Two Pan down at the trailhead on the Lostine River for the first three nights. The parking lot was full of big horse vans and stock trailers belonging to outfitters who were busily engaged in ferrying parties of elk hunters in and out (plus their kills) from a special archery hunt up in the Minam Canyon--at least that was our speculation. Sam used the time to make improvements to our camp site there. To those of you who don’t know him, Sam has never found anything that cannot be improved. The first night he leveled the spot where the dome tent was to go. The second day he put in a different (and a much nicer) fire pit that he'd found, complete with a brick hearth and a couple of logs next to it to set items on while cooking; he also leveled the floor of the screen tent where we keep food and cook on the propane camp stove. The third day he dug out a hole in the river for storing cold beverages. I spent my days helping him when I could, organizing all the stuff we'd brought along, playing with the dog, and hiking around. I also managed to write a journal and read two books while there. The weather could not have been nicer, though it was really cold at night (40 degrees F.). Also, it got dark pretty early, and there was nothing to do but go to bed, making the nights REALLY LONG. Mind you, I'm used to only sleeping about six hours a night, and I get off work at 1 am, so this was a radical change to my schedule. I found myself tired enough to sleep when I went to bed, but then I'd wake up at about 2 am (and several times afterward) and try to go back to sleep. You can probably understand that I was bored out of my mind by the third day.
On Saturday, we finally tackled the trail up the mountain. Mind you, Sam had warned me that it was quite difficult, but I knew pack strings of horses and mules went up and down it all the time, so I wasn't too worried. It was only three-and-a-half miles, after all--how hard could it be? Sam had also told me that it was like the Glacier Basin trail I'd hiked on Mt. Rainier a couple of years ago, but I must say that I was nowhere near being adequately mentally prepared for how bad it was. Yes, it was "like" a part of the Glacier Basin trail--but this one went on and on for three %&@$ing miles!--straight up! Thank God I had really good Gore-Tex hiking boots and some trekking poles, or I would have never made it. And, going up was nothing compared to coming back down again on Monday. How do you limp on both feet? I know the answer to that! Yes, I can and most likely will make the trip again, though next time I will know what I'm in for--and I may well take Chris up on his offer to loan me Grey Gelding to haul my backside up there.
Once we got to the meadows and the river valley, the scenery was truly impressive, and I managed to get some nice photos of Eagle Cap while Sam was fishing, but I didn't have the time or the gumption to go on to Mirror Lake, which I had really wanted to do. That undertaking was another three-and-a-half hours of trekking, and I just did not have it in me this time around. It will have to wait for next time (!) and (probably) the horse.
The first night at what Sam calls Two Creeks Camp, we listened to a bull elk bugling up and down in the valley below all night. He began at about 7:30 pm and ended up on the ridge above us about twelve hours later. At one point I seriously thought he was coming into camp to check us out (Roxi the dog and I were huddled in sleeping bags in the tent trying to keep warm--Sam had gone back down the mountain to bring up a second sleeping bag and a few other items we needed), but he didn't. Even though it would have been dangerous, I was disappointed at not getting to see him. The second night I heard him start out on the ridge top above us, but he went east into the box canyon up there. He must have found what he was looking for, because we didn't hear from him again.
The next day, after a breakfast of coffee, instant oatmeal, and sausages, we hiked up the canyon trail and Sam fished in the Lostine River (which at that point is little more than a creek). All the fish in the Lakes' Basin were originally planted long ago by the Forest Service, but there are now brook trout literally everywhere. You cannot walk down the banks of any stream there without seeing schools of fish, though by our standards they're pretty small. Seven-inchers are pretty good-sized fish, but most are three- to five-inches in length. It takes four or five of them per person for a meal, but they are nice meaty little fish. Sam brought one in nearly every time he stuck the fly he was using (a grasshopper) in the water.
While Sam was fishing, I hiked up the trail with the dog, since she likes to "help" Sam fish. I took a few more photos, but then I turned back and we sat down for a bit of lunch: a couple of taco wrap sandwiches, a nut bar, and a piece of fruit apiece. Carrying water was not necessary, since we could get a drink anytime we wanted. Sam fished a bit longer, until he felt we had enough for dinner, and we returned to camp.
Monday morning we broke camp and then hiked back down the trail to our base camp. That took all day, and we barely got to camp before dark. I can honestly say I cannot remember feeling more miserable in my entire life (I’d say it was an “8” on the pain scale), and the only thing that kept me going was that I had no choice. Going down that boulder-filled trail was no fun at all and a real challenge to my attitude. Was Sam going to leave me on the hillside and get an outfitter to pack my sorry butt down? Not unless I had a broken leg or something! Sam even told me he was proud of me several times, though I was beginning to whimper and whine near the end. We stayed overnight at base camp and the next morning divvied up the things I would bring home with me in the Miata. Sam intends to stay up there for another week, so I left the bulk of the food with him. On Tuesday night I stayed at my sister's and then drove home Wednesday afternoon.
I am so very glad Sam was a boy scout and has excellent woodsman's skills, beyond what I'd thought of in the past. He's tougher than I knew he was, and I have a new appreciation for what he usually does out there on his own. I know it's a cliché, but now that I'm home, there is absolutely nothing like sleeping in your own bed. You can believe it.
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