Going on a leaf hunt

I looked forward all week to going leaf hunting today. Then today got here and I was completely worn out. It was just a really hard week at work and I should have stayed home to rest but instead decided to go leaf hunting anyway.

I stopped at a wayside park on the way up towards Leaburg and found a number of really beautiful leaves.

I started by driving up to the Waterboard park and Leaburg Dam. As you can see the bright yellow leaves look very pretty against the water.

I took a quick walk out onto the road over the middle of the dam. The humorous part was the little old lady who stopped in the middle of the one lane road over the dam to take the same pictures I walked to take. They didn't run me over but you can see why one would want to stop to take a picture.

I found a spot part way between the Leaburg Dam and the golf course turn off that had big rocks out in the river just off the boat ramp. So, I climbed out onto them with my camera. It was fine until I realized there was a guy fishin on the rocks I wanted to climb out to. I did settle for some lesser rocks and enjoyed a rest near the river (these are my feet resting near the river).

I decided to take a left on a road I normally take a right on when I headed back to Eugene and ended up on highway 58 south of Eugene near Dexter Lake. As you can see it was a beautiful sunset over the lake today. A beautiful way to end the day.

A "Short" Hike...

The first lesson of fall: don't believe everything you read in the hiking books :o) While I am enjoying being in the pacific northwest during fall, I have found myself a little lacking in the usual hiking trails and places with colorful leaves. So, today, I set out in search of pretty leaves and decided that Mt Pisgah in the hills near Eugene would be the place of adventure today.


As you can see, I found some very pretty leaves... Berries or poison ivy? I think they were actually mixed together but you be the judge.


I started up the trail in the arboretum area which the book said was three miles to the summit. Now, yes, I am old enough to know one should not believe everything one reads but I was hoping for a nice little day hike. Once I cleared the bottom of the arboretum area I ran into a fork in the gravel trail - 8 miles on the nice gravel path or 3 miles straight up the sheer mud cliff to the summit.

Today, I opted for part of the 8 mile stretch (about four miles I think). The views were spectacular and there was a little top of a hill half way between the super summit and the small summit that seemed about my height. So, up I went.

How cool are these views? It really was a glorious day to go hiking. A little dreary but beautiful.

You can see here that even the wide gravel path which was longer was fairly steep. It was a lot of fun going up but not as much fun coming down. I didn't get too many leaf pictures - maybe tomorrow I will go find trees in a park, but today I got to go enjoy the side of a small hill hike and felt like I really had climbed a mountain.

Escape to the beach...

It was a fabulous day on the coast for a short hike.... unfortunately I got a late start and only went about half way. As you can see it was a nice hike, none the less.

This is the trail above the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

The shadow it mine and there are several cool cove/cave like things down on the beach below the head.

The big rocks are very cool. Unfortunately they don't let people climb on the big ones (just the smaller ones at the base, which of course I diligently climbed. I had accidentally come down the trail from the lighthouse on the rocks just to the north of the big rocks and the scenery was beautiful)!

This is the sweeping view of the beach below the assistant light keeper's house and the lighthouse. There are many very beautiful parts of this beach and all I really wanted to do was sit on a rock and read. Too bad I forgot my book!

Well, with snow promised in the mountains, I decided today that it would be safer to go to the beach (I may go to the mountains tomorrow if it hasn't snowed though). Its been an insane week between the markets and the people I see daily reacting to them.

I wanted to take some time to go exploring and get outside. It was so beautiful and much warmer at the beach than in Eugene. So, off I went and enjoyed both taking pictures and also sitting enjoying the sights and sounds of the beach.

Its taken me nearly 30 years to stop at this beach. I've driven by it a million times and thought often I would like to stop. Isn't it funny how easy it is to miss things that are right in our path? All and all it was a gloriously restful day; one of which I was very much in need.

Some perspective...

These are pictures that I've thought about posting and didn't for one reason or another but here's some perspective on my recent world.


Its been really good to have my camera around to develop my perspective and to get outside my own limited vision and communication medium. I've seen lately the difference between the lens and my perspective and I continue to be fascinated with how to communicate what I think with what I see through the lens.

I find that the background is often more interesting to me than the beautiful things that are up close. Even though I thought this flower was really pretty, I was more excited about the contrast between the flower and my little car in the background. Very fun.

This is one of many pictures of flowers and hoses. I have no idea why I like pictures with hoses in them but I do. It just seems so very normal and picturesque.

I love this perspective on my grandpa's workshop. There is something about being part of my family and wanting to be able to fix things. Is it any wonder than there are so many tools in my grandfather's favorite place?

This perspective is through the window known as my bird house. I built it from wood and nails and a piece of sheet aluminum when I was seven or eight. It has been a window in the backyard for birds and little girls alike since sometime near 1987 (though it has required several ropes, screws and other pieces to keep the view and perspective).