Trails are for Christmas Too!

Wait until you hear this!  At 7 AM on Christmas morning as we pulled away from opening the Park gate a car drove in.  It was still very dark and yet they parked at the Filbert Grove and headed off on a hike by the river.  What a surprise!  

We counted 25 vehicles during the day and saw lots of hikers, dog walkers (some who come almost every day) and even 2 groups of horseback riders.  That was just on an 11 AM rove of the park and a 2 PM hike and geocache search.  When we closed the park at 5 PM one set of horse riders were still out on the trail and a walker was making his return to the bike trail car park on the River.   When the horse riders finally left the park it was after 5:30.  They reported making a wrong turn on the trails.  Since it was very dark we had been a little worried.

So- even on Christmas Day our time was well spent giving others an opportunity to enjoy a place of beauty on the River!

On Dec. 26 Terry and Ranger Carlie did some sign removals on the horse trail about 3 miles from the trailhead.  It was so far down the river, across the wheat field and deep in the forest that Terry asked me to come with him the next day to clear some trees that had fallen on the trail.  Since I had never been on the horse trail I was happy to help.  So we loaded up my favorite Park vehicle, the Kubota and headed out!

Yes, Inge, I really do drive this one and LOVE it!!!!  

We spent about 3 hours trimming blackberries, jerking down a mass of vines that almost blocked the trail and cutting the tree that blocked the detour around the tree across the trail.  There is lots of work to do just keeping the trail open in some spots.  It is work that both of us enjoy and it makes us happy to have been a help to someone.  It is a little muddy though---notice the boots!

Oh! and I forgot to mention the moss covered tires we pulled off the trail side (see them in the back).  Terry surprised me with my first pair of insulated coveralls and I was so glad to have them on this chilly, muddy work day.  (I'm learning to be a more contented maintenance volunteer.)

As 2014 starts on Wednesday we will be 30 days away from ending 8 months of Volunteer Work.  Who knew when we said yes to that first job in May of 2011 that we would become so involved in just 3 years?  What an adventure!!!!

Best wishes to you for many new adventures in 2014!!!

Christmas Wishes!

We have already had a touch of winter with two days of freezing fog last week.  Terry took this photo of the trees and shrubs right outside our camper door.   They front the Park Office and one of the trailheads.  The shrubs are Red Osier Dogwood (the branches are bright red and very pretty in winter).
The combination of conifer green and red looks like Christmas!

One of our Christmas traditions for the last few years has been a Christmas Day hike.  We usually go to Cumberland Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  This year we can just walk right out our door, under these trees and we'll be on the trail around the wheat field and to the Williamette River.  I wish you were all close enough to come share the hike with us.  The wheat field is a favorite feeding area of the green herons and there are frequent sightings of the resident cougar on the trail by the river.  Who knows what we will see on Christmas Day, but I'm sure an unexpected gift of nature will await us.

Our Christmas wish for you is that some time during the holidays you can find time to take a long walk in a quiet place.  There is always something to gain from stepping out of the routine and into a part of the natural world that surrounds you.  We forget that our lives are one small part of the web of life that goes on about us and without us.

We hope your Christmas is one of joy, peace and beauty!

Bar-B-Q and the Blue Ridge

Thanksgiving for me was a trip to North Carolina and a visit with my sisters.  I left Terry to continue our job at Williamette Mission SP in Oregon.  Jane came from Germany with Kevin for his November training in Memphis and then shared Thanksgiving and the week before in NC.  My sister Ann hosted a beautiful Thanksgiving Dinner.  It was wonderful to have all 3 of us together again, a true celebration!

It was a treat to watch the sunrises from the cabin, see a a little dusting of snow on the deck and back up to the wood stove.

I attended 2 Old Time Music concerts at the Rex Theater in Galax, VA ( about 12 miles away from the cabin), had a super hike with Nancy at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Parkway, ate NC Bar-B-Q twice, had Fried Okra at the K&W Cafeteria and even got in a Line Dance Class with the Alleghany Jubilee Dancers.

The Christmas Season started for me in my favorite way with a Moravian Candlelight Service at Sparta Presbyterian.  We got to attend a little country church Christmas Bazaar and buy handmade ornaments too.   It was great to get such a fine sampling of NC treasures in just 15 days, but I was mighty happy to see Terry waiting at the Portland Airport.

Terry and I are looking forward to Christmas at Williamette Mission.  We've already had a little snow (on the day after my return).  We are curious to see if the park will have visitors on Christmas Day like it did on Thanksgiving.  We will open and close the Park and be the only staff for the day.   A different kind of experience for us!  Stay tuned for details!