Laurie Johns Weblog

Fall 2008

There is no denying that it is fall. Even the weather inland to the valley cannot delude me into believing it is still summer. Everyone is going back to school. Carol is back to school, Haleh and Keyon are back to school. I am not and I’m not even sending anyone back to school. This feels weird. This feels wrong. It’s making me nervous. I’m trying not be rash, but something must be done. Maybe it’s time to get ready for winter and settle down.

In the meantime, I will enjoy the exuberance of Haleh and Keyon!

Keyon

Haleh’s California style

Haleh and Keyon

Petaluma California.

I stopped here because of Heidi. What I didn’t anticipate was how much I would love the place. I was also very inspired by the way Heidi and Will (her husband) have carved out a wonderfully creative life for themselves. They even invited me to a game of D and D and introduced me their fellow players.

lovely Heidi

Heidi is installing tree sweaters around Santa Rosa. Click here to see Heidi wrapping our tree in Vermillion.

Heidi’s hacienda! (well, sort of)

Heidi is sewing 400 dolls for Anthropologie

Some of her other kids

Saturday was spent hiking to Arch Rock at Pt. Reyes seashore.

I’m pretty sure I’m going back.

On Thursday, Aug 21, I left Astoria for Ashland Oregon where I camped at Emigrant Lake which was lovely but pricier than National Forest camping. I didn’t explore Ashland much though it was on my destination spots/possible places to live list.

By Friday night I found myself in Humboldt County California at Clam Beach just 7 miles north of Arcata. I don’t think I would have lasted the night there had it not been for finding Will Simcoe wandering around in the sand within the first 10 minutes of arriving.

Will

I deemed him my companion for the duration of my stay and drove him to Arcata airport at 6 AM Saturday morning to catch a flight to Tulsa.

Clam Beach, Arcata California

What I discovered on the beach was my love of the sea and her playful character; haunting and mysterious. She lures you closer and each time she advances, threatens the violence of Tsunami. We played near her for many hours. I also met 3 other dudes (they didn’t go by their given names: Mikey, Eric and Sterling–instead just called each other, Will and me, dude). By evening, the tide went out, we went out, the fog rolled rolled in and we became nearly invisible to one another. The entire experience was surreal.

For more on Humboldt county, read David Sammual’s essay in The New Yorker.

Betty, Richard, John, Carol

Astoria Oregon

When I arrived Betty and Richard from Oldenburg were also visiting and although I had previously met them in Vermillion, I had not known them well. It was really great having them around and sad to see them go.

Lewis and Clark’s historic journey west

Despite the fact that Lewis and Clark passed through Siouxland, I had not considered their journey much until arriving in Astoria and investigating the odd names given to places such as “Cape Disappointment” and “Dismal Nitch.” Apparently Meriwether (I’m glad my name isn’t Meriwether) Lewis and William Clark were stuck here on the Oregon/Washington coast for 6 days during a dreadful wind and rain storm and as history reports it, “would rather spend a winter in North Dakota (their other winter was spent there) than on the Pacific north coast.”

What’s really funny is that John (Fremstad) and I hiked to this waterfall the other day (Youngs River waterfall)–

Where the plaque stated that “Neither Lewis nor Clark saw this waterfall.” I found that rather humorous. They may have named it, had they seen it, Dreary Falls.

ute

I have found a great yoga teacher (Ute Swerdloff) here in Astoria. Her style is really unique and I am enjoying the classes and her German accented deep smooth voice very much. Recently, we have been spending time together outside of class. Getting to know her has really enhanced my time here and her yoga instruction has been exactly what I needed. It seems I have been at a crossroads relative to yoga. Finding Anusara and finding Ute help me to re-invent the practice.

Cabin at Breitenbush

You have to make a reservation to stay at Breitenbush Hot Springs and that is not an easy thing to do. They are off the grid and my phone service was sketchy at Devil’s Lake. But I managed to book a night in a shared cabin with 3 vegetarian meals and all the soaking one desires for $63 a night. There is even a really sweltering lithium sauna. I met two lovely and very sweet women from Portland (Valentina and Margaret) on a hike and it was really nice to have two friends. I never knew who my cabin mates were because we passed in the dark and it’s really dark there at night, except for the little green lamps throughout the forest that light the path like ferries.

The pools were pretty nice, the food was a little less savory than my palette prefers, but the views were spectacular. Most people were pretty unabashed by nudity and I think everyone would go without clothing all the time if the “clothing optional” option were not relegated to the pools.

Greetings from Devils Lake, one of Oregon’s Glacial lakes along the cascade trail.

My neighbors, Petra and Baron from Germany are really clever. I’d completely forgotten about using the cold water to chill my food…look at their selection of beer!

I have one day left of painting…I’m not sure how this one is going, but I think I’m starting to breathe life into it.

Devil’s Lake, Oregon

Drake Park footbridge–downtown Bend, Or

Stayed in Tumalo State Park (just outside Bend) last night. It was pretty crowded and I got the last site; with full hook-up (which I did not need) for $22. I’m used to paying $4-$5 in the National forest…or nothing.

On Saturday morning Pam and I drove to Pullman Washington (just across the border) to meet her friend, Ann, for coffee. Ann invited me to a 2-day painters workshop and said I could stay in her house (She’s headed for the Oregon coast). I seriously considered it, but decided to conduct my own 3 day painting workshop in the Deschutes National Forest at one of the Cascade Lakes. I haven’t decided which yet, but I purchased 3 days worth of food at Trader Joes ($32 including wine and chocolate) and am ready to go. See you in a few days–then I’m off the Detroit, Oregon to the Breitenbush Hot Springs.

It has been surprising the degree of support I’ve gotten from people I meet regarding this entire project…searching for a community, I seem to find one everywhere I go.

I’ve gotten into the habit of finding the organic food store and approaching the person who looks like they might know where to camp for the night etc.

Pam Palmer, Moscow Idaho

This is Pam. She had a few questions for me too, like where was I from. And it turns out that Pam grew up in Vermillion. Stranger things happen, but this was actually a wonderfully weird thing to happen. I ended up spending the evening (and night) at Pam’s Sanctuary. It was a lovely little spot nestled between two houses and not at all visible from the road. Here are some shots of Pam’s property…there was so much to take in.

House from the rear

From the side door to the sauna

Outdoor tub

The merry-go-round

Little tractor

Everywhere there was something of interest. She had poplar, pine, apple, pear and cherry trees. I had a lovely time, great food, good conversation and a restful night here.

View from Tawasi’s bed where I slept!

I have been thinking of Moscow all day.

View of Hamilton, MT from the Bitteroots

I stayed in the national forest just 4 miles outside Hamilton and spent the day hiking Blodgett Creek up to a waterfall. The trail was pretty narrow and rocky after the first 2.5 miles and I tore up my feet quite a bit. Chacos were a poor choice, but the views were worth the pain.

Today, I am exploring the town of Moscow after a pretty restless night and a run-in with a really nasty camp host at the Yaak river in Montana. He declared my fire too big and extinguished it with a full bucket of water. It was really awful and I must have asked him 5 times “please stop yelling at me sir.” He had no idea how great I am with fire, but I suppose, given the fact that Montana has been dealing with some nasty fires, his behavior had its cause…the aggression was something I was not prepared for.

I drove to Sandpoint Idaho where I almost got a room for the night, but stayed in the parking area of a FULL campground and opted for a shower at a gym in Coeur d’Alene instead. Must be the total eclipse or something bringing this wave of “pech” my way.

Moscow, Idaho

Off to Bend very soon, but I’d like to look around Moscow a bit more. It feels cozy to me and I’m not sure why. Perhaps its the rolling wheat fields of the Palouse.