Junuary and the coast.

A New Year in central Oregon, and apparently much of the rest of our worldly reality. January has come in on a huge white wing leaving thick blankets of snow everywhere here that now have melted into nothing or nearly so, with the mountains glazed over in a fast solid crust. Last week Julie and I frolicked out into the "Junuary" warmth for a skate ski at the local trails, I was over dressed with a bare chest and lite cotton leggings. Wow, that high altitude sun is nice, and I didn't have to worry about sun lotion yet as our northerly declination is only a month out of the Solstice. Skate skiing is a new sport to me and what fun to be learning something with new balance, speeds, gear, and conditions; when the downhill skiing is scary and nasty the snow is probably good for skating. We have had warm sunny weather for a fortnight now and there is no end in sight. If you are wondering where that perfect blend of seasons exists on the planet; look no further than the high dessert of Oregon. I was outside cooking at work today in the shade at 2pm in a t-shirt. And I didn't yet mention that we had 2 frosts in July. The seasons are all blended up. On our way home from skiing we passed the busy golf course. Also this week I enjoyed 3 mountain bike rides on mostly dry trails, another fun sport to play at while we wait for snow to fall.
We took full advantage of this fine weather and made it out to the coast of the mighty Pacific. We drove our heated car, Estefan, so we could enjoy to drive over the icy pass. We left on the tail of the stormy spell hoping to see some massive surf come ashore, as it sometimes does, especially during a La Niña year. Just our luck, high pressure set in and it was warm, sunny and not a drop of wind. Well, okay, twist my arm, I'll make the best of it. We went for beach walks, strolled along cliff trails, had a fire on the beach at sunset and laughed with friends. We stayed with our pals, Tod and Leslie, in there amazing beach house. And I awoke to watch January's Full Moon set over the ocean, as clean green storm waves from far away finally found a coast to rise and brake upon. After pancakes Tod, John, and I (our friend John had made it in for dinner previously,) suited up and hit the surf. I was on a laydown board (like what you think of when you think "surfer,") and had a great time paddling out among the waves and stand-up surfers (these guys stand all the time and use paddles similar to that of a canoe paddle.) The waves were overhead (big) and I tried once to catch one on my borrowed board but I realized that not only did I not have the balls to try surfing a 7' wave as my first wave in over 6 years, but the balls I do have were being crushed by my too tight wetsuit as I was arching up to paddle for the ride. Not a great feeling, so I opted to enjoy the watery world as a spectator, until I couldn't feel my feet. The ocean does get into the wetsuit and it is darn cold. What a great day on the water though. I will be back for more some day with the right gear and hopefully some beginner waves. We ended our coastal vacation with a hike out Cape Lookout, a 500' high ridge jutting 5 miles out into the ocean with lush evergreen forest perched to its heights. At the tip we looked down onto the back of dolphins swimming in the quiet ocean. The roar of the surf 5 miles back at the beach could not be heard, and with the wind as light as a butterflies wing beat, we listened to each breath as the porpoises surfaced! A quick stop at the Pelican Brewery for our second dose of fresh fried seafood of the trip and an award winning hand crafted brew (for me,) before Julie began our drive home. Here are some pics.

A little taste of X-mas

Julie was laughing it up with the Fam' back in Slidell, so I headed out with my friend John to a little ski hut in the central Oregon mountains for 2 nights and 3 days of backcountry skiing. Here are some highlights from the great snow we found in among the trees. The avalanche danger was high, so we kept out of the open bowls and chutes. A nice relaxing trip really. Check out the sleds that we used, easy to bring in lots of good food. How about John getting excited to use his snow saw in a snow pit, testing snow stability, AAARRrrrrrr.