In light of recent events…

Photo of our wedding by ? (family)

This is one of the signs hubs and I made for last weeks March for Science in Salem, Oregon…

And also used for the Climate March in Portland today. #RecycleResistance 

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After sitting with these words, put together in this way, an unexpected poem emerged.

“Not Silence”

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One of my goals for my 48th year on this planet is to reconsider and reflect on all the things our society, and myself in particular, consider “normal.”

The election of Trump has a lot of us wanting to make sure things we consider horrific don’t become “normalized.”

But what about all the other things that are part of our “normal” society already that should never have been “normalized”?

I remember reading somewhere that some people come into our lives to help us relive and/or work past traumas.

I believe this to be true.

This poem is not all it seems…

Yet it IS…

Reworking others words…mostly to remove gender specific text…and incorporate the idea of being at dis-ease as a society and as a human being…

Source of original text/interpretations:

• Lau, D.C., Lao Tzu – Tao Te Ching, 1963, Penguin Classics.
• Legge, J., Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu, http://www.sacred-texts.com/tao/taote.htm 

The rental is as described and was a perfect home base for our geo-fun vacation. We opted for the “get the fourth night free option”, so were able to spend 2 full days exploring the John Day Fossil Beds, Painted Hills, and Clarno Unit at the Palisades, and still have an entire day left to explore the older rocks of the Blue Mountain terranes (Baker and Izee near John Day).

Additionally, the Post Office in front of the rental is a Pokestop for Pokemon Go. So you can also have hours of Pokefun simply by dropping lures and trying to catch’em all, while sitting in the comfort of the living room.

Christy made everything simple and easy.

We will definitely be back in the future!!

This has been/is my life for Fall 2015:

• teaching 16 credits at 3 colleges.  12 credits is FT in this part of the country, so I am basically working 1.33 FT status.
  • one college wants to arm campus security because of the UCC and other campus shootings, so I have been having to follow along and stand up for those of us who don’t want armed campus “police” in our safe learning spaces.
  • at another I am involved in a gender discrimination and general administration complaint.
  • at the third I am following/involved in getting a better contract for adjunct faculty.
  • I also logged over 23 hours of field time with students this term.  This figure does not include scouting field trips.
  • oh and I also flipped all of my classes!
• then there is JT falling apart: An Open Letter From Former Directors of Justice Together
  • a core group of us have come together to move forward.  Much love to the amazing individuals who have done more in less than 2 weeks than we ever did under the Justice Together (re-)brand.

Sooooo…yeah…lots of work to do!

Our 15th anniversary dawned with mostly clear skies and an expected high temperature of 77F in Salem.  The night before we had planned a hike into Crown Lake, which from terrain view in Google Maps, looks to be in a glacially carved basin located in the High Cascades.

Google Maps Terrain View Screen Shot.

Here is the Google Earth file for the trip with the old glacial headwall annotated:  KMZ File

It had rained in the preceding days, so we were hoping to get some clear views of Mount Jefferson.  We hadn’t been this far into this area before, but we were in an adventuring mood, as we often are when we get some free time together.  😉

To get there we took Hwy 22 east out of Salem, then followed NF46 east to its junction with NF4685, which is the only road to NF330.  The trail head is at the end of NF330.

Trailhead Sign

There was enough parking for about 4 cars, but luckily there was only one other car there when we arrived!  And the view from the “parking lot” was such a nice tease!!

The hike itself was mostly uphill on the way in, but the gradient wasn’t too bad for someone who hates to hike uphill! 😀

Here’s the topographic map of the trail:

Screenshot of Google Earth with USGS Topographic Map Overlay

I outlined the old glacial headwall in blue.

The area around the trail was well vegetated, so it was difficult to get a sense of the geology or topography we were hiking through.  Thankfully there are topographic and geologic maps to help us visualize the geology around us!

When we arrived at the lake, an older couple were enjoying the main viewing spot at the end of the trail, so we hiked around the west side to find a more private spot to enjoy lunch.

Our First Good View of Crown Lake.

Our Lunch Spot.

After lunch we headed back to the trail and found that the other couple had left, so we took in that view too.

Crown Lake with Mount Jefferson in the Background.

The hike out is much easier than the hike in since the gradient is more downhill.  😀

There was no way to know this driving in, but the views of Mount Jefferson heading back on NF4685 were outstanding!

Mount Jefferson

Mout Jefferson is a High Cascades stratovolcano and in the image above you can clearly see several glaciers and glacial features.  In case you can’t, I labeled them for you!

What a Geomorphologist Sees.

Here is the topographic map of Mount Jefferson:

Screen Shot of Google Earth with USGS Topographic Map Overlay

It was a lovely day and a great hike with fantastic views!

And to top it off, I managed not to end up in the ER like our 14th anniversary.  But that is another story… 😉