Just a Few Things

Michael and I have just a few updates today. Let's start with the most important! His sister had a baby boy this week! We lament being so far away, but were grateful to meet him via Skype. Oh technologies.

A friend and I worked on a poem together this fall and it was published! You can read it here: http://whistlingfire.com/2011/11/15/radio-phobia/ Most credit is due to my friend. Even my bio. She's awesome and I get to see her next week in San Francisco when Michael and I visit my brother!

Also, I woke one rainy morning after Michael left for school and found this on our skylight.

Those are the important things.

Love from Eugene,
Katie and Michael

A Tour

I thought I'd give you alls a little tour of our neighborhood. Some of you asked for it, so let's begin with where we live: 

790 W. 5th on the corner of Monroe. When we tell people where we live they've been known to say "oh, that big red house?" Indeed! We inhabit the top floor with two wonderful neighbors downstairs. One has two cats who are often leashed on the porch while she's raking leaves. Of course, I think this is great. Apparently the history of this house is that it was a hippie commune until recently when our landlord bought it and shooed away the riff-raff.

Here is a glimpse of 5th Avenue. We are blessed with an abundance of fall colors on our street, making us feel right at home:

The Washington/Jefferson Park is three blocks to our east. This is where the Occupiers have landed, until December 15th when the city will be forcing them to vacate. 

"Minimum wage? How about Maximum Wage?" That's what that little sign next to the tree says, which I read everyday on the way to work.

Farther east we have Allan Brothers Coffee, where I spend many of my afternoons. They have something like 30 kinds of loose leaf tea and they play 90s music consistently. I'm also enamored with the people, who are mostly regulars there to write in notebooks and read actual, physical books.

Smith Family Bookstore. My favorite bookstore. Can you even see me in this picture? I am swallowed by books. I've never had a problem finding what I needed and since they're used they are super cheap. And...

Their poetry section makes me swoon!

Michael and I are serious about breakfast. Our strategy is usually to eat enormous amounts of food in the late morning then not have to feed again until late that day. Saving monies! Keystone Cafe is legit. Breakfast burritos and the best damn homefries this side of the Williamatte.

 We are also very serious about beer. Sam Bond's Garage has a rustic atmosphere and good beer, which they change up all the time. In a week Chris Bathgate will be playing here. At our bar! It's only two blocks to our west so we always walk. Which you know, helps.

Michael and I tend to find places we like and stick to them. This is not always great strategy for newbies, but as Michael  said the other night on our walk to Sam Bond's "It feels like a bit of home." By which he didn't mean it felt like Grand Rapids or the midwest, but it's familiar and we have memories there. Like the time we heard Tony Furtado with my Uncle Kurt. Or on Halloween when we cheered adamantly for the kids in the costume contest, the sea turtle specifically.

Well, not much new to report. Michael is kicking A in school, despite the cougars and bears stalking his campus. I've had a couple poems published. And we're going to the coast to spend New Years in a yurt whale-watching. The living is good.

Love and hugs from the west,
katie and michael

Hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail

This is a trail blaze for the Pacific Crest Trail, a long distance hiking trail that begins (typically) at the California and Mexican border and ends in British Columbia. I am taken with this trail and was before we even moved here. Lucky us that it is a short drive from Eugene. This weekend we were finally able to hike on it for a few miles. We chose a stretch through the Three Sisters wilderness area in Deschutes National Forest. First we drove through the lava fields on Highway 242, stopping at the Dee Wright Observatory. Here is a picture of the observatory, built from the surrounding lava rock:

And here is a picture inside the observatory:

Here is our view from the top of the Observatory. That is North Sister mountain with a storm cloud blowing over it:

More lava rock around the Observatory:

After our visit to the observatory we found our trail head for North and South Matthieu lakes and began our (chilly) hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Highway 242, also known as the McKenzie Pass, is only open mid July through October and last year at this time it was already closed because of the snow. So, we were eager to explore while we had the chance.

 

Nearby Mt. Jefferson:

Mt. Jefferson in the foreground and Mt. Hood to the right:

You can see North Matthieu lake in this picture, one of the two lakes we hiked by.

While much of our hiking was down in the forest we did get some views of the nearby Sisters. The storm cloud over the North Sister changed a lot during our hike, which was neat to witness.

More lava fields. Apparently, the large lava rocks were lava bombs, meaning they were blown out of the cinder cones in their molten states but solidified during flight. 

 South Matthieu lake. It was cold. We did not swim.

Look at that good-looking couple!

And here is North Matthieu lake. 

I threw a big rock into the water.

And lastly, another picture of North and Middle Sister. 

Six miles of the PCT done! Only 2657 more miles to go!

More Ryan!

So I was looking for videos of Ryan Adams on YouTube (like I do) and I found this one of him singing "Come Pick Me Up" from the show last week. The sound quality is actually pretty decent. So, here you go!

Thanks to the fellow Eugenian who took the video!

Some Good Folk(s)

Last week was a week for good music. On Tuesday we saw The Head and the Heart play at Wow Hall and then just a couple days later we saw Ryan Adams at the Shedd. I've been listening to the former for only a few months, but I really fell in love with their self-titled album and so Michael had to hear it a lot. We invited our new friends, who also like folksy rock. As much as I loved the album, the show was just ok. And if you haven't listened to them at all, I would encourage you to do so even though I don't have great things to say about their live show... or their lead singer (who is kind of a weinus).

Thursday was Ryan Adams day. When Michael and I talked for the first time (EVER!) we were sitting next to each other at the Derby Bar discussing the Gold album. The music of Ryan Adams appeared on all the mixes we made for each other (I know, right). We danced to "When the Stars Go Blue" at our wedding. So, you see? We love Ryan Adams! But the show sold out fast and we didn't get tickets. He hasn't toured in a couple years and he's only playing a dozen or shows along the West Coast, so we were really feeling the loss. But! Craigslist is the shit! We found two balcony seat tickets being sold at a very decent price. I called and it was like the guy was looking for a good home for his puppy. He wanted someone enthusiastic about Adams and wasn't looking to swindle. We ARE enthusiastic and weren't looking to BE swindled! So that was that! We went to the concert for dirt cheap. Here are the faces we made most of that night:

And man o man, Ryan Adams does not disappoint. He played an acoustic show without a band and it was magical. He opened with "O My Sweet Carolina" and then moved into a lot of his new stuff from Ashes & Fire, which is a great album as far as I can tell. And Ryan Adams the dude is kind, weird, and really really funny. We took a not so great picture of him:

After the show Michael and I walked home with the happiest, silliest grins. We talked the entire way about how wonderful the show was. Three hours of Ryan playing song after wonderful song on guitar, harmonica, or piano. It was the best concert either of us have been to. And it was a stark juxtaposition to the show we saw earlier that week. What a songwriter. What a voice. For you fans, you must go see him. His voice is better live than on album. For reals.

Ok friends! Go listen to some good music and feel happy. It's fall!

Love from Eugene,
Katie and Michael

Fall Colors and Camping

Michigan has a beautiful fall season and so Michael and I were sad to miss the changing of the leaves this year. We thought Eugene would turn gray and monochromatic and then we'd know it was winter. However, the pacific Northwest has some stunning color change too! Here are some pictures of us camping with friends at Clear Lake. Some 3000 years ago lava flows from the Cascades higher peaks dammed the river and created the lake and her clarity. We hiked through a lot of lava rock and old growth forest.

Hiking on the McKenzie River Trail

This is a dry riverbed that we played in for awhile. Michael found elk tracks!

Clear Lake:

Hiking through lava flows:

That's all for now!

Love and hugs,
Katie and Michael