Snowshoeing Mount St. Helens

On Thursday evening Emma's mom Suzan came to visit us for a few days. We had planned ahead and reserved some snowshoes from REI for the weekend and head out to find some snow. We didn't have a good idea where to go or if where we were going had much snow or open roads to travel on.

We found a few Sno-parks on a road up to Mount St. Helens and so we headed out to see what we could find.

The road was a little tore up from the recent cold weather we had but we found a spot at the end of a road that they pretty much decided to stop plowing. It wasn't much of a trail and really just a road that was being used by snowplows and cross country skiers. We took our time, stopped and had lunch part way through the hike and headed back the way we came. It was a good workout and the weather couldn't have been any better. We ended up peeling off layers that we thought we needed since it was 28 when we left the house in the morning.

Here are some pictures below and more can be found here.

Patton Update

I am a few days late on this update but I thought I should put this out there.

Patton was ADOPTED!!! My friend Jen told me last week that he was going to be at work one last time before he was going to his new home.

It took a while for him to find a home but I think he was worth it. Great job Jen!!!

Here was his original post and below are the last pictures..:(

Updates and Happy New Year!!!

So its been a while since I have taken the time to create a post. Not that we get too many readers but I thought I should since we have been back from our vacation for a while now.

After my last post about how I was at work for 7 straight days working day and night during the Arctic Blast of '08, Emma and I went to Bend for 5 days to play in the snow, relax and celebrate the New Year and our wedding anniversary a few days earlier.

Of course not realizing that we would be getting 16 inches of snow here in Portland the week before, we might have done something else. Anyway, it was worth the trip since the weather was great and the snow finally stopped falling. It was never really an issue for us to get around town during the many days of snow and Bend turned out to not get any snow other then in the higher elevations near Mt Bachelor.

One of the days, we decided to head up to the mountain near by and see what it was like. We had no idea how much snow was actually on the mountain and put off renting snow shoes for the day. Turns out they had about 4 feet or so where we went to play. We realized that we didn't plan ahead very well with out gear and clothing but ended up playing a little in the snow. We did however plan a little ahead for Puma. I found a few articles online that talked about how when dogs are in the snow they can get snow packed between their toes and it can cause problems. So we went to REI and bought him some outdoor booties to wear. It was sort of crazy at first when we put them on. He wasn't a fan but then got into wearing them a bit. He galloped around like a horse and ran like mad to try and get them off. He threw himself on the snow and wiggled all about. Only one of them came off but the others seem to work great. The next day was a different story.

The next day we set out with more clothing and gear and also rented some snowshoes for the day. We headed back to the same location we went the day before and started our "hike". we got Puma's booties on and this time he managed to fling them off within minutes. Probably planning in his sleep how he was going to accomplish this task. Turns out he was fine and we checked his paws once in a while for snow.

The hike that we went on was more like a stroll through a well packed tunnel of sorts. The trail was easy to follow and the snow was about 2 feet high on either side. The snowshoes worked great and it was a little more tough to get around then a normal hike but it was a blast. We were both surprised at how well the shoes worked and kept you above the snow and kept you from sliding down the hills. I would highly recommend trying it out if you are ok with playing in the snow!!

Our actual anniversary was yesterday. Emma has a post that should be coming soon. We both had to work so it was pretty uneventful but we did most of the celebrating in Bend.

Here are some pictures from our trip. Others can been seen here and some Christmas photos are here.

Snow Days!!!

So today marks the 7th day that I have worked in a row. Not that big a deal but when you consider that I have been at work since Wednesday at noon....and haven't left....well then you can wonder what the heck am I up to? Well, it turns out that global warming has taken a vacation and decided to hit us with some on and off again crazy weather!

The managers at work decided that since the weather was supposed to be pretty crazy and a majority of people who I work with have a hard time getting to work when roads are icy, they had some of us volunteer to work straight through. 4 of us said yes and have been "camping" here since Wednesday. Its been slow which is nice but its been a bit long. I don't mind too much since they are paying us 24 hours a day to be here. Sleeping in the conference rooms isn't much like camping but we have been entertaining ourselves with movies and games.

I was again messing around and decided to get a picture of the truck a little after I went for a drive in the snow.



73.5 hours down....and hopefully 57 to go!!!

Snow Day 2008

So of course on a day that it snows I would volunteer to work. It was supposed to come in last night but ended up starting to snow when I left for work. Wasn't bad at all either. I few slippery spots. The drive home was another story. It was 25 degrees out when I left and all the snow was blowing around like mad!!! The truck of course did a great job in 4 wheel drive and the new tires I had bought before our camping trip this past summer was money well spent.

I of course had my camera with me and snapped a few shots while and work and on the way home.






Should be an interesting week since the highest its supposed to get for a day temp it around the freezing point. Good times. 5 days of work still to go!!

Christmas Tree

On Sunday Emma, Puma and I went to our favorite tree farm in Hillsboro near my work. Its Andy's Tree Farm. Its just an older gentleman with his dog Rosie selling some trees that he has on his property.

I was messing around taking pictures of the tree after I put the lights on. Turned out to look pretty interesting.

Coco & Co. Truffle

First example from a recent photo shoot for a chocolate truffle company that is starting up and needed some shots for her new website.

Emma came with me to help with the set up and placement of the truffle's. It was a really great time.

More to come later when her website is complete.

Patton

Last Friday I contacted Jen at work about her pup that she is currently fostering. I had seen him a few times since she has brought him with her to work once in a while and I wanted to see if I could get some pictures of him to add to my portfolio. He is just so cute and a really great boy.

He never stopped but for a few seconds since he is so full of energy being a puppy and all. Here are some pictures if you hadn't seen them in my photo stream.




And if you happen to live in Portland and are in need of a cute pup, you can go here for more info!

Election Day!!

No long lines or finding your polling place to go vote here in Oregon but I am not complaining! I will enjoy the day and take advantage of some free coffee!!

Angel's Rest

So yesterday we headed on out to take in the wonderful weather that we have been having. Yes its been cool but its been sunny and dry which can be wonderful this time of year. We decided on going to Angels Rest east of Portland.

On the drive out along highway 84, the wind really started to pick up. Leaves and all sorts of debris on the road was flying around like mad! The car was pushing back and forth with the wind blowing like crazy. The wind can really get going through the Gorge but it was a bit much. We both laughed when Emma said "well we picked a good day for a hike."

After getting to the trail head we decided what the heck. The trail wasn't too windy since some of the places were shielded by the trees and canyons. A few places once we got higher were a little nuts and we had to keep an eye on Puma so he didn't get blown off the trail.

All in all the weather was nice....when the wind calmed down and the hike was really nice and had some great views.

Afterward we headed to Fire On The Mountain for some delectable fried chicken wings, sweet potato fries, and some lovely beer!

Here are some pics from our day!

Apple Display!

On Sunday Emma and I worked on getting a few more photos done for her blog and it was a nice day outside. We had set up the wine barrel to use to display a few items along with some apples from our recent trip out to Sherwood Orchards. Emma was messing around with Puma since earlier in the day he found an apple in the front yard and started to munch on it of course. It was a bit rotten so we took it away from him. Anyway, since we were messing with more apples, we decided to let him pick his own apple from the pile and sure enough he did!

Apple Picking!

On Sunday, we decided to head on out to Sherwood Orchards to pick some apples. A big group from Emma's work headed on out as well to meet up. Turned out we managed to pick most of our apples before most of them showed up so it turned into a short trip but was fun and it was a great day.

The orchards where we went had tons of different types of apples and pears. It was fun to go to the different trees and try a small apple to see how different the flavors were. My favorite's were the Spitzenberg and the Fameuse...I think. We tried so many its hard to keep track.

I manged to snap off a few pictures while picking. The weather was so nice and warm...for this time of year.

John's Birthday!!

Yesterday was John's birthday and we celebrated with a party and Pete and Jen's for the evening. It was great to see everyone again and to see John since he has been living up north in Seattle.

We of course talked about old times in our previous jobs and places we used to live(John and I were roommates for a year and a half). We had a great dinner...thanks Pete and Jen...and Emma made a chocolate cake that is always so yummy!

Here are just a few pictures from the evening.

Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!!!

John, Always wishing to win the Lottery!!

Portland Marathon 2008

So once again the Portland Marathon came and went. And once again Pete ran all 26.2 miles in a 3:49:44!!! Blow my mind that people can do this.

It was really amazing to see more then one location this time for the race. I met up with Jen, Ashley and her boyfriend Brian down near the 5 mile marker. Emma dropped me off a little bit away from the race since most of the streets were closed downtown. On the way down to meet up with Jen, I managed to come upon the starting section and the lead group in the race. A large group of drummers were pounding away and the runner flashed by in an almost sprint of a pace! Then a moment after that a huge group of runners went by so closely packed it seemed like it would be hard to run and not trip on the person next to you.

It was interesting to see the runners at this point. Everyone was smiling and feeding off of the large crowd that gathered to cheer them on. I say interesting since in the past, I would go down to the St. John's Bridge which I think is the 17.5 mile marker and a majority of runners don't look too thrilled to be subjecting themselves to the torture.

Here are of course some pictures of the event. It was a blast seeing the runners progress along the course.

Voting?

Emma and I are registered to Vote. Are you?