Eugene, Oregon - New Friends

We woke up this morning in yet another glorious Wal-Mart Parking lot = ). I think its great because my parents have learned to text. I get the sweetest “Good morning I love you” or “I hope you have a great day” text from my mother. From my father I get text like this one that I received today: “Someone asked me where my daughters live and I said I have one that lives in Florida, one lives in Tennessee, and one that lives at Wal-mart” I literally laughed out loud! He thinks he is so funny =) I know dad, I make you so proud! = )
Anyway, after we got cleaned up and I boiled some water for coffee in the Wal-Mart parking lot, we headed to find the Saturday Market and a Seventh-Day-Adventist church. We found the market quite easily, but it was still early and not to much was set up so we went in search of a church. We wanted to attend a church service and had hopes that there would be a Potluck with lots of good food. = ) The search for the church was much more difficult then the search for the market. This will sound strange, but I felt like all these challenges to find the church were being put there to try to keep us from going, but something bigger was telling me to just keep trying and it would be worth it. We finally found the church, but we were early for the service. I went up to a woman and a man in the parking lot and told them that we were on the road, and did not have proper church attire, but wondered if it would be ok if we attended the service. The lovely older woman simply said, “yes, you just come as you are”. So we decided to head back to the market to look around a bit as we waited on the service. We passed booths with pie’s, soaps, clothing, jewelry, and so much more. There was so much to see, so we decided to come back after church. We arrived at church and were quickly greeted by several members., but Della was the first to really stop and talk to us about who we were and what brought us to church. She told us of her past travels, and of looking for churches along the way (and potlucks = ). She told us they were having a potluck that day, and invited us to join after the service. We went in and sat down to listen to the service. The pastor spoke about the power of prayer and all that is possible through prayer. After the service we went upstairs where we stuffed ourselves with delicious food and where we met Namita. We had sat down by ourselves at a table, and she came and sat right next to us and started to talking to us. She made us feel so welcome and had a smile that lit up the whole room! We all shared stories about travels, career paths, where we were from, and more. We want to Thank You Namita for your smile and your company! You have a beautiful energy and we wish you success and happiness in whatever roads you choose. Della also came up to us again and invited us to a bike ride later that day, dinner at her place, and a place to park the van to sleep the night if we needed it. I got her number and told her I would call when I knew our plans more definitely.
We then headed to the market where we saw so many more booths with beautiful and unique art, we walked through the farmers market section sampling fruits, oils, vegetables, etc. But my personal favorite was and area in the middle of the market place. A place where the street performers, hippies, grunge-skaters, etc came together to create a high energy area. Also many came to admire this unique cultural melting pot, but some came to poke fun at or judge. When we first arrived there was a small drum circle in the middle, but the longer we sat there the larger the drum circle grew, the more instruments that were added, and the stronger the energy of the place became. People of all ages were here, children, teens, all the way to “Original/Authentic Hippies” = ) It was such a neat place to be!
As the market closed we gave Della a call and ended up meeting her, her husband Don, and other church members for the bike ride. Even met a man named Steve that rode with a Christian Motorcycle gang. Sandy was not feeling well so she took a nap and I joined the group of church members on the bike ride along a trail that ran right next to a beautiful lake! Della and I rode next to each other, talking about life, God, and the paths we have taken to get where we each are now. At one point she stopped to pick up a small snake for me and the kids to see. After the bike ride we were invited back to Della and her Don’s home for dinner and a good rest. There at their home, other church members gathered, and we had a fantastic meal featuring Della’s homemade bread, fresh picked tomato’s, homemade vegetarian patties, homemade pie, and another woman had made homemade brownies. It was a feast that we took full advantage of. After dinner there was guitar playing, singing, and great conversation. After everyone went home we continued to talk with Della and Don about their travels and they let us do our laundry! Clean clothes!!! So needed = )
Ok, so this Blog is getting long as many of mine do…I just must say Thank You to all of the new friends we met today. Thank you for taking us in and making us feel so welcomed. “What you have done unto the least of them…” A very special thank you goes out to Della and Don! Your kindness is so very appreciated! Keep up your good works, know that they do not go unnoticed, and know that with each kindness you are changing the world! Goodnight all….we love you very much!

Oregon Coast Line

So today we worked our way further down the Oregon Coastline. Stopping in places such as Agate Beach, Newport, Depoe Bay, and other beautiful beaches and/or viewpoints. We walked through a couple of small towns and spent time in two very unique and entertaining book stores. In one we spent a long time looking through old postcards, many of places we have seen along our travels. The road hugged the coast line or bluffs/cliffs that overlooked rugged,rocky beaches almost the entire way. At one point I was driving and saw in the distance this hill that seemed to be yelling at me to climb it. Sandy wasn't sure it was such a good idea, but I was out of the car and running up the hill before she had the chance to stop me = ) The view from the top of the hill was amazing, and the wind up there took your breath away = . We continued down the coast line and got off Hwy 101 to Hwy 126 inland towards Eugene. We have heard so many good things about this town, but no one told us about the drive there. I started down this road and had this wierd feeling that was so calming and warm. It felt so good to be there. The very small towns (bordering on poverty stricken towns), rivers, the leaves changing colors...suddenly it dawned on me! It felt so good to be there because it reminded me of home!Eugene is a little-big city. It is a university town, much like Athens, only bigger. We were going to go out, but instead decided to make some dinner, read, write letters, and update this blog = ). No money for going out when you are living out of your van = ). Plus it is homecoming weekend and the amount of beer we saw being carried out of the Grocery Store we are parked near...well it should be a wild night for this town! It is after 2 am where most of you are that read this, and I hope that your dreams are sweet!!!! We love you and miss you all so much!!!!
p.s. the last picture is just of all the bumper stickers we have added as we went along = )

Astoria and Cannon Beach

These photographs are from our journey to see where part of one of Sandy's favorite movies was filmed: The Goonies. We visited a column in Astoria Oregon as well as the house that was used in the film. We then headed down the road to Cannon Beach where we were able to see the famous Haystack Rock from the film. We had to walk a ways to get to the rock and it began to rain. We saw that the clouds would soon pass, so we just kept walking, but still got soaked = )But it is always fun to play in the rain = ). It was worth the wait, because Sandy took an amazing photograph of the rock. If you look, you can see the reflection of the Haystack in the sand. We looked through a few stores in Cannon Beach. We saw so many beautiful flowers, and yet another double rainbow. We then headed on down the road and slept in a town called Tillamook. But before we settled down to sleep in a hospital parking lot, we took a short drive to Oceanside. The roads to Oceanside were very rough. Sandy was right when she said that some places just don't seem to be appropriate for roads. It seemed like the land beneath the road was rebelling its presence there. The drive was beautiful despite the bumps, and ended at Oceanside where the night photograph was taken. We then headed back to Tillamook where we spent the night.

Mt. St. Helens

We took off down Hwy 504 all the way to the very end and to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. On our way we had to slow down to let a wolf cross the road. It, like almost all wildlife we have seen, looked at us like we were crazy and went on its way. At the observation point we were blessed once again with fairly clear skies, and a beautiful view of the Mountain/Volcano. Mt. Rainer and Mt. St. Helens are often referred to as “sleeping giants”. However Mt. St. Helens wakes more often.
*In 1980 she erupted. Here are just a few facts we learned:
*In less than 10 minutes, the eruption leveled 230-square miles of forest.
*The mountain lost 1300 feet of height and 0.67 cubic MILES of total volume.
*The eruption began with a massive landslide that buried 14 miles of river valley to an average depth of 150 feet.
*The landslide released trapped magma and gas, producing a sideways explosion of hot rock and ash killing trees up to 17 miles north of the volcano.
*Cement-like slurries of glacial melt water and boulders called lahars scoured and buried streams draining the volcano.
*A vertical ash eruption rose to a height of 15 MILES above the crater and continued for 9 hours. Ash drifted to the northeast.

We headed back down to the van to eat lunch, not before stopping to cautiously admire a passing snake right off of the trail. Once to the van we made potato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. We are now heading down the road towards Portland Oregon, where we will stay this evening. So much love going out to all of you!!!!

Mt. Rainier

So we made it to Mt. Rainer in the in the late evening. It was raining and the cloud coverage blocked our view of top. We decided to drive to Paradise (the most visited area of the park). As we drove we realized that there were not a whole lot of other cars traveling these roads with us = ) Before we reached Paradise we stopped at the Cougar Rock Campground, where we considered spending the night. We saw only one other camper and he looked like he had just stopped to rest. So we continued up to Paradise where we found that the Inn and the Visitor centers were closed for reconstruction. Right below this area we had seen signs for overnight parking. We went down into this area and found parking areas that had picnic tables and public restrooms. We had read in the Park paper that there was no sleeping in your vehicles, and were confused by this area. We decided that it was getting late and we were going to just park here for the evening and sleep. As it became dark, it felt strange to be there. Even though we were parked on blacktop with public bathrooms near by, and workers just a half mile or so above us, we felt very secluded. We are not taught to be comfortable with this type of solitude. It was eerie! The clouds cleared just enough for us to be able to see the looming silhouette of Mount Rainier just behind us and the snow flakes that were now falling and beginning to stick on the trees and bushes beside us. A moonlit snowfall…breathtaking! We put on our base layers, let the van get as warm as it would, and went to sleep.
Mt. Rainier is covered by clouds 200 days out of the year. As we woke to the very slight hint of sunlight through the clouds we could not see the Mountain at all. As we got up and dressed though we stopped looking at it for a few minutes, and all of a sudden we turned around and almost all of the cloud cover had lifted giving us a beautiful view of the mountain. We sat there getting ready, eating breakfast, and just looking in awe at the beautiful snow covered peak that the Native Americans called “Mountain of God”. As we left the park we had to drive carefully down to due snow/ice dusted roads. We stopped at the Narada Falls on our way out of the park and then continued to Mt. St. Helens.

The Medicine Wheel

This is one 198 of the 200 copies of the “Medicine Wheel” by Gordon Perrault (Spirit Name is Me Ko Tee Skun - red horn). He is from the Cree Nation of Northern Alberta and influenced by The West Coast Native Art. He writes about his journey from being on the “Black Road” (drugs, alcohol and prisons) to the “Red Road” (spirituality and learning/living my culture). He describes his “visions in art” as “Each painting I create is born from within myself but also I need the story of the person who will eventually own it. I use the Spirit and Instinct of the animals/insects to connect the life line of a particular person’s journey”.

The Medicine Wheel (Interpreted):
When traveling to the East, you are traveling with the Spirit of the Wolf. Ones journey is of leadership and learning; to see things as they are connected to all other things, to be self-reliant and have hope for the people (like the rest of the Wolf’s pack).
When traveling to the South, you are traveling with the Spirit of the Eagle. The Eagle is the sacred messenger, carrying our prayers to the Creator and returning with gifts and visions for the people. If Eagle has blessed you with its presence in some way, you are being given potent gifts of clarity and vision to use for the good of all people. You can bring forth light out of the darkness.
When traveling in the West, you will be with the Spirit of the Whale. You will, like the Whale, find the connection between the past and knowledge. The power of Whale reconnects us to our instincts and to our creative, intuitive and psychic side.
When traveling in the North, you will be with the Spirit of the Buffalo. The Buffalo is the bringer of healing medicines. Are you being stubborn and visible in something? Are you an easy target? If so, maybe the Buffalo is warning you to become more circumspect. If Buffalo has come to you, it brings a great gift of abundance and healing.

Olympic National Park

After saying goodbye to Jim we headed on down the road. We stopped at Ruby Beach and Beach Four off of Hwy 101. The waves were large due to a strong storm last night. The rocks at Ruby Beach were amazing. Everything from huge rock forms sticking out of the water to small and medium sized rocks covering the beach. You had to dig a long way to even find the sand. If you stood near the shore, you could hear the waves pulling rocks over rocks as they returned out to where they came from. Never heard waves make that sound before: a quiet rumble. At Beach Four we saw huge tree stumps on the path to the beautiful overview. You can see Sandy crouching down on top of one. Later we stopped at Lake Sylvia to have a bite to eat. As I write this we are traveling towards our next destination: Mt. Rainer National Park. We have seen more rain lately, and the rain makes it hard at times. It makes us crave the comforts of home. However we feel refreshed by our stay at the Hostel with Jim and for now the rain has stopped and we are “running with the sun” = ). We focus on the fact that each day we are both learning so much about life and ourselves. We ask that you all keep us in our prays, as we do all of you. Namaste!