The "jewel" of the OR State parks!

On what looked like it might be the last beautiful day of "Indian Summer" -- with bright sun and the temperature nearing 80 degrees -- I decided that the thing to do would be to take the 7-mile hike that covers most of the waterfalls at Silver Falls State Park (the park that Oregon calls "the jewel" of its state park system).

I parked the car at "Winter Falls," hiked about a mile to North Falls, (pix at top) and then behind North Falls on the Canyon Trail all the way to South Falls (the 3rd picture down). Again, it was a beautiful day, and I encountered a number of people (most of whom looked retired) who also had the same mid-week idea. I took a day-pack with water, a couple granola bars, a sandwich and apple slices, so I was in good shape.

The picture below is about half-way through the hike -- Lower North Falls (not so impressive, but a very pretty cascade amid lots of foliage. Lower South Falls (this last pix) has a great family history to it since years ago on a hike at the falls, Mark made up this fabulous story about how the name had become confused over the years and really should be "Lawyer South Falls." Of course, a long story about Lawyer South was part of the revisionist version of history that Mark created! - rw

Hiking the Cascades in September

On a beautiful September day in the middle of the week (Wed.) Tasha and I did a 6-mile loop hike in the Indian Heaven Wilderness near Mt. Adams (12,300 ft., 3750 meters). The hike was a bit strenuous since it involved an elevation gain of about 1000 ft. right at the beginning as we left Cultus Campground at 4000 ft. (Both of us are pictured when our loop trip joined the Pacific Crest Trail.)

Most of the Indian Heaven Wilderness is dotted with lakes, meadows and wildflowers at an elevation of about 5000 ft. One would normally consider Sept. 21st as the beginning of fall; however, due to the late snowpack in the Cascade Range, the mountains are a bit confused; they think it's spring -- with all the wildflowers! As we hiked, we saw lots of Lupine and Indian Paint Brush as well. We had a number of fine views of Mt. Adams to the east while on our hike -- also a glimpse or two of Mt. St. Helens which still retains winter snow near the top in spite of being this late in the season. (I did have to take a picture when we got to the one snowbank that was still blocking the Pacific Crest Trail.) We arrived back at the car at about 3:30 p.m. and drove 1 1/2 hours to Hood River where we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Overall, it was a nice hike even though we were both tired when we got back to the car (the 1250 ft. descent was steep at times and tough on the knees!)

When the Lewis & Clark expedition first spotted Mt. Adams they mistakenly confused it with Mt. St. Helens which had already been named. As a result, Mt. Adams, named after our second U.S. president, got its name in about 1840 by a a guy who was determined to name Cascade peaks after U.S. presidents. (Mt. Hood had been named by the Brits in about 1792). - rw

KL Outings

Rania looks like a normal KL rider on the scooter she tried out. She drives better on it than on the little car. She just needed a helmet to be "road ready". We spent some time in the ISKL library while we were waiting to watch some volleyball games. - Nancy











Our final outing was to the KLCC Aquarium.

Parents to Phuket - Grandma and Kids in KL

Malaysia had another holiday and the parents took a trip to Phuket and Grandma and the children had fun in KL. Here's a bit of what we did - Rania, Gabi and I tried some origami while Reeve used my iPad. - Nancy


The monkey was a big nuisance in their yard. Reeve enjoyed playing soccer with friends.

To Shanghai

I went to a tech conference in Shanghai, China. I got to explore the city a bit, but never saw the sun - lots of haze. Old town had beautiful traditional architecture. - Nancy


I wondered if some of the soy beans from the farm in Iowa ended up in the restaurant where we ate. I needed Tasha to help with the language and ordering food. I did spend most of my time at the conference but it does not provide exciting photos.

At Friendsview in September

Mother seems to be doing amazingly well at age 105 3/4 in the Health Center at Friendsview Retirement Community. On Thursday, Sept. 15th I sat with her at lunch and occasionally helped her do quite well in polishing-off her noon meal. I got a phone call earlier in the day with a report that she had another skin tear on her elbow which had been quickly bandaged, with no harm done. (Her skin is a lot like thin paper that's both old and fragile.)

Today when I first arrived and announced with a loud voice that I was her "one-and-only-son," I asked her if she knew my name. She nodded "yes" and quickly said, "Ron." (She isn't always that perceptive when I visit.) Mother continues to amaze most of the staff in the Health Center ... and her longevity certainly amazes me! - rw

Hiking -- Labor Day Week-end

On Saturday, Sept. 3rd, Naigzy joined the Woodwards on Eccleston St. for a drive to West Virginia for a hike at the Friends Wilderness Center -- a Quaker retreat center about 90 minutes away from the D.C. area. After parking at the center we hiked uphill to the "AT" (The Appalachian Trail) where we hiked for a short distance to a viewpoint where we had lunch. The weather was overcast and humid but the rain held off which was somewhat Providential since we'd forgotten to bring any rain gear! The only downside of the day was that we split-up on the hike back with Mark, Eli and Naigzy continuing on the AT in an unsuccessful attempt to find an alternate trail back to the center. (After hiking at least an hour on the AT, they had to retrace their steps and return two hours later by the same route that Marta, Daniel, Micah and I did.)



After the hike we drove back to Silver Spring via Frederick, MD where we found a Cracker Barrel Restaurant to delight the entire group of hikers! - rw