Wind Farm Tour

I have always loved windmills. Growing up in South Dakota, there were many old farms that had windmills as part of their operation. Driving across the state, I spotted lots of them - a very scenic part of the landscape. Whenever I could convince whoever was driving to pull over, I'd photograph the old windmills.

When I had an opportunity to tour a modern wind farm, I jumped on the chance. Our local APWA chapter (American Public Works Association) sponsored a trip to a large wind farm in the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge. The tour even fell on my flex Friday off - so I knew it was meant to be!

The wind farm is managed by Portland General Electric (PGE), our local electric utility company. PGE has been building windmills in the eastern end of the Gorge for several years. On my frequent trips to Missoula, Montana over the last four years, I've noticed more and more windmills popping up in north-central Oregon. Just this spring when my family was driving east on I-84, we discovered there were lots more windmills dotting the hillsides than we'd ever seen before.




It is truly amazing how many windmills there are south of Biggs, Oregon. The farmer's fields are dotted with windmills as far as the eye can see! There were hundreds, no, probably thousands, of these elegant turbines spinning in the wind.

So last Friday morning, I found myself on a bus with about 20 other APWA members on our way to Bigelow Canyon Wind Farm. After winding our way on the local roads east of Biggs and Wasco, Oregon we arrived at our destination. Steve Higgins, PGE's project Manager for the wind farm was our host. Steve patiently answered our group's many questions, toured us around the site, and showed us the maintenance facilities. But the highlight of the tour came when we actually got to walk underneath a live operating windmill!

Here's my attempt at a photograph of the windmill, looking up from near the base. It's very hard to fit it all in a camera lens. Made me wish I'd brought my wider-angle lens! It was funny to watch the other folks in our group try and photograph the windmill from this angle. I must admit, I tipped my head back so far trying to capture the windmill, that my hard hat fell off my head!

This photo shows several windmills under construction. You can see the crane used to lift the parts of the windmill into place. There were dozens of windmills under various stages of construction at this location. The interesting thing about this photo is that you can almost make out Mt. Hood through the clouds. This would be a great photo op on a clear day.

While we were hanging out at the maintenance facility, eating our lunch, a large truck arrived delivering a part of a windmill tower. The sheer size of these windmill components is much more apparent when you are standing right next to them.

At the maintenance facility PGE had erected an old windmill. It was a beauty! I think this photo is great, because it shows both old and new windmill technology.

Here's our whole group gathered under one of the windmill towers. It gives you a good perspective of the size of these wind turbines. We were told the tower itself is 80 meters tall. The blade at its lowest point is about 45 meters off of the ground.

What a great way to spend a day! I learned a lot about windmills, saw a different part of Oregon that I didn't know existed and took lots of photos. It was exciting to experience something that not everyone gets to see. Thanks to Steve from PGE and Nanci from APWA for making this tour possible.

Dog Mountain Hike

Last Sunday I did my yearly hike up Dog Mountain. Dog Mountain is located on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, and it is known for its beautiful wildflower meadows. The flowers are usually at their peak by the end of May. I try to make it up to the top of Dog Mountain every year to see the flowers.

The weather forecast was for a hot day, so I got up early and arrived at the trailhead by 7 am. It was great! Only 5 other cars in the parking lot. I was mostly by myself as I climbed up the steep, steep trail. (Two of the trails that will lead you to the top are signed "difficult" and "more difficult.")


I stopped for a photo break at "puppy point" which is about half way up to the summit. Above is my view from this vantage. You can see the yellow-tinged hills above - that yellow is all flowers.

After huffing and puffing my way up the trail (it gets murderously steep in parts!) I arrived at the wildflower meadows of the Dog Mtn. summit. I pulled out my camera, and went to work!

The photo to the right is Wind Mtn. and the Columbia River as viewed from near Dog Mtn. summit.

The most common flower up here is the balsamroot. This flower looks a lot like a sunflower, but smaller. They grow like crazy in the gorge, and especially on Dog Mtn. Dog Mountain's upper slopes are mostly treeless, which provides lots of sun - perfect for the flowers! The meadows look like someone took a yellow paintbrush to them, but it all balsamroot flowers.

Here's a couple of flower pals that caught my eye (and my camera lens!)

Balsamroot are not the only flowers that bloom in Dog Mtn's meadows. There is also Indian Paintbrush, Lupine, Phlox, and many other flowers that I don't know the name of. It's times like these that I wish I had Cody with me - he could name them all! This variety of flowers makes for a beautiful riot of color.

I discovered the largest Indian Paintbrush bloom that I have ever seen (see orange flower in the above photo). It must have been as big as a golf ball.

After taking lots of photos and enjoying the views and great weather, it was time to head back down. I encountered lots of people heading up the trail on my way down, and was glad I started my hike as early as I did. When I arrived back at the parking lot, it was overflowing with cars! There were parked cars lining the road in both directions. A warm, sunny day in early June brings the crowds to Dog Mountain. But with such natural beauty, who can blame them?

Memorial Day Camping Trip

Over Memorial Day weekend, Roger, Bear and I met my brother Dale and his family at the Cove Palisades State Park in Central Oregon for a long weekend of camping. This is turning into an annual event - this was our third year in row that we've camped at this state park during Memorial Day weekend. We've been lucky and have been able to reserve the same camping spot all three times.

Dale's boys, Max and JJ, love camping and had great fun toasting marshmallows for s'mores every night. They also had fun climbing on the rocks around our campsite, and doing a little fishing.






Dale's dog Domino licks JJ's face to clean up the s'more leftovers!





Roger the Lumberjack!

Roger shows off his catch of the day.

We played lots of bocci games - this is also a Memorial Day weekend tradition!








Cap'n Roger at the helm of his boat!





Roger and I went for a long boat ride on Lake Billy Chinook. This lake is set in deep, scenic canyons. Springtime is especially beautiful because everything is green and the flowers are blooming.

We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was clear, sunny and warm all weekend. That doesn't happen often on Memorial Day weekend in Oregon!

Lake Billy Chinook view from the top of the Tam-a-Lau hiking trail.

Nancy and the boys joined me for a hike to the top of the mesa on the Tam-a-Lau trail. From the top of the mesa, you see a panorama of Cascade mountain peaks. It is a wonderful sight.

Nancy, Max, JJ, and T-Bone with Mt. Jefferson in the background.

Hiking back down the trail with two of the Three Sisters mountains in view.







Beautiful Balsamroot flower found blooming on the side of the trail.

We had a great time. It was good to spend time with Dale and his family. Roger caught lots of fish (but no photographic evidence!) I got to take a couple of hikes up the mesa, and took tons of photos. The boys fished and rock climbed. We all brushed up on our bocci skills. The dogs got lots of play time, and Bear slept all the way back home.

We're already planning for the fourth annual Memorial Day campout next year!

Cody's Graduation

Last Saturday, Roger, Denise and I traveled to Missoula to celebrate Cody's graduation from the University of Montana. My parents also traveled from South Dakota to be there for the event. Cody seemed very happy to be done - no more studying!! Cody worked hard and graduated with honors. That's what the gray cord around his neck signifies.

In the photo to the left Cody is hanging out with the rest of the grads in the UM quad before the start of the ceremony. All the graduates had to line up in the quad and march into the Adams Center (UM's basketball arena), where the ceremony was held.

The very proud parents!

My good-looking kids!


Grandma and Grandpa are also very proud of their grandson.

The moment we've all been waiting for (especially Cody!)

Yahoo! I did it!

A very happy college graduate shows off his diploma.

Cody, your Dad and I are very proud of your accomplishment. Great job!

Hippie Chick Half Marathon

This Saturday, I ran my first half-marathon. I've been training for this day since I signed up for the race on November 1st. Before November, I had not run since my college days (over 20 years!). Training in the middle of winter was a daunting task, but knowing that I had a race to run in May gave me the incentive I needed (that and the fact that I did not want to totally die during the race!).

My sister Susan was my inspiration to give this a try. Despite working full-time and having three children to take care of, she finds the time to run races, and even trained for and ran two marathons!





The race was held at Champoeg State Park, just south of Portland. It is a beautiful park located along the Willamette River. Above is a photo of me with my "support team", Denise and Susan, on the morning of the race. We are all dressed in OSU colors. Go Beavs!

Roger, the third member of my support team.

I couldn't have asked for nicer weather to run a race. It was a beautiful spring day. Roger and Denise stood on the sidelines and held my coat, and took photos. I let Denise use one of my digital SLR's and she had lots of fun snapping photos.

At about the 2-mile mark, Susan jumped in and ran with me the rest of the way. It was nice to have someone to talk to and pace me. It kept my mind off of my body's protests. We had fun mugging for the camera, and doing "the wave" at every mile marker.

The finish line! Yahoo!!
I ran a total of 13.1 miles, farther than I've ever run before in my life. My time was 2:04:00, and I was 170th out of 637 women. I was 21st in my age group, out of 108.


I'm grateful for the support of Roger, who encouraged me to get out there and run on the days that I didn't really feel like it. And thank you to my sis who traveled all the way from South Dakota to be there for the event. We will definitely have to do this again (San Francisco Nike Women's Half Marathon 2010??)

Mom's Weekend at OSU

Saturday, I was off to Corvallis to visit Denise at OSU for Mom's weekend. I've been to OSU's campus many times in the fall, and once in the summer, but had never visited in the spring. I discovered what a beautiful place it is in the springtime! The photo above shows some of the amazing flowering plants and landscaping found on campus.

Denise and I had a fun day. We got to tour the nuclear reactor that is on campus-- very interesting! We also toured the OSU Wave Research Laboratory that is used to study tsuanmis. Very, very cool! The demonstration was so interesting, I forgot to take any photos until it was over. But I did get a photo of the outside of the huge building that housed the lab.

The Wave Research Center - it is huge!

Our attempt at a mother-daughter self portrait.

Denise gave me a tour of her school, and we dodged the raindrops as we walked around campus.I also took her to the grocery store to stock up on some healthy food--she has been fighting a cold. I even got Denise her own Flinstones vitamins, and she promised to take them!

It was good to spend the day with my daughter. I miss her and look forward to having her home this summer.

Conference on the Coast

For the last three days (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) of this week I attended a conference in Seaside, Oregon. The conference was put on the by American Public Works Association (aka "APWA" by those of us in the public works profession). I need to get so many continuing education hours every two years in order to keep my license, and attending these conferences is a good way to keep myself current.


It was a good conference. The weather at the coast was really nice (made it hard to sit in classes all day!) We did get a couple of breaks, which gave me time to run out and see the beach.

At the luncheon on Friday, the conference hosts gave out tons of door prizes. I was the lucky winner of---- a wheelbarrow! I wasn't overly thrilled with the prize, but Roger was more than happy to take it off my hands.


Here's another shot of the beach scene at Seaside:

Friday morning, I left home a little bit early and stopped by Cannon Beach for a quickie photo session at one of my favorite coast overlooks. This is at Ecola State Park. The weather was not cooperating for good light and the sky was cloudy and washed out - but hey, I was there and I figured I might as well get some photos anyway.


This photo is looking south towards the town of Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock.

This photo is looking north from the Seal Rock viewpoint.

Hope you enjoy the photos!