Dufur

A picture of a farm land pasture on the edge of Dufur, Oregon looking west toward Mt. Hood hidden behind some clouds. June 2011 on a sunny, warm day. Photo below is the same farmland but more to the east.

Dufur

Dufur, Oregon, an old agriculture town that is close to my heart. A town with a lot of fond memories while as a kid growing up. Each summer from Tacoma, Washington my folks took me, my sister and brother to see our grandparents, uncles, aunt and cousins in Dufur, The Dales, and my mother's girlhood farm house that sits between Dufur and Tygh Valley. My mother and father grew up in Dufur and eventually got married. Dufur is a town that's easy on the eyes with picturesque views of open fields and hills with the ever present Mt. Hood in the distance. A town whose smell, look and feel harken to the days when life was simpler.

                Looking toward the west while Dufur is to the east. Mt Hood is off in the distance behind the clouds.

                                             An old truck behind a house named "Fort Dufur."

 Fort Dufur house. I'm not sure what the history of this house but it is an abandoned one. Sits next to the historic Balch Hotel.

Old theater or auditorium seats stacked in the back yard behind Fort Dufur house.

Inside an old bus used by the Portland Police.

My old swimming hole near Friend, Oregon which is about 13 miles south of Dufur as the crow flies. Every summer while growing up my family would go there to swim along with my uncle and aunt.

Swimming hole is anywhere from 5 feet to 8 or 9 feet deep.

Found it! The last time I swam here was back in the early 1970s. Took me a few hours to finally find the place deeply tucked in with the basalt canyon. I know the name of this creek but I won't mention it here. After all, it is my "super secret" swimming hole.

Jump in! The water is fine. It was warm enough, upper 70s, and sunny with some wind. The water was cold but refreshing. You have to hike a steep trail that you can barely make out down 200 feet into the canyon to get this spot. And hiking back up can be chore if you're not up to the task.

This water fall is not a vertical waterfall but it cascades down a 30 to 40 degree angle and goes into a small pool before cascading into the larger pool. You can take an inner tube and slide down this waterfall for some fun.

Beyond the pool is the "The Chute" you can float down on while it cascades into a few pools.

Because this is a dry country poisonous snakes are known in the area. This isn't a rattlesnake but a poisonous snake called the Hypsiglena torquata.

An old school house used as a community center in Friend, Oregon.  You can see the two outhouses to the right of it.

His and her outhouse.

Inside the old school house. There's an old piano in the corner. I played on it and the sound reverberated throughout the whole school house. The school house is an open building where anyone can go in but there is a sign inside the entrance that says please not to vandalize the place. It looks to be well kept. Very few people come out of the way to Friend, Oregon.

 

Playing ragtime...songs of the past that matches the old school house. 

The picture quality isn't so good in my blog but you can see those same pictures (and more!) in Flickr that comes with better resolution and quality. Enjoy!

Sign No Evil

Bordering on hate speech with derision and contempt against a deaf man and his kids and wife. Mental objectivity is no longer there when that happens. Carl needs to learn to let it go.

Six year old deaf boy gets a cochlear implant...struggles...succeeds!

From Hands and Voices November 2010 newsletter I came across an excellent article from a first person account by a boy he wrote while in the 5th grade four years after getting his cochlear implant. Both the boy and his mother recount their experiences and frustrations after he contracted Bacterial Meningitis in an article called "What It Sounds Like" - Jordan Lopez Kinglsey, 5th grader at Tucker Maxon. Be sure to read the rest of the story in a link at the bottom and find out what happened.

(I recently heard what it apparently sounds like for my daughters' with their cochlear implants and I was really upset by the type of sound that was conveyed. In talking about it at a parent group one mom told me her story. Her son, Jordan developed Spinal Bacterial Meningitis at age 6. As a result he lost his hearing. Following is a recount of his experience. Thank you, Jordan for your story. It really put me at ease! Like most parents it is important to me that my girls hear me and now I know they can! Helen)

"... after 11 days the doctors told my mom I was all better but I could not even sit up by myself or walk and everything was very quiet. My mom and I always sang songs and said "I love you" you before we went to sleep at night. I remember that my mom's voice was getting very quiet and far away. On September 13th I woke up and was afraid because I could not hear my mom's voice anymore and she was crying. I cried too.

For the next four months I couldn't hear anything. I remember my mom teaching me how to walk without falling and how to ride my bike but I was sad because I couldn't hear her voice.

She taught me to read lips and feel my throat so I would know how loud I was talking.She told me we were going to fix my ears.I was very happy and excited!

.... My mom and I went down to San Francisco .... the doctors were going to fix my ears so I could hear again! I was tired of reading lips and not understanding everything people said.

When I was 'turned on' and I heard the beep I yelled, :" I can hear!" and mom started to cry. So did I. Hearing the beeps were good but when I heard my mom's voice, I was upset. Her voice and mine sounded like a computer! The doctor's voice and audiologist sounded like a computer! I was real mad because my ear was not fixed! I did not want to hear like this!

My mom and I went back to the hotel room. She told me in her computer voice that she couldn't 'fix' my ear any better than it was now. I remember being very mad because I wanted my real hearing back, not a computer ear!

My mom told me I could choose to hear or not to hear. To hear, I would have to wear a processor. I took off the processor and went to sleep. I was sad and mad. I remember waking my mom up in the morning so she could put the processor on. I wanted to hear again, but I was still upset and sad.

My mom and I came to Tucker Maxon so I could learn about the processor and so I could hear better. I remember being very mad because I had to wear a processor to hear. I could not hear my friends when we went swimming. I was mad because the teachers told me I was deaf but I was not like the other deaf kids. I did not like learning to hear sounds that I once knew. I had to learn what everything sounded like again and that made me mad.

*READ THE REST OF THE STORY AT HANDS AND VOICES* or go here and click on the November 2010 issue.

Solitude in hiking

High Rock Lookout. You can see the tiny white cabin on top of center peak.

High Rock Lookout cabin (summer, 2009) with Mt. Rainier behind it.

When hiking alone as a deaf or hard of hearing person solitude can either be a peaceful place or a frightening one, depending on how you relate to being in the outdoors while alone, and unable to hear should that happen. It may seem frightening to some people on not being able to hear. But for me to hear with my hearing aid gives me that added dimension to my own version of what solitude is all about. And the opportunity to hear the sound of the breeze rustling through the trees and grasses, a babbling creek, roar of a waterfall, or birds chirping in the distance. And if I'm lucky hear the rattle of a rattle snake if I don't get too close (yes, I did see one and took a picture of it from 6 feet away, that's another story for another time).

I find it very peaceful, relaxing and whenever I hike to a spot high up on a mountain peak or on a ridge line area where I can see the vast distances spread out across before me. And witness the awesomeness of nature and her beauty. I grew up hiking, backpacking and camping as a kid and continue to do so as an adult.  I know what beauty is about. Nowadays, I get more of my hiking done that is work-related, getting paid to hike in the back parts of the forest as I go and get the needed survey data for my analysis. And the only way to get where I need to go is to hike.

At other times I hike when there is an opportunity to go when good weather comes my way such as hiking up to Gotchen Creek Meadows on the flank of Mt. Adams or hike up to High Rock Lookout where I hiked once before when I was a young boy at 8 years old did I actually remember that place on a hike with my mother and father, and my sister and brother that day.  Solitude is about revisiting your past as well. And I certainly enjoyed my 2 hour solitude there by myself.

I get my solitude "high" at these high places absorbing in the beauty and fresh air knowing that only a few people actually took the time to visit these altitude challenging trails. In fact, I met up with 4 older people on my trek to High Rock Lookout where one couple was from New Zealand and the other from Olympia, Washington. I had a nice chat with the people from New Zealand, especially the nice lady who had a quaint but soft New Zealand accent to her voice. I asked her to please speak up because I told her I have a hearing loss. After our brief 10 minute conversation on High Rock Lookout I asked two ladies to wave at me so I can take a picture of them as they departed on their way down the trail. One waving at me is from New Zealand.

One particular hike I fondly remember is a hike to a 10,600 ft ridge line peak that is part of the Sierra Blanca (12,003 ft) mountain ridge line in New Mexico. My hike was work-related and it was a 4.5 mile round trip hike starting at the end of a road in Bear Canyon as I hiked along Bear Canyon Creek trail inside the subwatershed.

(copy and paste Latitude and Longitude for Google Earth)
33 25' 05.20" N
105 49' 30.65" W

My hike began at 8080 ft on a 2.5 mile trail to a 10,640 foot ridge line peak where I stopped there for lunch.

(copy and paste Latitude and Longitude for Google Earth)
33 25' 05.20" N
105 49' 30.65" W

The place was an open grassy peak where to the west it drops off with trees downslope. The stop was breath-taking with a grandeur view of the Tularosa Basin valley below me where the Chihuahuan Desert is. I could see White Sands to the southwest of me to the Valley of Fire lava field almost directly to the west. And mountain chain on the opposite side of the Tularosa Basin valley could be seen. After an hour of absorbing in the beauty and fresh air, my lunch break was over. I hiked back down piggy-backing a ridge line back to my truck, a 2 mile hike where I had to bush whack my way through in some parts with downed trees. I wasn't on a trail but above the trail where I was earlier along Bear Canyon Creek. It was an awesome hike. I just wished I had brought my camera that day.

Another hike I took was the Dog Canyon hike in the desert of New Mexico near Alamogordo. My hike started at the 4400 ft elevation up to 4900 ft elevation where I did my taping for my "Adversity" vlog for hearing parents of deaf and hard of hearing children that speaking isn't something to be ashamed about. That hike was a relatively short one yet it was steep with with an elevation gain of about 500 ft, though the trail was well built and easy to hike on with some crudely made steps that were built in.  The weather was quite warm that day being that I was in the Chihuahuan desert and all that. The view certainly looked different being almost 50 miles further south from a hike I did up to a 10,600 foot ridge line peak.

(copy and paste Latitude and Longitude for Google Earth)
32 44'53.19"N
105 54'35.90"W

Solitude means different things to different people. As a person with hearing loss my solitude is about nature and the environment where I get the opportunity to enjoy the high altitude views. It's about the smell, the sound, the view and even the effort to get where you want to be will experiencing solitude be more refreshing than ever. The crunching steps of my boots on the trail. The swiping of a few handfuls of huckleberries to quench my taste buds.  A car trip cannot replace that same feeling of solitude, nor will it get you that same feeling of reward the effort it took you to a place few people hike to. The spirituality is different when you are one with nature, hiking a trail while you mull over your thoughts, alone. I have a lot of hiking ahead of me and lot places to visit in Washington and Oregon, especially next on my radar is my "super-secret" swimming hole near Tygh Valley, Oregon that I went often went as a kid with my folks who grew up nearby in Dufur, Oregon. There is solitude in hiking. When will you take yours?

Beautiful Mt. Adams

In one of the many hikes I do out in Washington I find this scenery around Mt. Adams breathtaking and scenic on such a sunny and beautiful day. The location of this spot is on a steep trail that lead up to Forest Road 22. The picture I took was at an elevation of 4280 feet. From that spot you can see Mt Adams 15 miles away looking to the south-southeast at the north flank of that volcanic mountain that rises to 12, 276 feet.

Tomorrow, I plan to have pictures taken from the south flank of that mountain at an elevation of around 6,300 feet. The south flank is on the other side of Mt. Adams in this picture. I'll be on a high alpine meadow full of wildflowers and ripe huckleberries. It'll be a two mile hike in plus some more and then the return hike back to my vehicle. There'll be some snow at this elevation. And from there I'll be able to see Mt. Hood in the distance 55 miles away to the south on the Oregon side. The forecast for tomorrow? Sunny and quite warm.

Perfect.

Matt Hamill in UFC 102 on August 29, Portland, Oregon

Though more than a month away (52 days to go as of today) it wouldn't hurt to remind people of Matt Hamill's next fight on August 29 against Brandon "The Truth" Vera in the upcoming UFC 102 fight. Matt Hamill has steadily improved his game with an 8-2-0 record.

This will be a good time to go if you live in Oregon or Washington since the fight will take place at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon (see map). Ticket costs anywhere from $50 to $600 dollars. There is an 8 tickets limit meaning that one can buy eight tickets at the same seating area for friends and families to stay together.

I plan on going but looks like I may be getting the upper seats. It's a good to go since I live about 20 miles away from Portland and this will be a good opportunity to go and watch, and meet up with Matt Hamill. If you are interested in joining with me, let me know and perhaps get adjoining seats for this event. And a chance to meet with Matt Hamill.

Also, a heads up. Look to my Kokonut Pundit blog for more upcoming news about Matt Hamill. I have done several interviews for my Kokonut Pundit blog with Matt in the past discussing his UFC quest. So, keep an eye out on this one folks.