Upstream in Oregon

As most of you know, I run a semi-pro fishing blog. What you don't probably know is that it gets well over 25,000 page views a month and it is providing a business boost for the company we're running it for. It's not like I'm ready to quit the day job and retire here, but it's pretty successful and commands a certain responsibility to the readers and fly fishing community. But as with anything,...

So the last week, DW and Misty have been out in Oregon, having a good time, seeing the sites. Last weekend we camped outside of Prineville at the Ochoco Lake campground, operated by Crook County (a pretty great place I must say). We hiked Smith Rock at dusk on Friday and ran into a retired homicide detective who showed us photos on his digital camera of a giant rattlesnake ready to strike that...

I've been back from vacation for a little while now, but have been slow to return to blogging. Getting back into the swing of things at work has taken its toll. Plus there's lots going on, like KP's graduation from the U of Oregon with a masters (see below). And I've got Man Of War here for an extended Oregon tour 2008. Earlier this week we headed out to the coast. I'm rushing this post because...

I'm leaving tomorrow for the annual Northern Migration. I've been going to a lake in Northern Ontario for well over a decade with my family, and every year the fishing seems better than the one before. I missed the trip last year, due to the Alaskan Brown Bear hunting trip, so this year is going to be huge. Pike are sentient, cruising the shallows, looking, skulking. They’re more like a dog...

Last weekend we did an awesome hike with C-dawg and Amy on the Eagle Creek trail to ther Mark Hatfield Wilderness in Northwest Oregon. I took a billion photos, several of which are of various flora. I'd just purchased a new plant ID book, so I'm going to go through the plant shots and try to identify them on the blog. But for now, here is the scenery:...

I've decided to sit down every day and jot stream of consciousness for 15-30 minutes with no discernable goal, in a notepad. I guess the idea is to jar loose some new ideas, original thoughts. I spend so much of my life reporting on other people's thoughts and observations, that I've started to forget I have thoughts too. Or maybe I don't. Maybe no one does. It's all just regurgitated versions of...

Pretty good headline, eh? Well, it was a pretty good weekend. It started out with a keg of Ninkasi at my house on Friday night. I did what was expected, grilled food, drank beer, pitched horseshoes and eventually busted out my guitar. The crowd actually cheered when I threw the lyrics and chord chart to Long December into the fire. Looks like it's time for a new set or give up the rock. We...