Our 'Lucky' 11-11-11

There was a lot of media hype about the date 11-11-11 (last week Friday) and how it was supposed to be a lucky day.... Here in Central Oregon, the day turned out to be pretty eventful!

The Lucky 

 Despite reports that there was going to be poor weather that Friday, it was really a very nice morning.  It was nice enough for a hike.  Together with Heidi (my aunt), Chris (her fiance) and Crystal (my second cousin) we set off to hike Black Butte, a extinct volcanic cone that rises 938m and that is pretty close to where we live.  (We actually drive 1/2 way up Black Butte then hike the rest.)    The hike is kinda long; it took a few hours, but it was worth it - the view is amazing!

On our way up - with my cousin Crystal...

A view of 'Three Fingered Jack' on the way up

Looking out to Mt Washington from the Black Butte trail

Snow ball attack!

Crystal and I, who were ahead a little, tried to ambush Chris and Heidi!

 We reached the top!  It took over an hour of uphill hiking, but it was definitely worth it.  The view was simply breathtaking

Heidi, Crystal and myself at the summit

I need a break! lol

'Aunt' Heidi

Chris packed a nice picnic lunch for us to eat at the top

Looking at photos... Crystal, Chris, Tess (the dog) and myself

Heading back down, the view is still fabulous!

If you look really closely you will spot Crystal on the trail

The Unlucky

 That evening was nothing short of maddness...

Taken off Heidi's Facebook:
CRAZY, crazy night. Here's the story, condensed version. Wind storm. Driving out of Camp Sherman after dark to pick up our 'rescue' dog. Just as we round a curve, big tree across the road. Chris swerves down the middle, and we bump our way over the top of the shattered mid-section. Car approaches from the other direction, they too bump over the top. In darkness and wind four of us pull what we can from the road. Call the sheriff to remove what we can't. Return from town with the new dog. Phone call from Crystal. "Mom, a tree came down in the wind and crushed Emily's car!" (Crystal and friends staying at a near-by cabin.) It's a direct hit on the car. The two story garage building that it is parked in front of is barely grazed. The car is a crumbed soda can. Girls are too unnerved to stay at the cabin in the trees, so come to our house. We arrive to a dark house. No power. Makita (just recently arrived from Fiji) has been home alone in the dark. Light all the candles, etc. And oh, saw my first 'moon bow'--a complete rainbow in the dark sky. Would have been cooler if we weren't dealing witha crushed car, upset girls, no power, new dog... But we have an oddly fun evening with a house full of girls (7) and Chris. Parrot was on her hysterical laugh binge, got everyone laughing, in spite of the shock of Emily's crushed car. All the while the new dog (a delightful, charming little thing..) quietly mingles with Tess, three cats, noisy parrot, crowd of new faces..

Basically, that evening there was a storm (heavy rain and winds).  The family here (not including myself) drove out to a nearby town to pick up a new dog they are adopting and on the way encountered a fallen tree, which delayed their trip!  Meanwhile, I was at home with Crystal (cousin) and her friend when they got a call from the from a neighbour who said that a tree had fallen on a car at the cabin they were staying at!!  The car actually belonged to one of Crystal's other friends who was visiting from Portland City too.  Crystal and her friend rushed off to see what was going on with their other friends and the car.  I was at home alone when, to top it all of, the power goes off!!
When everyone gathered together again at home a couple hours later, we lit candles and ate food... The really funny thing was that the parrot, Kabo-Kabo, got all excited and was on a hysterical laughing binge for ages - She mocked our laughs and it really sounded like a human laughing!!  Everybody was cracking up in laughter at the parrot!

Here are some photos of the crushed car as well as a couple other photos of accidents that happened that night due to the storm:

Fortunately, the garage remained undamaged...

but the car was done for!

completely crushed

From this pic you can see that the tree, which must have been rotting, broke off half-way before landing straight onto the car

Further down the road this car was smashed

This photo, off FB, shows damages to a home in a nearby area.  This tree went through the roof of the home then 5 feet through the floor!

A few days later we went to clean up the debris around car 1.  It was a huge job to clear the tree and branches off the driveway.  It took 3 people + saws, shovels, brooms and a wheel barrow at least two days!

Before clean up

After clean up

The local newspaper published an article about the damage that happened on the weekend of the 11/11/11 and even quoted Heidi.  Here is the link to the article:

http://www.nuggetnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=19115

Hello Oregon!

Arrived in Oregon State last week Tuesday.  Although I flew into Portland, I am staying in Central Oregon.  There is one word for this place: STUNNING.  If you love hikes, rivers, mountains and snow then this is the place for you!

With my hosts for the next couple months... 
After being picked up at the airport, we had lunch in downtown Portland before driving home to Camp Sherman .

McKenzie Pass

On the second day after I arrived we took a drive into a nearby town called Sisters.  After doing some errands and having lunch there, we took a drive up to the McKenzie Pass.  The Pass is beautiful... You can look 360 degrees around at all the snow capped mountains.  There was hardly anybody around and I felt like I was in Narnia!  Especially exciting was the snow, which combined with the dark coloured lava fields, looked like cookies and cream.

It's coldddd
'Summit - McKenzie Pass - Elev 5325'

Walking up to the look-out... The wind was crazy freezing

This is my mum's cousin, Heidi, who I am staying with :)

Snow Ball'n!

McKenzie Pass closed!

Just this morning I read in the newspaper that the McKenzie Pass, that we went to just a few days ago and that I thought was awesome, has been closed for the season!!  Below is a rather interesting extract from the newspaper article:

"The closure date is about two weeks later than in the past two years, and efforts to reopen the highway will begin in mid-March..." - The Bulletin

http://bendbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111115/NEWS0107/111150397

          http://www.ktvz.com/news/29765841/detail.html

So, in summary, because she knew I was coming, Mother Nature decided that she would keep the weather favourable for 2 weeks longer than usual just so that I would get to see the Pass!

Family Time in Minnesota

 At Home with Karl and Cindy

They were wonderful hosts and I can't thank them enough :)  Karl and Cindy have twins who are the same age as I am, so they were almost like parents to me while I was in Minnesota.

Our one boating excursion on Lake Byllesby

In front of the little cliffs by the Lake's edge

Using this cool apple peeler! :)

At The Minnesota Orchestra - twas fantastic!

Dinner time

Cindy :)

Karl, my first-cousin once removed by a generation :)

On my last night in Minnesota, Cindy and I had dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant at the Mall of America. 

While I was in MN I watched Forrest Gump for the first time, so it was really cool to go to the restaurant.   The sign 'Stop Forrest Stop' above is used to stop a waitress.

yum!

Uncle Bob

Grandpa or Uncle Bob is 90 years old this year, but he still has a lot of stories to tell that will leave you laughing and amazed.  He is Karl's father and my Grandma's brother-in-law (so technically we are not blood related).    Here is a real short synopsis of his life:  He didn't do high school but is a medical doctor and was a well established family doctor in Cannon Falls for many years, he has a large collection of artifacts and studies cosmology as a hobby!...  Uncle Bob is dear to my family and I was glad to have had the opportunity to spend time with him this past Fall. 

With Uncle Bob at his home

 The next few photos are hilarious.  UB knew I needed to find some clothing for the winter so, with a big grin, he brought out long-johns for me to have!  It was a joke of course...

"Perfect for the cold weather"

It even has a back flap so that you actually don't have to take it off! LOL

Ummm... thanks, but no thanks!

The Rohlfs

Joan and Bob Rohlf are cindy's parents.  They are the sweetest people and I really enjoyed getting to know them the few times we all got together.  Futhermore, it was a pleasure to get to know Cathy, Cindy's sister, as well as a lot more of the family when they had a little family reunion.

Family reunion at home in Cannon Falls sometime in mid-October.

Joan and Bob - Here we are dining at Mancinni's Restaurant in St. Paul to celebrate Joan's Bday

From the Restaurant we headed to the Bar area to listen to live music

The Mancinni's bar is known as an older people's pick-up bar and it was funny to see all these middle aged and much older people dancing and trying their luck!

With Joan and Cathy :)

With Karl and Cindy

Cathy: a lot of fun and incredibly kind.

On my last week in Minnesota I showed photos of Fiji to Bob and Joan

Showing Fiji

How to Find a Winter Coat

This is an amusing story about how a girl from Fiji found a winter coat.

While I was in Minnesota it became evident that I would need some warmer clothing.  85% of the clothes in my suitcase were designed for the summertime - you can't blame me, summer defines Fiji's weather year round... So after discussing several options, we decided that it would be best to find something from the second-hand store as there was no point buying a new and expensive winter jacket for just one season.

The funny thing is that everyone got involved in finding me a winter coat!...

1. Uncle Bob and I hit the Cannon wide Garage Sale on a nice Saturday morning in hopes of finding a coat.  Unfortunately, we had no luck. I had been home for a couple hours when there was a ringing of the door bell.  Guess who it was?  Uncle Bob with a huge faux fur coat that he had just found at a garage sale and that he thought would be perfect for me!!  I was pessimistic about it being practical - my luggage was already overweight and this coat would not help.  I smiled and accepted his gift.

Wearing the huge faux fur coat from Uncle Bob

 2. A few days later, Uncle Bob visited me with another item he thought would be perfect for my winter wardrobe!  It is unclear where he acquired this one.

Unfortunately, this jacket/sweater didn't make the final cut and was left in MN

3. A few days later I was suprised with yet another winter clothing item from Uncle Bob!!! I remember laughing when he called and told me he had something else to give me

Contrary to my expectations, the vest was practical and was a keeper

4.  Realising that the winter coat (Image 1) was just too bulky, Cindy and I roped in her mum, Joan, to do some master tailoring.  We originally discussed shortening the coat to finger-tip length and loosening the elastic in the sleeves.  Joan, who is uber fashionable decided that a vest would be much more stylish!  The new coat caused a bit of controversy but I was thankful to Joan for working hard on it and I decided to keep it.  

Here is the new and fashionable faux fur coat from Image 1!

5. Another one to my collection; Joan also offered me this jacket with sleeves ;)

6. At the same time Cathy, knowing that my new fashionable vest wouldn't give that much warmth, set out to find me something better!  This winter jacket previously belonged to Anna, her daughter.

Warm and practical - definitely good for Oregon

7. Here's another nice one that Cathy picked out especially for me at Goodwill!

I feel very special to have had all these people trying to help me find a winter coat!  (Even people at work were asking me if I had found something yet.) 
I ended up taking the ones from images 3, 4, 6 and 7 with me to Oregon.