I was a busy guy this week. I helped The Bigs pick about 50 lbs of cherries. We ate as many as we could and then gave the rest to all the neighbors (and some random passerby).
I continued work on the basil oil I started with basil I am growing.
And I helped pack for a little trip. We decided we would go see the redwoods. Our first night we stayed in Ashland.
And early the next morning we headed to Redwood National Park to do some backpacking.
We saw some old trees,
lots of slugs (I am not a fan of them),
and some BIG trees.
We also learned that when they say a trail is closed it probably is and had to resort to many creek crossings to get where we wanted to go.
After our hike we headed to Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve. On the way, we saw these guys
and I took a little nap.
We stayed in a campground in the monument that night,
and we took a cave tour the next day. It was so cool. The cave entrance is just on the other side of that plaque.
We saw stalactites.
And columns (where stalagmites and stalactites meet).
And lots of other cool things.
And I was sworn in as a junior ranger.
When we left the caves the car thermometer said 100, so instead of heading home we detoured to the coast. We stopped at Foster Barr on the Rogue River for the night…
and reached Bandon by midmorning.
That evening we headed home and after a long drive found Paradise Campground on the McKenzie River. Much to our relief they had a few empty sites.
We set up the tent and had veggies, noodles, and smoked salmon (from Bandon) for dinner.
We are home again, but probably not for long. Before I go, I thought you’d enjoy a comparison between my lunch
This week was rock climbing camp at the Bend Rock Gym BUT on Wednesday I got to go to Smith Rock and climb outside. For those who don’t know, Smith Rock is a big deal in the climbing world. From Wikipedia: “Smith Rock is generally considered the birthplace of modern American sport climbing, and is host to cutting-edge climbing routes. ….This brought climbers from all over the world as Smith Rock became the world capital for sport climbing. To this day, the park still attracts climbers from around the globe.”
Not only is Smith Rock a climbing destination, it is amazingly beautiful.
While I was climbing, The Bigs decided to go for a bike ride instead of working. As usual, The Mother had to stop a lot to ‘take pictures’.
After talking about it for years, Mom and I visited the Humm Kombucha tasting room. We had cherry limeade kombucha in the sunshine.
This week I upped my dinner game. I went to the library and found a cookbook I liked and selected recipes from it. I chose a cookbook called The Lost Fire and picked recipes for bone-in ribeye and brussel sprouts with a garlic aioli. For the ribeye, I made a salmuera (marinade of garlic, oregano, rosemary, paprika, vinegar, and oil).
Here is the finished product. It turned out well.
I have found that by picking and making a meal, I get to eat what I want to eat instead of what The Bigs want. Unfortunately, they said going forward, I need to choose slightly cheaper meals.
This weekend there was a heat advisory. This did not stop me. I rode 17 miles in Sisters on Saturday and paddled 4 miles at East Lake on Sunday.
On Sunday night we went to Sen Noodle House to celebrate Dad’s birthday.
We had. Galumpee Nam Pla: wok fried fioretto cauliflower with fish sauce and white pepper.
Laad Nah: pan fried wide rice noodles with, savory black bean sauce gravy, steamed Chinese greens, tofu, and a fried egg.
Guay Teow Hang: noodles with ground pork, pork meatballs, beansprouts, soy and fish sauce, lime, crushed peanuts, chili flakes, green onion, and cilantro, topped with fried wonton.
Mama Pad: Thai instant ramen noodles with egg, ground pork, pork meatballs, shredded cabbage, green onion, beansprouts, and white pepper, served over chopped lettuce.
