Contests and day tripping

Over the week-end, I decided to take a day trip that I've wanted to take ever since we moved here, almost a year ago. I packed the kids and the dog into our car and set out for Joseph, Oregon and Lake Wallowa.

As we headed down Hwy 82, which is also designated as "Hell's Canyon Scenic Byway" broad farmlands narrowed down to rim rock, then to the steep canyon of the Wallawa River. As the valley opened up, we saw dozens of people fishing in hip waders in the river. The Wallowa Mountains towered over us as we continued driving through the towns of Wallowa and Enterprise.
Finally we arrived at the town of Joseph, Oregon, just North of Lake Wallowa. Joseph is a town surrounded by beautiful mountains, wilderness and water.
It's not too surprising that it is also home to many artists who give the town a touch of class and comfort. While we didn't have much time to shop or eat at the many places in town, we did stop at "Cattle Country Quilts", a wonderful quilt store with lots of outdoors and wildlife fabrics. They recommended a stop at R and R Drive-In for yummy milkshakes for the drive back.

With Hell's Canyon and the Eagle Cap Wilderness still out there to explore, I'm sure we'll be back very soon to this beautiful corner of the state.

In regards to travel, I wanted to take the opportunity to mention a travel contest that Travel Oregon is having right now. It's a "Wanderfeast", a culinary trip through Oregon that you design yourself. Details can be found at their website. I'm afraid I can't enter because of my parental obligations, but maybe one of you can!!

For my fellow quilters, I also just entered into 2 contests for an Accuquilt Go! Cutter at the "Diary of a Quilter" Blog, and at "Alderwood Quilts" Blog. If you're interested, head to their websites and enter! Doesn't everyone love a contest?

Drinking Locally - microdistilleries

I've been trying for the last few years to make a real effort to buy products, especially food, made as close to home as possible. The real motivation came after reading "Animal Vegetable, Miracle", by Barbara Kingsolver. She details a year in her families life as they try to produce and eat only locally grown food. Locally grown food is fresher, healthier, better for the environment and if bought from local farmers, supports your community. I like the fact that if I grow it, I know exactly what is put on it and into the soil, and we tend to eat healthier, since we were directly involved in the effort to produce and grow it.

Recently, an empty bottle of gin brought me to the local liquor store here in town. In Oregon, all "hard" alcohol is sold only in state owned liquor stores, and luckily the one here carries a very nice selection of locally distilled spirits. I was quite surprised at just how many of these micro distilleries there are here in Oregon. I did a bit of research and found this map of US micro-distilleries, and was even more surprised at how many there are through out the US. Yes, they cost a bit more, as with most items that are made in small batches on a local scale, but they're also superior once again in taste, and travel fewer miles. The one I picked out is from Bendistillery, out of Bend, Oregon. It makes perfect sense that gin, which is made from Juniper berries, would be made in Bend, an area rich with Juniper trees. They make other spirits as well. And since we don't go through large amounts of hard alcohol, this bottle should last a while. But it is awfully good....

What other local products do you use or know about?

Going Solar

My husband and I have been thinking about this for many years... figuring out a way to go solar or wind power, or? Finally, I think the stars have aligned and the combination of a local city program, and tax credits available right now, and a South-facing house roof in a city with lots of sun has got us moving forward at last. We're not quite sure if we can do it, but we've taken the first steps.

We attended a local information system, through the city of Pendleton, Oregon. Solarize Pendleton is an amazing program that has been put together with the help of many different people and agencies. I encourage you to look at their program, and copy it in your own communities. We feel that we can not afford to miss out on this opportunity. And in this day and age, it even makes sense to pull money out of retirement funds to invest in solar energy for our house, instead of Wall Street. We're hoping we can get one of the no-interest loans that the city is offering. Wish us luck!!

We have the Oregon Energy Trust coming out next week to do an energy audit of our house to see how we can improve how we use and save energy. They'll look at the insulation, appliances, heat, AC, hot water etc... At the same time, we will be getting an assessment as to whether or not our house is situated to be a good candidate for solar. They'll look at how much shade we get (almost none), and the orientation of our roof (almost due South). The panels need to face South for the best energy generation. The size of our roof will also determine the size of array we can get. At this time, there is no program to buy back excess energy that we generate, but it will be credited back to our electric account to use when the sun is not out. Excess energy will go to our neighbors to use, keeping it all local.

I thought it'd be fun to bring you along on the journey as we try to "go greener".

It's a cause we both feel very strongly about, and want to teach our boys, by example that it needs to be a priority, both for the environment, and for our fellow citizens who have sacrificed their lives drilling for oil in the Gulf Coast, or mining for coal in West Virginia. Not everyone can go solar, but we can all make steps to use less gas and electricity.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Also, I'd love to hear any other stories and experiences of others who have gone solar!!!