A return to Olallie Mountain

Ken poses in front of Olallie Lookout.  

It has been many years since I last saw Olallie Lookout, perhaps more than twenty.  The poor old structure is a mess and needs to be cleaned off the top of the mountain.  Still, it was great to hit this trail with Ken and Andy Back.  Brought back great memories from the times that Ken and I had on these same trails in the early 1980's.  We were kids then, out exploring our world.  Olallie Lookout, and it's accompanying guard station, played a large part in our early explorations, exciting our imaginations and connecting us to the history of this place.

Ken and Andy enter a meadow, looking for bear

That tree is even bigger than I remember

Vancouver, USA

Esther Short Park, downtown Vancouver

This week I attended a conference in  Vancouver, Washington. I had previously spent little time here so I got out and explored a bit. Obviously overwhelmed by the presence of Portland across the river, Vancouver is a bit of a backwater.  Still, always good to fill in a blank spot on my map.

ONDA Annual Meeting 2015

Some scenes from the area around Hancock Field Station during our Sunday morning walk as the ONDA annual meeting was ending.  Another beautiful weekend in the John Day country; I could get used to this.