Summer Time = Fun at Mt. Hood National Forest

Is the "summer time" theme getting boring? Oh, well there will still be a couple more ;) Mt. Hood National Forest really is fun any time of year. Sking, snow shoeing, cross country skying in the winter, and wonderful hiking in the summer. You just have to love the area we live in, that is if you love nature ;)

I pretty much spent the entire weekend in the National Forest. On Saturday a group of German women took the Ramon Falls hike. Somewhat like in Germany but yet very different. It is one of the most popular hikes because it is so close to Portland, and also very moderate. It is a 7.1 mile loop. The south side is along a picturesque creek where you would expect fairies, and the north side is somewhat barren. There is an elevation gain of about 1,000 ft., so I really would not recommend this hike for little children. I said a couple of sentences ago, that it is very similar to Germany and you know what? We saw another large group of German's en route, and I read that the Austrians of Portland went hiking "Wandertag" today, Sunday. Do you know where they went? Yup, also to Ramona Falls. It must be the all German hiking spot ;) If you would like to check it out here is the link http://www.oregon.com/hiking/ramona_falls.cfm. There is a picture of Ramona Falls on the site, and you know what? The falls really do look like that. Just amazing...

So I went hiking with girlfriends yesterday, and today we took a family trip out to the Wildwood Recreation area in the Mt. Hood National Forest. Again, just wonderful and I like to take nice walks on Sunday's. Nothing "German" happened...we did not meet any other Germans, but at the fish viewing area a boy asked me whether I spoke a different language to my kids. I said "yes" he then asked whether it was "Japanese", and I then told him that it was "German". It was quite cute. Here is the link for the Wildwood Recreation Area. That is just a fun all around family place http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/files/brochures/Wildwood_brochure07.pdf.

Summertime = Campingtime

Last year was my first time camping in Oregon, OK I admit in the United States and you know what? I LOVE it...quite fantastic. We really like tent camping and this year we also discovered Yurt Camping. Wow, is that great!!! It is very, very, very rustic but there is electricity, a table, two chairs, a bunk bed, and a futon. Plus a fire-pit, and picnic bench. Very nice. Oregon State Park calls it "camping lite" and yes it is true. Here is a link to the site describing Yurts...http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/rustic.shtml#RUSTIC_YURTS. It is somewhat, remotely, similar to camping with a rented tent. For example, we travelled to France before from the United States and stayed on a campground in an already set up tent. That tent had cots, but different to the Yurt it also had a camping stove, utensils, bedding, etc. So yes, similar but oh so different.

This time we went to Champoeg for the All American, or should I say Oregonian, experience. Great, great campground. It is a "State Heritage Area" and it is easy to imagine what it must have been like for the early settlers. Plus it is less than an hour drive away from Portland. Check it out...here is the link to the park. http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_113.php Happy camping :)))

Fantastic day for the beach...

Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach

What a great weekend. The weather just was spectacular all weekend long. Sunshine during the day, and clear cold nights. Very nice...Today we decided to spend the day at the beach. We just love living in PDX. In less than 1-1/2 hr we are at the Pacific in Cannon Beach. What a great place. We met our friends at the beach and just hung out all day. The four girls were playing in the sand while we relaxed. Everyone enjoyed the sand on their bare feet, the serene sound and beauty of the Pacific. We saw the sun turn the clounds in beautiful pink hues. What a great day!

Being from the south of Germany and very far from the ocean, it is just amazing to me how close we are to the Pacific. And to be able to sit on the beach in the middle of November?! Priceless...

Here is some info about Cannon Beach ->http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon_Beach,_Oregon

The third Oregon weekendtrip this summer...

Our last weekendtrip in Oregon for this summer was to Government Camp --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Camp,_Oregon. Just a short one hour drive from PDX and we were in the middle of the National Forest in Government Camp at 4,000 feet. - This "mini break" was very different to our previous two adventures. This time we stayed in a very nice condo, stayed for three nights, AND there were pools. What luxury!!! A nice heated outdoor pool, a small hot tub and a seperate very large hot tub. The girls had a ton of fun in the pool. Here is the link to the condo complex we stayed at --> http://www.collinslakeresort.com/

The weather was unfortunately not the greatest, but still we had lots of fun. One afternoon we drove up to Timberline Lodge which lies at around 6,000 feet. We took a little walk and the girls played in the snow. As you can see there is snow in August...

the other day we took a small tiny little 2 mile hike around a lake in the National Forest (see picture above). OK - so you ask what does this have to do with Germany, or Germans in Portland? Let me explain...

Government Camp is a small resort town in the middle of the National Forest. There are hotels, and restaurants with names like "Edelweiss", and "Rathskeller". The town tries to have a semi Alpine feel. I say semi because it is an attempt, quite cute, and just so very different to the alpine villages of Switzerland, Austria, and Germany :) There is hiking in the summer and it is great don't get me wrong. It is however so different to European hiking. In South Tyrol we went hiking last year and there is always a destination with a hut. You can have food and drinks at the huts, they are always very nicely cared for and the trails are clean. Here on the other hand there are trails, but the destinations NEVER (unless you hike up to Timberline Lodge) have huts. It is nature pure. Just a very, very different experience. It is possible to hike in the Mt. Hood National Forest for hours without seeing another human being, therefore it is essential to be prepared as people get lost. - Hiking in the Alps as well as hiking in Mt. Hood National Forest are both GREAT, just two very different experiences...

Germans on Mount Hood...

This weekend we are spending in Government Camp. Saturday we drove up to Mount Hood and Timberline Lodge. German friends of ours came along and we took a short little walk around Timberline Lodge. On our walk we ran into another German which I just recently met. She was showing off the mountain to a friend who was visiting from Germany.

Isn't it amazing that you meet people you know outside of town? Really amazing to me...I do not remember ever meeting people we knew by accident either in Chicago, or in the outlying areas.

We ate dinner at the restaurant of Timberline Lodge and there was another German couple. Later I hung out with our girls in the lodge area where we met another German/American family. I know I keep repeating myself but it is just amazing how many Germans are in Portland, and Oregon.

Day Trip to the Beach...

The location of Portland is just so fantastic. In less than an hour we are in the woods, a little over an hour we are at the beach, and we also have two flight connecting us daily to Europe. WOW! - After a couple trips to the woods over the past couple of weeks we were totally overdue for a trip to the beach. Initially we thought about trying to get a room for a night, but its August and chances are slim being pretty much impossible this time of year without any pre-planning. Oh well...good thing the beach is only a little over an hour away from our house.

We left around 10:30 stopped for breakfast and then headed for Cannon Beach. We packed a beach blanket, some beach toys, change of clothes for the girls and off we went. To get to the beach you have to cross the mountain range, drive through the middle of the dark deep woods and then seemingly out of nowhere the Pacific appears on the horizon. It is just so amazing. To me being from Southern Germany it never seizes to amaze me how within a short period of time we can be at the beach, in the woods, or by the mountain.

Cannon Beach is very, very busy this time of year and parking spots are hard to come by. Luckily there are a lot of different beach spots a little further down 101. We were prepared to drive down 101 a little further but lucked out and got a parking spot right downtown only short walk to the beach. At the beach we put down our blanket, went with the girls to play in the estuary, then just relaxed as the girls played in the sand. At the beach you hear the ocean roar, take in the wild beauty of the pacific...all in all it is so rejuvenating. Before we left to get back to town we took a short walk towards Haystack Rock and our batteries were recharged.

You can learn more about Cannon Beach on its official Web-site http://www.cannonbeach.org/

Camping Part II with a German twist

We went camping again last weekend for one night. Our campground of choice this time was the Milo McIvor State Park by Estacada. http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_142.php

The park is less than an hour away from our house. It amazes me how in less than an hour you can go from urban to totally rural. The campsite was very private and we were surrounded by great, big trees. Birds sung and we actually saw hawks close up. We took a little tiny hike to the hatchery and a deer crossed our path. Again, how amazing is that less than an hour outside a large city?! This time I did miss the convenience of a European campground just a little bit. Why? Let me tell you...I forgot the propane cartridge and since there is no store on the campground I had to drive to Estacada to get one. At least we were able to get the propane. The upside was that I got to see a little of Estacada. To me it looks almost exactly like one imagines a town from the wild west :)

So where is the German twist...OK - Ron cooked dinner again (see picture), we toasted marshmallows, made Guacamole, and then we also made Stockbrot. My sister told me about Stockbrot. It is really fun. Basically its bread you cook on your stick over the campfire. The recipe is also easy. It works best if you put the bread dough on bamboo sticks, just make sure that you do not use more water, or make sure that you bring along extra flour. Here is the recipe for 4 people, easy to increase, decrease etc.

400 gr flour

1 Pack yeast

400 ml water

1 pinch of salt

- mix it all together and let rise for a little while

Have a great day everyone...

Camping in Oregon...

In almost 15 years my very first camping trip in the U.S....Growing up in Germany we went camping all the time. Whenever there we had vacation we packed the trailer and headed south. Later on (in my European life :) ) I went camping quite frequently and really generally enjoyed it. So what happened I ask myself, why have we not been camping in the US?

To me European Campgrounds are never out in the wilderness. There is always a coffee shop, little restaurant, store where you can buy stuff. The bathrooms are generally clean, spacious and heated...so when I heard people going to camp in the NW I only heard "wilderness", and imagined a totally, totally rustic experience. And not to forget the wild life we have in Oregon as in bears, mountain lion, etc....

OK so finally we went on a one night camping trip (Thanks to the Oregonian travel section a couple of weeks ago :)) The park was Silverton Falls State Park (FYI - http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_211.php) and it was GREAT! - The girls loved it, playground was in sight from our campsite, the bathroom/shower facilities well they do not compare to what I have used in Europe but they were fine, but here is the really, really great part. Each campsite has a fire pit and pick nick bench. If that is not fantastic then I don't know what is. Of course we had a fire, grilled "Wuerstle" over the fire which both girls loved, and then (my first) all American the toasted Marshmallow...quite interesting. So I take back everything negative I have said about camping in Oregon. It really was great, and we certainly will camp again soon. Truth be said so, a few days only a whole week would be a little too much for me still...