Eugene

Mark and I went down to Eugene over the weekend. We just celebrated one year since our first date, so we thought it would be fun to go to Eugene for two reasons: one, we spent our first Valentine's Day there and two, we've sampled and enjoyed several microbrews over the past year and one of our favorite brewers (Ninkasi in Eugene) was sponsoring the Sasquatch beer festival in Eugene. We hoped for a smaller, more enjoyable brew fest than the over crowded, hard-to-enjoy ones that we've been to in Portland, and we got what we hoped for. There were quite a few beers to sample, the tastes were extremely generous for $1 each, and we didn't have to wait in line for 20 minutes each time we wanted to try something new. There was room to walk, if not always room to sit, there were plenty of raffle prizes for everyone, and the music was pretty good. After a couple of hours of sampling and enjoying the afternoon, we had a delicious, modest dinner at Steelhead Brewery and then played some darts.

Sunday morning we visited Eugene City Bakery, a favorite we discovered last time we were in Eugene. We got the same things we did last time we were there: a cinnamon roll that was really a cross between a cinnamon roll and a croissant for me, and a raspberry scone for Mark. Well, he had most of the scone anyway. He shared quite a bit of it with the birds that seemed to know that bakery customers were sure to drop and toss plenty of delicious crumbs.

After breakfast, we headed over to Alton Baker Park to work off some of the pastries and beers. We walked for a good two hours along and across the Willamette River. The weather was perfect and we saw ducks, geese, and a beautiful rose garden. From there it was time to go home. A short weekend, but with some very nice memories.

Photos here.

Hiking

Mark and I have hiked the last three weekends. Averaging about 8 miles per hike, we're getting some good exercise and having a lot of fun. The weekend before last we hiked Wygant Trail Loop in the Gorge just west of Hood River. This was probably the most challenging of the three hikes. Though the climb wasn't too difficult as far as elevation gain, there were a lot of trees down which meant lots of scrambling. Thankfully, Mark was very patient and encouraging, holding my hand whenever I needed help or felt a little nervous. We made it about 3/4 of the way around the Chetwoot Loop when we came to Perham Creek--and no bridge. Apparently, it's been out for several years and was never replaced. There used to be a sign at the beginning of the loop indicating that the bridge was out. As the sign was no longer there, we thought they'd finally replaced the brigde. That didn't turn out to be the case, so we turned around and went back the way we came (and did a lot more scrambling).

Yesterday, we hiked a section of the Pacific Crest Trail at Panther Creek, just north of Carson, Washington. This was a bit steeper climb than the week before, but still not too difficult. There were a few trees down, but really only one large tree to climb over. Most of the trail was in the trees with not much more to see than trees, ferns, etc., but we were treated to a beautiful view of Mt. Hood at one point (narrow trail here and I hope to some day get over my nervousness about stopping and looking!) and then a gorgeous view of trees and hills on the north side of the Gorge when we reached our turnaround spot.

Though I haven't worn them on the trail yet, I got some new Merrell hiking shoes on Saturday. They're probably the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn, and I'm looking forward to trying them out. I also got an UnderArmor top to keep me cool and dry while hiking on warm summer days. Now I have to find the right pants to wear...
Photos here.