I never get tired of the blue sky

I woke up at day break and it was cold. My fingers felt numb and I could see the patches of ice on the ground shimmering in the sun. I definately did not pack for temperatures in the mid 40's but that is what it feels like 7000 feet above sea level at sunrise. Dress in layers, I rub my hands together, and I tried to think about how it was 80 degrees on the way up here yesterday afternoon. My bberry, gps, and all the other clutter in my pockets just doesn't work up here and that was the start of something. I wanted to see this place when everything was still and fresh and arriving in the late afternoon the day before did not afford me this opportunity. I had a good dinner at the lodge, returned to the cabin and studied the map. I don't just want to see it. I hope to feel this place and melt into it -if only for a few quiet moments. The Klamath Indians denied the existence of this place for a long time and as I sat perched above trying to be perfectly still on the ledge in the early morning hours - I understood why. Apart from a few birds and noise that is my existence, I heard the silence and it wasn't cold anymore.

Walking on the moon

I just got back from a roadtrip to southern Oregon (with my visting parents) via a less direct and more scenic route over the Cascades and down through Bend to Crater Lake National Park. My GPS was broken (perfect timing) and I decided to invest in a $4 map and that is where all the fun begins. I am going to write to google maps and suggest they add "scenic /fun route" button to their map search page because there is such a degree of variance between the most direct route and one that is more enjoyable and scenic.
Watching the landscape shift so dramatically after crossing the cascades from lush forest to high desert is a visual that I won't soon forget. We stopped for coffee in Warm Springs and as I looked at the girl behind the counter, it hit me that I was on an Indian reservation drinking a coffee. She smiled - more than likely at my small revelation. I caught route 97 in Madras (kind of a sleepy town) and we headed south to Bend. The drive to Bend was very scenic with the unobstructed views of three sisters , mt bachelor and three-fingered Jack for severals of miles.
Just south of Bend is an area of some volcanic significance and I walked on some long hardened lava beds and explored the remnants of a dormant lava butte that afforded some spectactacular views of the cascades. The areas is covered in remnants of volcanic activity peculiar lava flows and formations for acres on end. I think we were on the "Trail of Molten Land" and it was certainly unlike any landscape I'd ever seen. I would describe it as something one might encounter while walking on the moon. How does the song go ?

Giant steps are what you take
Walking on the moon

Next stop Crater Lake.

Lotus

I saw a lotus up close today. I've seen them before (well at least I thought I had) but today I think I really saw a lotus. I am convinced that we miss things like this all the time. Perhaps we catalog all these inputs in our mind or memory somewhere without really having a deeper sensory understanding of the experience; Almost like seeing something without a context. If you think about what this simple plant does -- it is quite amazing and I am not sure why it never occurred to me before. A truly fascinating species of plant life. It was about 3 in the afternoon PST with a strong sun and a gently breeze. They grow in the shallow mud banks of ponds and rivers (or certain public gardens) and blossom into stunning flowers that appear perfectly suspended in water. (it almost sounds hard to imagine) I understand they open and close daily at sunrise and dusk like clocks. I closed my eyes and thought about that for a moment and reopened them today and there was the lotus gently swaying in the breeze right in front of me. You should see one for yourself.

The Buddha in Hawthorne

Simmy was on call this weekend and I found myself exploring Portland's Hawthorne district this fine Sunday afernoon. Hawthorne reminded me of the West Village in Manhattan -really hip and filled with young people and activity -more blue collar than the North West and I was surprised by what I found. I had promised MK I'd work on the 2006-07 RPAs for my staff, I told the missus that I'd try to find some planters for our garden, and I told myself I would enjoy the outdoors, so I decided to explore this South East neighborhood in my own backyard in hopes of acomplishing all three. I found this buddha head on 36th ave right off of Hawthorne and it was serenely perched in the front of someone's home on a quiet residential street off of Hawthorne Boulvard in Portland.

I spoke to an aspiring film maker that was renting in the home for the past year and she related some of the urban legend around the buddha. Apparently the owner/landlord put the buddha head in the garden some time ago (at least a year -- that was how long the woman had lived there) and it seems that people passing by sometimes leave some small item of significance at the base of the statue. The area is filled with all sorts of strange things ranging from pictures to bracelets, toys, coins, and anything you could imagine. You are free to take something that you like and/or leave something behind. I have seen similair things overseas - particularly in Thailand around Temples -- but never state side. I didn't know quite what to make of it all. I could not find any information on the internet about this Budhha in Portland's Hawthorne district, so I figured I'd blog it so thatpeople might see (virtually at least) for themselves.

These are some other picture from around Hawthorne .