Making a Camp Bed Big Enough for Two
Planning for an upcoming camping trip Amy and I decided to purchase a sleeping bag and pad wide enough for both of us. We ended up with a Guide Gear self inflating pad and a King Camp Snowflake 300D ...
Pretty Not Bad
Amy and I drove up to Disappearing Lake. The water level is dropping fast; I think it will be a short season. We talked about paddling the beaver pond but the shore was teeming with mosquitos so we went back down to South Prairie and put in. ...
A Day Spent on the Water
My friend, Joe Castaldi, built a beautiful, sixteen foot gaff-rigged Melonseed Skiff from the original plans. He sent word he was planning to launch her for a maiden voyage down at the Hood River Marina, so I showed up yesterday, bright and early to...
Well, That Was Dumb.
My last week before I retired, I decided to ride the moto to work. People expected it of me and I enjoy the ride. It was December, with temperatures down around 15f (-9.4c). I suited up and went out to the garage. The bike had been plugged into a tender, so the...
Good Afternoon
5/27/25 3:30 80f (26.6c) Clear sky, warm breeze. Mike and I went up the mountain to have a look around. Found coral mushrooms, shaggy manes, and a handful of morels at between 3000 and 4000' under mixed conifers. ...
Good Morning
7/26/26 6;00 Blue sky with some clouds low in the southeast. It is comfortably cool as I sit here drinking water, but not so much so as to raise a chill. I shall make some tea in a moment. Jason is still sleeping. He arrived at the trailhead yesterday just as I...
Good Morning
7/25/26 5:45 59F (15C) Clear sky, barely perceptible breeze. It is quiet and comfortable this morning. Walter was ready to come in by the time I was ready to go out, so he is inside eating breakfast and I am soaking in the tub, sipping tea. Good morning. ...
Good Morning
7/24/26 6:00 59F (15C) Clear, blue sky with no wind. Walter has temporarily run out of bark and it is quiet for the moment. Good morning. ...
Good Morning
7/23/26 6:00 65F (18.3C) Calm and clear with some haze around the edges. It is pleasantly cool. I can smell the faint perfume of woodsmoke. Yesterday, it smelled like BBQ and the haze was so thick I couldn't see the mountains. It was hot and muggy. A rain...
Good Morning
7/22/26 6:00 67F (19.4C) Cloudy, still, quiet. Puffy white clouds hover motionless above me. Autocorrect and predictive text turn what I write into gibberish as soon as I look away AI is pervasive, unreliable, and an unrepentant pollutant of information, art,...
Roasted Pepper and Eggs
Amy found a recipe for roast pepper and eggs in Backpacker Magazine. I think the original recipe called for doing all the prep at home, but since we were car camping, Amy did it in camp. It was simple and made a wonderful breakfast. Ingredients: Yellow or Red Bell...
Spam Pudgies
Dave was a little skeptical of the lunch menu- Spam pudgie sandwiches cooked in the pie irons. Straight from the can, Spam is unappealing, pallid, pink and soft. The prevailing flavor is salt. Heated, it darkens, becoming almost brown. The texture gets firmer, even...
Kentucky Mule
I don't care for vodka, so never acquired a taste for Moscow Mules. Bourbon, however, is an entirely different story. In camp or on the back porch, the Kentucky Mule is sure to refresh. Go ahead, have another. You deserve it. Ingredients 1 oz bourbon-I...
Robert’s Cast Iron Bread
Robert disappeared into the longhouse and emerged a little later with a beautiful loaf of fresh bread. It seemed so simple, and according to Rob, it pretty much was. I asked him for his recipe and this is what he gave me.Ingredients about 2 1/2 cups flour more or...
Taco Things
Taco-things are made from left overs, salsa, and cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla folded closed and fried in oil with a little picante sauce splashed over them. Sounds like a burrito, right? Well, when I worked at La Clinica years ago, my co-workers told me it...
