The Perpetual Tourist

I never thought I’d want to live anywhere but Virginia. I get around the country a lot, but it’s always nice to return home, even if it is only a short stay before I’m off again. My husband and I have been in Oregon for the past couple of weeks, and I have to admit, I’m not homesick at all. Sorry, Mom.

Some friends of mine from the Old Dominion were in Portland for a long weekend, so we joined up and did some exploring. Friday was a gorgeous day for a hike, so we packed up our car and drove out to Mount Hood, about an hour east of the city. I spend most of my time in Oregon staring at the mountains, but I’ve never actually been very close to any of the big ones, so this was a huge treat for me.

We picked up some trail maps and descriptions at an information center on the way. We had decided to park at the Timberline Lodge and take one of the trails from there up the mountain a bit. None of us are real mountaineers, so we settled on the 2-mile hike up the Silcox Trail. This would prove more difficult than we expected.

Today's view from the Timberline Lodge

The view of the mountain from the Timberline Lodge is incredible. As its name suggests, the lodge is at the tree line, about 6000 feet up the 11,235-foot mountain. Some glaciers remained on the mountain, but the first autumn snows hadn’t come yet, so most of the mountain was just rocky. With no trees for perspective, it almost feels like the top of the mountain is right within reach. In reality, the summit is still a mile above us, and several hours of treacherous climbing — not something we were going to try.

With our trail map and description in hand, we set off for the Silcox Trail to the Silcox Hut at 7000 feet. Only, we couldn’t find the trail. There are dozens of trails forking out from the Timberline Lodge, and none of them are particularly well labeled. Even those that are labeled have more forks as you venture higher up the mountain, and those forks don’t tell you which trail is which. We asked a lodge employee for help finding the right trail, but even with his description, we took a wrong fork very early in our hike.

Not to worry. In the early fall, with no snow on the ground, and a clear view of the lodge below us, we weren’t really in any danger of getting lost. We just weren’t really sure how far we were hiking or where we were going. We just took whatever trails were available to us, climbed on whatever rocks we came to, and took pictures of the mountain from every angle. If Mount Hood were a man, it would dominate People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive issue year after year. It’s stunning.

I’m glad I’ve been working out a lot lately, because this hike was up, up, up. Coming down such steep slopes wasn’t exactly easy on the joints, either, so be sure to wear supportive shoes if you embark on one of these hikes. We eventually came to a point where we could see a little hut on the side of the mountain. It was Silcox Hut, no doubt, only the trails we’d taken had put us on the other side of a glacier from it, and snowboarders were coming down that glacier.

Mt. Jefferson as seen from the ski slopes of Mt. Hood

We tested the ice. Strong, not too slippery. Walkable, probably. So we waited for the snowboarders to pass and we crossed the glacier to the Silcox Hut, which appeared to have several trails leading to it. Which one is the true Silcox Trail? We’ll probably never know. What was estimated as a moderately difficult 2-mile hike on the trail guide turned out to be about a 4 mile walk, in our estimations, which took us most of the afternoon. I’m not complaining about this — the hike was invigorating and the views were stunning. From most points on the path we took, we had lovely views of Trillium Lake below and Mount Jefferson’s peak about 40 miles away.

All in all, this hike was worth every bit of excitement in me leading up to it. I was even jealous of the gas station attendant who filled us up, because he gets to work every day with that beautiful backdrop. I can’t believe I’ve spent so much time in Oregon without ever getting to Mount Hood before last weekend. You can bet that I’ll keep going back, as long as my legs will carry me.

This Saturday, 1000 gorillas will run through the streets of London, in what is quite possibly the coolest charity race ever.  Great Gorillas is a non-profit organization working to protect all species of gorilla from the looming threat of extinction.

Starting in London in 2003, there have been Great Gorilla Runs each year — 7km races where every participant wears a gorilla costume.  It’s a funny, light-hearted event for a very serious cause.  This year, there will be more runners in the London race than there are mountain gorillas in the entire world (720).

Money raised in the Great Gorilla races — over £1 million  to date — goes to help the impoverished people of West and Central Africa so they don’t have to mine and farm in gorilla habitats to earn a living.

The Great Gorilla Run expanded to San Francisco in 2007, and future runs are planned for New York, Amsterdam, and China.  The 7km London run is an annual event that takes runners through some of the city’s most famous landmarks.  I wonder if those stoic guards at Buckingham Palace can keep a straight face when 1000 people dressed as gorillas come jogging by.

In addition to the races, the charity offers a trip called The Great Gorilla Adventure.  The 10-day itinerary gets you up close with gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda, and the proceeds benefit conservation efforts.

It’s not too late to register for this weekend’s run.  If you’re already in London, click here to sign up.  They’ll even provide your gorilla suit!

My husband and I are in southern Oregon this week while he works for the Klamath Falls FedEx station.  On Monday, he was driving the coveted Crater Lake route, so I rode along with him for the opportunity to visit the lake again.  But before we got to the lake, we had a stop at the Train Mountain Railroad Museum, and I thought just how much every little boy I know would jump for joy at the existence of such a place.

Southern Oregon is worth a visit for Crater Lake, Ashland’s theater, and all the beautiful scenery, but none of this stuff is really all that fun for a kid.  They may not get what all the fuss is about, but they can appreciate trains.  Every little boy I know, and lots of little girls, too, just adore trains.  There’s a reason Thomas the Tank Engine has been so popular for so long.

Restored Canadian National Railways Sleeper Car

If you bring kids with you to southern Oregon (a trip I’d recommend for all adults — I love it here!), you really need to plan a stop at Train Mountain.

As you approach the museum, railroad tracks line the road, with old train cars dotting the scenery like cows in a pasture.  Some of these train cars are right in people’s yards.  That’s way cooler than plastic flamingos and garden gnomes.

Train rides are available every Sunday in the summer on the museum’s miniature railroad, which was recognized in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s longest miniature hobby railroad.  Train Mountain has over 25 miles of track on its 2000-acre grounds, with railroad cars all over the grounds to explore, and a gift shop for all your railroad souvenir needs.

The inaugural ride on a new piece of track at Train Mountain

Train meets for members and those who own, operate, or have an interest in 7½″ gauge railroading are held seven times a year.  Meet other enthusiasts when you attend these special events — find a schedule here.  In June 2009, there will be a very special Triennial Meet, featuring a mile-long Cavalcade of Trains.  For more information about special events, visit the Train Mountain website or call (541) 783-3030.

Hurricane Ike makes landfall on the Texas coast

Earlier this month, Hurricane Ike made landfall in Texas as a strong Category 2 storm. Ike drenched Texas and Louisiana, causing long power outages for millions and over $27 billion in damages. Now a week after Ike’s landfall, many Texans remain without power, and it could be many days or even weeks longer before power is restored.

But those who are simply without power may count themselves lucky. Ike’s widespread devastation includes whole neighborhoods ripped apart to splinters, water damages to buildings that managed to withstand the winds, and dozens of deaths. The cleanup and rebuilding efforts will be a large task, and volunteer help is needed.

If you can find a few days in your schedule to make a trip down to the gulf, your help will be greatly appreciated. Organizations like the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity send volunteers to disaster sites both to help with the immediate aftermath and in the weeks and months that follow, to help with rebuilding efforts. Some areas that don’t get help immediately after the disaster will not get the same assistance that others do, because the volunteer fervor dies down over time, or attention shifts to a new disaster. But the truth is that it will take years to get these areas back to normal, so whatever you can do, whenever you can do it, will be helpful.

Flooding in Galveston, TX

If you can’t get to the gulf coast for hands on volunteering, you can still help by donating money, food, clothes, books, and toys through organizations like the Red Cross. Please be careful to send donations only through reputable charities; scammers often take advantage of disaster to solicit donations that never actually make it to the intended recipients. If you choose to donate money, check to see if your employer has a gift matching program. You could double the good of your help if they do.

A giant mess still remains after the flood waters recede.

Ike is the disaster du jour, because it’s freshest on everyone’s minds, but hurricane relief is an ongoing process that can take years. Parts of Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana are still working on rebuilding efforts from storms two, three, four years ago and more. Habitat for Humanity remains active in all of these places. Call your local chapter to find out what you can do to help.

Photo by Teri Niedrich

When I first heard about The Trailing of the Sheep Festival, I had two immediate thoughts:  “That is so weird!” and “That is so cool!”  Weird can be good, of course.  And a festival celebrating sheep might not be so weird to me if I’d grown up in a place like Idaho, where sheep are an integral part of the regional history and economy.

At their height in the early 20th century, the sheep population of Idaho reached 2.65 million, far exceeding the human population.  At that time, Ketchum, Idaho, was the world’s second-largest sheep market, behind only Sydney, Australia.  Each spring, sheep migrate north to high mountain pastures, traveling in bands of up to 1,500 sheep.  Then in the fall, the animals retrace their routes and come back southward to the lower elevations.  The first Trailing of the Sheep Festival in 1997 was held in celebration of this return migration, and the festival is now in its 12th year.  This year’s festival dates are October 10-12.

Not just a celebration of sheep, the festival honors the history of the west and its settlers, which were primarily Basque, Scottish, and Peruvian in this area.  You’ll get a taste of these rich cultures with song, dance, crafts, and foods when you visit Sun Valley.

Dancers perform at the Trailing of the Sheep Festival Photo by Teri Niedrich

Highlights of this year’s festival will include workshops and demonstrations on crafts and cooking, musical and theatrical presentations, a parade, a folklife fair, and dog trials, which are new to the event this year.  The dog trials are sanctioned by the U.S. Border Collie Handlers Association, and winners will receive prize money and points toward qualifying for next year’s national trials.

A Sheep Dog shows his stuff Photo by Teri Niedrich

Many events are free to the public, but some are ticketed.  For ticket price information, check the festival’s schedule of events.  Out of town visitors can find lodging information here.  The weather this time of year is typically warm in the daytime and cool in the evenings, which could be perfect camping weather for your group.  Expect to find vibrant fall colors in the trees around you as the leaves will be turning from green to gold, red, and orange in October.

This is not just an event for local Idaho sheep ranchers — visitors come from all over the world to enjoy this three-day celebration.  MSN Travel named The Trailing of the Sheep Festival one of 2007’s Top Ten Fall Festivals.  For a fun and educational getaway for the whole family, The Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Ketchum & Hailey, Idaho is a great place to be this October.

It seems like it’s been ages since I’ve been west to my “other home” in Oregon, but my husband and I are flying out on Tuesday to the land of Christmas tree farms and “real” mountains.  I couldn’t be more excited for this trip.  Soon, the only thing standing between me and my beloved Northwest will be a five-hour plane ride.

Cross-country flights have become the norm for me, but they’re still hellish if I don’t have a good book.  I still haven’t mastered the art of sleeping on an airplane, so I depend on literature to get me from coast to coast.  I’ve had good and bad luck with books — the worst is when I take a book I think I’ll enjoy, only to find myself bored to tears within the first few minutes.  I don’t take chances with books anymore when I fly.  I still take a new book to try each flight, but I also bring a backup favorite — something I know can entertain me, even if it’s the hundredth time I’ve read it.

Here are the books that have gotten me through even the longest of delays, the worst turbulence, the smelliest seat partners, and the most boring of times…

• Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady by Florence King — This memoir is hilarious, gripping, and heart-wrenching.  You don’t have to be southern or female to enjoy it (my Yankee brother gave it to me), but I think being both of those things certainly enhanced the reading experience for me.  I definitely recognized my own family in King’s humorous descriptions of the southern obsession with ladyship.  It’s a very honest look at the South of the past and present, and even though she’s a cynical Republican, it’s impossible for me not to love Florence King after reading this book, which I’ve now practically memorized.
• One for the Money (and the entire Stephanie Plum series) by Janet Evanovich — You’ve seen these books everywhere, I’m sure.  There are fourteen in the series now, each one more hilarious than the last.  These books are a guilty pleasure for me — they’re trashy and ridiculous, but still hilarious and entertaining.  They’re great for a trip because they’re fast and easy reads, and every page is full of laughs.  If you’ve already read all fourteen books, check out the between-the-numbers novellas by Evanovich, all featuring our favorite heroine:  Visions of Sugar Plums, Plum Lovin’, and Plum Lucky.
• The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling — I am always skeptical of hype, which is why I didn’t pick up the first Harry Potter book until 2005, just before book six came out.  Most people who are going to read these books already have, but I definitely recommend re-reading.  Rowling wove an intricate web with these stories, and every time I read back over the books, I discover little details and clues that she’s left along the way.
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen — There’s a reason this book has been made into about 30 different movies.  It is, in my opinion, one of the greatest love stories ever written.  Warning:  if you are like me and tend to get really sucked into a novel, you may find yourself severely depressed at the end of this one.  I was — I didn’t want it to be over.  So I turned back to page one and started all over again…
• Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris — Sedaris has authored several collections of autobiographical essays, and they’re all fascinating, charming, and witty, though also a little dark.  This one is my favorite, though.  It feels a little more light-hearted than his others, and I especially love the chapter on poop — whenever I read it, I laugh so hard that I wake up all the sleeping passengers around me.  I may be immature, but I challenge you to get through that essay without snorting.  I don’t think it can be done.

I have other favorites, of course, but these are the ones I’ve read over and over again, and would recommend to anyone.  What else belongs on this list?

Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor

I love football season. How could I not, when my family has season tickets on the 50-yard line, twelve rows up, at the greatest college football stadium in America? That’s Lane Stadium, where the Virginia Tech Hokies play.

Two games into the season, our beloved Hokies are off to a rather sluggish start, but we’re no fairweather fans. There’s something magical about being in the stands at Lane Stadium, which is why the Hokies sell out every home football game, whether they’re playing their biggest rivals or some school no one’s ever heard of before.

Lots of schools boast great home field advantages. It’s true, there are lots of great stadiums in this country, and the Hokies aren’t the only team worth loving; they’re just my team. Maybe you feel the same way about your home team.

Whenever the Hokies have a home game, my family loads up our caravan with coolers of more food and drink than you’ll find in our house on Thanksgiving, and we head to Blacksburg a few hours before game time to tailgate. I live near the UVA football stadium in Charlottesville, and even though Cavaliers love to party, I’ve never seen nearly as many pregame revelers as you’ll find at their rival’s stadium. One tailgater who parks in our lot at Tech not only brings a full sized grill (actually a common site at a Hokie tailgate), but also sets up a big screen television to watch the pregame show while throwing back beers and tossing a football with his kids.

Inside Lane Stadium, the roar of the crowd is intoxicating. The team enters to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” and the entire crowd of 66,000+ fans is on their feet, jumping, screaming, and rooting for the home team. ESPN calls our stadium one of the scariest places for a visiting team to play. It’s not the largest crowd in the country (not by a long shot), but you’ll be hard pressed to find a louder place in America once that Metallica song starts on the PA. The game itself is great — Frank Beamer has built a program worthy of its fans — but to see why I love being in the stands, just watch this video of the team’s entrance:

You may get a better view of the action from your couch, but nothing compares to the way it feels to be one of the people shaking those stands. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday.

Every road trip needs music.  Once you get out of the familiar territory of your local stations, you might not find anything worth listening to.  Or you could be like me and never listen to the radio anyway, because you love your own collection too much.

When I’m on the road, especially on long drives, I prefer high-energy tunes and things I can sing along to, which will keep me happy and awake instead of bored and tired.

Here are five of my favorite CDs for the car:

1. Great Big Sea, Road Rage - Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk rock/celtic band, and this is their 1999 live album.  Live albums are great for the road because they’re about the road, and artists always put their best, most fun performances on these albums.  Road Rage has lots of great sea shanties and drinking songs that are perfect for whole-car sing-alongs.  Save the drinking for later, though.  Favorite tracks:  “Lukey,” “I’m a Rover,” “Mari-Mac”
2. Indigo Girls, Retrospective - This is the Indigo Girls’ 2000 greatest hits compilation.  They’ve since put out two more studio albums that rock my world, but Retrospective is solid throughout.  “Get Out The Map” is my personal anthem — a song about the joy of carefree journeying with those that you love most.  Emily Saliers and Amy Ray alternate writing and singing duties, and each woman has a unique sound and style, giving the album wonderful depth.  Favorite tracks:  “Get Out the Map,” “Least Complicated,” “Shame on You”
3. The Decemberists, Picaresque - I admit, it took me a while to come around on the Decemberists.  The lead singer has a distinct nasal, almost phony sort of sound, and it rubbed my ears the wrong way for a long time.  But the songs were just too good for me to sustain my dislike.  The tunes are catchy, but not at all in the way that pop songs are catchy.  This album is full of intense emotion, so I prefer to listen to it when I’m calm and happy, lest it exacerbate any tension I’m feeling.  Favorite Tracks:  “The Sporting Life”  (about a teenager’s ultimate embarrassment — I identify all too well), “The Engine Driver”
4. Hanson, This Time Around - That’s right — Hanson.  I love these guys, and I’ve been a diehard fan from the start.  Unlike other teenybopper sensations, Hanson writes and performs their own music, and they do it well.  This Time Around is their second major studio album, dating all the way back to their teen years in 2000.  It’s my favorite because it’s a little more grown up than Middle of Nowhere (remember MMMBopping to that all summer in 1997?) but it still gives me a nostalgic rush of teenage glee every time I listen to it.  The harmonica part in “If Only” is enough to cause a speeding ticket, though, so save this one for the freeway.  Favorite tracks:  “Sure About It,” “If Only”
5. Cake, Fashion Nugget - You probably own this CD, don’t you?  All the cool kids of the 90’s bought it, back before all music was downloaded.  Hell, maybe you even have it on cassette.  But if you haven’t listened to it recently, you’re doing yourself a disservice.  It’s impossible to feel anything but cheerful and excited when you’ve got this disc spinning.  You’ll laugh, you’ll cry (from laughter), you’ll sing along.  Dust it off and put it in your player for the next hour of your trip.  Favorite tracks:  “Stickshifts and Safety Belts,” “Italian Leather Sofa,” “The Distance”

This list should not be taken as a TOP five.  I love all my music and I couldn’t imagine my life without any one of the 1,000+ discs I own.  There might be artists on here that you’ve never heard of before.  Find their MySpace pages to hear some of their latest stuff for free, or click the links above to buy the albums I’ve recommended.  You really can’t go wrong — not even with Hanson.

I feel guilty for all that I’ve left out, though.  Perhaps I’ll revisit road trip tunes in a future Perpetual Tourist post.  If you have any suggestions for me, I’d love to hear them — maybe they’ll make my next list!