Mike's Blog

Gondola closed yesterday at Midnight

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:48:00 +0000

Gondola closed yesterday at midnight, rode it one last time until November 20. Took so photos.

Long exposure on these two make an interesting photo:

After the first real fall snow 2009 in Telluride

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:18:00 +0000

Monday during the day it was cold enough the the snow level reach town. Went up Tomboy road with the boys and took some sunset pictures during golden hour. Will post a few of my favorites individually, but you can see the whole slideshow at the bottom.

Enjoy...

Composite of all of my favs. To view these click on the slideshow at the bottom.

This photo was taken just a bit up Tomboy Road. Love all the colors at play.

Smokie posing for me in front of the aspens.

Valentino chewing on a stick

The town glistened in the late evening sunlight

Tomboy Road is very scenic. AND this is just the start of it. Note 4 Wheel required as you get higher up.

Snow on the peaks at the end of our valley. Zig Zag of the road that goes up to Bridal Veil Falls

Peaking thru the trees.

Maze of white

Golden hour on some late turning aspens.

Ok, that should be enough for the curious to see the whole slide show.

Slide Show of ALL the photos.

(Note: First click the view above to start the slide show, then click on the bottom right icon (one with 4 arrows) to go full screen.)

Fall Colors during Mom and Dad's Visit

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:38:00 +0000

Mom and Dad visited me (and the furry kids) this past weekend. On Saturday, we went for a drive over Last Dollar road and East and West Dallas roads. We did not take that many pictures, but it was a wonderful day.

Note: To start slide show click above, also to make the slide show go full screen click on the icon in the lower right (one with 4 arrows) on the slideshow viewer.

Early Season Dallas Divide Fall Colors 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 02:20:00 +0000

Just a couple photos to wet the appetite for the fall colors yet to come. The first week of October is usually peak for the fall colors in the Telluride region.

Note: Click on the icon in bottom right to go full screen.

Backpack trip up to Ice Lake Basin

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:48:00 +0000

Last weekend, Mary Dawn, Smokie and Valentino went backpacking up to Ice Lake Basin.

For being as close to Telluride, I had never been. From the map and the descriptions it looked amazing. It is a realitivly short hike but with 2400 feet of elevation gain. We have not been backpacking for several years (Valentino and Smokie's first time), so we knew it would be "up".

To get there from Ski Ranches, the shortest route is over the 4-wheel road Ophir Pass. Another first for me, Mary Dawn had down this route before.

The first couple of photos were of trip over Ophir Pass. It is the easiest of the 4-wheel roads into Telluride.

We did a quick stop in to Silverton, and the we drove to Clear Lake Trail Head. I had been by here when I had done the Colorado Trail, gosh ~15 Years back.

Lots, and lots of vehicles at the trailhead. Which was expected. We loaded up, put Smokie's pack on and headed up the trail.

The trail switch backs up Clear Creek, then turns left across a meadow.

Then a non-stop climb up to Lower Ice Lake basin. We had lunch there. The boys got their normal chicken necks for lunch.

We pass thru the "corn field", and rested before the last climb up in the Ice Lake Basin. The trail here as a little bit of exposure, nothing serious, but we were watchful for the dogs getting to close to the edge.

Once we got up on top, we were treated to the most stunning blue lakes I have ever seen. And I have seen quite a few alpine lakes, but Ice Lake was amazing. The sky and the lake where the same shade of blue.

Speaking of the sky, that weekend weather was incredible. Not a cloud in the sky. You have to understand that August is monsoon season. It typically rains for a bit in the afternoon. Not this weekend.

The wildflowers were incredible!

We scouted around for a spot to set up camp. Found one, setup the Walrus tent, and then went exploring around Ice Lake Basin. Our destination was Fuller Lake. We rested there for a bit, and headed back for dinner.

Dinner:

The pups were so tired. Big day for them.

Went to bed early, during the middle of the night, the dogs started to bark, so into our tent they came. A bit cramped, but it made it warmer. :) Maybe they were barking at the Alpine "elves"

The next morning we did our chores, packed up, and went for a small day hike up to some of the Upper Ice Lakes.

Nice hair!

We both had full weeks the next week, so we headed back down to the truck. Mary Dawn was a bit sore in the shoulders, we might need to invest in a backpack for her next time.

Overall it was a GREAT, AMAZING trip.

There is "a few" more photos that are interesting if you want to dig deeper.

As usual for the full slideshow, you click on on the photo below to start the slideshow. Enjoy.
[note: there is 86 photos here, you can use the arrow keys to advance, or if you hover over the slideshow, you can advance thru the thumbnails. If you want to view it full screen click on the icon in bottom right.]

If you want to see some of the descriptions that go with the pictures, click here.

For the map of the geo tagged photos click here.

Other photos can be found here. www.michaelmowerymedia.com

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A Year a go, I "left" the corporate job at Harris, My thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:15:00 +0000

Hello all,

I am sitting out on the deck amongst the trees of the forest. The moon is rising, as I can see it peek through the trunks of the trees up on the hill behind me. It is not as quiet here as it can be, the dogs in the neighborhood are barking. Mr. Bear must be roaming about.

Anyway, I am writing to reflect my thoughts of 1 year of non-corporate life and the events that led up to it.

A little background. I worked at Harris, Inc. in the Broadcast Division. when I was downsized. I had "survived" many layoffs in the past, but the months leading up to year ago, I had a feeling that my time had come to move on.

A couple of clues:
In Spring of 2008, I was showing Vice President Bob Duncan some of the good work I did. He seemed very pleased with my work (great!) but kept asking if I was the only one working on this project. I said essentially yes, and it concerned him. The director John Patrick was also in this meeting, and well never mind...

Following that it seemed like I was setup to fail. Prior, I was given lots of respect, but it then felt like the project was on life support. It is funny thinking back on that project, on how I stressed about it, and how I wanted it to so much to succeed. Oh well.

In July of 2008 I approached HR asking that I was not happy with the project (and manager) and would like to switch projects. As a good HR person would do, she said OK, and will see what she could do. I'm sure she knew what was going on. I don't blame her, it is all part of the game.

I was asked many times by my manager if I would consider moving back to Denver. I flatly said NO, that I was established in Telluride and I would not consider it. That was the nail in my 5 year stay at Harris.

I was then asked to book a immediate flight to Budapest Hungary, where all the rest of the team on my project was located. I went out of my way to book a 2 week trip, even traveling on a weekend to maximize the amount of face time with my Hungarian peers.

During this time, the goal was to train a co-worker in what I had done, so he could help develop the project WITH me. Wow, that would be great. When leaving for the trip the HR person said, "Make sure you have some fun also while over there". Hmmmm... Ironically, a lot was learnt on both sides on how to stream line the project. I was starting to feel good about it again. Yet, a part of me knew, that this was the last time I would be over there on Budapest. I proceeded like it wasn't the end and I put thoughts on how I would continue the new relationships. The last day at the office in Budapest, I had lunch with the Development Manager over there. Great guy, I spoke to him saying that this may be the last time I speak to him. He honestly seemed surprised.

I arrived back in Telluride on Sunday, the following Monday morning at 8 am, I get the call from HR.
Hello this is so and so from HR. ......
That was August 4, 2008

The first thing I did, I said hmmm and got a PRB out of the fridge. I did not have to go to work that day. :)

One thing working for a company for 5+ years, I built up some severance pay. So, the immediate future was not in question. It was the long term I knew that I would have to re-invent myself in Telluride.

Mary Dawn convinced me to go a couple of trips to Europe. I was was little un-easy about going, but I agreed to "I won't have the opportunity to do this again soon", and put costs of the trip on credit cards. Yes, I had a good time. :)

Following that I started up TellurideTech.com in September time frame. I also have had several consulting projects with Hyperspider.com. AND a lot of time has been helping out in the store and web of Alpen Schatz.

One would think, that now I don't have the corporate job, I could go explore all these side projects I have dreaming about. But you know, it is hard to follow some of your dreams if you need to worry about money. Mom and Dad have been great, unemployment has help thru some lean times, but now I have good clients who respect me and my work.

Yes, I know, being a remote employee, I did not really live the corporate live. The 3+ years of working remote, I made sure, that I had plenty of face time in the office and to worked more than anyone else. Part of the reason why I lasted so long as a remote.

Anyway, prior to working for Encoda (who was acquired by Harris), I was a contractor. Contracting has been in my blood for half of my career. There are definitely challenges with contracting. Seems like you always have to sell yourself over and over to each new client or prospective client. Something that I need to work is to realize that a service-client relationship is a two way. In addition to the client making sure service provided is a good fit for them, the service-provider needs to make sure if the client is a good fit for them.

Plans moving forward:
Now that I got Telluride Tech somewhat established, I want to transition back into more programming projects. One of my goals is to finally publish an iPhone app. It seems like I never have time for this, but I just need to make time. It is always about time and balance.

I DO miss a lot of the friendships I had at Harris, but social media has help with keeping in touch.

Sigh, but sitting out here in the woods, I can't imagine myself anywhere else.

ps.
One of things I DON'T miss is this

pss.
Peter Gabriel - Don't Give Up

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Evening Sunday Picnic on Lizard Head Pass

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:37:00 +0000

Mary Dawn and I decided to go exploring around our neighborhood. She packed a picnic, we loaded up the boys, and we drove a short distance to an area that was new to both of us.

We first went to Priest Lake and looked around. We met a Marmot that lived in a cabin. We walked thru nasty thistles. And we looked at our reflection in the lake, while the fish avoided our glances.

We then drove on Trout Lake Road to Lizard Head Pass, where we stopped for a picnic. The boys had fun, we pondered out upon the high mountain meadow and we listened to the coyotes in the distance.

On the way back we stopped for a "few" photos of the sunset on Trout Lake. If you look close, you can even see the moon rising over the mountains. Very nice!

As usual just click on the view below to start the slide show.

I also took a long the GPS and geotagged the photos for those that are interested.
If you are curious about where the photos were taken click
here.

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Got Blue?

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:28:00 +0000

Got Blue?
Originally uploaded by MichaelMoweryMedia

Today, "(CNN) -- The same blue food dye found in M&Ms and Gatorade could be used to reduce damage caused by spine injuries, offering a better chance of recovery, according to new research."
Click here for the full article.

Yet another excuse to eat M&M (at least the blue ones)?

Timeline

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 07:33:00 +0000

Michael M. on Dipity.

Getting Eaten alive at night, which Ant-Itch remedy do you use

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:08:00 +0000

For some reason this year, Mary Dawn and I are getting eaten alive by some bitting insect at night. It is not Mosquitoes, but some sort of Gnat. Very small, but we are not sure what it is.

But we sure do ITCH.

So, I Wiki about Anti-Itch and learnt that a new word: Antipruritics, also known as anti-itch drugs

I remember grandma always had us do the Baking Soda remedy.

So Internet people what is YOUR favorite Anti-Itch remedy.

I bought the following two products, the other day, and sometimes try to do an experiment, by applying one product to each leg. However, I have not come to a conclusion yet, because I always forget which leg is what. Maybe I need to write with a Sharpe which is what. :)

Anyway, if you have a thought please comment.
Thanks!

Bear

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:39:00 +0000

The other day, our local bear was in our neighborhood.

I have mixed feelings on this. It is cool and exciting to think that we share the woods with a bear.

But I also recognize that a "Fed Bear is a Dead Bear". This bear is probably hanging around our neighborhood, because "easy" food is around somewhere.

Just the other day the Division of Wildlife (DOW) put down a bear that had 2 strikes. For the full story go to one of the local paper article.
Telluride Daily Planet
Telluride Watch

So anyway, the two photos show of mine shows the bear in the distance at our place, we were trying not to make him feel like he should be hanging around.

Leave me a free voice message using Google Voice

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 21:44:00 +0000

Hey everybody, I finally got my Google Voice invite. WOW what a great service!

If you want you can leave me a message by clicking on the link below!

It is free, and won't interrupt me. Give it a shot.
When you click on the link below, it will ask for your name and phone number so Google will call YOU!

If you want to learn more about Google Voice check out:

My Surprise 40th Birthday Day

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:02:00 +0000

I knew Mary Dawn was up to something for my Birthday (40th) but she did a great job organizing and hiding it from me.

Woke up, and she said that we were on a schedule. Hmmm, is this the Mary Dawn that I know? Ok so it sounds like a packed day.

We made breakfast (Habanero Potatoes and Jalapeno Eggs). Smokie and Valentino watched with envy. Instead of juice, Mary Dawn put a 20 oz can of PBR on my plate.

I then opened some of the presents.

Afterwords we took the boys up to the Beaver Pond and did the loop from the road off of Marmot ski run. Valentino show me his wonderful swimming skills. I was quite impressed!

Following, Mary Dawn said we needed to go to the Market, before we go to the "hot springs", I thought ugh, why could she not have done this earlier, but this was all part of the PLAN.

Outside of the market, I notice several of my friends just hanging around. Hmmm, this is a bit odd. Turns out she had booked a rafting trip with Further Adventures (with Bob and Penelope from Boot Doctors).

Excellent, I have never rafted the San Miguel before. The rafting trip was a blast. Thanks to all that went rafting with us.

At the end of the trip Penelope made an amazing cake.

Back at the Market, I was told that we were going to the Sunset concert, but we needed to go back home first. Again, I thought it would have been great if we could just stay in Mountain Village, but I went with the flow.

As we pulled up the drive way, I saw the homestead decorated. AND my parents and sister made a trip from Fort Collins/Denver for the surprise Birthday party! WOW, I was totally surprised and very happy that they made the trip down for this occasion!

With lots of food, drinks, and dogs it was a good time for all.

A few photos from that special day.

Many thanks to all that made this possible.
Special thanks to Mom, Dad and Sister who made a special long trip.
And Special Special thanks to Mary Dawn for all the hard work that went into this.

I felt the love.

Cheers,
Michael

Telluride 4th of July Parade 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:11:00 +0000

As tradition goes, I am the "official" photographer for Berners and their Alpen Schatz's in the Telluride 4th of July Parade.

The following slide show is the results of Mary Dawn choosing what she wants to share.

Enjoy!

Telluride Town Park Transformation for Bluegrass Festival 2005

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:05:00 +0000

Back when I lived in Muscatel Flats over looking the park, I set up my camera to take 1 picture every minute of the Town Park being transformed for Bluegrass.

There are over 3000 photos, in the 3:41 minute video clip. They started setting up the Sunday before and the video ends with the running of the tarps on Thursday.

Enjoy,
Michael

Getting Excited about Telluride Bluegrass 2009, look back at 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:45:00 +0000

Wow, I am getting excited about Bluegrass again.

This year will be special because my parents are coming!

It was fun to look back at photos of last years.

Highlights:

Glen Hansard and Markketa Irglova in Alpen Schatz

Back stage.

All types of weather, sun, hail, cool evenings.

Nothing better than hanging out with friends with beverages.

Pictures from 2005 Telluride Balloon Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 05:30:00 +0000

The weather did not corporate for this years Telluride Balloon Festival, so I dug out some photos from the 2005.

The first pictures, I had some fun with having Tweetie bird "eat" Ingram falls.
The duck in Balloon glow is one of my favorites.

Also, the night glow is very spectacular. Took the pictures above town on Tomboy.

There is nothing like seeing balloons float down our box canyon!

Hopefully, next year the weather will be work out.

Oregon Trip - Day 11 - Southern Oregon Coast

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:44:00 +0000

May 3, 2009 - Day 11 Exploring Southern Oregon Coast
Past Days: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 , Days 5-11

written by Mary Dawn (with all of the "fluffy words" : )

(words coming soon)

Oregon Trip - Day 8 – THIRST: A Wine Bar with a difference…

boutique@alpenschatz.com (Alpen Schatz) — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:43:00 +0000

April 30 – Written by Mary Dawn (with all of the "fluffy words" : )
Past Days: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Days 5-11

Thursday evening, April 30, finally arrived and boy were we excited! Prior to our trip, I was looking for interesting “pet friendly” things to do in Portland when I came across a restaurant on the internet called Thirst , a wine bar which generously welcomes pets! The owner’s, Gary Kneski and Leslie Palmer, are big dog lovers themselves and when I emailed them asking if we might dine with our pets, they immediately made reservations for us. Little did we know, but by Thursday, we had gathered another 5 Bernese friends of ours wanting the same adventure with their dogs…so the total to dine that evening would be 7 people and 6 dogs!

First things first, we needed to get to the restaurant. So, I called the local cab company called “Radio Cab”, asking if they could service 7 people and 6 dogs to downtown Portland. They graciously accepted saying that they are a totally pet friendly cab service! They promptly sent two mini-van’s to accommodate our menagerie of seven humans, four dogs, and two puppies. Wow! This was the first time that I have taken a cab to dinner with Smokie and Valentino! The cab drivers were very friendly and patient, as we all clambered into and out of their vans. Thank you Radio Cab for a great experience!

When we got to Thirst, it was a beautiful evening, and their patio dining is located on a quiet pedestrian walkway overlooking the Columbia River and the Harbor. There were already two tables taken with people and their pups, including one humungous Neufy which dwarfed our 6 rather large Bernese Mountain dogs. Leslie immediately brought the dogs out some fresh water and their chef brought out a box of treats. Boy were the pups in heaven!

Just as our pups enjoyed the water, treats and getting to dine with their beloved owners, we went to work tasting the delightful Oregon wines in which Thirst specializes. Our favorite in the end was a delightful Pinot Noir, which we ended up getting three bottles of! Also, to take note of is that on Thursday evenings, Thirst offers free wine tasting at its bar…a great way to get introduced to the many wonderful wines that they carry. As we sipped our wines, we were served wonderful salads, gourmet appetizers and main courses. Gary and Leslie are currently trying to get the word out that they are not just a place to have a glass of wine or two after work, however one can get a beautiful meal there as well.

After dinner, Sandra, an amazing dog trainer in our bunch, had all 6 dogs doing stay and come commands on the promenade! We indeed had quite the crowd of passers by in the end, all fascinated by our beautiful pups and their love of obeying and performing commands.
It was quite dark when we finally paid our bill and headed for our awaiting “Radio Cabs”. All-in-all a wonderful evening had by all!

Oregon Trip - Day 5-11 - Portland, Oregon and The National Bernese Specialty

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:12:00 +0000

April 27- May 2nd, 2009 - Days 5-11 Portland, Oregon and The National Bernese Specialty

Past Days: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4

written by Mary Dawn (with all of the "fluffy words" : )

[Tip: While watching slideshow above you can switch to full screen by click on icon in bottom right]

Link to map to this set of tagged photos -> map.

Monday morning, we awoke to yet another glorious day. After checking out of our wonderful “Pet Friendly” luxury Condo at the Columbia Cliff Villas, we went back to our favourite European-style café, Café Doppio, in downtown Hood River. We sat and had a leisurely breakfast on their totally “dog friendly” patio, and were approached by many other dog lovers/owners who wanted to say “hi” to Smokie and Valentino.

I had my favourite breakfast Panini with spinach, cheese and egg, whilst Michael had TWO chocolate chip scones. Yum for me and Yum for him! Michael Barthmus, the owner, came out to chat with us and tell us more about his German heritage and how he wanted his Café to be a nice, pet friendly and relaxing place for breakfast, lunch and evening. He definitely got a thumbs up for his coffee concoctions, his food, the atmosphere and excellent internet access. We even finished one of our blog postings whilst sipping on our frothy cappuccino and soy latte. Before leaving, we popped into the bathroom and to our surprise, there was a big poster of Telluride on the wall!

We could have stayed there all day, however today was the day that we had to move on to Portland, where we had to set-up our Alpen Schatz booth for the show.

Little did the pups know, but we had plans for them, too. Our first stop upon arriving in Portland was at a local Petco which happened to have grooming facilities. And so whilst we were sweating it out setting up our portable “store”, the pups were treated to an afternoon of beauty and bath! It was early evening when we picked them up and WOW! What a great job the groomers did! The pups looked a million dollars and we were the proud parents of pups worthy enough to be in the ring with the top show dogs of the country who had come to Portland to compete for the National championships that week.

A little background about the National Bernese Specialty: it is an annual show taking place in a different part of the Nation each year. Alpen Schatz has been supporting the show with a booth since 2002, as many of the attendees love Swiss/German things both for themselves and their pups. These people are not only wonderful annual customers of Alpen Schatz, but have become our friends over the years. Therefore, the show is not only a selling event for us, but an annual reunion each year of delightful Berner lovers.

I always love wearing my Alpine “Tracht” or traditional dresses called Dirndl’s at the event and this year even got to dress Michael up in Lederhosen – his first time!!! I gotta say, that he looked quite handsome in them and had more pictures taken of him than the pups at our booth! He was such a hit and looked so “good” in the traditional wear. I guess it was his “Heinz” ancestry coming out!

The week was filled with early mornings and late evenings. One evening we attended the Awards Banquet, where we and two friends all went in our traditional outfits. It was quite the hoot! Another night, Michael and I took the local public transportation, the MAX light rail, to downtown Portland and had a fantastic dinner at Jakes, a great seafood grill. On yet another evening I organized a “dining with your dog” at a Portland Wine Bar called Thirst and will post about this evening in the next post as it is worthy of it’s own story.

Valentino's breeder, Stacy Temples was also at the show, and she was very excited to see the pup which she bred from her own magnificent Bernese from her kennel in Fort Collins, CO called Wagontale Bernese. Stacy was so proud of our little pup and said that he was growing up just fine and looked great! She would take Valentino on little walks to show him off to her friends and others who also had Wagontale Bernese from her. Hence, Valentino got to meet many distant cousins of his, many of whom were showing at the Specialty.

We stayed at the beautiful Red Lion Hotel at Jantzen Beach. Our room was extremely quiet, large, and had a balcony which overlooked the Columbia river. We also had a fridge and microwave, which always comes in handy when travelling with pets and children. In fact, this and all Red Lion hotels are pet friendly and a great recommendation when travelling with one’s pet. Indeed, for this show, they accommodated over 1200 (big) Bernese Mountain dogs and their people…which I thought quite commendable. Indeed the staff were nice and overall, the week-long event went by quite quickly.

Last day…Saturday…Best of Breed and many last minute sales, so we did not get started on the pack-up until after 4pm. When we finished, it was after 9pm…and we were supposed to already be 5 hours down the coast in Yachets…so instead, we drove south as far as we could to a little town called Wilsonville, and stayed at the Wilsonville Inn …a quaint and clean highway Inn which took people and pets. We were so tired, that the moment we checked in and had walked the dogs…we were out like a light…

Oregon Trip - Day 4 - Hood River, Mt Hood, Columbia Gorge and Waterfalls

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Sat, 16 May 2009 17:08:00 +0000

April 26, 2009 - Day 4 Exploring Hood River and surrounding areas
Past Days: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

written by Mary Dawn (with all of the "fluffy words" : )

[Map of geotagged photos can be found here -> map

Note it only holds a certain number of photos at a time, so use the arrows at the bottom to go to the next set to view on map.]

We awoke early to brilliant sunshine and decided first to explore the famous gardens of the Historical Columbia Gorge Hotel which is shared by our beautiful accommodation at the Columbia Cliff Villas .

The gardens are magnificent and well worth a visit whether residing at the Hotel and Villas or not. They were built around the Phelps Creek, which meanders through the gardens under quaint European style stone bridges and eventually rendezvous with the Columbia River via the spectacular 208’ high Wah Gwin Gwin Falls, native American for 'rushing and tumbling waters'. These falls are the third highest in the Gorge. The beautifully manicured gardens are filled with color and native Oregon plants which provided an amazing backdrop to an already stunning view for pictures of the Columbia Gorge, us and our pups. What a great place to get married, I thought…

After a quick gourmet take away breakfast at the European style Cafe Doppio in downtown Hood River, we began our scenic journey around Hood Mountain. The first part of our drive followed part of the famous “Fruit-Loop” drive, so named for all of the thousands of pear, cherry, and apple tree orchards in the valley – not to mention the multitude of Vineyards and wineries. This fertile valley rests at the base of the mighty Mount Hood Volcano and boasts rich soil and indeed is the Nation’s largest pear growing region!

We happened to be there at the most beautiful time! All of the fruit trees were in full bloom and we began our drive at the Panorama Point, where we got magnificent pictures of the blooming orchards and the Snow Capped Mount Hood in the distance. The dogs loved this area, as there was lush grass for them to play and roll in.

After driving through the rich valley floor, we headed towards the forests and Mount Hood itself. Our road gradually ascended and before we knew it, we were back in snow again! The first that we had seen since we left Telluride the previous week! We decided to check out the local ski area and drove up to the famous Timberline Lodge and Ski Resort at an amazing 8540’ elevation. The dogs got to romp in the snow and were petted by many ski and snow boarders who came over to see them. The Timberline Lodge is a National Historic Landmark, and is known not only as an architectural wonder, but because it was built during the 1930’s depression, funded by the Federal Works Progress Administration, offering many unemployed craftsmen work during a dismal time.

After our exploration of the lodge and checking out the Ski facilities, we piled back into our car and headed down out of the snow and back to the lush, green forests at the base of Mt Hood: our goal, the Historical Columbia River Highway. This highway is one of the most scenic highways ever built in the Nation. In fact it is the first scenic highway in the US to gain the distinction of National Historic Landmark. It was built in 1913 for the sole purpose of taking in the many magnificent waterfalls and vista viewpoints of the Columbia Gorge along the way. At the time it was considered one of the greatest engineering feats of the modern age.

The highway wound up and up amongst a botanical treasure of plants and trees. In fact, we learned that there are over 50 species of plants flourishing in this perpetual cool and moist area along the gorge. There were many scenic over looks along the way, with the cumulation of them being at the Vista House, a great spot to take photos and to grab a map showing all of the waterfalls to visit on the next 20 mile stretch of highway.

We only had time to explore two, and the first, called Latourelle was our favorite. It is set back off the highway amongst a lush rain forest of trees, ferns and other moist loving plants. I hiked up to the top of the falls with Valentino and Smokie Bear whilst Michael took pictures and explored the base of the falls. We eventually joined up again at the base of the falls. We especially liked this Fall, as it was not that over crowded with tourists and it was indeed spectacular to be able to hike from the base to the top.

By now it was getting to mid-afternoon, so the next falls that we stopped at were the most famous falls on the by-way and the “must do” on most tourist lists if one has limited time: The Multnomah Falls . This fall, although spectacular, was marred by hundreds of tourists, hot dog carts, solicitors, etc., so we did not spend as much time as we did at the Latourelle Falls, however snapped a few quick foto’s.

The reason for our rush was that we wanted to visit one of the famous Columbia River fish hatcheries and fish ladders erected around the Dams, enabling spawning salmon and steelhead to continue their instinctual navigation up river to their breeding grounds. The Hatcherie of choice was the Bonneville where we got to feed humungous Rainbow Trout, see Salmon and the most fascinating thing, to meet Herman the Sturgeon , a 70 year old fish, coming from one of the oldest boney fish families in the world, dating back 150,000 years!

After visiting the Hatcherie, we drove over to the Bonneville Dam, where we watched fish using the fish ladders to bypass the damn – super cool!

Back in Hood River, we watched the sunset and had an “ok” dinner at the Big Horse Brew Pub. Although the food was so-so, Michael confirmed that the Brews were just fine and the sunset views were spectacular.

Back to our Villa for a restful evening and early night in bed.

No post for the day.

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:35:00 +0000

We are all very busy with setup at the Show, so no blog post today. We will try to resume shortly.

cheers,
Michael, Mary Dawn and boys...

Oregon Trip Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:07:00 +0000

April 25, 2009 - Day 3 Twin Falls to Hood River

written by Mary Dawn (with all of the "fluffy words" : )

Link to Photo Map

The day began after our complimentary breakfast from the Shilo Inn at Perkins. Came back to our room, and Valentino helped me write the previous day’s adventures for our Blog. Arf! How fun was that : )

On the way out of town, we passed a giant balloon dog…probably the town Mascot - DID YOU KNOW, that Twin Falls is ranked the #3 ranked Pet Friendly town in Idaho?!? WOOF!

We then drove north west on I-84 along the relative route of the historical Oregon Trail, where thousands of Pioneers travelled out west to establish a new life in the “Wild West”.

We stopped for a break in the historical town of Glenns Ferry, where the Pioneers had to cross the Snake River. We saw some real Pioneer wagons, and Valentino got to see his first Tumble Weed and chew on his first Sage Brush stick! Both Smokie and Valentino had a great time stretching their legs at this scenic spot.

We were also surprised by the beautiful Winery that we passed on our way to Glenns Ferry. Did you know that Idaho has some very nice wines? We treated ourselves to a couple of bottles of Cabernet 2005 “Idaho” to try later on from a winery called St Chappelle .

Back on the road…and eventually we came to the Oregon Border. Yippeee! We felt like the Pioneer travelers, reaching another milestone and so we took a break to celebrate at a very nice rest stop where the pups had their “lunch” and where we met our first other Bernese on his way to the Specialty show in Portland. It turned out that this Berner was related to Smokie Bear! What a small world!

Still many more hours to drive, so back in the car…we continued our journey. Eventually I-84 met up with the Columbia river which would accompany us for many miles for the rest of the way to Hood River. The landscape became more rolling and hilly and what we remember from this stretch of the way was the wind. Powerful winds made driving a concentrated effort and we saw more windmill power generators than we had ever seen before.

A couple of hours later…we arrived eventually at the beautiful Columbia Cliff Villas , next to the historical Columbia Cliff Hotel, which would be our home for the next couple of days. After feeding and walking the pups, we went for dinner at the best restaurant thus far on our trip, Brian’s Pour House. . I had an amazing “Ahi Tuna Tower” and Michael had a wild “Morel” mushroom pasta dish. Yum!

We were both so knackered after our extremely long drive, that we did not last long…so early into bed that night zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

As always check out the MAP at http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmowerymedia/sets/72157617304372835/map/

Oregon Trip Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:54:00 +0000

April 24, 2009 - Day 2 Moab to Twin Falls

Written by Mary Dawn,

Picture Slideshow at bottom.

Woke up to a brilliant sunshine day today and took the dogs to a wonderful park before breakfast for them to romp and play. Then, we went to breakfast at the "in" place to have breakfast in Moab - the Jailhouse Cafe, which started off as the county's first courthouse. After a power breakfast, we packed up the dogs, said good-bye to the friendly hotel staff got on the road for a long day's drive - ugh!

We took lots of pictures along the way...showing the change in topography as we drove from the red desert sands and rock of the Moab Canyonland/Arches area up through a snowy mountain pass, stopping off for a late lunch in Provo...and then trying to take pictures of the Great Salt Lake just north of Salt lake city.

After a good 7 hour drive, we finally arrived at our destination: Twin Falls and had quite the surprise! We took a short detour as we entered into town when we saw a sign saying "Scenic Overlook" and boy what an overlook!

We were presented with an amazing bridge called the Perrine Memorial Bridge, the Snake river and a breathtaking gorge. The bridge alone is a well worth a visit:

"The Perrine Memorial Bridge over the Snake River Canyon marks the northern entrance to Twin Falls, Idaho. At 1500 feet in length, the longest span bridge in the United States' west and stands 486 feet above the Snake River."

Indeed, when it was built, it was the highest bridge in the world! The bridge and gorge at this spot are famous around the world as one of the best BASE jumping bridges in the world.

Anyhow, after taking some great early evening shots of the bridge, we drove to our hotel, the beautiful Shilo Inn. We felt like royalty in our beautiful and spacious suite.

We were quite tired, so after feeding the pups, we went for some dinner to a local restaurant called Jakers. Afterwards, we came home and crashed...to prepare for our biggest drive coming up the next day.

ALSO make sure you check out the MAP with Geotagging!!!! http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmowerymedia/sets/72157617252530301/map/

Oregon Trip Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Hyperspider) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:32:00 +0000

Hello from the Oregon Trip:

April 23, 2009 - Day 1 Telluride to Moab

Written by Mary Dawn,
Mary Dawn, Valentino, Smokie Bear and Michael are heading out to Portland, Oregon for the Bernese Mountain Dog Specialty. It is actually a work trip with some sightseeing along the way.

We headed out of Telluride, with a very FULL vehicle. Valentino can't grow too much more or he won't fit. :)

After about a 2.5 hour drive down from the San Juan Mountains to the arid desert town of Moab, we unloaded at our "Fido Friendly" ** hotel, the River Canyon Lodge. After the dogs opened their complementary "treat" bag given to them by the hotel (yum!), we got changed quickly for an early evening hike. How nice not to have to put on jackets and sweaters, as the temperature in Moab was a pleasant 78 degrees : )

** (Note that Mary Dawn is writing an article about the places we stay for Fido Friendly Magazine, so all of the nice hotels along the way are complementing our stay! Sweet!)

The hike we chose was the Negro Bill Canyon Hike, which was quite the adventure and perfect for the dogs, as it followed a clear creek up the canyon the whole way. Both Smokie Bear and Valentino greatly enjoyed the hike, as they got to see their first cactus and ford the creek in many places! Valentino did great. At first he was a little nervous about crossing the creek, but in the end he was quite the pro!

We got a late start and did not make it all the way to the bridge at the end, but we had lots of fun. Indeed, we turned back just in time, as it was quite dark by the time we got back and I had to use my light off my phone to help guide Mary Dawn. The dogs had great night vision and had no problems finding the trail.

All-in-all, the exciting canyon hike and first night in Moab were a great kick-off to our western adventure trip - and such a warmer-upper after being so many months in the cold and snow.

The following photos are a collections of mine and Mary Dawns. She is doing a lot of the processing of descriptions and tagging as we drive on the road.

Click on the arrow below to see a slide show of our first day's photos.

Another exciting thing is that I am NOW Geogagging my photos. You can see on a map where the photos are taken. Click the link -> Flickr MAP of photos from day 1 VERY COOL. I will write more about how I did this later.

Note, I will TRY to keep a daily, running blog of the trip, so check back regularily!

Also, please make comments below or if you want to follow our tweets on the right, (Yes! We will be "twittering" along the way!) or at http://twitter.com/mmowery or http://twitter.com/marydawn or http://twitter.com/valentinoschatz or http://twitter.com/smokiebearpup

Ok better go, I now need to download day 2 photos and geotag them so Mary Dawn can add descriptions to them on the drive.