Trail, Tent & Garden...

Spent the past couple weekends fervently amending soil, transplanting seedlings we'd germinated, adding a vertical train for the peas and beans, putting together one more cloche.  It's now past our last frost date, the corn is rising, carrots, beets, beans, peas, spinach, kale, chard, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, celery, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, all seem to be hanging in there.  Lettuces are over-producing as we speak.  Kelley's been successfully harvesting russian kale and bok choy for her smoothies for quite some time.  Now, it's time to germinate again...

Spent a nice 3-day weekend at Belknap Springs, celebrating Kelley's 42nd birthday.  Happy 42 honey, you earned every minute of time off used.  Belknap was a better destination for us this time.  In times past we have only been in their main lodge and walked briefly across the bridge above the McKenzie River.  This time we explored their whole site, spent a good amount of time in both of their hot spring pools, and got to take advantage of their facilities while we cooked, camped, hiked and mountain biked, alongside the McKenzie River Trail (MRT).  Plus, Bella Lilu Booster Pirate Dog was there in full-force, hitting the gas, using her outriggers and otherwise, tearing up the trail - with us...

Gotta say, if it hadn't been for the cold, rainy conditions, I might not have enjoyed the hot springs quite so much... nor the coffee we made with our Aerobie Press.  That's turned out to be a serious advantage over our previous camping-sized french press.  The taste was pretty amazing for coffee that had been ground days ahead.  And while sipping it in the pool, its flavor was enhanced that much more by the contrast of cold, drizzly rain and hot, soaking body.  Great time, wish you could have been there with us...

Summer beat...

Wow, I haven't posted to this since last winter's snow storm. I'm amazed. Last weekend, we took Bella out for her first mountain bike ride. The pictures show her riding in a BOB Ibex trailer, behind my vintage C'Dale SuperV. We used her bed pillow inside a short Rubbermaid tub and kept the BOB bungie above her to add some stability. She sat loose inside the rig, never barking, whining, etc., in fact, every time I looked back at her she was eyes forward and had a smile on her face. What a trooper !

She's officially 1.5 years old now, and a really great companion. She warms our feet every night, and does a great job of listening and participating in family outings. I failed to mention that we were riding on the McKenzie River Trail system, and that she spent half her time running freely between Kelley and I, as we rode along the trail at 6-10 mph.

Bella demonstrates a real knack for climbing, trail running and really loves water. We couldn't have picked a better dog for our lifestyle, though there are still times and places that we can't take her, like the Providence Bridge Pedal ride in Portland, two weeks ago. We end up putting her with a dog kennel and that's been hit or miss. She always seems to be upset and disappointed that she's not going with us - but really lovable and excited when she gets back with us again.

Below is a pic of Kelley and I on our Bike Friday tikits at the start of this year's Bridge Pedal ride. The weather was nice and we managed to do the family ride as we'd signed up, expecting my oldest daughter Jannelle to ride along. But, a few weeks ahead of the ride, Jannelle lost her Grandpa in Las Vegas and had to return home early. She was really missing her boyfriend too.

This weekend, we're trying to get another group together to go riding out at Oakridge. Hopefully, we'll gather up and take some more great shots and vids. This will be our first ride in the Oakridge area, and we've heard lots of great things about the trails. This place is so beautiful for mountain biking, hiking and camping. In fact, the following weekend, Kelley and I are planning to take our mountain bikes, tent, bags and Bella, and head off down the trail in search of a place to camp, fish, hike and relax.

Hope to see you out there, on our bikes of course... JD & Kelley Howell, Eugene, OR.

Howell Haus Eugene