Life in the Bone and Beyond

A wet spring in oregon

2010-06-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Hope all is well for you all and you have enjoyed some summer. Not so much here yet.

Oregon has seen a very wet and cool spring so far - and we are all jonesing for some SUN! Lucky for us, central oregon gets some sun breaks - the west side of Oregon has not been as lucky. Joe and I were recently in Jawbone - where it has been VERY wet.

Salmon Falls, Little North Fork - wall to wall water.

Opal Creek - looking downstream from the bridge toward Opal Pool - the rock you can normally see is far below water.

Joe and I took advantage of a sunny day on Saturday and hiked into Alder Springs.

Squaw Creek was super high - normally this is just a small stream you can hop across without getting too wet.

Sweet, sweet central O

In other news - we are buying a house! in Bend! We are very excited. It is located on the west side of town (where we are now), 5 blocks from the river and downtown. We have been enjoying the conveniences of in town living and the biking. So this is great. Here are a few pics of our new home.

Miss and love you all!

Love, Katie and Joe

Updates from beautiful Bend, OR

2010-04-17T20:27:00.001-07:00

Well it certainly has been a while - almost a full year since this blog was last updated. 2009 went by in a blur of personal and professional transitions, and updating this fell by the way side. I thought it was time for an update. You may notice the blog title changed to Life in the Bone and Beyond. Joe and I moved on from Jawbone Flats in the fall of 09 and settled in Bend. We have truly been enjoying being back on the east side of the Cascades, among the Sage Brush and Ponderosas with the mountains in our back yard.

Joe now works in building maintenance for Mt Bachelor - a year round gig with a sweet view - can't really complain. Plus, a free ski pass for me is one of the perks. I have spent more time on the mountain this season than I have in years. And it has been awesome.

Jackie and I - our first day of the season
A beautiful day on the back side of Bachelor

Connor moved out to Bend in January to attend COCC and do some skiing. He has been living with us while he gets settled and enjoying central Oregon too.

Connor and Jackie ready to ski off the summit of Bachelor

I took on the Executive Director job with Opal Creek in October. It is great to still be able to go to the magnificent forest that provides such a contrast to our high desert surroundings. I feel very fortunate to still be working on behalf of such important programming and have been learning so much in the last 6 months. My brain is a bit over taxed some days, but happy.

We held our 3rd annual Thanksgiving in the Bone festivities again this year. Nothing like giving thanks under the tall trees.

Sara and I on Sacred Rock Thanksgiving morning

Murphy is excited he still gets to visit Jawbone and all his friends there. He gets excited when we turn on the North Fork Road - he just knows he is going back to dog paradise.

We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary with a hike in Shevlin Park - the park we got married in.

Hoss came to visit in January for Connor's birthday.

Hoss and Connor in Dry River Canyon

Life is good - we are working hard, playing outside often, taking advantage of all this beautiful landscape has to offer.

Jackie and Connor dog walking on the Deschutes River Trail

We miss you all and hope to see you soon. I will update this more frequently again, now that life has returned to some sort of normal - at least for now. Hope spring has sprung in your neck of the woods. Come visit us anytime!!! Much love, Katie, Joe, and Murphy.

It's May Already

2009-05-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

Hello -

Wow time flies - and it has been over 2 months since this was updated! Crazy. Things have been busy as usual in our lives. Our friend, and fellow Jawbonite, Adam moved on in April after 6 years in Jawbone. We threw him a big party in mid-March, complete with crazy weather and lots of crazy folks...a'int no party like a jawbone party...things won't be the same around here with out Mims goofy laugh.

Adam and Kaola take the first load out

Winter staff enjoy a sunny day in the fort

I went back to NY for a visit at the end of March. It was great to see the family and meet the newest Ryan - Tessa. My Mom and I made it to Boston to visit my Aunt and Uncle who are moving to Atlanta in June.

Dinner with Mom and Aunts and Uncles in Cambridge
Baby Tessa

Duncan - the spitting image of my brother Tim.

When I returned to Oregon, the season was here. Seasonal staff moved in and the population of Jawbone doubled overnight. Before long, kids were back in the forest and the tree frogs were chirping - sure signs of spring. Joe has taken on the Facilities Director job here and is doing a great job organizing and steering the department. The Nellie's rebuild project is behind schedule, but progressing. It takes a lot to get building supplies back here!

5 trucks make 17 trips with concrete trailers - crazy day in the bone

2009 Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center Staff

Hoss, Jill, and Liam flew out for a week at Easter. They stayed in Cabin 7 and had a "grand" time as Hoss would say. We saw three seasons that week - winter, spring, and summer - sleet, rain, snow, and sunshine...springtime in the Oregon cascades.

Liam and Connor put in a gray water system for the temporary laundry room
Hoss and Connor kicking it in the sunshine getting ready to go for a hike
Family portrait on the old truck...what tourists...

Life is good. Opal Creek has been challenged by our current economic times, like many organizations and companies. Thanks to some smart planning, long term investments, and a solid board of directors, we are out of the woods for the time being and on our way to success.

Joe and I learned at the last board meeting that the board voted to approve my transistioning into the Executive Director position with Opal Creek. A transition plan will be crafted and voted on in July, and Joe and I will move from Jawbone at the end of the season in November. I feel so fortunate to continue to be able to work on behalf of the programs that are my heart and the forest that feeds my soul. I see big things for Opal Creek and am excited to embark on this next adventure.

We have missed central Oregon since we left 4 years ago. This opportunity allows us to return to the Bend area. It is as close to Jawbone Flats as Portland and represents a new market the organization hasn't had contact with. So, the next chapter begins.

Hope you are all well and weathering the stormy world smiling.

And check back again soon - I promise I will update more often!

Much love to you all -

Katie and Joe

Winter's Moving Right Along

2009-02-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

Haven't written much since the crazy Christmas storm. Kaola and Connor returned to Jawbone on 1/5 - we were still snowed in, so they did have to walk 9 miles in the rain and snow. About a week later our contractors plowed the road, and vehicle access was restored mid January.

Not too much to tell at this time - work on the Nellie's project (our new utility building) has slowly gained momentum the last two weeks. It was stalled due to weather.

The 5 winter residents of Jawbone are enjoying the quiet, and getting ready for the upcoming season, arriving in 6 short weeks.

Joe and I have been getting out and visiting friends. We treated ourselves to two nights at a hot spring resort in the Columbia Gorge after our three weeks of Christmas hell. Our bodies and minds were worked, and the quiet days soaking in hot water were wonderful. We were also able to watch Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on TV since were were out and about. What a day.

Connor, Joe, and I were in Bend last week for some skiing and visiting and Connor and I skiied another more local mountain earlier this week. It is nice to have road access and be able to get out and enjoy some other parts of Oregon. Hope you are all well!

Much love until we see you again - Katie and Joe

A few pics of the last few weeks...

Connor starts off for Jawbone

Jawbone Sunset
Watching the sunset
Caretakers - taking care of business - clearing trees on the road
Some friends come to visit - and midnight basketball ensues

Twas the Week Before Christmas...

2008-12-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

...and Jawbone was screwed. We have had quite the adventure leading up to Christmas Day here in Jawbone.

We returned to Jawbone on 12/14 from a 5 day vacation in Bend. Connor and Kaola were leaving for their 3 week holiday break on 12/15 – so it was our last chance to get out and see some friends before the winter really set in. And set in it did. Right away, Adam was concerned about the flume freezing. Temperatures in the single digits were expected – and for a few days in a row. We drained camp, gathered as much water as we could, and capped the flume line. We settled in, relaxed that we had thought about everything ahead of time, and felt pretty good about it all. The ONAN (our back up propane generator) was working, and we enjoyed 4 hours of power at night, and a few in the morning. This was pretty close to our normal existence, except the outhouse was getting a lot more use.

A few days later the temperatures had warmed and we thought we could turn the water back on. We headed up to the top to take the cap off and send water down and had no reason to think all wasn’t going to go smoothly. At the top, it was discovered that the cap had leaked and had sent water down the pipe anyway, our good intentions and thinking ahead thwarted by a faulty cap. Temperatures were supposed to drop again, and we didn’t want to send water down and risk it freezing in the pipe over the next few days. So the leaky cap was placed back on, and the pipe taken out of the barrel so water couldn’t travel past that point.

Adam and I returned to camp later that night, the last night we could drive, the back up generator had quit. So now we were without power entirely. The snow continued, and Adam was scheduled to leave for Michigan leaving Joe and I here until the 3^rd solo. Joe and I had gotten ready for this stint and were actually looking forward to a quiet Christmas and 5 year anniversary with Jawbone to our selves. With the complication of water coming down the pipe through the leaky cap, Adam pushed his ticket home back to Christmas Day. He was worried that the ice in the pipe may cause a water hammer, and a break in the pipe which takes at least 3 people to fix.

On 12/20, we tried water again down the line. We couldn’t hold pressure – but it would come all the way up and then drop. We assumed that it was ice making its way through the pipe. On the Solstice, Jawbone was getting buried, and we were trying to keep up with the shoveling as well as trying to get the water back on. It had been 7 days without running water and a hot shower was sounding nice to all of us. Adam and I got ready to head up the line, breaking trail the whole way through pretty deep snow. When we got to the trucks in the meadow, the snow in front was melted and there was water running across the road. I thought this was simply a good sign that things were warming up. Adam, with his years of caretaker knowledge, knew better and explained this was a bad sign. Indeed as we got closer, we saw water spurting out of the ground, right about where the pipe would run. Our spirits dashed, and all thoughts of a hot shower put aside, Adam and I headed up to cap the line again.

We trudged through the snow, and at the top Adam volunteered to cap it so I didn’t need to take snow shoes off. The pressure in the line was so great, that as he tried to put the cap on, his finger was sucked into the pipe. He was knocked forward and lost the tip of his finger. He was in severe shock, and we were at the top of the line. He remained calm, I put snow on his finger, radioed Joe in camp to make his way toward us with first aid supplies, he used his capilene shirt as a compress, and I sent him down to meet up with Joe. Meanwhile, the pipe is still open without the screen on it, sucking everything through. Adam’s last words to me were to take the pipe out of the water to cap it, and to be careful. That meant taking the dam apart, and hefting the pipe out of the water. While I am pretty strong, and have gotten stronger and more confident in my time here, I wasn’t sure I had the physical strength to move the large rocks on top of the pipe nor the pipe full of water. It must have been adrenaline because in 5 minutes I had the dam apart and the cap on the line. I walked down to see what was up with Joe and Adam. Joe doctored his finger, we sent emails to our WMI friends for advice, and we were thankful for our WFRs. After Adam had come out of shock, a couple of hours later, we were able to get a better look at the finger and realized that he didn’t lose the tip. He was still pretty freaked out, and wanted to leave. At this point, this was a 12 mile snowshoe out, through an untracked 3 feet of snow. We realized all three of us would need to go. By the next day, he was feeling better, and we decided it was safer to stay and monitor the finger than risk the hike out.

Now we were down to 2 in regards to shoveling – and it was still intensely snowing outside. We had a break in the line, that was at least a foot and ½ underground, no running water, no power, etc. Things were getting ugly. We were running everything off the commissary batteries – and only turning them on a few times a day to check in with Tom. Through it all we struggled to keep up our positive attitudes, I cooked a big meal every night by headlamp – and the good food at the end of the day went a long way.

On 12/23 – there was a break in the weather and Tom sent in two of our contractors for the Nellie’s project. They had left their track hoe up here before the snow. They snowmobiled in, got the track hoe working and out of its spot, and dug up the broken pipe, which turned out to be 3 feet underground. They helped Joe and Adam replace the pipe, while I tried to keep up with the shoveling. The next day was Christmas Eve – we were starting to feel better about things. The pipe fix had gone smoothly – they gave us use of their track hoe before they snow mobiled out – and we thought we may have turned the corner. The contractors also brought in a tetanus booster that Tom had arranged – and I administered in to Adam that night by lantern light.

Christmas Eve started with us taking the new pelton wheel apart, and Joe and I headed up the line to un cap it. We sent water down, flushed the line, and I came back down to help Adam put the Pelton Wheel back together. Joe stayed at the top of the flume to send water down when we had the wheel back together. This time when we sent water down, we broke the rupture disk. This is designed to happen so that the pipe doesn't break, but still means a lot of work to fix. After a fire and some lunch, we were back at it. We replaced the rupture disk and Adam and I headed up with head lamps through the driving snow to try to send water down again. And this time IT WORKED! We restored power to camp about 9pm on Christmas Eve. Water would come on Christmas Day – and for Christmas we all got hot showers.

A few pictures of our adventures:

Adam and Joe smiling after the the finger incident.

Dr. Joe attending to Adam's finger.

Moving the generator, on a kayak, to attempt to charge in the batteries - the only source of power for about a week.

Sorry the story was so long – but it has been an incredible 10 days. We are now caught up with shoveling - thanks to Joe's huge efforts on the lodge yesterday. We lost the front porch to cabin 7, and our wood shed took a dig and will need to be replaced. But porches and woodsheds can be rebuilt and fingers heal. We were challenged both mentally and physically through the last 10 days – and we all reached points where we thought we couldn’t do it. But alas – things are getting back to normal here. Still no vehicle access, but we’ll see what the next 10 days of warm weather and rain do – if that’s what happens, could turn to snow.

Hope you are doing well – and that our paths cross soon. Winter in Jawbone, always an adventure, and not easily forgotten.

Much love,

Katie and Joe

Frozen Jawbone

2008-12-17T18:23:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

December has arrived in full force, showing us that Mother Nature was only kidding us with that unseasonably warm November. We have our first snow on the ground, and temperatures have been in the teens the past few nights. The Little North Fork has frozen in many spots, meaning that the smaller Flume Creek (our water and power source) is frozen for sure. Adam and Joe were wise - and drained camp ahead of time and removed the flume from the water. Jawbone is currently without running water and regular power. We are running the propane generator in the morning and evenings to keep computers and radios charged. It warmed up today and is snowing nicely outside. We are expecting over a foot of snow between tonight and tomorrow - winter is here and once again is beautiful in Jawbone.

Here's a few shots. Hope you are all well and that our paths cross soon!

The Little North Fork of the Santiam River

Murphy is pretty happy about his new coat.

The sunset in our backyard.

The Frozen Butt Slides

More frozen river

Love and miss you all!

Katie and Joe

November

2008-12-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

Time is certainly flying by - November went by in a flash of end of season stuff, a wedding in Hilton Head, winter shopping, and a large Thanksgiving feast here in Jawbone.

Joe's little sister Sheena got married in Hilton Head in early November - so we made the journey to South Carolina to join in the festivities. Good times, great weather, and lots of good folks. We saw lots of great birds, dolphins and alligators!

Just married! Dolphins even showed up for the ceremony!

The view from the villa at sunset.

All dressed up...

We returned from Hilton Head for the last week of the season, wrapped up projects, and had our end of year celebrations. Another successful season in Jawbone Flats - great staff and great programs. Winter shopping, the supplying for 4 months of winter, took much of our time with many trips to the city. The fraud department from the bank kept calling on all the unusual charges - could have been the $1000 at the butcher that raised their eyebrows!

And before we knew it - Thanksgiving was here. We hosted 50 of our nearest and dearest here in Jawbone. Five birds in all - two smoked, two oven roasted, and one bacon infused oven roasted. In addition - 22 desserts, and more sides than you can imagine. It was a wonderful feast - full of great food, good friends, and lots of laughs. Our stomachs hurt for days from the laughing and the food!

Rob, Colleen, Jackie, Bouch, and Cindi hanging outside of Cabin 6 (our house).

The smoking birds

Connor, George, Meghan, and Kaola carrying the pies up for the feast.

Jackie and I - we love to laugh...and always find ourselves very amusing!

That's all for now. Winter is here, no snow yet - but the sun sets behind the ridge at 11am in Jawbone, a sure sign of the season. We are looking forward to a Jawbone Christmas this year - but will miss all of our friends and family back east. Next year...

Hope you are all well and enjoying the holiday season. We should have more time to update this more regularly now that the slower season is here, so check back in on us again soon.

Much peace and love to you all,
Katie and Joe

October

2008-11-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hello all -

Hard to believe that today is November 1. I haven't had the chance to update this with our October adventures...time has been flying by!

We enjoyed a beautiful October - My parents came to visit for a week the first week of the month. We had a great time, despite the serious fall rains that returned to Jawbone that same week. North country poker games were shared with the Jawbone crew, many delicious meals cooked, and some rainy hikes were enjoyed. A few shots of poker (we moved the special poker table to my parent's cabin) and my folks and I at the gate during the rains.

We also got over to Bend for a night, and caught up with some friends. Joe and I at dinner:
Joe and I got back over to Bend a couple of weeks ago too. We were pretty tied up with dental issues, but did get a chance to hike through Tumalo Valley, our old backyard. It was a beautiful day, the aspens were awesome, and we had a great hike. Here's a couple shots of the valley and one of Murphy and I having some roadside hellos.

Hope you are all doing well. I just returned from a few days in the San Juan islands and now we are busily winding down our season and getting ready for winter supply runs. Life is good, we continue to find ourselves in beautiful places with fabulous people.

We love and miss you all! Hope to see you soon.

Much love, Katie and Joe

Fall has reached the bone

2008-09-27T00:06:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Well August flew by and September is all of a sudden almost over! Life in Jawbone has been going well. Connor returned from NY to stay for the year as a Facilities Assistant. His first project was helping with the new Pelton Wheel installation. Jawbone will now enjoy much more power thanks to a new improved design.

Joe, Connor, Adam, Tom and Mike Broili (member and longtime Jawbone resident) install the new wheel:
Once the new system was in place and running smoothly, Joe and I were able to get away for a bit and headed to Portland for our friend T-No's Big Woody Classic tennis tournament. Think lots of beer, wooden tennis rackets, and everyone dressed in old school tennis gear. Good times.

Joe looking good in his tennis duds

T-No and Colleen focused on their match

Will post more pics soon. Hope you all are well and we cross paths soon.

Much love,
Katie and Joe

August in the OC

2008-08-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

August has been flying by for us, much like lots of the summer. We just had a heat wave where temps reached triple digits in the bone...the butt slides were a very welcome relief!

My brothers Hoss and Deke were in town visiting last week, as well as my niece Mary. We had a great visit in Jawbone. Connor was here working with us this summer, and has decided to defer college for a year and spend the year working in Jawbone with Adam and Joe. Should be a great experience for him!
Mary did the butt slide before she and Deke left to head south to California. It was a cold morning - but she didn't let that stop her!

Hoss, Connor, Joe and I continued on to Mt. Hood and the coast for a mini tour of Oregon. I think a good time was had by all - and we really enjoyed sharing our favorite parts of Oregon with our family.

Hope you are all doing well. We hope to see you all soon. And come visit anytime!

Much love to you all,
Katie and Joe

Playing in the Cascades

2008-07-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Life has sure been busy in the bone - but we have found some time to steal away and play in some other parts of the Cascades. Summer in Oregon is like nothing else - and should be enjoyed to the FULLEST!

Murphy and I met some friends at Lake Billy Chinook for a day of wake boarding. Murph didn't wake board - but did go swimming... Great times!
We then headed up to Mt Hood and went for a sweet hike with Sara and our dog friends Rita and Nemo. The views were beautiful and we hiked among wildflowers and snow. Amazing.

Beautiful Mount Hood

Joe came with Murphy and I the next week - and we ventured back up to Mt Hood to visit friends and explore. We took a sunset drive up some back roads in our friend Rob's jeep.

Katie and Sara watching the sun set on the mountain

Joe, Connor and I just got back from a few days in Central Oregon - visiting some of our favorite places and catching up with friends. We spent a night canoeing and camping on Sparks Lake and spent a night visiting in Bend with folks. It was a great trip - and very refreshing.

Life is good - the sun is shining, the days still long. Hope to see you all very soon.

Much love,
Katie and Joe

Jawbone July

2008-07-12T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Summer has found us here - and it has been awesome. The sun is high in the sky, the days long, the swimming fantastic, and the forest abloom in summer color.

We returned from the east coast in enough time to celebrate the 4th and all our freedoms here in Jawbone. We picked Connor (our nephew) up from the airport on the 3rd and gathered all the supplies for our BBQ and 4th of July festivities. Here's a few pics of the 4th, including preparing for our patriotic parade that even Murphy and Minute got dressed up for.

We have been busy with lots of projects around Jawbone, and hosting a 10 Day Wilderness First Responder class. Adam and Joe have been working on leveling a cabin across the street - with the help of many other Jawbonese. This week Connor helped Joe and Adam build a porch for Cabin 8.
And a couple shots of Joe - one during our fire drill this week testing hoses and equipment, and one with the saw collecting firewood for this winter.

Hope you are all doing well, enjoying the summer sun and eating lots of fresh summer fruits and veggies.

Much love,
Katie and Joe

Trip to NY

2008-07-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

We have just returned from a fabulous trip to the east coast. We visited lots of family, saw Joe's cousin Tom get married and our nephew Connor graduate from high school! We watched the fireflies, ate salt potatoes, and relaxed by my parent's pool. We visited the St Lawrence river staying on Basswood Island - Joe spent many summers here as a kid, and it is always great to head back and visit again. Lots and lots of Murphys!

Here are a few shots of our trip - crazy families, crazy times, lots and lots of laughs. We love you all and it was SO good to see everyone! We are getting ready for our summer season to begin - and Connor Ryan arrives tomorrow for 5 weeks. There are lots of other Ryans on the visiting docket for 2008 and we look forward to seeing you all.

It is great to be home in Oregon - and our little Murphy was VERY excited to see us!

Much love to you all! Hope to see you soon.

Love, Katie and Joe

John Day River Trip

2008-06-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family -

Well the season has started - and things are definitely busy! Haven't had much time to update the blog - but things are going well here. Lots of students coming through and learning about the amazing details of the ancient forest. Summer has finally showed itself to the Pacific Northwest - and we have been enjoying some sunshine the past few days. Let's hope it's here to stay for a little bit!

We spent last weekend floating on the John Day river with some friends. Good times, great friends, lots of laughs, and some great natural history sightings - my favorite of which was a golden eagle harassing two osprey for their freshly caught fish.

Here's a few shots of the days on the river:

We are getting ready to head back to NY for 12 days - visiting family, weddings, and graduation celebrations.

Hope to see you all sometime soon - until then, be sure to enjoy the sunshine when it shines!

Love, Katie and Joe

Trip to the San Juans

2008-05-14T18:31:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family,

The past month has been busy getting ready to open the season. Once the road was open, things went fast! New staff arrived, and staff training week was held amidst snow flurries.

We ran our first program - a Wilderness First Responder Re-cert course. Opal Creek's charm impressed as always as we greeted old friends and met new folks who share our love for wild places.

Spring has returned to the rest of the Northwest, and is on its way to Jawbone. We headed up to the San Juan islands last weekend to visit some old friends and catch some time on the salt water. We had a wonderful time, saw harbor seals, porpoises, bald eagles, cormorants, and even a peregrine falcon diving off the sheer cliffs on Stewart Island. We spent a night visiting our old bosses from OMSI, the Jones, on their private 40 acre island where they now run a French camp. Then we headed over to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island and visited our friends Brian and Amy and family. Brian was the past ED of Opal Creek - and it was great to see them again and share where Opal Creek is now.

We spent two nights out on Brian and Amy's sailboat, and sailed to Stewart Island. On Saturday, we rowed to shore and hiked across Stewart Island to Turn Point. We explored tide pools, watched the boats, and looked out at an expansive view of the Canadian Gulf Islands. What a day. Here's a few shots of the boat and Turn Point.

Snowbound no more

2008-04-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

An exciting weekend here in the bone - The guys had been working on opening the 8.5 miles of snow covered road for 10 days. On Saturday they were successful in punching a road into Jawbone. There is now road access into camp - bittersweet for us. It is nice to have the road open, and we are enjoying the change of activity as we prepare for our spring season. But it is sad to say so long to one of the more amazing winters we have enjoyed. Snow will be here for many months to come!

Here's a few shots of the action in camp this week. The snow banks on the side of the road are 5-6 feet high. It is pretty crazy around here. There are piles of snow 2o feet high - as tall as the tops of our cabins. That's Joe is a hole he dug to get to the water valve for our instructor cabins.

Hope you are all well and that our paths cross soon.

Much love to you all,
Katie and Joe

the city and the desert

2008-03-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

We have just returned to Jawbone after a week out and about. We spent a few days in Portland catching up with friends, seeing some great live music, and taking care of some other city business. Then we headed to Bend to visit our old stomping grounds. We had a great trip -got to see some more old friends, visited new places and old favorites, walked in the desert and watched the raptors. I was treated to one of the best days of skiing Mt Bachelor has ever delivered - clear skies, cold, and 12-16 inches of fresh powder. Bliss.

Still snowed in here in the bone. We were able to get to within 6 miles of Jawbone with the truck this time. There was a lot of plowing through snow and using the tow rope to move trees in the way. Always an adventure - moving the trees with the truck and tow rope was pretty fun! The process of clearing the road is beginning this weekend, and we are hoping for warmer temps to help melt some of the 4.5 feet of snow still on the ground here. Five weeks until we are scheduled to open the season...

Here's a few shots of our travels to the city and the east side.

#1) Our friends Doyle and Dan treat us to some afternoon tunes with Lefthand Monkeywrench.
#2) Murphy and Katie checking out the wave cut terraces at Fort Rock.
#3) Joe and Murphy rocking out late night.
#4) All the heavy, but so delicious, fresh fruit we hiked in.

Hope you are all doing well - and that spring has sprung in your neck of the woods. Love and miss you all,
Katie and Joe

Cedar Flats Journey

2008-03-07T12:08:00.000-08:00

Hello all - still snowed in here, but the snow is very compact right now and pretty easy to travel on. We headed up to Cedar Flats (about 2 miles up stream from us) earlier this week - the sun bright, the sky deep blue, and the forest beautiful.

Here are a few pictures from our journey. #1) One of the many large cedars we found that snapped this winter. #2) We discovered the railing on the upper bridge on Opal Creek had blown out. We had taken a different route so as to not have to cross the bridges with heavy snow loads on them. #3) Whetstone Mountain from the Cedar Flats trail.

Hope you are all well and enjoying the onset of spring!

Much love, Katie and Joe

Busted Out

2008-02-28T10:58:00.000-08:00

Hello friends -

We busted out of here last week and took a trip to the big city of Portland and up to Mt Hood to visit friends. There was quite a bit of business to be done in Portland - and our days were pretty busy. I had lots of interviews with applicants for a variety of positions we have open - which went well and I am making progress there. Joe visited the dentist and learned he needed an emergency root canal - things were so bad in his mouth that the dentist and his assistant stayed after hours to do the procedure! 3.5 hours of drilling - and his mouth was saved. Needless to say, it did put a bit of a damper on Joe's trip out. But we did get to catch up with lots of great friends and restock on some groceries! We had to carry the food in, so we had to choose wisely what made it in to the pack. Attached are some pics - #1: The Loot - all the goodies we carried in; #2: Joe and Murphy crossing the Gold Creek bridge - about 110 feet above the river; #3: Murphy and his pack at the gate - he carried in lots of treats and toys for himself; #4: Trail talks

We are safe and sound back in the bone - the sun is shining, and life is good. Miss you all!

Love, Katie and Joe

Heads up - Air drop!

2008-02-17T10:42:00.001-08:00

Clear skies and sunshine were the perfect window for the air drop of supplies we received yesterday morning. Three bags of food (butter, cheese, chocolate, and beef), tire chains, and wood screws landed in the meadow at 120 mph. It all made for an exciting Saturday morning in Jawbone. Here are a few pics of the aftermath...#1) Kaola and George before take off #2) Adam reaching to touch the tire chains which went 5-6 feet into the snow; #3) The tire chains that almost landed in the creek - thanks to the streamers we found them! #4) Joe confirming that the plane was safely on the ground after the drops #5) Adam and the loot - butter sandwiches for all.

Thanks so much to George for piloting the plane,
Kaola for launching the bags out of the plane with accuracy,
and Tom for gathering all of the supplies for us and getting us
some nice discounts in the process.

We are going to do the 10 mile snow shoe outta here next Wednesday - and will be in Portland until about Saturday the 23rd, then heading up to the mountain for a few days before heading back into the bone.

Sunny skies again today - and it is beautiful here in paradise today. Miss you and love you all - hope to see you soon!

Sunshine and Snow

2008-02-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

Hello all -

The sun came out for us today - the first time in at least 10 days - maybe more. It was great to feel the sun's rays on our faces and see the blue sky! Our snowed in status has lead Joe to shave for the first time in 10 years. Don't worry - by the time you all see him again, the beard will most likely be back!

Travel is getting easier - and Murphy and I hiked out to the 1/2 Bridges today - about 2 miles away from camp.

Here's some pics -
- Two of our water intake (which not only gives us water to drink but powers our pelton wheel, giving us electricity.) We headed up there yesterday to clear the deep snow from the intake.
- One of Beachie Ridge today
- Cabin 10 - the guys are working on putting the roof on now. New staff housing - yeah!
- Joe's shaven face - he looks a lot younger huh?

Miss you and love you all - hope our paths cross soon...

Cheers,
Katie and Joe

Snow subsiding

2008-02-07T15:36:00.001-08:00

Hello all -

The snow is subsiding a bit, and the last two days have been a mixture of snow and rain. We have lost some of the snow due to compaction, but our windows are still full and there is still A LOT of snow out there.

We have taken a break from the shoveling and have gone on to other work. Joe chased a raccoon and a wood rat out of our Bunkhouse today in his building inspection of camp.

We have been experimenting more with gluten free cooking - and I have perfected gluten free pizza dough and have a pretty good gluten free bread down. Tonight for dinner, Italian Sausage soup and home made gluten free bread.
Not much more going on up here - we are going to head up the flume line tomorrow and check things out up there. Travel is definitely getting easier around here!

A few pics included in this one - the Battle Ax Bridge (the railings are three feet tall); our Company Store - closed for the season; and us shoveling off the back roof of the commissary.

Miss you and love you all -
Katie and Joe

Happy Birthday Adam

2008-02-01T22:59:00.000-08:00

Hello -

Today was Adam's birthday - we celebrated with a light day of shoveling and a great grill feast for dinner. We ate well and played a great game of Hearts. Here's some shots of the grilling in the snow and the puzzle we finished today. Still snowing here...miss you all! Love, Katie and Joe

Shoveling, shoveling, shoveling

2008-01-31T20:26:00.000-08:00

Not too much snow over night - but still a day of shoveling. Here's a few shots - the guys and the dogs on top of Cabin 5 and the front door to our little cabin.

Love,
Katie and Joe

Snowy Jawbone

2008-01-29T20:11:00.001-08:00

Hello all -

We are enjoying quite the winter snowed in here in the Cascades -The current storm has buried us under 3 more feet of snow, and that is on top of the 4-5 feet that fell around the holidays and in early January. Lots and lots of shoveling - we can literally walk over the buildings. We are doing well, and are happy, healthy and safe. The giant trees with all the snow are really an amazing site. Murphy is loving life - and what 10 month old puppy wouldn't love life in the mountains. Hope you are all well and enjoying winter somewhere. We'll keep writing - as long as you keep reading - so check back often!

-Katie and Joe