Great Outdoors
Labor Day Kayak/Canoe Trip 2013
sandbar camping
This year marked the fifth Labor Day Kayak/Canoe Trip that we’ve taken (I’ve been on the last 4, since the first outing was guys only). As usual, it was a relaxing, beautiful weekend on the Wisconsin River. We started near Arena at Trader’s Bar & Grill campgrounds, and paddled about 42 miles over 4 days to Boscabel. We lucked out with sunny skies, warm to hot weather, and no rain.
cow island
Some of the highlights this year included the very-up-close spotting of a hawk eating a fish on a sandbar, a vortex of wind and river water that created a mini-tornado, a sandbar full of cows, and our annual fried chicken and beer run. With temperatures in the high 90’s, we did plenty of swimming.
Waupaca, WI: August 7-9, 2013
Portland and Hood River, OR: June 27-July 1, 2013
Kurt and I recently returned from a 4-day trip to Portland, Oregon. Neither of us had been there before, and we were surprised to find that our visit coincided with an unusual heat wave in the Pacific Northwest (the average temperature for all 4 days was 90 degrees). I had been looking forward to some temperate weather but Kurt deals with the heat much better than I do, and we of course had a great trip regardless.
crossing the Burnside Bridge over the Willamette River
We arrived on Thursday and checked in at the Jupiter Hotel, a centrally located boutique hotel near the river. The hotel had chalkboard doors so I created a new mural for us every morning. After checking in, we crossed the river into downtown Portland and went to DeSchutes Brewery for food and drinks. It just so happened to be their 25th anniversary so we tried their special anniversary flight.
Once the drinking began, it did not stop. We drunk-shopped at Powell’s City of Books, visited the Tugboat Tavern, and sampled a Voodoo Donut as we stumbled our way back to the hotel. Our last stop was Burnside Brewery, where my favorite beer was the Rhubarbarian.
On Friday, we woke up ready for a good breakfast. I wasn’t up for walking very far in the heat before getting any food in my belly, so we went to the Doug Fir Lounge at our hotel. We spent the rest of the day walking around shopping, stopping at Rogue for some drinks, and grabbing tacos for dinner. Our last stop of the evening was Green Dragon, a bar noted for its 62 taps and extensive list of craft beers.
For Saturday, we rented a car to head out to Hood River after an insanely delicious breakfast at Pine State Biscuits (buttermilk friend chicken with cheese, bacon, and egg on biscuits with gravy, hashbrowns, and a spicy bloody mary). There were many scenic stops along the way, including a visit to the Vista Station overlooking Columbia River Gorge.
Columbia River Gorge
We went on some hiking trails near Lauterall Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the gigantic Multnomah Falls. The hike was very memorable and special for reasons I won’t get into here, but it was the highlight of the trip and a day I will never forget.
Multnomah Falls
After we finished up hiking, we drove into the town of Hood River to visit Double Mountain Brewery, then took the scenic way back to Portland with amazing views of Mt. Hood. We stopped for dinner in Government Camp, a gateway to many ski resort towns. Back in Portland, we ended the night at Cascade Brewing Barrel House and tried their sour beers which are my new favorite thing ever.
Our Sunday breakfast was at Genie’s Cafe where I had a jalapeno bloody mary to go with my meal. Then we checked out the Saturday Portland Market (which is also open on Sundays) before driving about 15 outside of town to Edgefield Winery & Distillery. We had a nice time strolling the grounds, visiting the assorted pubs, ice houses, and tucked-away bars on the property. I would love to return there someday and spend a night or two at their resort so we could fully partake in everything there was to offer. After leaving Edgefield, we had our best dinner of the trip at Apizza Scholl’s before passing out in the hotel, blissfully worn out from several days’ worth of beer and delicious food.
enjoying a beverage at Edgefield’s
All good things must come to an end, so Monday morning we packed up our things, drew one last chalkboard mural, and had one last bloody mary at breakfast before flying back home to Chicago.
Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN: May 3-7, 2013
We recently drove down to the Gatlinburg area in Tennessee for a long weekend getaway with our travel buddies from Houston, Bob and Amy. Bob had found a great deal on a cabin at Elk Springs Resort. I have road tripped to Memphis and Nashville before, but had never been as far east as the Smoky Mountains until this trip. Our original plans included white water rafting and lots of hiking, but the weather decided not to cooperate. Despite the rain and fog, we still had a great time exploring the area.
Kurt and I arrived Friday afternoon and had a late lunch at Smoky Mountain Brewery before heading back to the cabin to enjoy its amenities, which included a hot tub on the porch, theater room, and sauna. Bob and Amy arrived later that evening and we had some drinks and caught up for awhile. On Saturday, we woke up to cloudy skies with drizzling rain. We headed into downtown Gatlinburg for Bloody Marys, shopping, whiskey samples, and moonshine tasting.
On Sunday, the weather was worse, with heavier rain and fog. We scratched our plans to go hiking and instead took a scenic drive through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Back at the cabin, the guys made an excellent dinner of shrimp tacos, followed by homemade ice cream for dessert. We also took advantage of our theater room and watched Zero Dark Thirty.
Monday was our last full day, and our plans to go white water rafting were officially cancelled–although the rain had stopped and the sun was shining, the water levels were too high for any commercial activity on the Upper or Lower Pigeon River. When life gives you lemons, go to Dollywood.
Our day at the amusement park was perfect–sunny skies and no wait for any ride. After we got our fill of roller coasters, corn dogs, and the amazing photo above, we went back to the cabin to cook one last dinner together and pack our bags.
It was an excellent trip. Even though the weather forced us to scramble up new plans, we had a lot of fun and got in some great relaxing.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Gatlinburg, TN
Springtime Camping
camping dogs
I decided that for my birthday this year, I wanted to go camping. Late April can definitely be iffy in terms of weather when you are planning an event in advance (the year I turned 30 involved tailgating at a White Sox game and the weather went from 70 and sunny to miserable and rainy within an hour). Just in case the weather turned on us again, I decided to try out a state park closer to home, and one we’ve never camped at before, Bong Recreation Area (yes, that’s really what it’s called).
We drove the hour and a half trip shortly after work on Friday, and stayed through Sunday morning. The weather ended up being perfect–high 60’s and sunny–and some of us even got our first sunburns of the year. We brought along my favorite camping treats (Bloody Marys in the morning and s’mores around the fire), a birthday cake, and a piñata. It was a perfect birthday weekend.
Happy Camper
One of my dreams is to own and operate a campground. I would love to live surrounded by fresh air and woodland creatures, constantly having hair that smells like campfire, and eating s’mores daily. I am so happy when I am in the great outdoors (or for that matter, watching the 1988 comedy The Great Outdoors). I also dream of operating a paddle-up bar on the river where canoes and kayaks can order a cold beer without having to get out of their boats.
It is so fun watching our dog run around free while we are camping. She can dig holes, chase leaves, and pee whenever she wants. To me, the thought of only being able to use a bathroom when someone is around to ‘let me out’ sounds like a living hell, so I relish giving her this freedom as often as possible. I can also sympathize; the elation she feels while running wild and free is similar to the peace I find away from my cubicle and the screen that I stare at for 40 hours a week.
This year, with my birthday falling on a Saturday I decided to plan a camping trip instead of a party. I am looking forward to turning 34 while sitting in a canvas chair, feet propped up on a log, sitting near a campfire along with my friends with a New Glarus beer in my hand. Because let’s be honest, when it comes down to it, camping really just means drinking outside.
Winter Camping
This past weekend, we drove 2.5 hours to the South Haven, Michigan, area for 
some winter camping. While we have gone cold camping several times, this was our first trip in which there was quite a lot of snow on the ground. Apparently we were the first March campers the grounds owners ever had, so they took a picture of us in front of our tents for their website. River was in dog heaven, playing fetch and digging her ball out of snowdrifts. The temperature remained somewhere in the mid-40’s, so it was actually quite pleasant outside. When I took my gloves off to eat or set up our tent, my hands didn’t even get cold. A can koozie kept my Labatt Blue nice and frosty. We set up an outdoor bed for River using a tarp, her sleeping pad, and a blanket so she wouldn’t have to sit in the snow while we were hanging out around the campfire (she stayed in the tent with us overnight). In the evening, we made s’mores using Peeps.
Overnight, rain began to fall and tapered off to a drizzle late the next morning. For the most part, we all stayed warm and dry, though there were a few casualties among things left out overnight, including a package of Peeps bunnies. The snow, which had been fresh and fluffy the day before, packed down a bit but didn’t melt away so we lucked out and avoided having to deal with muddy mess. We packed up and headed back home, already looking forward to doing it all again in a month or so.
Ponytail Up 