A Look Back at 2015

"The greatest adventure is what lies ahead" - J.R.R. Tolkien

This has been quite the year filled with many adventures, lots of photography and so much more. I've taken several road trips throughout Washington, Oregon and California. I've camped on mountains and next to rivers. I've hiked everywhere from the lakes and rivers of the Cascade Mountain range to the waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge to Portland's parks and gardens to Oregon's coastal beaches and sand dunes. With my visits to the Painted Hills, Smith Rock, and the Wallowas, this year marked the completion of visiting all of Oregon's Seven Wonders. Mt. Hood, the Coast, the Columbia River Gorge and Crater Lake were all visited, often several times over, between 2011 and 2014.

My official adventure tally this year comes to:

23 beaches
18 parks
 9 hikes
 6 overlooks
 5 mountains
 4 camping trips
 3 waterfalls
 3 rivers
 2 scenic loops
 2 reservoirs
 1 slough
 1 garden
 1 observatory

In addition to all of my nature adventures, I've seen several concerts this year including my first Dave Matthews Band experience at the mecca of venues, the Gorge Amphitheater. I also saw one my favorite musicians again, Jackie Greene, at the Wonder Ballroom, and went to my first Modest Mouse show at the Crystal Ballroom.

A couple of visitors from back home in Wisconsin came to visit me this year and I thoroughly enjoyed playing tour guide extraordinaire while simultaneously managing to exhaust them with Oregon's amazing restaurants and food carts, attractions and natural beauty.

I earned a promotion just recently at work and have also been on several trips to our Seattle office throughout the year. For some extra cash and an opportunity to further explore Portland, I signed up to be a driver for both Lyft and Uber this past fall although I still haven't given any rides, as of yet. I'm sure that will change very soon though.

I celebrated my first "Oregonniversary" in June. I feel my first year as a resident of the beautiful state of Oregon is definitely worthy of creating a tradition to celebrate each year going forward. Speaking of celebrations, Cole enjoyed his seventh birthday in September, this year on the coast with his new pug-friend Emma. Cole and I together spent my 35th birthday in March on the coast with a friend.

My photography has grown considerably this past year. I created a website in March which may sound like a simple task but it meant many hours sifting through nearly 60,000 photos that I have taken over the past few years, and then deciding which ones were the best. I entered my work in a couple more photo contests this year and even sold some of my prints. I'm continually gaining more followers on a variety of social media platforms and some of my work is even getting picked up by local travel publications. This year also marks the first of what will now become an annual tradition of creating photo calendars for my family in Wisconsin. Not much in this world makes me happier than to share the beauty of the Pacific Northwest through photography with those that I care about.

As always in life, it isn't all good, all the time.  This is a blog about my misadventures after all, isn't it? I had an unfortunate car incident on Mt. Hood Thanksgiving weekend which cost me a whopping $1,000 insurance deductible to make my car good as new again. The silver lining of that experience though is that I made a new friend, the tow truck driver, so it wasn't all bad. A simple procedure to remove a benign growth on my leg late this summer caused quite the issue during my recovery which ended up with me in urgent care. This year I've also joined the ranks of many other Oregonians who suffer from seasonal allergies so my "nature junkie" brand has a little bit more truth to it now that nature literally makes me sick and yet I continue to expose myself to it; nothing can keep me from spending time in nature.

After a breakup earlier this year, I ventured back into the wonderful, and sometimes downright strange, world of online dating which yielded some very interesting experiences, a new relationship and yet another breakup. What I found most fascinating about the heartache that came with that failed endeavor though is knowing that I'm still capable of truly caring for someone. At times, I feel like I'm somewhat broken when it comes to this part of my life but my resilience, or possibly just my stubbornness, will continue to keep me open to the possibilities that come with daring to risk being vulnerable with someone.  The journey continues into 2016!

There have been some weather oddities this year starting with a mild winter, then a very hot and long summer which sparked widespread wildfires throughout the Pacific Northwest. Then, this fall we got slammed with torrential downpours that created landslides, sinkholes and considerable flooding. To top it off, we even got some snow in Portland right after Christmas. Despite all of this, the Pacific Northwest is still a stunningly beautiful place to live and explore. I'm truly blessed to call this place home.

So, what have I taken away from my experiences this year? First, that our time here is too short to spend it being unhappy. If you don't like something about your life, change it. It may not be easy and it probably won't come without sacrifices and hard work but if it's important to you and it's something that makes your soul sing, I can assure you, it will be worth it. Second, be sure to spend lots of time in the places and with the people that make you feel happy to be alive. Third, and possibly most important, do not underestimate how important spending time alone is. That time by yourself is essential for reflecting upon your life. It allows you the space in an all too busy world to check-in with yourself, to ask important questions such as: Am I happy? Am I doing what I want to do? Is there anything that doesn't feel right in the grand scheme of my life? These questions and others can help make sure you are headed in the right direction and living a life of purpose.

I'm looking forward to many more adventures in 2016 and to opportunities to explore, learn, grow and create.  I hope you'll continue to follow along with my journey and I wish you all the best in the New Year!

To view more of the photography from my nature-adventures, visit:

Kristin Roosmalen Photography on Zenfolio
or

Kristin Roosmalen Photography on Flickr

Christmas in Oregon

Christmas is different in Oregon. Where I live now, in Portland, there is no snow. Now this year that doesn't seem to really set it apart seeing as most parts of the country haven't seen much snow but nonetheless, it doesn't feel like Christmas to me. Add to that, due to my Thanksgiving Ditch Trip, I opted to forego a Christmas tree this year in the spirit of saving money and as I write this, a pumpkin candle I received from a friend on Halloween stares at me from my desktop as it castes a soft glow. Maybe this year also feels different because I haven't seen my family in over a year.  This is the first time in my life that that has ever happened. I miss them a lot, which is also a first time experience for me seeing as most of my life, I never went more than a couple months without seeing them. I especially miss them now since several people I know have recently lost loved ones. It makes me worry that something horrible will happen to them before I can see them again. I know I don't have any control over that so there's no sense in worrying too much.

This year is the first I'm not spending Christmas with my family. This has even more of an impact as historically, Christmas is the only holiday we ever gathered for to celebrate.  I'm finally understanding what it means to get those "holiday blues" and hope that in coming years, I'll be able to make a trip home to be with them. I can't imagine how much harder this will all be once my parents have passed on. I guess this is the price I pay though for following my dreams, of starting a new life in Oregon and leaving everyone I care about behind.  The draw of Oregon is so much bigger though than missing my parents and my friends.

Ecola State Park

To be clear, I have absolutely no regrets about leaving Wisconsin. I love Oregon. I love living in Portland. I even love the rain! I love writing at my desk and hearing the rain patter against the window and watch it stream downward while I listen to music. Sometimes Cole joins me and sits on my lap, other times he hangs out in his bed on the floor near my feet. How incredibly lucky am I to be able to pursue my dreams? To have a job? To have both my parents still alive? To have a best and life-long friend? To have Cole? To be healthy and mobile? To be able to be creative through photography and writing? To learn new things? To be able to visit the coast and mountains whenever I want? To be surrounded by so much beauty in all directions?

Cole and I decided to spend Christmas on the coast, my souls true companion. The drive on highway 26 over the coastal range mountains was unusually snowy. Even though it was a bit nerve wracking, the beauty more than made up for it. The trees that line the roadsides were draped in thick snow and all of their branches hung low. It was truly like a winter wonderland.  Now this felt like Christmas!!

Hug Point

We visited Ecola State Park first. There we discovered two things. One: Indian Beach was "closed", I imagine due to storm damage. Two: The viewpoint looking toward Haystack Rock was "permanently closed" because the ocean had literally reclaimed it. It is gone, forever, thanks to erosion. Cole played a bit with a dog we met there and I got lots of pictures, as usual.

After we were done at Ecola State Park, we headed south to Hug Point. The high tide didn't leave much sand to walk on but we managed just fine nonetheless. Due to a dog off-leash that "didn't play well with small dogs" according to it's owner, I left Cole on his leash while we walked along the beach. He wasn't too happy about that and frankly, neither was I. I can't imagine bringing an unsocial dog to the beach and then letting them off their leash to possibly cause problems with other dogs. Since the high tide made it impossible to get around Hug Point to visit the caves and waterfall, we didn't stay long before heading back north, toward Astoria.

View from Astoria Column

Once in Astoria, we stopped at the Astoria Column, which sits 600 feet above sea level and is 125 feet tall. Cole patiently waited in the car while I climbed the 164 steps to the top of the column. Once I took that last step and came to a door, I opened it and found it was a direct entry onto the narrow walkway that surrounded the column. My legs shook a bit and my heart raced but I wasn't going to let my fear of heights stop me from taking photos.  I hugged the column with my back and slowly made an entire loop around the column to get the 360 degree view of Astoria, the Columbia River, Saddle Mountain, Youngs Bay, Youngs River and the Lewis and Clark River. Once I completed my loop and reached the door, I took one last look to appreciate the view and then began my decent down the spiral staircase to greet Cole, eagerly awaiting my return to the car.

Seeing as I've never taken highway 30 home from the the coast, I decided this would be a good day to see what that drive along the Columbia River was like.  The drive was a lot less stressful than the drive earlier on highway 26 seeing as there was no snow to contend with. I even found a nice overlook where I got to pull over and see some very cool fog hover and slowly make its way over the hills and trees far below.

All in all, it was a good Christmas despite not having my family around. Exploring Oregon with my sidekick, Cole, is always a good time. Even when things go wrong. Luckily for us, today it was relatively smooth sailing and a very merry Christmas through my camera lens.

To view more of my photography from my nature-adventures, visit:

Kristin Roosmalen Photography on Zenfolio
or

Kristin Roosmalen Photography on Flickr

Thanksgiving Ditch Trip

My goal: Trillium Lake (Photo by Mitch Schreiber Photography)

On Thanksgiving day, I planned to go for a short 172 mile road trip from Portland, to Trillium Lake on Mt. Hood, to Bridge of the Gods in Cascade Locks, and then back to Portland on Hwy 14 to explore the Washington side of the Gorge, stopping at any places along the way that looked good for photos. Once back in the city, I planned to meet up with a neighbor and then go out for Thanksgiving dinner at a local restaurant.

Cole and I got on the road around 10:00 AM and after grabbing a quick drive-through breakfast and filling up on gas, headed toward Mt. Hood on Hwy 26.  I was hoping to stop at Mirror Lake first but quickly realized that there were not any roads to the lake, only hiking trails. Since I wasn't prepared for a winter hike, I continued on toward Trillium Lake.  The gate for the forest road was open and although it was a bit snowy, it seemed relatively safe.  As I headed down hill on the road, I soon came upon an SUV stopped in the middle of the narrow road, motioning for me to stop.  I did so and then sat there for a bit, not knowing what was going on up ahead beyond the curve in the road.  Since the guy ahead in the SUV wasn't coming over to me to fill me in, I threw my car in park, turned off the engine and got out, leaving Cole in the car, and walked up ahead to see what was happening.

Once I got a little farther down the road, I saw that there was a car that had spun out on an icy curve at the bottom of the hill, blocking traffic.  Everyone appeared to be alright though and since there was nothing I could do to help, I turned around to head back to my car to wait for things to clear up.  As I walked back toward my car, I saw that my car was sliding down the road, toward another car that was backing up and me!  Fortunately, I was able to motion to the car backing up to get out of the way and my car gently slid off the road and stopped in some brush, getting hung up on a stump before going all the way over the edge and down a steep embankment.  I quickly ran over to check on Cole and get him out of the car.  I breathed a deep sigh of relief when I discovered he was perfectly fine, although clearly confused and a bit shaken.  I got him and my cell phone out of the car and luckily had enough signal on my phone to look up a tow truck company and call for help.

The person I spoke with on the phone said that someone had already called ahead of me and that a tow truck driver was on the way.  In the meantime, more cars began to arrive on the scene and quickly started to get stuck on the icy road when they had to also come to a stop on the hill.  Luckily, there was a woman among the group with a wonderful thing called "snow socks".  She let all the stuck cars use them to get up the hill and had my car stayed put, I would have been one of those lucky people.  An hour later when Brian, the tow truck driver from Clackamas River Towing, showed up, there were only two cars to assist, me and the girl who had spun out down the hill causing all the chaos.

Brian proceeded to help get the car that had spun out up ahead, out of the way first since she had called for help first.  He offered for me and Cole to sit in the tow truck to keep warm and suggested I call my insurance company to see if I had roadside assistance on my policy and if so, he could simply direct-bill my insurance.  So, while he positioned the truck to tow the other car out, I navigated through a series of phone prompts and a couple different people at Allstate about my policy. Unfortunately, that's when two more unfortunate things happened.  First, I discovered I did not have roadside assistance on my insurance plan and second, the tow truck winch was malfunctioning and Brian would not be able to get my car out without going back into town for a different truck.  He was able to hook up the first car to the tow truck and simply drag it up the hill while someone sat in there and steered.  After the first car was un-tethered at the top of the hill, I rode along with Brian back to the shop to get a different, fully functioning truck, to retrieve my car out of the ditch.

While in town, after switching vehicles, we made a quick stop for gatorade and snacks, which Brian treated me to as well seeing as my wallet was still in my car, and then headed back to the mountain to retrieve my car.  While loading up my car, some more cars began to arrive.  I stood on the roadside a bit farther up the road to try to alert traffic that the road was blocked up ahead but the first car to arrive had troubles stopping and proceeded to skid toward me on the ice, clearly out of control.  I quickly ran to the other side of the road to avoid being run over and the car proceeded to crash stop on top of a small boulder on the side of the road.  More cars quickly began to arrive behind that one and skidded to stops but were unable to turn around and get back up the hill due to the ice and were now stuck as well.

Once my car was pulled out of the embankment, we began to assess the damage.  The stump that I was thankful for keeping my car from going over the edge of the embankment also wreaked a little havoc while my car was being dragged out.  My front bumper was barely hanging on.  My radiator was hanging a little low.  My back bumper was also hanging on by a thread.   Uncertain on whether my car would be able to make the hour and fifteen minute drive back to Portland, I opted to file a claim on my insurance policy and have my car towed back to Portland for repairs.

Meanwhile, the other cars that had gotten stuck in both directions of us called the same local towing company that was helping me at the time.  Being a holiday, Brian was the only driver working that day, and his company was the only towing company for quite some distance who could help.  Not wanting everyone to have to wait two and a half hours in the cold on the side of a mountain with the sun quickly going down, I opted to forego the immediate ride back to Portland, and let him take my car to the top of the road, drop it off, and go back to get everyone else out, one by one.

Thanksgiving dinner in the tow truck

While Cole and I hung out in the passenger seat of the truck, Brian went back one by one, rescuing all of the stranded drivers.  One of the last cars he pulled out gave him some fruit, snacks and a bottle of wine as a tip.  To show his appreciation for my patience, he offered the bottle of wine to me, which I graciously accepted after learning it was one of my favorite types of Riesling.  Once everyone was gone and safely back on the road, we loaded up my car onto the flatbed and headed back to Portland but not before stopping at his neighbors house along the way who had two plates of their Thanksgiving dinner wrapped up and waiting for us to eat.  I shared mine with Cole who seemed to appreciate the meal as much as Brian and I did. Once in Portland, we unloaded my car at the Toyota dealership and, not having a way home, Brian offered to drop me off at my apartment. Once home, I poured a big glass of bourbon and sat on the couch with Cole, thankful that he and I were both OK and reflected on the days events.

My parting gift

The next morning when I woke up, I had a voicemail from the dealership saying that they didn't do auto body work and that they recommended another place, J&M Collision, where they send all of their body work to.  I called over to that body shop but there was no answer.  I called back to the dealership and they said they'd call over to the manager at J&M and have someone get in touch with me. Long story short, it turns out the body shop was closed that day but lucky for me, the manager came in special to get my paperwork going and get me a loaner car through Enterprise. Unfortunately though, all of Enterprise's locations were sold out of cars because of the holiday weekend and they wouldn't be able to get me a car until the following day, Saturday, at noon.  That wasn't going to be helpful though in getting me to the Southern Oregon coast on Friday afternoon where I had a non-refundable room reserved for a two day, one night photography trip.

So, what did I learn from this latest misadventure?  First, don't go driving down mountain roads in late November in Oregon without tire traction (chains, snow socks or something else).  Also, don't get out of your car if you can help it.  Had I stayed put in my car, I would have been able to control it better when it started to slide down the road and likely would have avoided going off the road as far as it did.  Most importantly though, I saw how wonderful people can be in times of need.  People like the lady who was loaning out her snow socks to all the cars so they wouldn't have to pay for a tow. The other woman who gave away the snacks and wine in appreciation of Brian's help.  The auto body manager who came in on his day off to try to get me a loaner car so I could make my next trip to the coast. Brian's neighbor who brought us Thanksgiving dinner in the truck. Maybe most inspiring though was Brian the tow truck driver.  For not only giving me, the customer, his wine tip for my patience while he helped out the other people who were stuck but mostly for his positive attitude through the whole seven hour ordeal, despite being hungry and missing spending the holiday with his three year old daughter, just to work on Thanksgiving, helping people in need avoid freezing to death on a side of a mountain. It wasn't the Thanksgiving I was expecting but in the end, I think it was better than anything I could have ever planned.

For a fun little photographic and musical slideshow of my journey that day, check out this video:

To view more of my photography from my nature-adventures, visit:

Kristin Roosmalen Photography on Zenfolio
or

Kristin Roosmalen Photography on Flickr