3 Goat Farms and a Family Visit Later....

Bend took me close to Juniper Grove Farm in Redmond, and I was happy to visit Pierre and learn a bit more about what it would be like to work with such a high quality, small-scale operation like the one he runs. Unfortunately, no photos, but I will remember our conversation and the great cheese he makes. It would be great to work at a location that produces such wonderful cheese.

After driving for a few hours I stayed at Juanita Lake campground in California, and it was clear by the vegetation change that I was no longer in Oregon. What an incredible mixed forest and lush vegetation, and a path around the lake as well. The next day I pulled into Harbin Hot Springs for a dose of extreme northern California cultcha - THIS PLACE DOES NOT COMPARE IN ANY WAY TO BREITENBUSH HOT SPRINGS. It's different, and I felt different, like a hoe-downy country bumpkin from wilds of Washington State. I did my best to join in the fun, doing a yoga class, a color aura healing, and increased my area of sun exposure. I left my hat on, and tried to piece together my memory of being there over 15 years ago. Didn't seem the same for some reason.

The next day I rallied for the drive down the canyon to Redwood Hill Creamery. Scott Bice, the farm manager, showed me their family farm, and gave me a good idea of what it would be like to work at a larger scale goat dairy. They have a gorgeous mix of several breeds, and specialize in breeding excellent lineages. It would be extremely fun and interesting to work with their herd and milking facility.

Friendly Nubian from Redwood Creamery.

Some of Redwood Hill's award winning bucks.

The highlight of the last few days was working with Patty Karlin at Bodega Artisan Cheese. She had me help make cheese one day, and milk the next. She has done amazing work to retrofit her farm with permaculture plantings, swales and solar energy. Her cheese is great, and she was super kind to me. Thank you, Patty. What a wonderful herd of Alpines you have, and what a sweet, sweet farm. 

Patty with her excellent Charolais

Patty's farm is for sale - 7 south facing acres with several living spaces, nearby the wonderful town of Bodega - a great community. She's flexible with financing, and there's a goat dairy with an established reputation to run, or to work with her to learn the business. I'm interested, are you?

After all this meeting of people, seeing family, and all that it brings up, I am on my way back to Bellingham, to Laurel, specifically, and hope to see you soon. There will be new chapters of Goat Farm Will Travel, but for now it's back to driving home, and hope to see you while I'm in Bellingham. 

Leaving Bend and Oregon for California

Hi there,
Bend is a lot like a dry and dusty Juniper-scented version of Bellingham on steroids. So I guess it's not much like Bellingham at all, except that it has massive opportunities for outdoor recreation and the restaurant culture is booming.

After 9 days of commiseration on why relationships fall apart, playing with Lucie and Nancy, and rest from the road, I met Caryl and Aundrea at Breitenbush for a night. What a beautiful place to be, so comforting to see  the forest plants again. Caryl and I took an amazing walk along the Pacific Crest Trail, and after toying with moving to Sandy because of it's excellent bookstore, where I picked up a copy of Jared Diamond's Collapse (don't worry, I also got some lighter subject matter - Toujours Provence) and a tearful goodbye, I came back to Bend to follow up on contacts at local and other goat farms in California. I'll let you know how it goes, and please send good vibes to the little red Honda.

Here's a few photos:

 How often do you get to pet a camel? This is in Waitsburg at a car show where I said goodbye and thanks to Mary, who along with Cathy, helped me so much.

 This is Mary with her dog, the friendliest looking Pom in the world.

 Nancy, Luci and I in Bend. Yes, Lucie, you are a rad princess girrrrl....

 Caryl and me at the end of our trip.

 Some super beautiful hike in camping along the Clackamas River after saying goodbye to Caryl.

I must have balanced that camera on the rock and ran in front of it 6 times to get this photo!

On the way to Bend

I'm on the way to visit Nancy in Bend, Oregon, and find that both state parks near the Columbia River gorge are full....so here I am in a McDonald's of all places drinking coffee, getting ready for the drive. There's a fellow here who has been travelling for 18 years, a social scientist, trying to make sense out of the US by writing about his travels. He is on his way to Colorado to join a writer's workshop in Ft. Lewis College, Durango, Colorado.

I had the good fortune, thanks to Cathy and Mary, of staying in a house in Waitsburg for the last 3 nights, empty though it was - a rental house in between tenants. It gave me time to get organized, cook, send some boxes back to Bellingham, and get ready for the next phase of the journey. Nancy is going through a similar relationship change, and has a daughter. I can't help but wonder what is it about us humans that causes us to change how we treat each other over time? I would write about this, but blogging is new to me, and it might be best to limit any personal information until I get more experience.

 If you have any ideas, though, or think you might have some insight, I could certainly hear it. What I will say is that life is too short to spend it in a way that causes one to be unhappy for long periods. As long as we have the choice to explore new possibilities, we might be best off to re-evaluate our commitments. I never thought I would say this, as I see myself as the type who learns through loyalty and responsibility. But it's good to try a change on the outside, and stay open to new resources.

I am always scanning my new acquaintances along the road for their awareness of peak oil, climate change, and what they are doing in response.Walla Walla area is more like Never Never land at present. People generally seem to think something is coming, given the climate events of this spring, but still are able to put off any direct preparation while the party goes on. Having postponed my own preparations, opting to throw my fate to the wind ( which happens only by the grace of my own little fossil fuel equivalent of 204 slaves - my car), I am merely keeping my eyes open for signs of change and awareness at present.

Time, Perspective and a Few Adventures Later....

I left the computer and several boxes with a very kind person I met at the internet cafe at the Weinhard Hotel in Dayton. I finally made it back to the area after 9 days of car-camping adventures, and this same lovely person, Cathy, put me in touch with a friend of hers who has a house that is unoccupied for the month of August. Though I will take only a few days to repack, clean and organize before heading on to Bend, I am so grateful for this time and opportunity to get out of the ^%$#@%^ car, especially as the temperatures have sometimes topped 100 F!

I went back to the Monteillet's and apologized - that's all I could do. We all wished things could have gone differently. Joan and Pierre-Louis are lovely people, and have a great dairy, and a fantastic line of tasty cheeses. I have started a trajectory of healing and searching, and it may take a few more weeks to lessen some of the grief - - that will help me to feel more functional. I also revised my comments on the blog, so you early adopters got to see it all - my foibles and missteps, and I thank you all for listening!

Here's a bit of photo imagery from my time on the road and from the Outstanding in the Field dinner:

The table before guests

The table during the amazing five course farm dinner

Moonrise from the Airstream

Pomeroy, Washington - It ain't no ghostown

Wheatgerm separators from the Petaha Flour Mill, now defunct

Pomeroy grain storage view from the grocery store

Alex, riding her bike across the country, near the start of her journey - Hell's Gate State Park

View from Pittsburgh Landing, Hell's Canyon - it's called that because it's hot, you know!

Petroglyphs - Hell's Canyon

Along the Nez Perce trail. Worth reading, if you can see the words - It says" "The only good Indian is a dead indian." - Gen. William Custer. On [date of Little Bighorn battle] General Custer became a good white man." I was pointed to this gravestone by a Nez Perce I talked to along the trail route.

A nod to my friends in Fourth Corner Exchange

Wendy, Chief Operating Officer of Sally B farms. She makes lovely goat milk soap near Joseph, Oregon.

Two of her progeny. The King-Kirkvliets will recognize the Nubian Alpine mix  ears!

Waitsburg, a good place to rest, with lots of new businesses and  excess charm. The library was closed but the door was unlocked! I was invited to a city council meeting, look out....

White Bird notch, the place where the US Calvary and Nez Perce met, shots were unintentionally fired, and the skirmish ended with 34 fatalities to the US calvary, 0 to the Nez Perce. It started the beginning of the battle, though, and the Nez Perce, after 11 or 12 years of fleeing and relocation, were finally confined to a reservation 1/10 the size of their original treaty. The county and area is dedicated to acknowledging (at least) the amazing struggle and injustice that occurred through the change in treaty rights.