The day after Halloween was a striking sunny day. I took the camera out for a walk and capture a few pics before the sun set:

Lara, Andy, Roger and Charles came over to carve some squash

This house was decked out for the holiday

fall in the park

I love the orange-y glow-y fall light

I like the way this is framed but its blurry -- the trees were glowing

leaf and clover mishmash

Halloween is just a few days away… I have cobs to hang, candy to buy, a sheet to drape into some sort of costume and of course, Sauvie Island pumpkins to attack with my dremel tool to extract and roast their seeds. Here are some vintage Halloween snaps to inspire:

Grandma in a Mask by Kathy

Batman, 1977 by TMC Hitchhiker

1980s Superheros from Rokabiri

Witch and Gypsy from GroovyMarlin

Pumpkin Head from Infrogmation

Had a lovely time at Timber Butte Cabin in the Fall Creek Wilderness area of Willamette National Forest. We had the chance to explore some of the covered bridges of Lane County, the local reservoir and the town of Oakridge. Here are some snaps:

The Fall Creek Reservoir

The sun came out for a moment in Oakridge, OR

Some Sun in Oakridge

A porter from Brewer's Union Local 180

Fall Creek

Unity Bridge - We visited 4 covered bridges in all

Fall Creek Fire Recovery Area

Fire recovery area

Char and I had a great get away to Timber Butte fire lookout cabin in the Fall Creek Wilderness east of Eugene. This cabin is a cozy, affordable treasure. It is not far from amenities but feels like it is tucked in the wilds — deep on unpaved forest road. We got there at dusk and the butte (at 3600 ft) was cloaked in clouds and fogs. We ate Bahn Mi that we picked up from An Xuyen Bakery drank some Jubelale and played dominoes and Yahtzee. The cabin has 360 degrees of windows and sits on the highest peak in the area but the cabin’s small squarefootage and workhorse stove keep the place cozy and warm. The next day we explored Lane County’s collection of covered bridges and the emptied reservoir. We also made it to the town of Oakridge where the sun peaked out for a moment as we sampled home-crafted Anglo beers from Brewers’ Union Local 180. At the pub we heard rumors of winter weather advisory — there was suppose to be overnight snow down to 1000 ft. We headed back up the hill to hunker down in our cabin for the night. We listened to tunes, ate mountain tacos, played dominoes, yahtzee attempted the Sunday NY Times crossword until almost 1:00 in the morning waiting for the snow to drop. Finally we tucked in the for the night only to awake at dawn to a blanket of whiteness.  Snow!!! We made some stumptown coffee, ate muffins with jam, talked about how the car would make it down the hill and made a snow pig. Fun. It turns out the snow did not fall past about 3400 feet so the trip home was smooth. We stopped off in Eugene for lunch at Keystone Cafe and made our way homeward. This cabin is such a treat and the area is consistently lush and beautiful. We can’t wait to return.

We stopped for some snaps along the forest road on our way to the cabin

Insanely gorgeous area. Lots of bright yellow and red autumn colors and of course, green everywhere

Mossy Limbs!

Inside Timber Butte Cabin

Mountain Tacos. Nom nom nom.

On our second morning we awoke to snow

So we made coffee and a mountain snow pig

Score! Found one of my favorite new cheap eats thanks to Char: Banh Mi from An Xuyen Bakery. This was my first time eating Banh Mi, a Vietnamese sandwich served on amazing soft french bread that is baked on site.  You have the option of fillings like grilled lemongrass chicken or bbq pork topped with jalapenos, cilantro, cucumber and pickled carrots and some tangy sauce.  It is awesome… and it costs $2.75.  AMAZING. I’m in love. Check it out at 5345 SE Foster in Portland. They also have baked goods but I did not try any…on this trip — but I will be back, more food report to come.

Char and I hit the road to Aurora, Or for the quilt show (uh, kinda… mainly it was rainy out and we thought we would drive around and explore). It was lovely out – the sun and clouds were back and forth.  We headed through Oregon City and meandered around the country on side roads. We didn’t get many pictures of the country side but below is a pick of industrial Oregon City & some shots of the quilts. On the way back we stopped and got a awesome sandwich and I discovered one of the best cheap eats in Portland… more on that in another post.

The river-front industrail scape of Oregon City

Quilts from the Aurora Quilt Show:

Raining by the inch, moody weather, dazzling lighting when the sun is out, Smell of fireplaces, colorful trees… Fall is here. A couple of shots of fall colors from the park:

Finally made it to Bob’s Red Mill Store and Cafe. Good menu & food at reasonable prices and you can shop all of their grain and baked goods products like coconut flour, 13 bean soup, Scottish scone mix, soy bean powder, and a long line of gluten free bakery products for those who are sensitive to wheat. The place is very charming and they have great indoor and outdoor seating. FUN! Highly rated on Yelp!

Charchar and I hit up Kruger Farms on Sauvie Island then the following Sunday took the loop through Hood River, to the 35 fruitloop to farms and jam shops and on to Timberline Lodge. I love this roadtrip. One of my favorites. We stopped to feed the Alpacas.

At Kruger we picked flowers and tomatos and ate roasted corn

Farmer Charchar heads towards roasted corn cobs

This is where i got my pumpkins the past coupla years

you should see this guy milk cows

Squish!

The peak of Mt. Hood

According to press reports, the Made in Oregon sign will go dim at the end of the month. I have this picture to remember it by. So much for the deers nose lighting up at Thanksgiving. Thanks Randy.