observations on this life

It's Official

I did indeed make it to fifty at 6:26 pm yesterday.... the official time of my birth. I spent the day doing something I love... sperm of the moment road trip up the Columbia River Gorge to Multnomah Falls, Bonneville Dam, and the fish hatchery where I met Herman, a sixtyy-five year old Pacific Sturgeon that weighs hundreds of pounds and is over seven feet long.... the dinosaur of fish.... amazing to look at and very scary too. Would never want one swimming up on me in the wild... Had the company of a bald eagle for awhile. Not something that usually happens to me unless I am on Indian land.... guess it's all Indian land, but I've never seen one in the wild unless it was on a reservation.

In the three plus years I've been in Portland I'd never made it up the gorge.... The Columbia River is wider than I thought it would be, and the cliffs that rise above the banks are spectacular. They remind me of New Mexico in spots. All the falls we saw were amazing.... loud and white with foam. I got some good pictures and will post them here later in the day.

Why is it that I love wandering around fish hatcheries, and Corp of Engineers visitor centers, and stuff like that? Guess it is because I never would have known that they count fish as they move up the fish ladders at the dam, or that 11 million fish are released from the hatchery back into the wild every year if I didn't stop long enough to read and look and ask questions.

Usually I do this kind of stuff on my own, but yesterday I had company and a chauffer in my housemate. It's hard to find someone who wants to do all the dorky things with me. We had a great time. We even extended our little adventure by trying to find the hotsprings that are south of Esticada. Never made it to the hot springs, but I did see so much beauty as we hunted.... the mountains are beautiful... still some snow to be seen. The Clackamas River is such a beautiful color of jade. It was evening and the fish were jumping and the light on the water made the ripples shimmer. Very beautiful.... and good for my soul.

Oh, and as to that job I spoke of in my last post, I got fired.... can't really say why, as two days before getting fired I was the star.... the one with passion and drive and the girl who worked harder than three guys, according to the chef. He told me a month ago that he would never fire me. That he needed me on his team. That he loved working with me. That he couldn't do this job without me. But I guess he changed his mind. My confidence and my ego are a bit bruised. It was a crazy place to work but I loved the crew and I loved getting to do what is my passion. Now it's on to the next chapter in my culinary education.... who knows where I will land, but I will land on my feet.