Dear Suse,

August has almost come and gone and all we've done is stay home and do chores.  I thought it was your turn to plan the vacation!  I’m heading out before summer ends and I'd love for you to join me. We're going to Oregon's Mt. Hood Territory - just for a few days, although we may decide to stay longer.   When we return we can write a few choice words detailing our adventures and enter their crazy RoadTrip contest.  I've been inspired by a few of the tales I've read, and they've inspired me  to go with a purpose.  By the way - to  continue receiving the Around the Territory monthly e-newsletter, I took their 60-second survey…that also started the wheels turning about a well-deserved vacation!

Speaking of Americana, I've got tickets for two to the Ross Coleman Invitational.  Professional Bull Riding isn't something we have the chance to see every day, and I plan to take lots of photos to prove that barrel-racing, clown-chasing and steer roping is alive and well.  The Molalla River Recreation Corridor gives you the chance to do some trail riding and me the chance to get in some single-track time. 

Afterwards, I imagine we'll put on our dancing shoes and west-coast swing our way onto the dance floor at Rosse Posse Acres' fund-raising Blues of a Feather concert.  How do I know all this stuff?  I've been peaking in on the progress of National Geographic's Central Cascades nominations… there are top-notch tips in there.

We'll spend at least one night camping in the Mt. Hood National Forest.  I've got Mt. Hood Adventure Park at Skibowl on my list (bungee jumping, alpine slides and ziplines - oh my!), interpretive talks at Timberline Lodge, and I'm guessing that you are as excited to attend the Mt. Hood Huckleberry Festival as I am.  August in Mt. Hood also means the once a year chance to take in the Steiner Cabins Tour, a "must" as we both love authentic, vintage log cabins that were crafted early last century.

Don't worry about packing for every different event, Oregon is tax free, so a half day of power shopping means an affordable splurge that  won't break the bank.  I'm not even suggesting we rough it every night, as there are plenty of unique lodging choices and I recommend we sign up for at least one night of all-out pampering.  GoSeePortland has it all mapped out for us.

We'll leave the computer at home and get completely unplugged from Facebook,  Twitter and RSS feeds.  Don't think this is easy for me! I  just can't bear the thought of summer slipping away and our not taking the chance to break out of the every day routine.  I was flipping through the gardening catalogues and noticed that the Swan Island Dahlia Festival  is open from August 29 - September 7.  Apparently this is the  nation's largest dahlia festival.  I'm thinking that the chance to capture all those fields of color for our photo album can't be resisted.   Don't thank me.  Just get in the car and let's go!

PS - Last week I had the great good fortune to accompany Sam Drevo and eNRG Kayaking on a trip to scout the Sandy River.  Recently, the Sandy's flow was freed by the removal of the Marmot Dam.  The nearly immediate restoration of the riparian habitat is a story in itself.  The BLM has plans to create a low-impact recreation area along a certain stretch of the river's edge in the near future.  As impressive to me as the wildscape, the abundance of forest creatures all around, the splash and giggle quality of the run (okay, perhaps not so much of a giggle when my inflatable kayak flipped and I swam a rapid) was the tremendously knowledgeable contribution that Sam and crew added to the adventure.

They had the back story on the ecology and de-commissioning of the dam, other, similar projects that are planned throughout the Pacific Northwest, the uber effective  Down the River cleanup, the best whitewater festivals and best seasons to run any river I could name.   All this was delivered with a spirit of fun and sure-handed expertise.  If you're going to get your feet wet with rivering, want to improve your kayaking skills or are simply looking for a great float with an amazing team, call eNRG.