Bowen backpacks

I have a favorite quote that I keep up in my cubicle at work:

“Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”

-John Muir

The great outdoors, nature, and exploring are central to my life, to our lives, and to our marriage. Emphasis on the sanity Mo' Nature brings to us. After too many weeks stuck in the grind, we must get away, and we like to spend most of our summer on the go.

We planned to backpack up and around Mt. Jefferson last summer, but the wildfires pushed us out. We attempted, but we had to turn away. So instead of heading home, we drove toward Sisters and climbed the Tam MacArthur Rim hike, which was on our list for a while. From the top of the hike, you can see the backside of the Cascade Range, including South Sister, the site of our engagement (mem-oh-reez). We drove the McKenzie Highway “home,” and ended up backpacking into the secluded and quiet Linton Late area for a night’s camp.

Highlights included campfire cooking, beer drinking, and watching one of the most epic sunsets over the hills. And spending the night in a tent with a puppy. He may have just celebrated his first birthday, but Bowen certainly stirred at the sound of any rustling.

 C'mon, Bowen!

Never get it on the first take...

This is what success looks like.

The hiatus is over

((Taps mic.)) This thing on?

My, oh my…how long it’s been.

The last nine months of work have been crazy. To be fair, it’s more like the last six. I’ve had to put aside a lot of the things that make me happy or fulfill my passions, simply to keep my head above water. I sort of tabled time spent writing, which I’ve sorely missed.

I can’t do that anymore. I love keeping track of memories and capturing the little things that I want to remember forever. So, I’m back. Hopefully more consistently.

I just read this quote in an article about a pro basketball player-turned personal trainer: Sometimes we need to walk away from the things that are right to really understand them.

In my opinion, I walked away from my true self. Sort of as a challenge, a risk I was willing to take. I knew I might flounder, but I hoped I’d succeed and open door I didn’t even know was there. I ended up overworking myself, alongside a super challenging time health-wise for me, too.

But all of this is in the past, and I'm really feeling back to my old self. It's time to make and save moments to write and reflect. 

So how about a quick recap of last summer's Benz Birthday Weekend Cooking Challenge?

The theme for 2015 was: Fusion Food Carts, and there were no disappointments. Team Heit kicked things off with a Californian-Hawaiian plate lunch, followed by the DeVries doing an Asian-Mexican fusion, “Samurai Sombreros,” and then it was our turn, the “Umami Tsunami,” a non-specified Asian fusion. None of us knew what the other teams would be creating, so as always, it was surprising and fun, and there were no duplicate items on the menus.

We also took a trip out to Elk Lake for picnicking and paddleboarding, which ended up being quite the highlight of the long weekend. We’re adding this to our annual to-do for next year (which isn’t so far away now that it’s almost May).

The BBWCC is our family’s Christmas. Since we can’t all get together in December, it’s so nice to have all of us in one place at one time, celebrating another year of life in our favorite place over food.

The photos are in no order at all...and probably terrible quality because I'm no photographer. Clearly.