Bear in charge 5. Time to explore with a hike.

Baxter here at the healm of the blog.  Little Fox's roommates and I are on vacation and today we are off on a hike.  The adventure starts at Lost Creek Lake near Prospect, Oregon.  The Army Corp of Engineers built a dam here many years ago and is in charge of the reservoir and the trails around the lake. 

 The lake looks like it's in good shape.  Lots of water, the trees are green.  No drought this summer.

 The clouds are coming in.  Do you think this bear is going to get wet?

 I think this is a pacific madrone tree.  Hard to tell from this picture  but the tree has a nice red hue to the bark.

 Is it lunch time yet?

One of the stops on the trail was an area called "Blue Grotto".  Sounds interesting so I decided to check it out.

 An easy side trip off the main trail.  Not too spectacular.  There is a small pool, it's kind of blue and a waterfall.   Perhaps when the snow melts more the waterfall and grotto really sparkle. 

 Wildflowers are starting to come out.

Not a bad little adventure for this bear.  Of course a nice lunch was waiting for me on the trail.  Turkey sandwich, rice cakes, and a granola bar.  No ice cream stand along the trail, I guess I will have to make sure we stop somewhere on the way home. 

Bear in Charge Blog 4

Baxter the Bear filling in for Little Fox today.  One of the things on Little Fox's list was to make sure you got to take a trip so when the roommates suggested I come along with them on a road trip, how could I say no?  Right now we are relaxing at a pub and  enjoying local art.  There is not title for this picture but it's pretty cool:  It has an elephant, dog balancing on a ball and a train.  What more could one ask for in a painting?

The break in driving was nice but there are still many miles to go. and I am hungry.  Let me check "Yelp" for ice cream.  Hmm, nothing too special in the ice cream category but I did find a homemade custard shop.   Fresh homemade custard?  Yep, I'm game.

They had a few homemade flavors.  I was only allowed to get one flavor so I went for Rocky Road.

Sequoia wasn't too thrilled as dogs aren't allowed to have chocolate.  No custard for him. 

Eventually we arrived at the rental house.  A glass of wine was waiting for me and it looks like pirogi are for dinner tonight.  Lot's of carbs for this little bear. 

Also lots of snacks.  

This trip is off to a great start. 

Bear in Charge Blog #3. Proper introductions.

Hello Blog World,
Good afternoon.  I have to admit I am a little embarrassed as I have not properly introduced myself yet.  My name is Baxter T. Bear.  I come from a long line of stuffies mainly from the Mediterranean.  As you can see my Mediterranean roots are showing as I am about to eat this nice pizza.

Don't worry.  I did some nice hiking today (one of the many tasks I have been tasked with now that Little Fox is on vacation). Today's destination is Catherine Creek to search for wildflowers. 

On board for today's adventure is Sequoia.  

Catherine Creek was originally an old ranch.  It's been out of commission for many years and now the land belongs to the forest service.  You can still see old remnants of the ranch along the route. 

There are a few scattered old oak trees and about 10 miles east there is an old cherry orchard.  The hilltop that Catherine Creek is really windy. 

One of the few surviving oaks around.

The views are expansive.  The Columbia River is in the foreground and the meadow is wide and open.   

A few wildflowers were out today.  I have always called the purple ones "Grass Widows" but I am not botanist so the real name is a mystery to me. 

Ahhhhh this is the life.  Now if this cloud would move I could enjoy a little more sun.

See you next time blog readers - your pal Baxter.

Bear in charge blog 2.

Hey Blog World,
It's the bear in charge here.  I was told to take LF's roommates on a trip to the beach today because the weather is supposed to be above 60 degree.  

Rockaway Beach is a quiet beach town.  Yes, it has the requisite ice cream shops, kite shops, and random stuff (including a shop advertising the best Indian Food on the Oregon Coast) but shopping is not in the cards for me, I am off on a hike.  


Sequoia  decided to attend the trip with us.  I am more of a backpack traveling bear while Sequoia likes to run around like a crazy dog on the beach.  He LOVES the beach.

Off in the distance are the mountains of the coast range.  Angora peak, Neahkahnie 
Mountain and many unnamed hills.  Neahkahnie Mountain is supposedly where the first European explorers arrived while exploring this part of the word in 1693 (a Spanish boat shipwrecked on the spit near the mountain).  Of course the Tillamook and Clatsop Indians have been trading with each other via the  dangerous trails that  cross Neahkahnie  mountain long before the first Europeans arrived. 

From my understanding every stuffy has their hobby.  From reading LF's notes LF's hobby is hiking and archaeology.  Jerry's is eating snacks and gardening.  Ben's is cooking.  Sandy's is exploring, Droopy's is a bacon conesour, Beanie is an artist and adventurer, and Ajdin is professional tour guide and has a drivers license.    So......readers.....you are probably wondering what my passion is. 

I have two favorite activities.
1) Eating lunch.  I love lunch, not dinner, not breakfast not snacks just  lunch.  Speaking of lunch, it's lunch time now.  First I have a nice sandwich.  Yum. 

Rice crackers.  Now how do I switch orientation on my pictures?

Honeycrisp apples. The little piece of honeycrisp apple covered in sand on the dog's waterbottle was for Sequoia.  He decided to spit it out.  Crazy huh?

Hard to see but it's string cheese. 

Not a bad lunch but I think I should start coaching LF's roommates on how to make a better lunch.  For example, I could add seafood, fresh baked cookies, brownies, and Pirogis (A favorite of this bear).    

My other passion is that I am a certified ice cream connoisseur (yes, they actually have this).  

 Hopefully, I can convince LF's roommates to stop at one or two of these local shops so I can test out the ice cream.  Paws crossed.

Bear in charge signing off.