The disadvantage of making plans is the exclusion of the opportunity to learn from the unexpected. There is some balance between governing your life and allowing a bit of chaos to ferment into some intoxicatingly serendipitous coincidence. Corvallis is a dog town and the hiking and biking trails are a highway of quadripeds and occasionally a misfortunate triped. So far the only dogs I've noticed to have aggressive tendencies are the one held tightly on short leashes. Absolute control of any situation is impossible and the harder control is striven for the more unpleasantness it creates. Consistency is probably the most over-rated virtue in America these days and trying to achieve stability through control is destroying us personally and politically. The active practice of freedom involves a willingness to expose yourself to risk.

Now that I've dispensed with an over-caffeinated and disjointed rant, I'll follow with some recent photos from our manically erratic explorations. Above is the full moon rising over the Mckenzie river valley.
This is a cloud condensing over a lagoon formed by the warm waters of Terwilliger hot springs. The springs are known locally as Cougar Hot Springs, but not everything in Oregon lives up to it's name.
Stella and my Psychiatrist midway through a recent wet and epic hike. Three sisters in the background.
Doc Sauls looks out over the Sisters Wilderness area. 572 sq miles...
The predominant color around here.