Echo Rock Hot Spring

Melissa and I recently headed off to Owyhee reservoir in Oregon to visit Echo Rock Hot Springs. We went with some friends, Tony and Janat. We hiked the majority of the way, on the bottom of the nearly empty reservoir. A six mile round trip hike, the hot springs was worth the exercise. The pool was cement lined and had an intake and outlet valve. Pretty nice for being out in the middle of the Oregon wilderness.

Books and stuff 10-28-2008

I found some cheap Oxford World Classics and have added them to my reading list. The first was Melmoth the wanderer, by Charles Maturin and the second was Scenes of Clerical Life, by George Eliot. I've also checked out the first volume of the Genesis of Shannara trilogy from the library: Armageddon's Children. I see that the whole trilogy has already been released, so I won't have to wait for the books to be released. I saw some news that Shannara movies are in the works. I also am wanting to read The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard.

I've also finished the memoirs of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Very interesting reads; which were insightful into the relationship of the British Monarchy with the commonwealth governments. It was fun to read about the details of the short and turbulent reign of Edward VIII.

Our house has recently become the recipient of a water softener, which should hopefully fix our super-mega-hard water issues. As well, we also recently signed up for HD dish network and I am learning how to use a DVR.

Goldbug Hot Springs

I recently visited Goldbug Hot Springs near Salmon, Idaho. The hot spring lies high up on the hillside; a two mile hike uphill. Once you arrive, there are several pools ranging from 110° to 75°. There are several waterfalls and some of the pools are three to four feet deep with gravel bottoms. It was a fun trip, and a nice hot spring.

Wisteria

I've been planning on making a pergola over our back porch for some time. Melissa has been looking around for some type of plant to grow on it. Earlier this summer, she saw a beautiful Wisteria laced pergola. So we have been thinking about what type of wisteria to put on our upcoming pergola, and found an excellent candidate: Amethyst Falls Wisteria wisteria frutescens.

A hardy North American wisteria variety that 'comparatively' doesn't run rampant and will hopefully flower after the first year. Not to mention that it's a beautiful variety. The plant also made the University of Georgia's 2006 Gold Medal Plants, which has pretty photos and snowball bushes, so it must be good.

Bicycling Meridian

Melissa and I have been going out bicycling of late. We've found several bike paths and carved large routes out of the neighborhoods that surround our own neighborhood. It's been fun to ride around and see all the construction of the last years and enjoy the summer and fall. I think Melissa has settled on planting a wisteria vine on our upcoming back porch pergola.

Books 9-18-8

My local library has a website where I can use my library card to request books from any of the consortium libraries. Those books will then be sent to my local library for local checkout. As a result of this streamlining and ease of finding books you're interested in, I've been doing more reading of late.
I finished Awakenings by Oliver Sacks, as well as Apple Confidential. I also finished the book, Masters of Doom, by David Kushner. A fun book about several computer video games that I've enjoyed.
I've started into reading The heart has its reasons; the memoirs of the Duchess of Windsor. The autobiography of the Duchess of Windsor. And I've also picked out A King's Story by the Duke of Windsor. Two autobiographies that should certainly complement each other.

Books and stuff 9-2-2008

I've been reading Awakenings, by Oliver Sacks. It's interesting to see such a unique perspective form so many different angles: Modern medicine's relatively small grasp of the human mind, chemical interelationships with disease, people waking up from forty years of virtual non-existence. Overall, it is kind of a darkly realistic book that shows man's limitations and finite existence. I've also finished Apple Confidential 2.0 By Owen W. Linzmayer, a book detailing much of the early history of the Apple computer and spin doctor Steve Jobs. I also picked up from the library and plan to read iWoz by Steve Wozniak. An autobiography about his grapplings with technology, and how these have benefited all of us computer users.