City Livin'

It has been far too long since we have updated you on our travels. We left Zig Zag Mountain Farm the first week of November and since then have been vagabonds, exploring the western coast without a care in the world. That's not completely true, we are always concerned that we are spending too much money or that we won't find our next farm, but overall life has been blissfully tranquil. 

It's incredible how quickly a new place can feel like home. We left our farm in the mountains sad to go, but excited for the adventure ahead. The owners of Zig Zag Mountain farm also own a hostel in downtown Portland, so our first stop was to spend a night at the Northwest Portland Hostel. This hostel is unlike any I have experienced traveling abroad. We had a private room, with a fireplace and down comforter on the bed. For this type of private room it runs around $60 / night, but if you prefer to stay in a dorm room it will only set you back $21. The hostel is located in Portland's quietly cool Alphabet District, close enough to everything downtown Portland offers but secluded enough to feel relaxed. 

Indulging in Portland's most famous junk food

Our first stop after Portland was to spend time with my Dad's cousin, Mike, at his farm on Puget Island, Washington. We spent a restful weekend casually touring the island on our bicycles, taking the ferry to Astoria, where we educated ourselves on all things ocean at the Maritime Museum and getting to know local artists at the Tsuga Gallery in Cathlamet. At the museum, we learned what it took to be the fishing capital of the coast. Canneries filled the seaside towns, ready to process the daily catch. Most cannery workers were Chinese immigrants and were extremely efficient. An individual could clean a 40-pound salmon in 45 seconds. In a grueling 11-hour workday, this amounted to 1,700 fish cleaned per day. 

Mike's farm is a picturesque property spanning a hundred acres on the small Puget Island. It's an hourly thrill to watch ships carefully navigate down the Columbia River and into Portland. With the right phone app, it is even possible to track the country of origin, cargo and destination of each ship that passes by the living room window. 

Exploring Puget Island

We left Mike's farm with the plan of heading north to Seattle, where he and Priscilla live year-round. But, Chase and I decided to take the scenic route and wound up spending the night along the stunning Oregon coast. Yes, we went south rather than north, but it was more than worth it to spend an evening in Cannon Beach. The typical cold, windy, rainy weather disappeared when we arrived and we spent our afternoon on the beach, basking in rays of the rare November sun. It seems like the more we travel, the luckier we become with finding deals on accommodations. Of course it also has something to do with the fact that it was a Sunday in November, but either way, we scored an apartment-sized room just a stone's throw away from the beach for $75. Our lodging came complete with a full kitchen, gas fireplace and plush linens. Whenever we find a town that feels right, we start planning our future, so it may be that our next home is a farm/art gallery on the ocean, just outside of Cannon Beach. No, we haven't yet decided how to fund our future, but that doesn't stop us from dreaming.

Panoramic view from atop the Astoria tower, playing at Cannon Beach alongside the famous Haystack sea stack

The next day we cruised to Seattle along the winding, coastal roads. Seattle was never a city where we imagined ourselves settling down, but after seeing it on sunny day, we have added it to our ever-expanding list. We spent our day in Seattle taking part in all of the free activities we could find, with a little help from National Geographic. The first stop was to climb atop the old water tower in Volunteer Park to get a view of the entire city. Looking west is a panoramic view of downtown Seattle and to the east is Lake Washington. Who needs the twenty-two dollar Space Needle when there is an equally stunning view for free? The next free stop was under the Fremont Street bridge to see the famous 18 foot, one-eyed, stone troll that lurks beneath. Our sculpture tour continued at the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park. The nine-acre park traverses from the city center down to the Puget Sound. Sculptures line the path all the way to a remote beach, in the heart of the city. It seemed an oddly relaxing place within the bustling city. The weather was too nice to be wasted indoors, so we continued our outdoor adventure at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in the Ballard neighborhood. Chase and I cheered salmon as they climbed up the fish ladder and watched boats passing through the locks. 

Chase being a supermodel in the Olympic Sculpture Garden

All of this walking built up quite an appetite and we had a few hours until we were to meet Jocelyn and Scott for dinner. The Scandinavian neighborhood of Ballard beckoned us to an oyster happy hour, beer tasting and snacking on cured meats. Yes, I tried my first raw oyster. The bartender was quite the oyster shucking professional having shucked them his entire life with his family and over 900 just last weekend. He taught us all about selecting a quality oyster and encouraged me to try the first one plain - no lemon, no sauces, just raw shellfish. I tried hard not to gag as it slipped down my throat, but I wouldn't say it's my new favorite food. Somehow, Chase loves the slippery little things and delighted in each bite. We indulged in Ballard and in return felt at home in the friendly neighborhood. Jocelyn and Scott live in the nearby area of Queen Anne, where they spoiled us with homemade pizza and wine. Their cozy apartment left us nostalgic for a home of our own, maybe even in Seattle.

Oyster happy hour at Ballard Annex

Marisa, our Zig Zag farm friend, spent the weekend in Seattle so we gave her a ride back to Portland. Somehow, we found room in our car for another person. Her and Mick have begun to settle into their new home in Portland and cooked for us once again, crafting a coconut curry that had me begging for more. The next morning we picked up Alex, our other Zig Zag farm friend, and began an unforgettable two-week road trip throughout Oregon and California. Stay tuned! 

Dining and Lodging

Ecola Lodge
Cannon Beach, Oregon
Cozy, country lodge cottages with full kitchens and separate bedrooms 

Ballard Annex
Seattle, Washington 
Casual chic oyster bar and fine dining 

Noble Fir 
Seattle, Washington
Knowledgeable bartenders of extensive craft beer and cider menu

Zig Zag Mountain Farm

I am exhausted. Our first week at Zig Zag Mountain Farm has ended and it wore me out. The month long hiatus we took in Minnesota did nothing for my endurance. I am now sitting in the kitchen, with a blazing fire at my back, sipping tea and reminiscing about our latest road trip. We planned on camping each night on our way out West, just as we did this summer, but this time the weather did not cooperate. Bismarck, North Dakota was our first overnight stop and Chase had picked out a sentimental campsite for us, located along the Missouri River, the same river we camped on earlier this summer when we set out on the road. However, the tornado warnings and torrential rain prohibited us from any outdoor sleeping and we settled on the cheapest hotel.

I do not have a single good reason for why we slept in a hotel on night two, only that we arrived in Missoula around 9:00pm, hungry and tired. We could not imagine searching for a campsite and setting up in the frigid darkness. Finally, on night three, in the middle of wheat country Washington, we camped. Our drive to Palouse Falls State Park was slightly confusing. We knew that we were camping next to a rushing waterfall that drops a sudden 200 feet, but we imagined it would be set within a lush, wooded area, since we had been told that the state of Washington was full of rain. Yet, once we crossed into Washington, it felt like we were back in North Dakota - only flatter. Fields of wheat ran off in all directions for as far as I could see. The road looked like it had been only recently paved and was so narrow that we held our breath whenever another car would pass. It was the type of road just meant for a car commercial. We snaked between farms and never once saw any kind of forest or wetland. Within a couple of hours, the GPS told us that we would be approaching our destination in one mile. Confusing, there was no water in site. We set up camp and could hear rushing water, but we still couldn't see this supposed waterfall. After walking a mere 100 feet, we set our eyes upon the beauty of Palouse Falls.

The falls are 198 feet in height and drop straight down into a 400 foot canyon. Tectonic forces and Ice Age floods over millions of years all contributed to the creation of such a spectacular sight. We climbed all around the waterfall for hours and never stopped being amazed. The canyon that contains the waterfall continues it's winding ways for miles. The best view is from atop the falls, standing slightly behind the drop. I could feel the power in the water that raged over the rock and I could sense the force that it took to form such a creation. There was no doubt in my mind that the energy in this location was palpable. The air felt like it was waiting for a single spark to unleash it's energy. Standing as close to the edge as I dared, I felt faint when I realized how much trust I was putting in Mother Earth. I was trusting that a cliff of rock and sand would hold my weight. I trusted that the ledge I was relying upon wouldn't crumble and become part of the pile of fallen rock below. What is it about nature that allows me to trust without question, when I can barely trust my doctor to read an X-ray?

Our night was a cold one. The temperature dropped to 35 degrees, but we were toasty warm in our sleeping bags and sweaters. The next morning we took one last hike around the waterfall and started towards our final destination - Zig Zag Mountain Farm. Along the way we watched the countryside turn from fields to forests. We drove parallel to the lovely Columbia River from east to west, until we reached our turn toward Mount Hood. Our home for the next month is located at the base of one of the largest mountains on the west coast. They say everything here is larger because of all the rainf they receive each year, but it has yet to shed a drop since our arrival. Each day, we work surrounded by Fir trees that rise 100 feet above the ground. The leaves on the Maple trees are massive and each time they tumble to the ground I mistaken them for an approaching animal. They don't just delicately drop to the ground like Minnesota leaves, it's as though they are trying to let the whole world know that this is their last moment of life by making as much noise as possible.

Zig Zag Mountain Farm is different from the other farms we have visited this year. They offer a mountain retreat for workshops and classes throughout the summer. The farm manager, A.J., makes sure that the garden is producing and that the land is in pristine condition. Part of his taking care of the land this summer has been completing a massive forestry project. He and the other volunteers have worked to thin 33 acres of temperate forest to promote tree health and prevent forest fires. I hope you realize what an undertaking like this entails, but in the case that you do not, it means taking a thick forest and removing trees until there is on average 10 feet between each tree. This way enough light can filter through to the trees and keep them growing strong. The process began with sawing down all of the unwanted trees. Once these trees were scattered across the forest floor they had to be responsibly removed. The felled trees had to be limbed, bucked and stacked into organized piles. This meant climbing up and down the mountain, carrying insanely heavy pieces of trees and placing them into organized piles. These piles of wood could now be used for firewood, building materials and woodchips. Chase and I worked on the tail end of this project for the first week and I am proud to say that together we can lift most any fallen tree in the woods - once it has been bucked up of course. My muscles are still getting used to this lumberjack lifestyle, but luckily we have a wood-heated hot tub to ease my pain.