Stub Stewart – Riveted

Hiking the Trails at Stub Stewart State Park

Laura Domela — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 21:08:00 +0000

We're spending a few days this week out at Stub Stewart State Park. We figured we could work and hike from here and get some different trail scenery than we've been getting around home. (Not that we're complaining…we just wanted an excuse to get out in the trailer a bit.)

Here are a few snaps from today's hike:

It's so hard to capture the look of the light that hits all the tiny bare branches under the shade canopy of leaves and such…I converted these to black and white and I think I got it:

We've been using an app called Walk Jog Run (thanks for that tip, Dave & Ann!) to map our last couple of morning hikes. You can use it to look for routes that others have logged near you, or you can log your routes for others to find. This should really come in handy when we're in new and unfamiliar places and want to know where to go.

Here's today's (4.2 miles):

And here is yesterday's (4.5 miles):

It's a great app we'll be using often!

Rainy, windy, sunny. Rainy, windy, sunny

Laura Domela — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:25:51 +0000

The weather is totally fickle today. It'll be completely gray and raining, and then all of a sudden: sunny!! Then, super windy, the rain starts again, repeat. So here are a few interior shots I'm adding to our "Look Inside" album. Thought I'd put 'em here in a post, too.

We took the trail and hiked down to the recycling center a little bit ago. See how nice this trail is? It's only about a mile roundtrip…downhill there and uphill back.

Pretty mellow here at Stub Stewart again today…nice place to be getting a ton of work done!

Oh wait, now it's sunny:

Hiking Some Trails at Stub Stewart (and Tonight’s Dinner)

Laura Domela — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:17:05 +0000

There are miles and miles of trails here, and we've done a bunch of 'em. Earlier this afternoon we took the trail down to the trash and recycling (it's a really nice trail!!) and then headed off on a bit longer hike into the woods. Gorgeous.

My mom is meeting us out here tonight with her RV. We'll be cooking some beef tenderloins with a celeriac puree, sauteed chard and kale, and maybe a small salad. Should be yum!

It’s Crickets Here During the Week in Spring

Laura Domela — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:43:45 +0000

We practically have the place to ourselves.

Bummer, huh?

(Look at that cute little strawberry plant our neighbor Kelli brought us?!)

View from the Top of the Hill

Laura Domela — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:20:53 +0000

Here's our spot at L.L. Stub Stewart State Park. Notice how empty it was on Sunday afternoon after all the weekenders bailed out?

Here's us, taken from the top of the hill at the day use area. We hiked up there yesterday afternoon…after it finally stopped raining.

Last night we grilled some chicken breasts on the Traeger, and I made some asparagus soup in the Vitamix. Simple, but delicious. Today it's sunny and there's not a cloud in the sky. Finally!

Barbie and Sasquatch Cuddling by the Fire

Laura Domela — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 23:29:45 +0000

We had such a great time this weekend at Stub Stewart State Park with Tiffany and Deke, Leigh and Brian, and The Mehallicks (Lisa, George, Lily, and Maya).

The weather was really lovely when we first got here on Wednesday. We hiked and biked and it was beautiful.

As soon as everyone arrived for the weekend it was off-and-on rainy and cold, with occasional sun breaks.

On Saturday mid-day, Deke and Tiffani opened their Bloody Mary bar. They had tons of accessories: veggies and pickles and salami and cheese for everyone to make their own veggie skewers to go in the drinks, along with some little quiches. Super yum and fun!

Later in the afternoon, some of us went into Forest Grove for a little wine tasting at the Tualatin Estate Vineyard, and then to David Hill. It was rainy most of the day, but as soon as we got to Tualatin Valley Vineyard it was sunny and beautiful and we opted to sit outside. As soon as our last wine was finished, it started to sprinkle. Perfect timing.

(Deke tastes a pinot noir he really likes.)

Next we stopped at David Hill and did a pretty quick tasting since it was 4:30 and they closed at 5. They seemed a bit rushed. Wine was good, but fast. Another great view.

After wine tasting we returned to camp and started preparations for our taco bar. We had fresh snapper sauteed with shallots, garlic, butter, cumin, and cilantro, ground beef with chile verde, grilled veggies and black beans, sauteed tilapia, chile steak, chipotle sour cream, salsa, guacamole…and tons of other add-ons. It worked perfectly and I love how chill we all are about the meal thing. It just worked. In the middle of all of our prep a park ranger walked up and told us about how they were having a “birds of prey” program down at the amphitheatre, so the guys all headed down there while we finished up a few things. As soon as we got an iPhone photo of the HUGE owl, we turned off the burners and the grill and went down for the rest of the show. Totally worth it. Saw a huge owl, a huge raven, a kind of regular-sized peregrine falcon, and a huge turkey vulture.

The weather was great yesterday and didn’t rain at all…all the way through dinner and campfire afterward.

Deke taught Lily and Maya how to build a fire by demonstrating on a very small scale. The perfect scale, in fact, for naked Barbie and her much shorter and hairier boyfriend, Sasquatch:

This morning after hikes and breakfast, we set up the Airstream photo studio and did portraits of everyone. Love how easy this setup works. We’ve got a monopod with a speedlight and an umbrella adapter for the light (not shown) that is super efficient and folds up very small (same with the 5×7 folding backdrop)

Everyone but us left today, and we’ll head home in the morning.

The Mehallick’s “Crazy MoHo”

Leigh & Brian heading out, with Tiffani and Deke’s AS in the background.

‘Til next time everyone! Great weekend!

It’d be cool if it stopped raining for more than 10 minutes

Laura Domela — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:44:36 +0000

We moved over to Stub Stewart State Park today. Kyle will follow later this afternoon and Lisa & George Mehallik will be joining as well. We'll be grilling up some salmon, roasting some sweet potatoes and green beans, and likely adding some martinis and hors d'oeuvres to the mix.

We plan to do a little wine tasting in Forest Grove tomorrow (David Hill, Apolloni, and Willamette Valley Vineyards/Tualatin Estate). The winning event will likely be the "Bacon Bash" at David Hill. Yep, bacon paired with wine. What could be better, really?

(Posted by Laura)