Uncategorized
Wanderer at rest – Westward ho
Published
12 years agoon
Posted By
AdminBy Jamie Balke, Explorebigsky.com Columnist
Last week, I took a vacation to the Oregon coast. Specifically, I went to a small town called Neskowin, which I first visited as a kid. I convinced several friends to come along, hoping my childhood memory of a quaint ocean town adjacent to a hauntingly beautiful coastline with dramatic seaside cliffs was accurate.
My boyfriend and I packed the car and began the road trip to the Pacific. The plan was to stop in Walla Walla, Wash. to visit his dad and then continue on the next morning to pick up friends who’d flown into Portland.
We took the scenic route by way of Lolo Pass and spent the first part of the drive gawking at the wild beauty of the Lochsa River canyon. The river raged as it tumbled from the mountains, streams feeding into it from side drainages. I was impressed to see rafters and kayakers paddling this intimidating waterway, and we took turns exclaiming over the beauty of the river, and how terrifying we imagined it would be in a boat.
We spent a night out in charming downtown Walla Walla for dinner, wine tasting and live music. In the morning we stopped at the local farmers’ market and purchased fresh produce to stock the house we reserved in Neskowin. I was excited to buy morels, but unfortunately didn’t know how to prepare them. (That didn’t stop me from trying, and the results were disappointingly mediocre—this was no fault of the fungus. I take full responsibility.)
After a brief stop in Portland to scoop our friends, we drove to Neskowin and began the ascent to our rental. The road was very steep and narrow; in fact, it doubles as a tsunami evacuation route for the town.
I drove, alternately whimpering and treating my passengers to a colorful string of profanities. Soon I started to wonder if we hadn’t been taken in by some sort of internet scam. However, as soon as we arrived at the beautiful rental home my fears dissipated.
Almost all of the windows had broad views of the ocean. A built-in intercom system resulted in many awkward and amusing situations during our stay. We discovered too late that the door intercom is quite loud.
My friends, being avid home brewers, began the week with visits to a few local breweries. Next on the agenda was a trip to the awesome Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. The exhibits were colorful and well kept, the animals seemed healthy and happy, and everywhere we turned friendly volunteers provided us with interesting information. We even got to pet starfish.
Our exploration also led us to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. There, we were happily and ironically herded like cattle past viewing areas of cheese assembly lines and sample buckets. People wearing foam upside-down melting cone hats sold us ice cream. It was great.
Despite the early season, chilly water temperatures, we swam in the ocean several times. We were alone in this endeavor, as none of the other beachgoers seemed willing to fling themselves into the water on a windy June day. It was cold, anything but dignified, and wonderful.
As my friends and I screamed incoherently, jumped about in the choppy waves, and lost feeling in our extremities, I kept a vigilant shark watch. In retrospect, it was probably not a great idea to watch an old episode of Shark Week before the trip. All I will say on the matter is that I saw seals in the area, even a dead one on the shore, so you never know. I’m not a seal expert, so I kept these thoughts to myself.
Neuroses aside, I was happy to discover my childhood memory had not led me astray. All in all, I enjoyed a great adventure and many new experiences with some of my favorite people.
Jamie Balke moved to Bozeman in the fall of 2009. She can generally be found behind the cover of a book, meandering down a trail or desperately trying not to kill houseplants.
Upcoming Events
april, 2024
Event Type :
All
All
Arts
Education
Music
Other
Sports
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before 9/10/2024:
more
Event Details
Children turning 5 on or before
9/10/2024: Kindergarten
enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year can be completed by following the
registration process now.
Children
born on or after September 11, 2019: 4K enrollment is now open for
families that have a 4-year-old they would like to enroll in our program for
the 2023-2024 school year. Please complete the 4K Interest Form to
express your interest. Completing this form does not guarantee enrollment into
the 4K program. Enrollment is capped at twenty 4-year-olds currently
residing within Big Sky School District boundary full time and will be
determined by birth date in calendar order of those born on or after September
11, 2018. Interest form closes on May 30th.
Enrollment now is critical for fall preparations. Thank you!
Time
February 26 (Monday) - April 21 (Sunday)
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
more
Event Details
Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm
Time
March 23 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - April 23 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
Location
Santosha Wellness Center
169 Snowy Mountain Circle
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
more
Event Details
We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
Sundays, April 14, 21 and 28, 2024
Noon until 6PM.
$170.
Time
14 (Sunday) 12:00 pm - 28 (Sunday) 6:00 pm
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome
Event Details
Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome to come, if you don’t know who to bring come alone this is a great mixer event! This is an event hosted by Big Sky OUT as we work to provide queer safe spaces throughout the community.
Time
(Sunday) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
Cowboy Coffee
25 Town Center Ave. Big Sky, MT 59716