Activities

Even though I have umpteen more hours of free time now that I’m not in college, I’ve been too busy to write. So what have I been doing with my free time in this grand place? I’ve been exploring the great Oregon wilderness in an attempt to escape the all-American small town boredom that is Roseburg.

Activity # 1: The Swimming Hole (aka Swiftwater)
Back when the weather was hot and dry every day (early September) my roommates and I went adventuring up towards the mountains. We found a great swimming hole on the North Umpqua River, and to my delight, the turquoise water was frigid and oh-so-refreshing. We spent a couple Saturdays jumping off rocks and cliffs into the river below, and watching crazier people jump off a 50-foot bridge.

Activity #2: Waterfalls
There are an insane amount of waterfalls here. I’ve hiked to three or four already, and each one has been more breathtaking than the last. We swam in a few, and I found some thimbleberries growing near some. No one believes me when I mention that thimbleberries exist. Maybe they have another name here? I can’t wait to see what the waterfalls look like in winter when the rivers rush with snow runoff and rain.

Activity #3: Hot Springs
I finally made it to some hot springs!!!!! The only springs I’ve experienced up until this point have been the cold puddles by the Petoskey State Park. But the springs in Oregon were something different entirely. They’re HOT. There’s one pool at the top, and it trickles down into four or five more pools all the way down a hill. Each pool is a little bit cooler as you get farther down and closer to the river. This spot was very Oregon Hippie, and my modest Midwest self had to pretend not to be shocked that some people don’t think a bathing suit is a necessary accessory when soaking in hot springs. Like the rivers, I can’t wait to go back in the winter (when there will be snow up there in the mountains.)

Activity #4: Portlandia
(I had to go to Portland for AmeriCorps training last week, and some of us spent a couple extra days there exploring.)

Okay, so Portland isn’t exactly the Great Outdoors, but at times I felt like I was observing a wild species as I strolled down its rainy streets. I am referring to the abundance of a certain breed of human, called “Hipster.” I vaguely remember discussing the Hipster’s identifying characteristics with family members this summer, and I wish I could show them Portland. I’m not sure there are any non-Hipsters in Portland. I couldn’t walk down the street without feeling bad that my clothes matched and my pants were not pegged, cutoff, or otherwise altered. There were also a lot of hairy men there. Overall, an interesting city, but probably not a place I’d choose to live. I guess I’m too mainstream.

Activity #5: The Zoo
Despite the lack of young people here, I’ve managed to go out a bit and check out the nightlife. We live down the street from a place that has free ping-pong and a jukebox that plays way too much heavy metal and country. (But I think I might get pretty good at ping pong if I keep frequenting that establishment). We also took a couple trips to the Zoo, Roseburg’s finest nightclub (unless you count the strip club—amateur night, anyone??) where we danced the night away and pretended that the people dancing around us were wholesome, upstanding citizens. (Maybe some of them are, but the Zoo doesn’t seem to attract Roseburg’s more cultured inhabitants.) Contrary to what you might think, this establishment does not house animals.

Of course, this isn't all I do. But I'm too tired to write more. The Zoo sapped all my energy. And my neck hurts. I think I need to tame my dance moves.