tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41718022777304017762024-03-13T14:37:04.407-07:00Willamette Valley Life MagazinePlaces to go, people to see, things to doRandy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-14168477716612947232013-01-14T22:04:00.000-08:002013-01-16T10:53:10.730-08:00Winter In The Valley<br />
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I love winter time in the Willamette Valley. I know that might sound strange coming from a native Texan who moved from a sunny, warm climate to this one, but I do.<br />
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I even found myself actually anxious for winter and the rains to start back in August of last year. Weird, huh?<br />
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Something about the winter time here is really enchanting to me. The fog, the storm and winter clouds - the damp moss that seems to cling to everything.<br />
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I love photography and I think the Willamette Valley in the winter time is probably every photographer's dream. The atmosphere is moody, the colors are saturated.<br />
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Try it this winter. Grab your camera (or your phone camera) and start really looking at things around you. That nut grove down the road. Look at the tree limbs covered with deep green moss and how the colors change with the various lighting shifts that happen throughout the day.<br />
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Winter beauty is everywhere. All you have to do is open your eyes.<br />
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Randy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-18157386503597884182013-01-02T17:53:00.003-08:002013-01-02T17:56:39.705-08:00The new issue comes out tomorrowLet me tell you, it's a great feeling when the latest issue goes to press. I checked proofs today and the new issue will start hitting the streets tomorrow.<br />
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It also marks the start of our 4th year publishing <i>Willamette Valley Life</i>. We started the publication smack dab in the middle of a recession and here we are still at it!<br />
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I'm already planning the spring issue, so if you have any ideas that you would like us to consider for subject matter, let me know.Randy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-86477747372756307202012-10-09T11:31:00.001-07:002012-10-09T11:32:23.344-07:00Farewell To Summer<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">I don’t
know about you, but I’m not ready for summer to be over. There are so many
things I’ve put off because something else got in the way. I only made it to
the beach a couple of times this summer. And the hammock on the back deck? I
think I took a swing in it once or twice. I’m trying not to beat myself up over
it, but in the land where the sun doesn’t shine nearly long enough throughout
the year, I should probably be given a fine of some kind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">For all of
you who procrastinated and ended up in the same boat as me, this issue has some
great ideas to help you ease slowly into the next season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Mention the
word “raptor” and what do you think of? If you’re anything like me, I bet the
first thing that popped into your mind was a velociraptor from the film <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i>Jurassic</i></st1:placename><i> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Park</st1:placetype></i></st1:place>.
Nope. The raptors I’m talking about reside at the <st1:placename w:st="on">Cascade</st1:placename>
<st1:placename w:st="on">Raptor</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Center</st1:placetype>
near <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Eugene</st1:place></st1:city> and
are birds of prey. Freelance writer Sara Grant got an up-close look at a few of
these amazing birds at a recent trip to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Raptor</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Center</st1:placetype></st1:place>.
You can read about what she learned in this issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Writer
Suzanne Reingans is an avid hiker and explorer of all things outdoors here in
the Willamette Valley. This lady knows her hiking trails, and to prove it she
has provided a short list of some of her favorite hiking trails within a day trip
of The Valley.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Salem
rocks! Yes, you heard me right. Back in the 1960s a local teacher by the name
of Ed Dougherty got tired of hearing from his students that there was nothing
to do in Salem, so he started booking dances at Walker Middle School in 1962.
Before he knew it, he was a major concert promoter bringing national acts to
Salem like the Doors, Sonny and Cher, The Yardbirds and many more music legends
of the time. Writer Cindy Dauer sat down recently with Mr. Dougherty, and he
shared some of his favorite memories of a very unique time period in The Valley’s
music history. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">As the
summer winds down and fall moves in, get out of the house. Enjoy the sunshine
we have left and the beautiful fall leaves that are popping up everywhere. See
you in the New Year with our third anniversary issue!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Randy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-37066933932010009362012-07-30T10:46:00.000-07:002012-07-30T10:47:07.037-07:00Last minute road trip to the beach<br />
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One of the really great things about living in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Willamette</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Valley</st1:placetype></st1:place> (there’s a lot) is the ability to
get to the mountains or the beach in a short amount of time. That was a problem
in my native state of <st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state>.
It was 4 hours to beach and 12 hours or so to the mountains from <st1:city w:st="on">Austin</st1:city>.</div>
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My wife Dawn and I took advantage of our proximity to the
beach this past weekend and decided on a lark at 2:30pm on Saturday to head to
the beach. It was a fabulous break from our routine. It was clear and sunny in <st1:placename w:st="on">Lincoln</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype>
and we were able to find a front row parking space at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Roads</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">End</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State Park</st1:placetype></st1:place> just outside of town.</div>
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A trip to Mo’s restaurant for some clam chowder and seafood
was the perfect end to our trip. We headed back to the Valley before it got
dark, refreshed by a little change of pace.</div>
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Read more about Roads End State Park <a href="http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_225.php">here</a>.</div>Randy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-5263973626955122742012-06-25T14:31:00.001-07:002012-06-25T14:31:28.005-07:00Visit to the Columbia River Gorge...Bonneville Dam and Horsetail FallsI love to go exploring and yesterday proved to be a great day to do some around the Columbia River Gorge. I visited Horsetail Falls and Bonneville Dam for the first time and it was quite the education.<br />
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Horsetail Falls is part of a string of falls near Multnomah Falls which is the main tourist attraction. Horsetail is easy to get to and also easy to get up close to...the other falls are not quite that easy.<br />
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After a visit to the falls I took a short detour to Bonneville Dam. This is quite the place. The dam is huge and has a really interesting history that you can learn all about at the visitor center. Also in the visitor center you can either take the elevator to the rooftop for a great view of the entire area or down to the bottom floor to observe fish swimming through the fish ladder (where they are counted).<br />
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All in all, a super day trip to share with your family.Randy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-86466844985945214142012-06-17T10:50:00.001-07:002012-06-17T10:50:40.600-07:00Meeting Ray Benson of Asleep at the WheelI got the opportunity to meet Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel earlier this month at a meet and greet prior to the band's concert at Rice Auditorium in Monmouth. Super nice guy and very tall (or I'm very short).<br />
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<br />Randy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-46009775815598610412012-05-07T10:43:00.001-07:002012-05-07T11:01:10.933-07:00Sunday Loop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sunday should really be a day of rest.<br />
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I have trouble sitting still and not doing the million things and ideas that spark in my brain on a seemingly continual basis. Sometimes, even I get tired of thinking and need to just unwind and do a little of what I've termed, "free range driving." The idea is basically to see how lost I can get in the Valley and see what we can discover.<br />
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Thankfully my wife Dawn has lived with me long enough to realize when I really need this and will often suggest it without my asking. So yesterday, with a floor that needed vacuuming, a yard that needed mowing and all the other little 1,001 things that needed doin'...we jumped in the van and headed off.<br />
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The Willamette Valley has a million things to see - if you purposely go out into it with your eyes open and your camera ready. We first drove to I-5 and headed north of Salem to the Newberg exit and headed west. I've traveled these roads a lot over the last eight years that we've lived here, but I always hope to find a road that I haven't discovered yet. Thankfully there are<i> lots</i> of those and we found a few.<br />
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It wasn't a long trip. We drove through Newberg, Yamhill and Carlton before making our way to McMinnville and then on 99 to Rickreall before heading home.<br />
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What do I get out of it? First I get to visit with my wife after a super hectic week. Second, I get to slowly exhale as I watch the calming green hills, orchards and assorted farm animals pass by. It only took a little while, but the relief I felt was long-lasting.<br />
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Try it for yourself next time you need a break and let me know what you discovered.<br />
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-RandyRandy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-8346691181835043752012-04-29T12:15:00.001-07:002012-04-29T12:16:04.166-07:00Cherry trees<div><p>Beautiful cherry tree grove in Oak Grove, Oregon.</p>
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One of my favorite times of year: when the pink snow falls!Randy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-36989307302758425392012-04-07T11:13:00.002-07:002012-04-07T11:13:47.391-07:00Spring CleaningThe cherry tree just outside my office window has pink blossoms on it. A little early I hear, so that isn’t particularly weird, but now, as of this morning, they have snow on them. It’s like the weather is having a little argument with itself. “It’s spring.” “No, it’s winter.” “No, it’s spring.”<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Whatever it is, it seems like it’s just another weird season in the Willamette Valley.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Spring is also the time that you’re supposed to clean, organize and throw out all the stuff you don’t need anymore (who came up with that idea?). That’s my clever way (maybe not so clever) of segueing into this new issue of Willamette Valley Life. We’ve been doing a little design spring cleaning and have freshened up the look of the magazine. Nothing earth shattering, but a few changes nonetheless.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When my wife and I first moved to the Willamette Valley eight years ago, I was shocked to see so many covered bridges in the Valley. Let me restate that: I was completely shocked to see any covered bridges in the Valley. If you’re new to the area, or maybe you’ve been here forever and haven’t ventured out to discover these artifacts from another time, you need to put this on your spring and summer bucket list. Writer Loren Depping took a grand tour of them last month and came back with this issue’s feature on page 6.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Thank you for picking up Willamette Valley Life. I hope you enjoy reading what we’ve put together, and I hope you enjoy your spring!Randy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-39122185840842660912011-12-31T11:24:00.001-08:002011-12-31T11:24:42.993-08:00Happy New Year, Happy Anniversary<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Happy New Year! It seems like 2011 arrived out of nowhere, and then it was gone lickety-split!<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s even harder to believe that this issue of Willamette Valley Life marks our second anniversary. It’s been quite the adventure and we have really enjoyed bringing all of the wonderful places and personalities to you via this publication. The Willamette Valley is overflowing with so many great destinations to explore and interesting people to read about, I don’t think we’ll ever run out of story ideas.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The magazine continues to grow and expand into all corners of the valley. Readers can now pick up Willamette Valley Life at an increasing number of locations. To find one in your area, visit our website at willamettevalleylife.com.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This issue is bursting at the seams with some excellent winter reading material. Writer Tami Richards came across a wonderful story about Dr. George Norek who not only teaches and practices Shodo calligraphy, but has found a way to deal with some significant health issues through the practice of his art.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Rachel Bucci wrote a great piece about “Smokin’ Mike” Buyes, a Willamette Valley bricklayer-turned-entrepreneur who took his passion for smoking seafood and turned it into a business. [Editor’s note: Sadly, at press time, we found out that Mike’s son, Cpl. Adam J. Buyes, was killed in Afghanistan. Our sincere condolences go out to the entire Buyes family.]<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Winter is here and several of our readers have shared some of their favorite photos of the Willamette Valley in winters past. You can see their cool creations on page 6. We also came up with a list of Valley museums that you can escape to when cabin fever strikes during the cold winter.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Money guru Ken Gardner is back in this issue with some great ideas about what to do with your tax return dollars, and wine-meister Ryan Reichart shares his tips on getting the most out of your favorite Oregon sparkling wine.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As always, thanks for picking up Willamette Valley Life and please support our advertisers who help to bring issue after issue to you.Randy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-30559891128546002402011-12-01T11:04:00.000-08:002011-12-01T11:04:13.477-08:00KMUZ 88.5 FM Hits The Airwaves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CECNnAFUdko/TtfPfP03bvI/AAAAAAAAECw/c85Eeg4vkzQ/s1600/kmuz_logo_web.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CECNnAFUdko/TtfPfP03bvI/AAAAAAAAECw/c85Eeg4vkzQ/s200/kmuz_logo_web.png" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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It's been a long time coming, but it looks like the Willamette Valley's new community radio station, KMUZ 88.5 FM will start broadcasting over the airwaves any day now. It's already streaming live on the <a href="http://kmuz.org/">internet</a>.<br />
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Yours truly even has a show on the baby station..."The Western Swing Time Radio Show." If you would like to listen, tune in at 5pm Pacific on Tuesday afternoons.<br />
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Congratulations to everyone who helped make this station possible.Randy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-88538770736451070972011-11-20T20:34:00.000-08:002011-11-20T20:36:01.907-08:00Thanksgiving and Wine in the Willamette Valley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pyq4gbu2R6M/TsnUlXHXlcI/AAAAAAAAECo/iigW7b_ub5o/s1600/18intransit2-articleInline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pyq4gbu2R6M/TsnUlXHXlcI/AAAAAAAAECo/iigW7b_ub5o/s200/18intransit2-articleInline.jpg" width="111" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Here's an interesting article by Willamette Valley writer Rachel Bucci that was in the New York Times online today. The Willamette Valley Wineries Association has put out an app that is billed as, "The official mobile wine tour for the Willamette Valley!" Just in time for the Thanksgiving wine event in the valley.<br />
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<a href="http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/18/thanksgiving-and-wine-in-the-willamette-valley/">Read all about it here...</a>Randy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171802277730401776.post-53950504949894302582011-11-18T15:15:00.000-08:002011-11-18T16:55:50.480-08:00Winter 2012 Anniversary Issue In The Works<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8tn1pXHykM/TsbuSQAnbUI/AAAAAAAAECQ/6lp3DjQYEyY/s1600/2010-12-08+08.53.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8tn1pXHykM/TsbuSQAnbUI/AAAAAAAAECQ/6lp3DjQYEyY/s320/2010-12-08+08.53.42.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It's hard to believe that we're coming up on our 2nd anniversary. It's not easy to launch a new publication, but we've made it this far and the future looks pretty darn bright. Willamette Valley Life seems to resonate with a lot of valley folks and many have mentioned to me that it's their favorite publication. That is both gratifying and scary.<br />
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Gratifying, because a lot of work and thought goes into each issue and it's nice that people notice. It's also scary because we have to do it all again with each issue. It seems I'm always a little terrified before we begin each new issue, but then we get into the rhythm of it and everything is suddenly okay. Funny how that works.<br />
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I heard last night on the news that we might expect some snow down at the 1,000 foot level today. That would be super. Don't you just love watching the changing seasons of the valley? Back in my home state of Texas the seasons were brown and green and then back to brown again.<br />
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Enjoy the season with your loved ones and I'll see you in a few days.<br />
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-Randy HillRandy Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03387613914665641376noreply@blogger.com1