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How to make Pemmican

This may be not be the healthiest food that you can eat (and it is sooo not). But it is a great high energy food to carry with you on long strenuous hikes.  Pemmican is a Native American survival food that has an incredibly long shelf life, and it requires no refrigeration storage. It is similar to a Granola Bar except it contains no artificial preservatives. It is a high density energy source…

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Top 5 Overnight hiking backpacks for under $200

Are you on a budget for your next overnight hiking trip but still need a reliable backpack? No worries! We’ve got you covered with the top 5 overnight hiking backpacks under $200 in no particular order Teton Sports Scout 3400 Backpack The Teton Sports Scout 3400 Backpack is an affordable option for those who need to carry a lot of gear. It has a roomy main compartment and several smaller…

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Rockhounding Oregon: Santiam river

Rock hounding is a fascinating hobby that is enjoyed by many people around the world. It involves searching for and collecting rocks, minerals, and gemstones from different locations, often in natural settings. If you’re interested in rock hounding and happen to be in Oregon, then the Santiam River is one of the best places to explore. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at rock hounding on…

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New England Clam chowder

Every year for Christmas eve my great-grandmother would make a big pot of clam chowder for all of us to eat. And so began my love of clam chowder as a little munchkin. Since yesterday was a very successful clam digging trip I am going to use my bounty to make a tasty batch of chowder using great-Grandma’s recipe. It is a great way to celebrate memories of the past, and eat a delicious meal that I…

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Jasper rock tumbling with a Tumbler tumbler: Stage 1

Jasper rock tumbling with a Tumbler tumbler: Stage 1

So you like to wander around and pick up random rocks to bring home. But once you get them home what do you do with them? Or in my case my wife brings me rocks, and then I need to figure out what to do with them. Since our ancient Lortone tumbler motor went out and no one seems to have a replacement in stock I ventured out in the market for a new tumbler to do something with my endless supply of…

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Adventures in lapidary - tile saw for rock cutting

Adventures in lapidary – tile saw for rock cutting

My wife and I decided to branch out our skills for our small business and learn some lapidary skills. Both of us have alway loved to wander around and collect agates and then just run them through a rock tumbler to polish. Normally these tumbled rocks just end up in the bottom of the big fish tank or scattered around shrubs outside. But lately we realized that we have been finding some larger…

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First attempt at grafting an apple tree

First attempt at grafting an apple tree

When we first moved into our house we had several small fruit trees already planted in our yard. of those two are apples, but only one of the apple trees had a tag on what it was. The second one was unlabeled and for the first couple years never put out a bloom which after some research led me to believe that it is a seedling. Possibly something the kids planted as an experiment from a store…

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Flooded Oregon - Blakelyville (Eula)

Flooded Oregon – Blakelyville (Eula)

The Willamette valley is home to 13 major dam’s in the Willamette basin. Most of these dam’s are used for flood control, power generation and irrigation. But in the time before these dam’s were built there were many small towns that dotted these area’s and once the dam’s were completed they were swallowed up and lost to time and all that is left is the history of the location and a few pictures…

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Rockhounding adventures: Lookout point Reservoir

Some days the constant fog of winter in the Willamette valley just drags you down into the gloom. Luckily though you do not have to go far to get away from it. And it leads to one of my favorite hobbies that does not involve fishing. Yes I know nearly everything I do somehow involves fishing, but on this adventure I did not even bring my fishing pole. Oregon is a great state if you like to rock…

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Fall fishing and agate trip

If you have been reading my blog or watching my YouTube channel you have probably heard me say that I am not a bass fisherman. But I keep trying and learning more. Today’s adventure was back up to lookout point reservoir. Somewhere in that lake I know there has to be something bigger then the pikeminnow I caught during the summer. I have realized this year that I need to get more exercise other…

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DC wiring a Hobie outback to run a watersnake trolling motor

DC wiring a Hobie outback to run a watersnake trolling motor

I finally registered my kayak to be able to use the little Watersnake trolling motor I modified to fit into my mirage drive slot. So to make it easier it is time to wire through the hull so that I don’t have wires hanging all over that can get tangled up in a net or a fish. Which happened on my test trolling trip more then once. Needed materials for the build SAE Cable- Weatherproof SAE Socket…

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Kayaking Siltcoos river on the Oregon coast

Kayaking Siltcoos river on the Oregon coast

Some places on the Oregon coast just have to be explored. Through the dense coastal forest or through the windswept dunes adventure always waits. For many of these places you can only see them from a kayak or a boat. Luckily Siltcoos river is one of those places and I have a kayak. The river meanders through the coastal forest and sand dunes for just over 4 miles to finally run into the Pacific…

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Willamette river float from Hyak park to Albany for small mouth bass and agates

Willamette river float from Hyak park to Albany for small mouth bass and agates

Some days during late summer nothing sounds as good as a float down a lazy river on a weekend. And of course fishing makes it better. The wife and I found a nice section close to home that looked promising on the map. Hyak park is along Highway 20 between Corvallis and Albany. Floating from Hyak towards Albany has three possible pull out locations. Bryant park and Takena park are both on opposite…

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Fishing beyond the road - Central Oregon's Crescent creek

Fishing beyond the road – Central Oregon’s Crescent creek

Some places just ask to be explored.  Be it the small headwaters of a stream or a remote stretch of a creek far from any roads.  Todays adventure is the later of the two.  For years I have heard my father talk about the canyon area of crescent creek, and the fish that he would catch.  This was my day for a solo adventure of fishing and hiking.  Little did I know what I was getting myself…

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Fishing beyond the road - Salt creek

Fishing beyond the road – Salt creek

Oregon has so many rivers, creeks, and lakes that are just off any road or path. This is the first in a series of hiking off the road, and into wild to find fish. Maybe this series will even include a float or two using the kayak’s and fishing major rivers. A video of me fishing the stream. Our first stop on our journey is to Salt creek. With Salt creek there are two different sections that can…

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Aluminum roofing raised bed

Aluminum roofing raised bed

As I get old I realize that my ability to rototill my garden is going to be harder and harder to do. So in an effort to make my future self not hurt as bad I decided to start making some raised beds that will replace my need to have to till the ground and also just be way easier to work with. After doing a quick measure of my garden I decided to make each bed three foot wide and eight foot long.…

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Spring small mouth at Lookout Point reservoir.

Spring small mouth at Lookout Point reservoir.

Sometimes fishing adventures don’t go the way you plan. Todays adventure was supposed to be up into the cascades for a hike into blue lake for some brook trout fishing. But there was still enough snow on the road that we couldn’t even get close. Luckily though our back up plan was to fish lookout point for some smallmouth or whatever decided to bite. For this time of year all the reservoirs are…