The Seven Human-Made Wonders of Oregon (according to me)

Oregon Capitol building, Salem, OR

My last post was my own top seven Natural Wonders of Oregon (my home state, if you can’t tell). I left off a couple biggies- Abert Rim and Old Perpetual Geyser, both near Lakeview. Abert Rim is the largest fault block in North America. Oregon has such awesome geology! Well, now it’s time for the not-so-natural Wonders of Oregon. Here’s my ideas (in no particular order), and I’m open to others!

1. The Vista House at Crown Point, at the Columbia Gorge. A geometric castle of sorts, giving amazing views of the gorge as well as treats and souvenirs.

2. The Oregon Caves Chateau at Oregon Caves National Monument- On the list of National Historic Lodges. A cascade flows into a peaceful pool next to it, which then feeds into a creek that runs through the restaurant in the bottom of the Chateau. One of the most romantic places I’ve ever stayed.

3. The Astoria Column (in Astoria, obviously)- Artwork on the outside, windy staircase on the inside, fantastic views at the top! I went here with 7th grade students, and watching them jump in the wind and launch lightweight wooden airplanes was a blast.

4. Powell’s City of Books, Portland- this one’s not for the architecture. A store the size of a city block, filled with books? Pure heaven! I’d say it’s the world’s largest bookstore, but Shenzhen’s five story Book City a block from my apartment when I was in China was pretty impressive, too. I still think Powell’s had more books, though!

5. The Elsinore theatre, Salem- an authentic gothic movie palace. The outside is impressive, with a gothic architecture rising from the roof. But inside the theater, you feel a bit like you’re in a castle in Germany (and I’ve been there!)

6. The Eco-Earth, Salem- Everything gets recycled in Oregon! They took a giant old acid ball from a papermill, and decorated it to be an amazing work of art.

7. The state capitol building, Salem- a Greek-styled government building, complete with the Oregon Pioneer standing golden in the sunshine (at least a few days of the year!)

Other top picks of mine: Timberline Lodge, Fort Clatsop, and the Geiser Grand Hotel in Baker City (I haven’t been there but I’ve read about it, and it sounds awesome).

I’ll only post pics that I have digital photos of, so to see what the rest of these places look like, see the pinterest board I’ll be making at pinterest.com/writerjessicaj/

Please tell me your favorites, and the places I’ve missed!

Eco-Earth, Salem, OR

Astoria Column, Astoria, OR

Vista House, Crown Point, Columbia Gorge

The Seven Natural Wonders of Oregon (according to me)

I love the Seven Wonders of the World. All the versions. The Ancient Wonders, the Modern Wonders, all of them. It’s probably a combination of the attraction of a “Best Of” list and amazing sights our planet has.

Well, my beautiful home state of Oregon needs one. I’ve looked online, and several people have shared their own lists. But there isn’t yet an official one. That means I can make my own version, too!

So here are my votes for Oregon’s Seven Natural Wonders. Man-made wonders will be my next post. All of the picture’s I’m including here were taken by me, and I don’t have pictures of all the places on my list. To see pictures of all seven wonders, check out my Pinterest board http://pinterest.com/writerjessicaj/7-natural-wonders-of-oregon-according-to-me/

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Crater Lake National Park- One of the deepest and clearest lakes in the world, formed by an extinct volcano. Breathtaking enough to be a National Park. Surrounded by pinnacles, waterfalls, and forests.

2. Smith Rock State Park- World class rock climbing and hiking. Stunning cliffs and rock formations. And huge huckleberry ice cream cones nearby. Need I say more?

3. Oregon Caves National Monument- rare marble caves with beautiful flowstones and dripstones. Lovely views, waterfalls, and hiking trails outside the caves.

4. Sea Lion Caves- presumable the largest sea cave in the world, filled with sea lions playing “king of the mountain” on a large rock in the middle of the seawater inside the cave.

5. Hells Canyon- America’s deepest gorge. World class whitewater rafting. I want to go! Wallowa Mountains nearby as well.

6. The Columbia River Gorge- Big and beautiful, with oh-so-many gorgeous waterfalls spilling down the cliffs. Multnomah Falls is Oregon’s highest, but Latourelle Falls flows down columnar basalt columns and tiny Fairy Falls cascades down shiny basalt.

7. Proxy Falls- both Upper and Lower are graceful and almost magical, but Upper falls ends in a pool with no outlet.

Honorable mention: Waldo Lake, one of the other (besides Crater Lake) purest lakes in the world. Ramona Falls- the kind you picture seeing on a postcard from Hawaii. The Obsidian hike on Paulina Mountains/Newberry Crater- I never thought I’d see so much obsidian in one place. Silver Falls State Park- 10 substantial waterfalls on one 7-8 mile hike, nestled in a canyon surrounded by rainforest.

I’m sure I missed some amazing ones. What places in Oregon do you think belong in this list? Please comment below. Maybe someday a list will be official!

Columbia River Gorge, from Oregon side

Lower Proxy Falls, Oregon

Sea Lion Caves, Oregon Coast

Smith Rock State Park, Oregon

I’ve finally figured it out!

All right. So in my last post, I’d decided to broaden my theme to nearly everything, hoping I’ll post more regularly. But then I attended Nicole Miller’s social media class at an OCW writer’s conference. In addressing blogs, she noted that it’s important to stick to a theme (see her own recent blog revamp at http://www.nicolemillerbooks.com/2012/05/16/going-through-some-changes/  )

So I’ve been racking my brain to figure out what I could write consistently about. I do still want to share the epic journeys of women. But I can’t consistently and frequently write about that (it takes more research than I have time for on a weekly basis). I looked up the blogs of the most famous writers of my genre (Shannon Hale, Robin McKinley, Donita K. Paul, Jill Williamson, Patricia Wrede, Gail Carson Levine, etc.) They all write either about their books (I’ve written one first draft and it’s nowhere near ready to talk about constantly) or writing itself (and I’m still a beginner so I wouldn’t dream of giving public advice on that).

That left me still wondering what to write about. Then I joined one of the other arenas Nicole discussed: PInterest. I’ve had a blast creating boards and pinning things (mostly pictures I’ve taken). It’s like creating scrapbook pages, where all the elements on a page revolve around a theme. And I realized something.

All but one of my current boards is about places. Places I’ve been, places I want to go, waterfalls, places having to do with fairy tales and fantasy, and more. Travel obviously an important theme to me (just check out my scrapbooks). Then I made another connection. All my story ideas are about journeys.

Maybe not lengthy journeys, but my protagonists always find themselves in some kind of culture or world that is new to them. They see this place through new eyes. They struggle to adapt, or to retain their own identity in the new world.

The journey changes them. As any journey changes any of us.

So I’ll be writing about the places that have affected my life. They’ve been my sanctuary. My inspiration. Brought new friendships. A deeper connection with my Maker. And so much more.

I’ll continue every so often to post about the heroic journeys of women, because I am fascinated by that. Thank you for going on this journey with me!

Check out my pinterest boards: http://pinterest.com/writerjessicaj/

Adventures in Couch-Sitting

I’ve been thinking a lot lately. Sitting on the sofa (what my grandma called it, although mine is a tiny wicker loveseat) and thinking about what I should be doing instead of actually doing something.

 

Thinking about where to go from here:

In my career- apply for teaching jobs for 2012-2013, or settle in to my current field and community and feel like I have a place to call home for a while? I want to teach, but will volunteering with my local youth group fulfill that desire for a while? I don’t want to live where I do now for forever, but I’d love to stay for a while and build relationships in my community.

In my writing- I finished the first draft of Serenity’s Cave. (Woohoo! I wrote a novel!)  Now it’s time to rewrite. What do I do with the plot? The characters? They’re all a bit directionless. So now I’m a bit directionless. Hmm. Hopefully a writer’s conference a week from now will help get me unstuck.

In my blog- I’ve never found a rhythm for regularly writing on this blog. I love the Compass Rose Queen, but its original premise is a bit too much for regular writing. The only time I’ve written regularly was when I was in China. So where do I take it?

 

For now, I’ll just address the last one.

I’ve decided that the Compass Rose Queen is about any adventure, not just epic journeys. I’ll still do the epic journeys of women column, but not frequently. (I’m currently reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and you can bet Eliza’s journey to freedom will be on here somewhere!) From here on out, I’ll write about the adventures of life, however random. Things I do. Things I see people doing. Things I dream about doing. Or things I should be doing (that my moral compasses show me). And I’ll try to keep my posts a bit shorter than usual. (We’ll see how long that lasts!)

So enough couch-sitting. I’m going to start doing again. See you in my future adventures!

(Disclaimer: I did sit on the couch while writing this…)

The Diamond Girls are a Writer’s Best Friends

As Valentine’s week draws to a close, I realize I’ve seen about 30 commercials for diamond jewelry in the past few weeks. We can probably all sing or say the famous jingles or taglines from them. No, I didn’t receive any diamonds this year on Valentine’s Day. But I am blessed with two wonderful writing buddies, Nicole and Caitlin. Together, we make up “The Diamond Girls.” And we’ve been on quite a journey together.

The Diamond Girls met a few years ago at an OCW summer writing conference. Caitlin and I (and another fellow OCW member) were roommates in a small cabin. She and I and Nicole became instant friends. We had a common love of God and writing. One evening at dinner, an older lady had us stay after the meal for a moment, saying she had something for us. She dug in her purse, and pulled out three large plastic craft diamonds. Then she said that God told her to give them to us, because we were like diamonds. He was shaping us into something pure and beautiful. Later in the week, she walked by, and said, “There’s my Diamond Girls!” And so we were.

That was the hottest week I’ve experienced this side of Kentucky and China. I think that bound us together (those who sweat together, write together) even more. We shared our hopes and dreams together, of writing, life, and love.

Since that conference, the Diamond Girls have endeavored to get together whenever we could. We weren’t critique partners; we each had our own critique groups for that (mine was the wonderful West Salem Writer’s Group- I love you ladies!) We just shared our lives together. The girls prayed with me when my marriage crumbled. We prayed for each other’s job situations. At first, we lived within 45 minutes of each other in the north Willamette Valley. But then Caitlin moved to Texas for a great job opportunity. We still managed to get together, though, to encourage each other in our writing as well as our lives. When I was in China last fall, struggling with the moral dilemma of staying or coming home, the Diamond Girls got on Skype together and encouraged me.

Now the Diamond Girls are far apart, but still together in our hearts. Nicole has an agent and is a social media coordinator for the University of Western States. Caitlin is a columnist and a social media manager in Texas. I work for a social services office in small town in southern Oregon, where I get to hear people’s stories, and I have evenings and weekends free to write. And I’m finally almost done with my first draft of a novel (the other Diamond Girls are way ahead of me! Read about their books on their blogs).

Watch for Nicole and Caitlin’s novels to be published. They’re fantastic writers! Nicole writes WWII-era historical fiction, and Caitlin writes contemporary fiction. The Diamond Girls decided we would each write a blog about how we met and how far we’ve come since then, and then link to each others’ blogs. I’ll include these here, but they’re also in my blogroll.

http://www.nicolemillerbooks.com/2012/02/23/of-clear-plastic-and-chance-encounters/

http://www.caitlinmuir.com/the-story-of-a-girl-and-her-diamonds/

In addition to the Diamond Girls, I have some other close writing friends as well. I met Haylie while we worked together at a middle school. She lives in southern California now, but she’s my best accountability partner for writing. She’s written three novels so far, and her stories are adventurous and fun.

The Diamond Girls

My aforementioned writer’s group in Salem also has brilliantly talented writers: Tracy & Debby, who invited me to it, Diana, and Bev (and for a while Haylie). We had a wide range of fiction writing to critique: historical of three different eras, sci-fi, and fantasy. All of them have either been published, received awards, or had agents/editors interested in their writing. What a group for me to learn from! And they weren’t just a critique group- we’ve encouraged each other and prayed through the toughest of times. Besides all these, I also have many other talented friends in the Oregon Christian Writers that have been published. I’ve been inspired by the writings of Jill Williamson, Hillary Manton Lodge, and so many others. Many of their blog links can be found in my blogroll. I want to say a special thanks to Christina Tarabochia-Berry (author of Familiar Stranger) and Mary Hake (President of OCW) for their encouragement during my divorce.

So this Valentine’s week, I celebrate the Diamond Girls and the rest of my amazing writer friends. Because they, along with my other wonderful writer friends, are a writing girl’s best friends on the journey to being an author.

I love you, Oregon!

This Valentine’s Day, I want to take the opportunity to tell the world how much I love my home state. It is, after all, Oregon’s birthday today!

I have a confession to make, though. I’m not technically a native Oregonian. I was born in Germany. However, Germany looks a lot like Oregon, just with more castles (a lot more! the only ones I know of in Oregon are Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at the Enchanted Forest, and the bouncy castle at the county fair), so I figure it counts. All my conscious life I’ve lived in Oregon, aside from last fall’s short stint living in China. And that even had mountains and a giant bookstore nearby, so I felt right at home.

At any rate, no matter what journeys I take in my life, Oregon will always be my home state. There’s just so much to love here. Mountains of every size and shape and geological formation, hundreds of waterfalls, rugged coastline, sage-green high desert, and even a geyser (yeah, I’ve been to Lakeview!). How could I ever want to live anywhere else?

However, I want to see the world. Live in other places. Soak up other cultures and histories and geographies. Make new friends. And all these I will. China was just the beginning. Now, I’m enjoying soaking up rural Southern Oregon life. Next year- who knows?

But this I do know: no matter where I go, I will always look forward to being in Oregon. Whether returning home to visit or happily living in a new part of it. Because it’s my home.

Oregon, I love you. Happy Birthday!

Happy 2012!

Just a quick note to you all (or y’all depending on what part of the country you’re in) to say Happy New Year! I am still writing (and planning to get back to normal Compass Rose Queen posts about the journeys of women), but I do not as of yet have internet access at home. So my wifi time consists of quickly checking e-mail and Facebook while eating an ice cream cone at McDonald’s.

This new year will hopefully be a little calmer than last year, so I should be able to start posting regularly soon. And you never know- maybe in the fall I’ll be teaching internationally again! And get to post fun adventures of my own again.

So may 2012 be a year of new hope, dreams, and possibilities for you. I know it is for me!

Home Sweet Home… again

I got a job! And moved to Southern Oregon. It’s beautiful down here! Mountains galore.

My new job is working as a receptionist/case aide for the Department of Human Services office in Canyonville. Renting options were limited, so I live in nearby Myrtle Creek. My new small-town life is a far cry from 15 million people Shenzhen! I miss it there, though.

NaNoWriMo- I didn’t complete the 50,000 words, but I did get to 35,000 words and 125 pages. More than I’ve ever done before on a book, so I consider NaNoWriMo a success for me! It accomplished its purpose.

10,000 Words!

NaNoWriMo Update: I made it over the 10,000 word mark today! On my NaNoWriMo novel, of course. Woohoo! My character just barely made it into her new world, though, so this story will definitely be longer than 50,000 words…

Something else that made me happy today was a sermon I heard this morning. Yes, a sermon. It was about Elijah’s journey (found in 1 Kings 19). I normally discuss the journey’s of women in this blog, but Elijah’s journey was so relevant to me that I just have to mention it. He went from doing incredible deeds with incredible faith, to an all-out wallowing in self-pity depression. Last month I was right there with him. But God didn’t let him stay there. He nourished him for the journey, reminded him of His voice, simplified his mission, provided people to help, and gave him perspective. And that’s exactly what God did for me since I was in a similar emotional state after returning from China. Wow. It was like the pastor was speaking just to me. But really, we all go through this journey at some point in time (or several!) Each time, we get stronger, like Elijah. We get our joy back. We learn and grow. And hear His voice in the still, small whisper.

Good News

The big news is: I got a job! I’m going to work for the state’s Department of Human Services. It’s in a small, sleepy town surrounded by mountains. Perfect for writing!

And speaking of writing, I’ve managed to keep up with my word count goals for NaNoWriMo. I hit 5,005 words last night. Hopefully I can keep it up while moving and getting trained in my new job!

I just have to say- The Lord is Great!
I found that line while reading in Psalms the other day. I get tired of “Christian-ese” phrases like PTL (Praise the Lord), and Hallelujah gets so overused sometimes that it loses it’s awesome meaning. So when I read that, even though I didn’t have a job yet, I knew that I needed to start using it. By myself, at least. In the car. On a trail. Wherever. Shouting it out to my Lord and Provider, the One who holds me in His hands. Thank you, Lord for this job!

I try not to get religious on my blog very often, because I don’t want to polarize people, and the theme for it is not a religious one. But I am so thankful to Him for pulling me out of my depression and providing for me in wonderful ways. And thank you to all my friends and family who have supported me through this time as well. To add another “Christian-ese” phrase (but I really do mean it): God bless you all.