Here at ad HOC : Words + Ideas worldwide HQ in downtown Bend, we're celebrating after finding out that the Giant Loop Saddlebag is in the February 2009 issue of Dirt Rider Magazine — and the Giant Loop Saddlebag is "Product of the Week" on the Dirt Rider website. I do work like this for clients all the time, but it's a special kick being my own venture that's getting the publicity this time around.
Here's what Dirt Rider says: "Take the insult out of 'you've got saddlebags,' and carry your stuff easier, too, over the rear of the seat!"
My partner Dave Wachs and I didn't know the review was already arriving in subscribers' mailboxes until a local rider scanned the magazine page and posted it on the Bend Dualsport forum.
Since launching the Giant Loop in September 2008 (just a coule months ago!), we've sold saddlebags to customers riding in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Costa Rica and Tanzania. This is an international community!
We are truly blessed. Ride while you can!
-hoc
Friday, December 19, 2008
Giant Loop Saddlebag in Dirt Rider Magazine + "Product of the Week" on Website
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
ONDA: Steens Mtn. Recreation Plan Comment Period
From Oregon Natural Desert Association. -hoc
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PLEASE COMMENT NOW
On the Steens Mountain Comprehensive Recreation Plan
Comment Period Ends December 31st
The BLM is seeking public comments on recreational opportunities and facilities and activities that occur or should occur on the Steens Mountain.
Some issues that are being considered include:
- Dispersed Recreation (hiking, camping, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, other)
- Developed Recreation Sites (campgrounds, picnic grounds)
- Steens Mountain Back Country Byway/Overlooks/Facilities
- Winter Recreation (snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling)
- Trails/Trailheads
- Off-Highway Vehicle Management
- River Use
1) That BLM's analysis of transportation planning on Steens Mountain should include both motorized and non-motorized travel and should include a comprehensive, up-to-date inventory of routes within the Steens.
2) The BLM should analyze wilderness and roadless values present on Steens Mountain and how BLM's transportation planning decision can protect those values by closing obsolete, redundant and resource-damaging routes.
The Full Language of the plan can be accessed here.
To make comments online on the Steens CRP click here.
To make comments in writing click here.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Fully Briefed: Designer Men's Underwear
Keep it local. Keep it real. Make it fun.
Spice up the man in your life's underwear drawer this holiday season with something more than old-school boxers or briefs in white. Based in Bend, Fully Briefed has assembled the finest collection of great fitting, high performance, designer underwear known to man.
Fully Briefed searched the nether regions throughout the globe, investigating undergarments worldwide to find brands like Baskit, C-in2, Cocksox, Danial Webster, DT, Dirty Fukker, Elite, Gia, Gigo, Go Softwear, JM, Joe Snyder, Justus Boyz, N2N, Otter, Rufskin and WildmanT. Profile-enhancing, fun and sexy styles. No big mystery really. It’s all about feeling great and looking your best.
People of all shapes and sizes can enjoy shopping at Fully Briefed. Sexy, comfy briefs, bikinis, trunks, low rise, boxers, jocks, thongs and enhancers aren’t just for those with swimsuit-model-perfect physiques. You'll find options ranging from xx-small to x-large, and the FB phunderwear engineers have tested and measured every pair of undies in the shop to create the most detailed and complete sizing information in the known universe. Shop with confidence, knowing it’s Fully Guaranteed to Fit.
Green, sustainable men's underwear options shouldn't be as rare as a Sasquatch sighting. FB shoppers will find fabrics like bamboo, tencel, lyocell, hemp, organic cotton and other alternatives to industrially produced cotton, which is one of the most chemical-dependent, water-consuming fiber crops. Call them wild, but the FB boyz think that a healthy planet is the ultimate bottom line, and they want to do their small part to leave behind a better world for their children and grandchildren to discover, explore and enjoy.
What's in your drawers? Get Fully Briefed!
-hoc
credits: Research, branding, logo, web design and content by Harold Olaf Cecil (Ad HOC) and Carlos Perez (Perez design). Website development and programming by Woody Beverly and Justin Clapick (Bend Web Solutions).
Thursday, December 4, 2008
ONDA Gift Membership = 2009 Wild Desert Calendar
Keep it local. Keep it real. Make it count. This from Oregon Natural Desert Association. ONDA calendars are also for sale at Thump Coffee. -hoc
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december @ thump
DECEMBER SPECIAL HOURS:
12/24 Close at 3:00pm
12/25 & 12/26 CLOSED
CUPPING: No Cupping in December. Join us in 2009 for more adventures in coffee tasting.
featured coffee: Kenya Gaturiri Reserve, direct trade
(Stumptown's first East African Direct Trade coffee)
from Stumptown:
Location: Karatina de Nyeri
Elevation: 1700-1800 meters
Varietal: SL34, SL28 Region: Africa
Flavors: Sweet sugar browning aromatics introduce dark fruit flavors of raspberry, huckleberry and black currant which compliment the coffee's stout body and honeyed finish.
Notes: The members of the Gaturiri washing station within the Barichu Cooperative are the proud producers of our first ever East African Direct Trade coffee! To be able to guarantee such a phenomenal price to the association members of Gaturiri, under the Barichu Cooperative umbrella, is the first step towards transparent coffee business in Kenya. Stumptown worked on the ground directly with growers and washing station managers in the Central Kenyan Highlands. This grand cru lot, from the peak of the harvest, represents the finest quality coffee produced at Gaturiri this past harvest.
ART: Mosaics from Bear Creek Elementary Students with Donna Lutzky
Retired art educator and mosaic artist Donna Lutzky collaborated with Mimi Graves’ fifth-grade class at Bear Creek Creek Elementary to create the vibrant mosaics on display at thump this month. The mosaics incorporate bits of broken cups, bowls and plates from the coffeehouse, and they will be available for purchases to raise funds for the school’s otherwise un-funded art programs.
Lutzky introduced “some simple design elements to the students and then discussed what a mosaic is,” she says. The students used 6-inch tiles as their bases and individual pieces of "tesserae," including actual pieces of broken dishes from thump, to create their designs, she explains.
Graves describes Lutzky as a “gifted teacher, who is generously volunteering one to two days a week at Bear Creek.” Graves says that Lutzky’s donated work allows Bear Creek students an opportunity at a school that has “no funding for art or artist in residence opportunities.”
Lutzky, who will also show her own works here this month, writes in her artist’s statement: “My passion for patterns, textures, color and form naturally led me to the exploration of mosaics. I abandoned the traditional mosaic technique I learned in college and use a more free-form style, a ‘spontaneous’ intuitive search for the right pieces, resulting in accidental encounters. I have to ‘think’ in mosaics to create with the aesthetic traits of the materials I possess. Pique assiete (using pieces of broken china or shards) is a style I also incorporate into my own pieces.”
“All of art creation says something about its creator, and I hope my use of broken pieces shows the beauty and new wholeness of RECONSTRUCTED BROKENNESS!”
Because Graves recognizes the importance and value of arts education, she also annually orchestrates the Evening Art Gala in May, where all Bear Creek students have the opportunity to showcase their artwork for the public to appreciate and to purchase. For more information on the Evening Art Gala, contact Mimi Graves at 383-6120.
This is the second year Thump has showcased the artwork of local young artists from Bear Creek Elementary School during December. Thump owner, Hazel Chapple, was a teacher at Bear Creek, and she hopes “to offer ongoing opportunities for young artists to publicly show their work and take pride in their artistic accomplishments,” she says.
thumpology: Coffee Producer from El Salvador Aida Batlle & Stumptown Owner Duane Sorenson
On November 18, Hazel, Kent and Finley zipped over to Portland and back for an evening "Meet the Producers" event, hosted by Stumptown. The guest of honor, Aida Batlle, is a rarity in the coffee producing industry — a woman(!) managing not one, but three, of her family's coffee farms. We tasted her award winning coffees and a traditional tea made from dried coffee cherries. Sweet, earthy and potent with caffeine!Aida is known for her meticulous farming and harvesting practices, as well as the generous wages she pays her workers. In her presentation, Aida described the farming methods she uses including skilled tree pruning and transitioning her farms to certified organic practices. She also described how she is experimenting with fertilizing the soil by digging compost holes amongst the coffee trees.
In a conversation with Stumptown owner, Duane Sorenson, Hazel asked how he found Aida and other coffee producers with whom he establishes Direct Trade relationships. He shared that it's through word of mouth, asking lots of people throughout a given country, "Who has the best coffee?". Duane explained that it takes anywhere from 16 months to 3 years to transition to a Direct Trade relationship between Stumptown and a given coffee producer. Time is needed to build relationships, and insure transparency — making sure that money paid to a farmer or co-op makes it to the worker; that standards in coffee quality, farming and harvesting are consistently high; and that workers and the land are well cared for.
Duane lamented that only about 1% of the producers he or Aleco Chigounis approach are able to sell them coffee. Many farmers are already under 10 - 20 year contracts - being paid minimum prices for outstanding coffees. Some of the farmers have to break these contracts to grow more profitable crops, such as bananas. When reflecting on this, it saddens us to think what happens to the coffee trees that had been so carefully maintained for possibly generations, as the land and resources are now needed for a different crop like bananas.
For the coffee producers who are able to earn generous prices for their coffees by working with roasters like Stumptown, we are honored to do our part by serving their coffees, such as Finca Kilimanjaro and Finca el Injerto, at thump. Each sip is the result of great effort put forth by every hand that touched the bean: Duane and Aleco who established the relationship, the coffee producer who is the steward of the land and the local community, the farm worker who laboriously and skillfully tends the land, harvests and processes the coffees, the roaster who artfully roasts the bean, and the barista who carefully prepares your drink! Drink up in honor of them all!
Grind In The Flavor
Buy a Baratza conical burr grinder at thump and the first bag of beans is on us! Coffeehouse-quality Baratza burr grinders uniformly grind your coffee without changing its roast, and they consistently deliver the proper particle size, from very fine espresso to coarse French press. You’ll get a better tasting cup with these specially priced commercial-grade conical burr grinders. Learn more.Thump Coffee
Rise Up Holiday Party
Another in the "keep it local, keep it real" series: local artists/activists Rise Up! - hoc
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You are Invited to a Rise Up Holiday Party this Sat. Dec 6th, 7pm at the Poet House, 55 NW Minnesota (above the wine shop near Thump). $5 donation. Eats by Sparrow Bakery. Drinks by Townshends Teahouse.
Music by: Bend High Dynamics, Empty Space Orchestra, Mirf the Bing, MuD, Mosley
(Eggnog) Wotta.
Be a Conscious Consumer. Come pick up Rise Up Clothing for your holiday shopping. (Below wholesale prices on many items.) All the proceeds will go to support our mission to empower and connect local and global communities to RISE UP against apathy, poverty and social injustice through education, engaging the arts and grassroots activism.
Jackalope Grill: 3rd Anniversary, Women Tasting Wine, '09 Cooking Classes, Open Christmas
Tim & Kathy Garling Celebrate Three Years of Jackalope Grill
From Kathy Garling: December 1 was our third anniversary. On that day in 2005, Tim and I purchased the Jackalope Grill, and like any great birth this was not an easy one! We signed papers for the restaurant at the restaurant and started prepping for the evening minutes later. That evening at 5 o'clock the restaurant opened for business as usual. It was a funny and surreal experience.
I can clearly remember the servers and kitchen staff looking at us and you could almost see them wondering, "who on earth are these people and what are they doing here?" I have to admit somewhere in the back of our minds we were wondering the same thing too. After leaving the safe, small and familiar surroundings of Alta, Utah for 16 years we were now in Bend.
Thankfully, not only was it the scariest decision we ever had to make, but it was also the wisest. We have been met with such warmth and been truly embraced by this community. Words cannot express our gratitude. Here's to more great years to come!
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Join us for Christmas
We will be open Christmas Day, December 25, serving dinner from 4-7pm. Leave the cooking - and cleaning - to us and enjoy a real holiday break.
CLOSED December 26 January 1
MEMO: The Party's at The Jackalope
There's still time to reserve our private dining room - or the whole restaurant - for your holiday party. Get more details here, or call Kathy at 318-8435.
2009 Cooking Classes
Tim will be teaching cooking classes in January, February and March. Space is limited, so reserve your spot now! " . . . Although [the cooking classes] are very educational, I suspect he uses the classes (10 people at most) for just having fun and making sure the group has a great time with good food and wine! He is a walking encyclopedia of food too!" — Julia Gray, host, "Cooking With Gusto!"
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Women Tasting Wine: Sparkling Wines
Mon., Dec. 15, 4-6pm
From Diane Sienko and Mary Robertson:
"November's seminar certainly put us in a Thanksgiving mood! Chef Tim's upscale Thanksgiving menu was paired nicely with wines selected by Byron Scott of Cathedral Ridge Winery in Hood River, Oregon.
With the holidays fast approaching, December's seminar will feature "Sparkling Wines". Dennis Sienko of Bend Wine Cellar will guide us through sparkling wines aimed at every price range and every occasion."
Cost is $45. For reservations, please contact Diane Sienko at Bend Wine Cellars (388-7564), or go to Women Tasting Wine.
Click here to see last month's Women Tasting Wine menu.
Nashelle & Friends "Peas & Love" Holiday Trunk Show
Graphic design colleague Casey Crisler (who not only played volleyball for the Ducks, but was also a three-time Academic All-Region recipient!) just sent me the flyer below for the Nashelle & Friends event, which features some of Central Oregon's best home-grown designers. Keep it local. Keep it real. -hoc
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NASHELLE and FRIENDSI N V I T E Y O U T O T H E 1st A N N U A L
PEAS & LOVE*
H O L I D A Y T R U N K S H O W
WHEN? Next Wednesday, December 10th, 4-8:30 pm
WHAT? another fun, fabulous Holiday Sample Sale complete with tasty snacks & sips, and live DJ music to boot! Now, you all know our Holiday Trunk show isn't new, so you might be wondering what the "1st Annual" thing is all about... but the "Peas & Love" part IS new. Read on for details - we think you'll agree that it shouldn't be a one-time-event!
*PLEASE BRING AN ITEM OR TWO (OR MORE!) OF NON-PERISHABLE FOOD; YOU'LL NOT ONLY BE HELPING TO FEED LOCAL FAMILIES IN NEED, BUT WE'LL GIVE YOU AN EXTRA DISCOUNT JUST FOR BEING NICE! A SINGLE CAN WON'T DO IT, BUT TOGETHER WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
WHERE? at the Nashelle Studio, 61511 American Ln. #5, Bend (off Reed Market Rd.)
WHO? a handful of local businesswomen and designers including: Nashelle, Maya Moon Handbags, Urban Showroom Tees, Treefort, Vanilla, Habit, Frankie & Me, and more!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS - SPREAD THE LOVE
www.nashelle.com
Tumbleweed Bead Co. Holiday Happy Hour
Another Central Oregon option for holiday gifts: Tumbleweed Bead Co. based in Sunriver. Jewelry designer Jessica Russell just sent me a little heads up about the upcoming sale on her website. December 9-11, enter coupon code holidayhappyhour and enjoy 25% off everything. You may know Jessica as one of the original baristas at Thump Coffee - and you may also recognize on the Tumbleweed site the work of photographer, Steven Chaprnka, and models Meredith (pictured here) and Chiho looking fabulous in Tumbleweed designs - also all thumpistas past and present. Keep it local. Keep it real. -hoc
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Vima Lupwa Homes Holiday Cards
And another from Malerie Pratt, founder of Vima Lupwa Homes. -hoc
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All proceeds from these "Happy Holidays" cards will be used to improve the lives of orphaned and vulnerable children at the Vima Lupwa Home in Luanshya, Zambia. One of the children at the home, Mwape, is featured on the front of the card, displaying a joyful smile, as a reflection of her new hope found at the home. Several of the other children can be seen on the back of the card enjoying family life at the home, which is now celebrating its two year anniversary.
Cards are available at Douglas Fine Jewelry, Allyson's Kitchen, Strictly Organic Coffee, Vanilla Urban Threads, and Kiwanis’ See’s Candy Sales [two locations: 3rd St. Safeway parking lot and FORUM parking lot near Costco] – Bend Senior High School and Summit High School Honor Society students will also be selling our cards – all cards sold in sets of 10 for $15.
Vima Lupwa Kids Art = Gratis Earrings
And here's another holiday fundraiser from Steven Douglas or Douglas Fine Jewelry. -hoc
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The original art is the result of art projects involving the children of the Vima Lupwa orphanage and the surrounding community of Luanshya, Zambia. Priced from $75 to $125, 100 percent of the purchase price will go to support the children in the Vima Lupwa orphanage in Zambia.
Vima Lupwa Homes, a 501c non-profit, seeks to give a hand up to some of the most at risk children in Zambia, Africa. Along with our Zambian partners Vima Lupwa provides a secure family like setting, good nutrition and education for children that would otherwise be living without hope. Our goal is to break and reverse the cycle of poverty one child at a time.
Alyce Hatch Ornaments Fundraiser
Just got this from Stephanie Mays, formerly of Bend Living. If you're buying gifts this holiday season they might as well be local — and even better if they're helping a cash-strapped charity or favorite nonprofit. Keep it close to home and make it count! -hoc
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Greetings of the season everyone:
I just learned that this is the LAST YEAR for Alyce Hatch ornaments. The clay ornaments are handmade by the organization's board members and look like gingerbread designs. Each year has had a different motif. As Bend has grown and the volunteer pool has become smaller, the organization's board just doesn't have the time and resources to continue with the project. What a shame...we've been buying them since Crosby was in pre-school, but the board has been hand-making them for the past 15 years. They are a great gift, and the money raised goes to support the Center's programs in Bend and elsewhere in Central Oregon. The Alyce Hatch Center is known for its programs that work with at-risk or developmentally delayed children (from ages 1-5) and their families.
To get an ornament, contact Jolene Cap: phone is 541-317-1952 and email is jolenecap@q.com. The ornaments are $7 each. There are also some left from last year if you want one.
Thanks,
Stephanie
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Bend Independent Contemporary Art (BICA) Opening
Congrats Andy Wachs and Colleen Dougherty on the opening of Bend Independent Contemporary Art (BICA)! -hoc
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Opening Reception
Friday, October 3, 2008
5-8 pm
2748 NW Crossing Drive Ste. 130
541.788.4623
bicagallery.com
Opening Exhibit Group Show
October 3, 2008 – November 22, 2008
Artists:
Lisa Copenhagen Wachs
Scott Conary
Andrew Wachs
Lisa Pounders
Craig Davidson
David Wachs
Audra Philippy
Justyn Livingston
Mary Lancaster
Please join us for drinks and appetizers to celebrate the official opening of Bend's newest art gallery.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Off-Road Motorcycle Touring: Dave's Packing Tips
From the Giant Loop! -hoc
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Tools, lubricants and spare parts
• Stock KTM tool kit - most importantly, the correct axle tool
• at least one tube (front)
• tire irons
• pump and CO2
• patch kit
• tools - go over your entire bike with the stock tool kit and add to it anything you need - ie. small Vise Grips, etc.
• spare fasteners - gotta stay on all that plastic, 6mm 8mm 10mm bolts, plus any make/model specific fasteners
• bailing wire
• duct and electrical tape
• Locktite
• correct master link for your chain
• correct spoke tool
• Dumontech or TriFlow chain lubricant. Don't know if it really makes a difference with O or X ring chains but it can't hurt and my bike thinks I'm being 'nice' to it.
• 12 foot tow rope - Learn how to tow a bike before you employ this 'last resort' effort.
• Small (500ml) fuel bottle full of 20-50 motor oil. All 4-stroke motors are designed to burn a small amount of oil plus, ever had a countershaft seal start leaking in the middle of nowhere?
Most of the above stuff (with the exception of the pump, tires irons, lubricants and vise grips) is easily fitted into 2 quart oil bottles that have the tops cut off right where they begin to taper to the pouring spout. One bottle 'nests' into the other one. This will keep your tools from rubbing or wearing holes in your kit, provides you with a container to transfer fuel from one machine to another and makes it real easy to extract the kit from inside the bag. My tire irons are slipped into a bicycle inner tube that is zip-tied closed on one end. Also to prevent the metal rubbing it's way through the saddle bag and to give me some extra rubber to slice into any thing we might need - gaskets, mini 'bungies', rubber bands, etc.
• spare clutch cable zip tied to your existing - in case of failure, the replacement is sitting there ready to install or in my case, a small amount of mineral oil for the hydraulic Brembo unit.
• Zip ties - a good variety of sizes
• lighter AND waterproof matches
• space blanket - unfortunately I know that they actually work and can totally save your butt
• compass - look at it often, just to keep your bearings in the forest or if you are up in the clouds on a mountain
• GPS - if you are so inclined
•maps - I really study these before we head out to familiarize myself with the major peaks amongst the ranges. Google earth is another resource that I study to try and memorize topography
• Water filtration device - we usually take 2 of these pumps as one might plug up or fail
• spare socks - 3 pair
• extra gloves
• Spare goggles
• something to cover your face like a neoprene mask, unless you have an Arai-type DS helmet with face shield
• fully charged phone and a AAA card
• rubber gloves - for working on your machine and they also are very helpful keeping your hands warmer worn under regular moto gloves. Dishwashing gloves DO NOT work unless they're way too big for your hands. Even then, they cut the circulation - on my hands anyway.
• Sunglasses
• Small Nikon binoculars - those things have been more help than any GPS info
• Camera (Canon G-6 with a fully charged battery will last me a week or more)
• Sunscreen and lip balm (even though you have a helmet on, your lips are taking a beating and I've burnt the crap out of my neck in the past)
• Cash - some rural fuel stops do not take credit cards
Cold weather riding:
• Thor waterproof ventilated jacket and pants
• FrogToggs rain gear - inexpensive, totally works (unfortunately I know too well) light weight and straps right on next to my tent on the outside of the saddlebag
• MSR 'elephant ears' hand guard shields - try-em out. You don't need heated grips and in a driving rain, they keep you hands very dry. When not in use, they lay flat in my small day pack.
• Silk long underwear - top and bottoms - squashes into nothing, really works, dries quickly
• Fleece vest
• - If it gets really cold I put the FrogToggs on over everything and that is amazingly comforting. Try the stuff on before you buy it, I'm only 6' tall but bought the XL to comfortably fit over my riding gear
• A jersey and poly t-shirt - easy to wash, dries quick
Protection:
• FLY (brand) articulated knee pads
• Ballistic jersey
• Bell Moto 8 (extremely well ventilated)
• Alpinstar Vector boots
Camping:
• Big Agnes™ insulated, inflatable sleeping pad. I've tried'em all and this is the best by far, fits inside the saddlebag
• The North Face™ down mummy sleeping bag. I've been rained on, snowed on and had that icy north wind ripping across the mountain tops at camp and a bag rated to 0 degrees can be a real solace after a long hard day of riding. When it's hot, I just lay on top of it like a feather bed. (You will NOT be able to stuff a big, synthetic sleeping bag into this saddlebag but you can get a lightweight, summer synthetic bag to squeeze in).
• Head lamp
• Gaz (brand) butane collapsable cook stove and a 4-cup Cup - I'm liking the Jetboil though and have used one which also fits nicely into the saddlebag.
• The North Face™ solo, one man tent. 2.5 pound single wall unit. Pretty small but I'm not hanging out in it and it's better than a bivouac sack IMHO.
• a cheap plastic spoon
• toothbrush
• toilet paper and baby wipes
• sharp multi-tool
• a couple decent quality trash bags. I put my helmet and boots in a bag and leave them outside the tent for a little more room inside and to prevent any vermin from moving into or chewing on my stinky gear. Also, it you are going to be riding for days on end through torrential rain (that isn't very fun IMHO) you can stuff your sleeping bag into the plastic bags as you fit into the saddlebag.
Food
• I actually like the mountain house freeze dried food offerings (with the exception of ANY of the mexican 'flavored' meals, I don't like burping the seasoning all night). Since the freeze-dried stuff is kind of bulky yet very light weight, I put it in my day pack.
• Tortillas - flour, I like to extend teh freeze-dried stuff by making little burritos, sometimes even a spare for lunch the next day
• Tapatillo or your favorite hot sauce
• Oatmeal
• Tea
• Snacks - energy bars, etc.
• You will need to find fuel almost every day and I've grabbed a can of chili to fire cook and make burritos. Most of the little towns we visit (now more than ever) really need our support. Buying stuff, even as simple as candy is greatly appreciated and will hopefully help keep them in the gasoline business. We've already lost Wagontire and even Plush, OR was not pumping fuel for a period of time so we try to spend a little extra (OK, we always buy some beer at our last stop before camp or if it's gonna be another 75 miles to camp, a bottle of tequila or something like that).
The key to this system is thoughtful packing. There are probably several tricks we haven't thought of yet but I start by pulling my sleeping bag through the saddlebag so that half of it is hanging out one side and the same on the opposite side. Next, I load the stove, oil, tube(s), tire irons on one side down low (where it should be!). My Sleeping pad is kind heavy so it goes down low on the opposite side. Follow with clothing, socks, hat, etc.. Stuff your sleeping bag starting with the center of the saddlebag (center of rear fender). You will see that a down bag will compress quite small and will leave you with space to slip your tool kit in last. If you need to make repairs in the field, you'll be glad that it's easily accessible. Snug down the compression straps to hold your tent, rain gear on the back behind your seat and the 2 one either side to hold your load right where you want it. NOTE - we intentionally left the straps a bit long. They can be trimmed to your tastes but no matter what - DO NOT LEAVE THEM FLAPPING AROUND LOOSE! When the bike is being ridden on a day loop from camp, simply stuff the extra length inside the bag and zip it closed.
If you have a tank bag, there's just that much more space to stash things like your camera, maps, etc.. We have a prototype bag that will be in production soon!
If it doesn't fit into this kit, you probably don't need it. We approach this whole concept as a moto inspired adventure that allows the bike to perform as close to optimum as possible and take us to out-of-the-way hot springs, mountain tops, desert mesas, alpine glades - the places you would never drive your truck to camp. Ever ridden over a ridge and said to yourself, "I'd really like to see the sun come here"? This is the answer to that question - YES!
-Dave
Monday, September 22, 2008
Perez Family Emergency: Courage In The Face of Adversity
Friends & Neighbors -
Many of you may know my friend, creative partner and office mate, Carlos Perez of Perez design. Carlos and I spend almost as much time together - working a few feet apart - as we do with our own families. He and his wife Laurie and their kids Max and Ana are like family to me, Michelle and our kids, who are nearly the same ages. They're simply great people.
On Friday, a terrible accident left Carlos's son Max badly burned. But thanks to Carlos's heroic, speedy and correct reactions (pulling Max to the ground to extinguish the flames, etc.) Max is recovering remarkably well now at the Oregon Burn Center at Legacy Emmanuel Hospital in Portland. Carlos has put up a blog to post updates about Max - and for people to leave messages for Max and the Perez family (click here and scroll down to the comments).
If you know Carlos and his family, please post your words of encouragement for brave Max and his family.
Peace,
Harold
Take Action: Tell Congress to support Oregon Wilderness
From ONDA. Voice your support! -hoc
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The Senate is set to vote on a bill (SB 3213) that would permanently protect thousands of acres of wilderness including the Oregon Badlands and Spring Basin which ONDA has worked for so many years to protect. The Senate is set to vote on this major package of public lands bills in the next couple weeks. We need your help to make sure that Oregon’s Congressional delegation does everything they can to get this bill passed.
WHY WE CARE
The package would permanently protect some of Oregon’s most unique desert and forested landscapes including:
- Spring Basin and Badlands Wilderness - protects wildlife habitat, high desert wildflowers and ancient juniper trees near Bend and along the John Day River.
- Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act - protects wildlife habitat, carbon sequestering forests and clean drinking water in the Gorge and on the slopes of Mount Hood.
- Copper-Salmon Wilderness - protects one of the last intact watersheds on the southern Oregon coast that is home to healthy runs of wild winter steelhead, fall Chinook, coho salmon and sea-run cutthroat trout.
- Soda Mountain Wilderness - protects one of the most important wildlife corridors in Oregon, linking the Cascades and the Klamath Mountains.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Call Senator's Smith (503-326-3386) and Wyden (503-326-7525) and let them know you strongly support the public lands package (Senate bill 3213) and urge them to ensure Oregon's natural areas are protected this year.
Thank you for your action!
9/27 Green Jobs Now: Day to Build the New Economy
This from 3E Strategies. Doesn't this make more long-term sense than drilling for more oil (a stop gap measure at best)? -hoc
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Join 3EStrategies and Climate Solutions Saturday, September 27 for one of the largest grassroots days of action in our nation's history!!
This election season, it's up to us to make it absolutely clear:
Oregon is ready to kick-start our clean energy economy!
On Saturday, September 27th, please join your community, and tens of thousands of people across the country for Green Jobs Now: A Day to Build the New Economy. On this day of action, we can make it clear to state and federal legislative candidates:
We're READY to build an inclusive green economy and we expect our state's elected officials to lead the way!
When:
Saturday, September 27, 2008
10:00-11:00 am
Where:
E2 Powered Solar Factory
840 SE Woodland Blvd, Suite 100
Bend, Oregon 97702 (if lost call: 206.351.5646)
Who:
YOU the citizens!
Bend Mayor Abernethy
Cylvia Hayes, 3E Strategies
Joelle Robinson, Climate Solutions
PV Powered representative
Mike Hewitt, E2 Powered
Click here to let us know you'll be there to help send a powerful message.
This event will take place at the E2 Powered solar factory in Bend. E2 was recently contracted to install solar panels on the Redmond airport and has an exciting project with a new elementary school.
At the event, Bend Mayor Abernethy will share how Bend is positioning itself in the sustainability arena. Cylvia Hayes, of 3EStrategies, is coordinating development of clean tech jobs for the State of Oregon and will discuss the upcoming green collar job opportunities throughout Oregon. Joelle Robinson, Climate Solutions, will outline policies needed to move our green economy to the next level. Kelli and Mike Hewitt, E2 Powered owners, will speak about real green jobs and the bredth of their impact on the local economy.
After the speakers, local community members will put on green hard hats to create a visual display of their message: "We're Ready For Green Jobs Now!" They will then be given a tour of the E2 Powered factory and showroom. Event organizers will collect petition signatures urging elected officials to champion strong climate solutions and investments in green jobs training programs. This petition will be delivered to Oregon state and congressional leaders. Our state legislators and members of Congress will be able to see for themselves that their constituents are demanding bold action !
Click here to let us know you'll be there. Show your support and see where Oregon is headed on Saturday September 27!
For more information on the National Day of Action for Green Jobs Now, please visit: www.greenjobsnow.com
Many Thanks,
Joelle
Questions & RSVP
Joelle Robinson, Climate Solutions Field Director
721 NW Ninth Ave. Ste. 236
Portland, OR 97209
(206) 351-5646
www.climatesolutions.org
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
9/29 Jackalope Grill-Saviah Cellars Winemakers Dinner
Saviah Cellars Winemakers Dinner
Mon., Sept. 29: Saviah Cellars Winemakers Dinner - limited seating, call for reservations 541-318-8435.
Also, The Jackalope Grill will be closed Tuesday September 23 for a private party.
For more, go to jackalopegrill.com.
september @ thump
File this in the "better late than never" folder. -hoc
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ART: Vima Lupwa Homes Zambian Children’s Art (throughout September)
This month, Thump Coffee showcases art created by children living at the Vima Lupwa Home in Luanshya, Zambia. Vima Lupwa, the locally-based nonprofit founded by Bend native and Central Oregon Community College student Malerie Pratt, provides a loving foster home for a handful of the most needy among Zambia’s more than one million orphans.
Featured artists include Melody Banda, age 12; Mwape P. Malubeni, age 11 and Malama Membe, age 16, who runs the home’s bicycle repair business. The framed art will be available for purchase, and all proceeds support Vima Lupwa Homes and its mission.
Pratt, who recently returned from more than a month in Zambia, walked 10-kilometers to the nearest Internet connection to send an update on the Vima Lupwa children: “These are completely different children than I left last year. There is a peacefulness that has come over the house. The aggressive behavior they came with is no longer needed for survival. I am happy to report how successful this home has been and what incredibly patient parents Violet and Mr. Mwala are.”
Violet Membe, a Zambian social worker and mother of two, co-founded the Vima Lupwa Home with Pratt. She and her husband raise the foster children as part of their family, providing a truly Zambian upbringing where they are raised with their own culture, values and religion.
For more about the Vima Lupwa Homes project, as well as photos and biographies of the children, go to www.lupwahomes.org.
Traditional Cappuccino Happy Hour, Fridays, 2:30pm to close
Join us every Friday for a celebration of the classic Italian espresso drink, the Traditional Cappuccino. During TradCap Happy Hour - or Cappy Hour, if you will - enjoy half-priced traditional espresso drinks, dopios, macchiatos, and traditional cappuccinos. Many people have never ventured to try these delightful little drinks. No syrup, no chocolate, just espresso and perhaps a small embrace of milk steamed to sweet, velvety perfection!
CUPPING: Sunday, September 21, 1:30 -2:30 pm
Come join this low-key exploration of the ins and outs of tasting coffee like the pros. Cuppings are usually the third Sunday of the month at 1:30 pm.
Thump Coffee is located in downtown Bend at 25 NW Minnesota Ave. For details, visit www.ThumpCoffee.com or call 541-388-0226.
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Vima Lupwa Homes: Upcoming Events + Ways to Help
This just in from Vima Lupwa Homes. -hoc
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VIMA LUPWA HOMES
Home for orphaned and vulnerable children in Zambia
"We care and bring families together"
The Vima Lupwa Home has lots of ways you can get involved and help. Please contact us if you are interested in helping with any of these events:
Garage Sale
September 27th - 8:30 to 3:30
440 NW Congress St. Bend Oregon
Volunteers needed all day.
If you would like to donate please only drop off clean, nice, sell-able items anytime prior to the 27th.
Fall Festival
The Fall Festival booth Oct. 4 and 5 in Bend, Oregon. This involves helping to put up and take down as well as manning the booth. We will be selling lots of awesome African merchandise as well as give out information about Vima Lupwa Home in Zambia. Any volunteer time would be really appreciated.
Holiday Cards
We are again selling our annual children's art holiday cards. The cards are sold in bunches of 10 (all recycled paper with soy-based ink). We would like to start selling cards late October to early November. Last year it was a great success and we need all the help we can get. This could involve selling them at local schools, downtown, at functions, to your friends and family, your choice -- any help would be great!
2009 Calendars
Thanks to Richard from Nativity Lutheran we will be selling a 2009 calendar featuring our Lupwa kids and their art work. We need to get the word out for these to be a success.
Your own ideas
Your ideas are welcome. If you have fundraising idea to help our home for children in Zambia we would love to hear it. No matter your age or experience these are all of our children and it takes all of us for this home to be success.
Thank you for your time.
-Malerie & Marlena
lupwahomes.org
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Giant Loop: What I Did During Summer Vacation
Friends, I've been up to my eyeballs launching this project with my friend and co-conspirator David Wachs, graphic artist, landscape painter and desert-rat dualsport motorcycle touring maniac:
Giant Loop Saddle Bag
We're very excited about it, and I'd really appreciate it if you can pass the word along to those who might get it.
Skol,
Harold Olaf Cecil
partner
giant loop llc
bend, oregon
rideatgiantloopmotodotcom
A Call For Help from Rise Up
This from Bend artist Sheri Foster. -hoc
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I am wondering if you would like to help in the Art For India Fundraiser OR if you would like to donate an artful item for the auction. It doesn't need to be much...last year we had items that sold for between $10 and $500, but it needs to be artful( I looked around my house and donated some items). I am also looking for volunteers that might want to help. Here's some ideas:
1.Paint an Adirondack chair...they sold well last year. I'll supply the kit and finish with a clear coat.
2.Pre-sell tickets to the fundraiser.
3.If you work with kids, get them involved in donating an art project or something.
4.Sell sponsorships for the event
5.Help with organization of the event
6.Donate auction item
If you have any desire to help in any way, please contact me. Thanks and have a great day.
RISE UP INTERNATIONAL
sherilfoster@yahoo.com
Cell 503.551.5174
RISE UP INDIA weblog
http://riseupindia.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Blacksmith Wednesday Tastings: August = Wine
Here's the line up:
Aug 6 = Sparkling Wines of the World
Aug 13 = Chardonnays of the World
Aug 20 = Pinot Noirs of the World
Aug 27 = Syrahs of the World (with John Aylward, Certified Wine Educator)
For $10, tasters sample approximately five wines. Party starts at 5pm.
More details to come – sign-up for the the Blacksmith’s B-List and be the first to know: www.bendblacksmith.com.
The Blacksmith Restaurant is nationally known for Chef Gavin McMichael's New Ranch Cuisine. A recent renovation includes a new lounge and full bar, designed in backlit alabaster. The Blacksmith is located in downtown Bend in the historic Pearson Blacksmith Building, 211 NW Greenwood Avenue. For reservations and info, visit www.bendblacksmith.com or call 541-318-0588.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
august @ thump
ART: Michael J. Caligure Photography (throughout August)
Michael J. Caligure, a full-time Bend firefighter since 1982, exhibits images of professional Bend Fire & Rescue firefighters during training and local emergencies in his August photography exhibition this month. Having the experience of both a photographer and a firefighter, Caligure depicts first-hand the energy, emotion and magnificent blaze of the fire scene, while documenting the heroes who risk their lives everyday for our community.
The exhibition at thump is a personal statement of Caligure’s career and his enthusiasm for depicting firefighters in action on the scene. Caligure’s photography tells stories of the personal tests, experiences and conquests in the life of a firefighter.
In this exhibition, Caligure’s subject is firefighters in action, however Caligure also enjoys capturing images relating to everyday life and important landmarks in one’s own journey. “My passion for photography began around 1979 when I purchased my first camera,” Caligure says. “ I enjoy outdoor activities, so many of my photographs consist of landscapes and aerials.” His body of work also includes portraits and sporting events.
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Thumpology: Coffee Blends - A Different Story
July’s Thumpology explored the seasonality of coffee harvesting and how, like eating fresh produce when it’s in season, drinking coffees brewed from newly harvested beans is a more flavorful and enjoyable experience. Some coffeehouses — like thump — feature ever-changing drip coffee offerings that reflect what coffees have been recently harvested around the world. As mentioned last month, coffee blends have a different story to tell.
If you visit a coffeehouse and notice the same blend of beans being served throughout the year, the coffee roaster might use the same beans each time to create that blend (for example, a combination of Guatemalan, Indonesian and Brazilian). Those green beans might be up to a year old — the time passed since the last harvest.
Here’s a different scenario: Throughout the year, the roaster uses different, newly harvested beans in the blend and recreates a consistent flavor for the blend. For example, thump uses Stumptown Coffee Roaster’s Hair Bender Espresso Blend 365 days of the year. It’s Stumptown’s challenge to maintain a consistent flavor profile in this blend using an ever-changing selection of coffees.
Stumptown continually explores the body, complexity, acidity and flavor compatibility of their coffees. Each coffee that makes up the blend is roasted separately to develop its individual flavor profile so it will be optimally compatible with the other beans in the blend as well as to address its unique physical aspects, such as bean size, density, and moisture content (see past thumpologies on roasting). The beans are then blended together at the proper ratio to maintain that beautifully complex flavor that keeps us all coming back for more.
If you strip away the milk and flavorings and just taste the espresso, you’ll appreciate that this
blend is dynamic and changing subtly and tantalizingly throughout the year because of its ever-changing “ingredients” — but it’s consistently delicious! To blend well without taking the beans to a dark roast, which effectively roasts out the flavors of the individual beans, is a true art. Three cheers for a great blend and a talented roaster!
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CUPPING: Sunday, August 10 (NOT the third Sunday this month!) 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Cuppings are usually the third Sunday of the month at 1:30pm - get details at our website and by subscribing to our email newsletter.
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Traditional Cappuccino Happy Hour Fridays, 2:30pm to close
Join us every Friday for a celebration of the classic Italian espresso concoction, the Traditional Cappuccino. During TradCap Happy Hour — or Cappy Hour, if you will — enjoy half-priced traditional espresso drinks, dopios, macchiatos, and traditional cappuccinos. Many people have never ventured to try these delightful little drinks. No syrup, no chocolate, just espresso and perhaps a small embrace of milk steamed to sweet, velvety perfection!
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Gratis Grounds Make Killer Compost
Thump has wonderful organic and sustainably grown coffee grounds available for composting and worm bins. Coffee grounds' very jagged microscopic surface area helps speed up the breakdown of the biomass being composted. Call 388-0226 to arrange a pick-up time for your coffee grounds.
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ART: Mark Bernahl's “Wishes” Installation (ongoing)
Grab a plank and let everybody know your heart's fondest desires. From the absurd to the profound, the Wishes reveal the full range of human concerns and humor. Artist Mark Bernahl will continue rotating newly minted wishes into the existing installation.
First Friday August: The Brothers Wachs
My friends David and Andrew Wachs are doing a show together (finally!) in August and September at the "tbd loft." Here's my shortened, edited version of the press release sent by the gallery, plus some of David's paintings and Andrew's sculptures that will be hanging for the show. Dave and Andy are the real deal - be sure to take a look. And even better: Bring your checkbook. -hoc
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First Friday August: The Brothers Wachs
(Bend, OR) Beginning Friday, August 1, the sculptures and paintings of Andrew Wachs and David Wachs will be on display at tbd loft. The show opens with a First Friday reception from 5 – 9 p.m. and runs through September.
Painter David Wachs has lived in Oregon most of his life. For the last 14 years he has lived in the same house in Tumalo. “I have never lived in one place as long as I have here,” commented David. “Working in a converted dairy barn on our property is a dream come true for me.”
During art school at Montana State, David made a lifelong commitment to the
landscape as subject matter and has faithfully retained this approach to content. He is inspired by the places he is so lucky to visit. Canyons, mountains, sage 
covered hills, basalt cliffs/breaks and dry deserts are the impressions that become my work. “I know when I see a painting I will do in the countryside,” explained David. “I bring those emotions back to my studio to create images.”
Andrew Wachs is a metal artist who lives and works in Bend, Oregon. The landscape and color fields of central Oregon continually inspire Andrew. and Much of his work is representative of my many travels from Bend to Portland. Andrew’s most recent works are in Bend’s new roundabout located at Bond and Wilson in the Old Mill District as well as a public sculpture in Northwest Crossing.
The work exhibited at tbd loft will represent a broad perspective of Andrew’s recent work. Andrew works primarily in steel and the exhibit at tbd loft is a study of composition and form.
tbd loft is located at 856 NW Bond Street, Suite 2 above Norwalk Furniture, in downtown Bend, Oregon.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Bistro Corlise: New Happy Hour + Sparkling Wine Day
This just in from Allison at Bistro Corlise! -hoc
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New Happy Hour
Bistro Corlise is now offering happy hour from 5 to 6:30, Wednesday through Sunday. Specials include selected appetizers and house wines by the glass for $5 each. A great introduction to French cuisine and wine!
National Sparkling Wine Day
Did you know that the third Saturday in August is National Sparkling Wine Day? Come join us for bubbles and smiles on August 16th. We will be pouring champagnes and sparkling wines by the glass and pairing them with specially prepared small plates. This will be an informal event, starting at 5pm. Don't miss out!
More details: www.bistrocorlise.com
Thursday, July 24, 2008
8/7: Help COTA + FootZone Build Trails
Just in from colleague Amy Clark. COTA's not just about mountain bikers! -hoc
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Event date: Thursday, August 7, 5:30 pm
Meet at the FootZone at 5:30pm on August 7 so we can head up to Wanoga togther for some trail building fun. RSVP with Dave if you can: Superdave@footzonebend.com. Bring some work gloves, water, long pants, some sturdy footwear, and a Can-Do attitude.
Tell your friends, parents, kids, crazy uncles, and the weird neighbors down the street. The more people we have the more trail gets built. No prior trail-building experience necessary.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
KPOV Community Radio Awarded Full Power Permit by FCC
Just in from KPOV. -hoc
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KPOV Starts to Gear Up for Transition from 2 watts to 13,500 watts
Now, a little more than three years later, KPOV has the rare opportunity to achieve an even more ambitious goal!
The FCC recently granted KPOV a construction permit to build a full-power community radio station broadcasting at 13,500 watts! We now have three years to secure the funding, build the infrastructure and develop even better programming line up than we have today.
How will you and our community benefit?
- A more powerful signal will alleviate the reception issues many in Bend currently face with our low-power signal. In addition, residents in surrounding central Oregon communities will also be able to receive our signal.
- KPOV intends to offer an even greater presence in the community, from broadcasting and appearing at festivals and events to live election and political coverage to continuing to develop our web presence.
We will begin planning the transition to full-power later this year, with the help of community radio consultants and staff at the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. We'll keep you posted along the way and will ask for your input as we move forward.
Click here to Learn More
7/23: Public Comment on BLM/OR Dept. of State Lands Swap
Just in from ONDA. -hoc
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Dear Harold Olaf,
BLM information on the DSL Land Transfer and link to comment forms
A public meeting will be held July 23rd 7pm-8:30pm at the Pilot Butte Elementary School, 1501 NE Neff Road, Bend Oregon. Please show up to share comments with the BLM about these important lands.
Comments can also be e-mailed to dslselection@blm.gov or submitted to: BLM, DSL Selection; 3050 NE Third Street; Prineville, OR 97754.
Here are some important points to consider in your comments:
1) The DSL should acquire lands from the BLM to fund the Common School Fund and resolve the federal government’s land debt to the state of Oregon; however, these lands should fit into future development plans of Deschutes County and the City of Bend. The lands currently identified by the DSL are currently zoned for farm use and are located outside of Bend’s current and projected Urban Growth Boundary (UGB).
2) The lands selected by the DSL have been identified as "Area of Critical Environmental Concern" because the Historic Huntington Wagon Trail bisects this area. The area was also deemed appropriate for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
3) The lands selected by the DSL also contain old-growth juniper stands and associated sensitive wildlife.
4) The Upper Deschutes Resource Management Plan, completed by the BLM in 2005, classified this land as Z1. These are lands that the BLM planned to conserve due to their significant resource values. The DSL could and should select lands with limited resource values (i.e. those categorized by the BLM as Z2 or Z3 lands).
5) The BLM has limited funds to manage millions of acres of public land in Oregon. Because the DSL has selected lands that have significant conservation and resource values, the BLM will need to undertake a costly amendment to their recently-adopted Resource Management Plan. The DSL should cover the costs incurred in this process and for necessary compliance under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
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Read about important ONDA court victory requiring BLM to consider wilderness:
story from Oregonian
ONDA's response
Get more info about the Oregon Natural Desert Association.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Commute Options Moves Into New Offices — By Bicycle
Volunteers Needed For Human-Powered Moving
EVENT DATE: Friday, August 1
“We’re doing Move By Bike to have some fun, save some money and to raise public awareness about the importance of carpooling, biking or walking,” says Jeff Monson, Commute Options’ executive director. “Volunteers will get a chance to help with the move, tour the new building and be rewarded with refreshments.”
Volunteers should meet at 10:00 a.m. at Commute Options' current location (155 NW Irving Ave. in Bend). Bicycle trailers needed. To sign up and get details, contact Commute Options at 541-330-2647, or go to www.commuteoptions.org.
Friday, July 18, 2008
4 Peaks Music Festival: Ticket Discount Extended, Festivarian #4
Journalist Amy Clark recently described 4 Peaks Music Festival: "A two-day music festival that’s kid-friendly, offers room for snoozing and has a breathtaking backdrop is rare these days . . ."
For tickets click here, or visit Ranch Records on NW Wall St. in downtown Bend.
Also, check out the latest edition of the Festivarian newsletter, which profiles 4 Peaks Music Festival artists Poor Man's Whiskey, Flowmotion and local act Brent Alan.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Portfolio: Coriant Business Workflow Solutions
Our biggest challenge was concisely communicating the essence of a company whose products and services encompass such a broad spectrum. The Coriant name is a neologism derived from "core" business functions and the "reliant" relationship the company builds with customers.
Phase I of the company website just launched: www.CoriantInc.com. Scott Donnell of Donnell Design produced the Flash animation for the homepage. The site is set-up to take advantage of the open-source content management system, Joomla, which gives the client a web browser-based interface to easily update and manage the site's copy and graphic content, as well as to dynamically add or delete pages to and from the navigation.
Side note: Perez design, Donnell Design and Ad HOC are all now sharing an office space in downtown Bend. Although we all continue to work independently with our own individual clients, sharing the space facilitates collaboration on projects and offers clients a single location to access a variety of services: branding, marketing, copywriting, advertising, public relations, graphic design and web development.
4 Peaks Music Festival: Updated Band Schedule
Read on for the updated band schedule for the two day festival July 25-26.
(Poor Man's Whiskey playing at last year's 4 Peaks Music Festival)
Friday, July 25
Rockin' A Ranch Stage (Main)
12:35-1:25 State of Jefferson
2:25-3:05 Brent Alan
4:45-6:15 Blue Turtle Seduction
7:35-9:20 Hot Buttered Rum
9:45-11:30 Zilla
Tumalo Stage (Mini)
11:00-12:00 Opener TBD
12:00-12:25 North Channel
1:35-2:15 The Mostest
3:15-4:35 Acorn Project
6:25-7:25 Poor Man’s Whiskey
9:20-9:30 Poor Man’s Whiskey
Saturday, July 26
Rockin' A Ranch Stage (Main)
10:00-10:45 Blackstrap
11:55-12:55 Moon Mountain Ramblers
2:15-3:30 Flowmotion
5:00- 6:25 Poor Man’s Whiskey
8:05- 10:00 Tea Leaf Green
10:30- 11:30 Everyone Orchestra
Tumalo Stage (Mini)
10:55-11:45 Rising Tide
1:05-2:05 The Grain
3:45-4:55 Izabella
6:35-7:55 Delta Nove
10:05-10:25 The Erins
For details, visit www.4peaksmusic.com. Two-day and single-day festival passes are available at Ranch Records on NW Wall St. in downtown Bend or on the web.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Oregon Natural Desert Association Responds to Landmark Court Decision
Just received this from Brent Fenty at ONDA. -hoc
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Ninth Circuit Orders Bureau of Land Management to Evaluate Wilderness Values on Public Lands
The ruling will have a profound impact on BLM’s management of the public lands it is charged with protecting. The court specifically rejected BLM’s disavowal of “the very idea of wilderness” as one of many resources and values for which the agency must manage. Finding that the law, including BLM’s own guidance documents, unmistakably requires BLM to analyze impacts to a landscape’s wildernessvacated the plan and ordered BLM prepare a new plan.
“Within this remote, wild area lies some of our nation’s most important roadless areas,” said Brent Fenty, executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) in Bend. “The court’s ruling validates the position we have taken with BLM from the very start. It is incumbent upon our federal land managers to ensure that these special places get the protection they so richly deserve. Now, BLM must go back and actually evaluate how to protect these remarkable areas of desert wilderness.”
The plan, the Southeastern Oregon Resource Management Plan (SEORMP), governs the federal agency’s management of about 4.6 million acres of public land, mostly in vast Malheur County. It is to guide BLM’s management of some of the most treasured landscapes in Oregon, including the Owyhee Canyonlands, for the next 20 years. The bulk of the lands to be managed under the plan are comprised of fragile high desert and sagebrush steppe.
In addition to its wilderness ruling, the court agreed with ONDA that BLM had not considered reasonable alternatives for off-road vehicle use. Less than 0.5% of the area is closed to damaging ORV use. In its analysis leading up to the plan, BLM never even considered closing more than a fraction (0.8%) of the planning area to ORVs. In fact, every alternative BLM considered would have further reduced the area currently closed to ORVs. Similarly, less than 2% of the area is currently off-limits to livestock grazing.
Jon Marvel, executive director of Western Watersheds Project said: “I hope the BLM will take this excellent legal decision to heart and begin to manage our public lands for all American values instead of just destructive uses like motorized recreation and livestock production.”
In its own 2004 wilderness inventory, ONDA found that 1.3 million acres of the planning area, not including existing Wilderness Study Areas designated by BLM in 1980, possess wilderness character. Congress in 1964 defined “wilderness” on the public lands as consisting of large areas that are roadless, essentially natural, and provide outstanding primitive recreational opportunities. ONDA used BLM’s own wilderness inventory manual to conduct its inventory although the Bush Administration has since revoked the manual. The court’s decision rejects the Administration’s disavowal of wilderness values when managing the public lands. ONDA prepared its inventory after the BLM refused to consider wilderness during the agency’s environmental review for the SEORMP.
“This plan was strongly biased toward the continuation of widespread livestock grazing and motorized access over all other uses and resource values—particularly wilderness, a fragile and finite resource whose very existence BLM didn’t want to even acknowledge,” said Mac Lacy, ONDA’s senior attorney, who argued the case before the court last November. “The court’s decision sends a clear message to the Administration that in this, and particularly any other broad-scale plans it wants to push through this year, federal agencies must fully and transparently evaluate wilderness values like any others on our public lands.”
The plaintiffs, the Oregon Natural Desert Association, joined by the Committee for the High Desert and Western Watersheds Project, filed the lawsuit in July, 2003. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling sets aside the SEORMP and now sends the matter back to BLM to prepare a revised environmental review and a new plan that reconsiders its management decisions in light of its obligation to protect wilderness values.
Federal Court Orders BLM to Consider Eastern Oregon Wilderness
From yesterday's Oregonian. -hoc
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Court: Ore. land plan should consider wilderness
7/14/2008, 4:12 p.m. PDT
By TIM FOUGHT
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal appeals judges have told the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to take another look at its plans for about 4.5 million acres in Eastern Oregon — and to consider wilderness values when it does.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday the bureau's plans for the area are too narrow.
The judges say the bureau should include in its management plans areas where grass, sagebrush and juniper are reclaiming unused roads.
And it said the bureau should manage lands with an eye toward preserving their wilderness characteristics — even if they haven't been designated as wilderness areas.
As a result, the appeals court says, the agency must redo a management plan in the works since 1995. That plan, in turn, was a response to a law passed in 1976 that required federal agencies to make plans for the lands under their control.
The suit was brought in 2003 by the Oregon Natural Desert Association. It involves land in three counties, Malheur, Grant and Harney, where the bureau leases extensive tracts of grazing land to ranchers.
The environmental group said the bureau in 1980 compiled an inventory of lands in the area with potential to be declared formally as wilderness areas.
But by the late 1990s, the group said, another 1.3 million acres had become eligible for consideration for wilderness because what once were roads turned into little-used ways, small reservoirs had dried up and land infested by invasive species had been returned to native vegetation.
The bureau, the court said, insisted that its wilderness study ended in 1980 and didn't need to be reopened. A trial judge agreed.
But, the appeals court said, "Wilderness characteristics are not simply a checklist" to be used for a one-time inventory.
Instead, the court said, the bureau is obligated continuously to manage land with wilderness characteristics. It said that even if the Congress hadn't designated such land as wilderness, the bureau could protect it against damaging uses such as mining, grazing and off-road vehicle use.
A spokesman for the bureau, Michael Campbell, said it had not decided whether to appeal.
He said land in Eastern Oregon doesn't change quickly, but, "That said, we're always willing to look at new information."
Representatives of the Oregon Natural Desert Association did not immediately return phone calls.