Minto-Brown Island Park.

Life has been hectic the last month or so: Kathy and I are both pretty insanely busy with school; I am constantly stressed about money; and we've traveled hundreds of miles to attend two different weddings over two different weekends. Said weddings and weekends full of travel were awesome, but still, the prospect of a weekend just spent in good ol' Oregon, with pretty much Saturday and Sunday open free to do with as I pleased, had me silly-giddy-excited Friday night. We went to the movies! I avoided homework and tried not to stress too much about money! Tomorrow we're going pumpkin-patch-ing! We watched some TV! And for the first time in quite awhile, I went on a hike!

Okay, considering I chose Minto-Brown Island Park in Salem, which is 835 acres of pretty flat ground in the floodplain of the Willamette River, and almost every path I walked on was paved, it probably counts more as a casual stroll than a hike, per se. But considering I strolled five miles, it was still a pretty lengthy stroll, and I was still pretty darned tired after about an hour. Okay, secret time: even though I profess to love hiking, I still don't know if I'm actually a good hiker. I know I'm pretty out of shape, both in general and in terms of hiking, but what happened today is kind of what happens every time I venture out into the wilderness:

For the first twenty minutes or so, I am in a state of euphoria. Here I am, out of the house, away from the worries of the world! Breathe that fresh air! Look at that sky, look at these trees, listen to those birds chirping and those squirrels and insects bustling through the bushes! The world is quiet, and still, yet full of life. I love nature, and I'm so happy to be out exploring it!

And then, usually after about an hour or so:

Hm. I am getting kind of tired. My feet hurt a little. Everything is still so beautiful, I still love all these trees, but the capacity of my mind to actually process and appreciate it all seems to be waning a little bit. And you know what, I really have a lot of homework to do back home. And, hm, there are a lot of dirty dishes still hanging out in the sink, and a bunch of laundry, and a bunch of emails I should've sent a week ago. And I still have to finish that book, and that stack of newspapers! And you know I really don't spend enough time with the animals. I wish I was with them now, cuddled up in bed. I mean I really like it here, really, but it'd also be really awesome to be back there. I wonder what Kathy's doing? I miss her.

There are two possible reasons behind this: 1) I am still not a very good hiker, or, 2) Even though I love alone time and always have, in the end, nothing is really as much fun anymore without Kathy there.

Regardless--Minto-Brown Island Park was lovely. I don't usually have much reason to visit Salem, but it felt fun to go on a mini-road-trip by myself, to feel away from it all for just a couple of hours. It was also nice to have a slightly different pace than previous hikes I've been on, the majority of which have been concentrated in the Gorge. And really, I will never get sick of the Gorge. But at the same time, it's nice to take a step back from the drama of the waterfalls, cliffs, lush greenery moss-fest that occupies every hike there, and visit a wildlife refuge such as Minto-Brown, full of fields, chirping birds, marshes, and quiet paths through cottonwoods.

In fact, there is something about walking through flat, open fields that is incredibly and deeply calming at the same time that it is beautiful. Also, truth: I am in love with the types of trees that were all around this park, trees with pale, peely bark, although I couldn't tell you the exact kinds that were there (other than cottonwoods, because my guide book told me that): birches, ashes, cottonwoods, trees that grow in clumps with one sprawling root system and that grow well in the aftermath of fire. I grew up in, and know, dense woods of oak and pine, but there is something different, and very lovely, about these kinds of trees: an airiness, a lightness. It was especially lovely to be here in fall, and I alternated between delightedly shuffling through the crisp crinkly leaves on all the paths like a happy kid and feeling guilty at my really-not-stealthy walking through the wilderness.

Lesson learned: Although it was a nice walk, being that almost all of the paths were wide, well paved, and multi-use, this probably really would be best enjoyed as a bike ride.

Highlight: Seeing a majestic, still blue heron ten feet away from me. So close and still that I actually thought it wasn't real at first, until it flew away from me when I went to reach for my camera.

Info: Located in South Salem on the Willamette River, off of River Road. Park website can be found here; no fees. Restrooms (portapotties) & picnic areas available; dogs and bikes welcomed.