Sixes River

 I hoped to hike out to the mouth of the Sixes River and the wildest beach you can imagine. 

This river has a very small entry to the ocean; the sand builds up over the summer and eventually blocks the channel almost completely and the river backs up to form a huge lake in the valley. When the fall rains start, the increased water flow eventually breaks open the sand dam and the wild salmon start upstream to their spawning grounds. Jamie had hoped we could fish from shore there this fall - would you believe gonzo anglers fly fish for salmon there?

Dang! The river lake was too high, blocking the path to the mouth and the ocean shore; I waded through flooded sections until I couldn't go any farther. But I released a handful of Jamie's ashes into the water where he would have shore fished.

Last Stop

Last stop of my Memory Pilgrimage was Agate Beach at Port Orford. This beach is within the Tseriadun State Recreation Site. 

The summer sea currents bring agates and other semi-precious stones down from the Elk River, just a few miles north. It is the very best agate beach on the Oregon Coast. The currents have already shifted and I found very few agates yesterday.

Jamie loved this place, often just standing quietly watching and listening to the ocean. I called him my 'old man and the sea'. 

The tide was coming in, with waves hitting this rock outcropping. I walked out onto the rocks and sent a bit of my sweet hubby out to sea.

Saying goodbye

This Memory Pilgrimage has been the most beautiful and the most difficult journey I have ever made. Bringing Jamie back to the places he loved so much, and had planned to spend time at this fall, just broke my heart. He was way too young, way too healthy, way too vital to have his life cut so short. He was not done, dammit! Saying goodbye to him was, and is, so painful.

I realize this junket was most likely also the last time I would visit these places that are so special to Jamie, to me, to us.  Goodbye South Oregon Coast 😥.

Thank you all for joining me. Thank you for your gentle support and caring.

todos bienvenidos

5"x10" watercolor on Yupo, freely and directly painted without drawing. 'Welcome All' is a slightly imagined Spanish mission somewhere in the hills of New Mexico. Over the years I have had the pleasure of spotting many of these old missions and have taken countless photos; plenty of reference material in my files!  It joins my Land of Enchantment series. 

 

Another New Piece

This 5" x 5" watercolor on Gessobord was another experiment - acrylic is the typical medium for Gessobord. I found it fun for watercolor, subtle texture and the pigment basically sits on the surface, very easy to lift . . . intentionally or accidentally. 

This is the North Fork Valley at Paonio Colorado. I believe that's Lamborn Mountain, West Elk Range. The Valley provides a perfect climate for fruit orchards, vineyards, and an abundance of organic crops. 

My son Greg is living there now, while working on getting his fiancee Rosemery and his little boy Mateo moved from Peru to the United States. He lived in Paonia  years ago and loved it --- so did we! I painted this so Rosemery could see the beautiful place she will come to when her visa is approved.

Beep Beep

 New Mexico's State Bird, the Roadrunner.  This 13"x 4.5" watercolor on paper is part of 'The Land of Enchantment' series. 

Something New!

 I've been toting around an 11x14 piece of Ampersand Claybord for years and finally decided to try it. It's a very interesting and very different surface for watercolor, rather fun & somewhat challenging. I'm happy with this sunset - photo taken at the Roadrunner BLM area just south of Quartzsite AZ. 

Shhhhh. Don't tell Cousin Jo - it's a gift for her.