Video by Philip Robert

Roll35.com is imminent. We will be launching today, today, today, today, ok, maybe tomorrow. We're working our tails off and the site will be live soon. Roll35.com the Social Networking Publishing Company of the 21st Century.

Tuesday September 11th broke with a typhoon heading towards Tokyo Bay so our daily task was to secure the ship for the storm. Around noon someone made a decision to send everyone home except for the duty section. It was a quiet lazy afternoon at home waiting for the typhoon.

The naval station in Yokosuka is a tight harbor. It's securely protected from Tokyo bay by two pennisulas, and Tokyo bay is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the Chiba pennisula.

Typhoons almost never hit Yokosuka, and this one wasn't any different. We make all the preparations though for the excepting. It's better to be ready for a typhoon that never hits than not be ready for the typhoon that does hit.

That evening at 6pm we got the all clear. The typhoon had passed, and everything was safe. No of new about the typhoon that was about to change our world forever. It was 5am in New York.

At 10pm I checked my email on yahoo before going to bed, and there was a news report that the World Trade Center had been hit by a plane. Scanning the report I had the impression that some silly idiot in a Cessna had accidentally flown into one of the towers. I shut my computer down and went to bed.

The Officer of the Deck called my home about 4:30am the next morning. It was the Chief Gunner's Mate, and he told me that I should take the train into work because they weren't letting cars on the base. I asked him if they were running a security exercise on the base. He said "yeah, you could say that." I went back to sleep until 6am.

As I checked my email before going to the ship I was shocked by the headline on yahoo. "Twin Towers Destroyed. 10,000 Dead." What had happened? I thought some hacker had made a bad joke. A quick check of the New York Time's webpage confirmed that the World Trade Center's twin towers had collapsed after two passenger jets had flown into them.

Work on the ship was almost at a standstill that day. We spent a lot of time watching the news reports and the endless clips of the towers collapse. The Chiefs all got together under the direction of Command Master Chief Joe Campa and began reworking duty sections, beefing up security on the ship and the pier, and making preparations for the unscheduled deployment that we all knew was coming. We were forward deployed just for this reason. Because of the USS Cole we had heard of Al Queda, and the Taliban. We knew that we were headed for the Indian Ocean and Afghanistan. The only question was when would we weigh anchor? When would the battle group deploy?

For me September 11th was about securing my ship for a typhoon one minute and preparing to go to war the next.

The first weekend in August just exploded with tons of great events going on, and lots of excitement. Working with On The Go-Go I had the opportunity to go see Sugarland at the Les Schwab amphitheater, interview Kim Breedlove, the master luthier behind Breedlove Guitars, and finally cover a concert by Blues Legend Johnny Winter. What a weekend, and that was just work. For fun I went rafting down the Deschutes River with my friends from Bikram yoga, and got to go paddle boarding with surfing legend Jerry Lopez.

SugarLand at the Les Schwab Amphitheater

The Sugarland concert rocked. I don't know how many people can attend the concerts at Bend's Les Schwab amphitheater, but it looked like a sell out crowd. In addition to the jam packed venue there were crowds of people lining the opposite bank of the Deschutes river in the Old Mill district of Bend, and a number of rafts, canoes, and kayaks on the river. People were wearing all kinds of boots, belts, buckles, and hats with a western flavor in support of the award winning country duo. The equestrian scene is pretty big in Bend so there were lots of girls wearing english riding boots.

I was invited with my video camera not to capture the band, there was a CMT crew set up for that, but to be available to the promoters if there was an OLCC incident. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) has been causing a big stir recently with numerous local businesses and promoters complaining to city, county, and state officials about uneven, arbitrary, and malicious enforcement of code. There weren't any incidents for me to video tape at this particular event. The concert rocked. If you enjoy country music, and have a chance to go see Sugarland, don't miss it.

Breedlove Festival

Each year Breedlove guitars hosts a three day festival featuring some of the finest acoustic guitars made in North America. I had the pleasure of catching Kim Breedlove and Bill Keale onstage and later doing an interview with Kim. Boy I really blew the interview. After their performance onstage I approached Kim about doing an interview, and he said that would be fine with him. Could I wait about an hour. That was pretty simple since there was a lot to see at the Breedlove factory. I was inside checking out the guitars and shooting some video when it began to rain outside. This was a pretty heavy storm that took down the power for a bit. Peter Newport, president of Breedlove Guitars, moved everyone outside inside. Onstage performing at the time was The California Guitar Trio. Outside maybe 1/4 of the seats available were filled. Inside it was a packed house in a very intimate setting. I've caught it all on video. However I didn't manage my power very well which is how I screwed up the interview with Kim Breedlove. When he came over I was down to my last 5 minutes of tape and the end of the battery. Figured that I had enough tape and battery to get the interview, but I figured wrong. I only had enough tape. The battery died just as we were getting started. I'm sorry Kim. I hope you'll let me do it again sometime.

Rafting Big Eddy

Sunday came around and I went rafting down the Deschutes River with a bunch of my friends from Bikram yoga. We had a great day on the river with Michael Harris, the studio owner, promising a free month of yoga to the person who could hold standing bow pulling pose on the bow of a raft the longest. Sounded like a fun thing to try. I can tell you that trying to balance on the bow of a raft is tricky on two feet. Trying to balance on one foot while getting into and holding one of the most difficult postures is very tricky. In several attempts I managed to hold for about 7 seconds. A good effort, but not the winner. A 17 year old girl in my raft managed to get into and hold the posture for about 12 seconds before going into the river. Anyway it was a lot of fun watching everyone trying. The next day in class my balance was really dialed in. Moving, bouncing raft... difficult to balance on. Solid, steady, unmoving studio floor... no problem.

The major rapid on this run is called Big Eddy. It's a class 3 plus primarily because of the narrow river and lava rock that the currents push into. Not particularly difficult in a raft. I really want to have a solid combat roll before I try it in a hardshell kayak. Can't wait to try though.

Paddleboarding with Jerry Lopez

Monday morning after a great weekend I went to yoga at 9:00AM. My teacher that morning, Molly, asked me if I was going to go paddleboarding after class. Paddleboarding is becoming a very popular sport around Oregon and it involves a very large surfboard and a very long paddle. The last time I tried was during the Alder Creek Paddlefest in April, and I went swimming. It's a tricky thing to learn. My plan had been to go to yoga then go do laundry. I had a pile to dirty clothes to wash, and was trying to figure out when I'd get it done so my first thought was to skip the paddleboarding. Then she said that Jerry was going out with us. Jerry Lopez?

When I was in high school I was really excited about surfing. Kind of odd for a kid in Louisiana miles and miles away from any kind of surf let alone the amazing barrels at pipeline. Still I was into surfing and Jerry Lopez was a big name. He was riding waves at Pipeline that were insane. Now he lives in Bend, Oregon and I had a chance to meet him.

Jerry is a very cool laid back kind of guy. He's really good on a paddleboard, and knows how to teach really well. We paddled up river to Bill Healy bridge (1.3 miles upstream from Alder Creek) I was surprised at what a workout this was for my core muscles and my legs. We had a group of about 7 boards and had a lot of fun. It won't take the place of kayaking for me, but I'll probably do some more paddleboarding when I get the chance. It's a great way to enjoy flatwater.

Blues Legend Johnny Winter

Monday evening and it was time to go to the Tower Theater to listen to Blues Legend Johnny Winter. During the sound check the guys were having a hard time with the boominess of the drums and bass. The Tower is a finicky room when it comes to sound, and the local sound guy Jonah is a genius at figuring out how to set the mix. Too bad Johnny's sound guy didn't listen to him. The concert was fun. They played to a packed house, and really raised the roof. Still Johnny was drowned out in the drums and bass. You can tell that Winter has really lived a hard life. The members of his band help him on and off stage, and he prefers to use lightweight guitars, but the guy still slams out a great performance. I listened to several songs before my ears gave up on the sound. What a way to finish a great weekend.

Every year for the last 21 years the Deschutes Brewery has hosted a golf tournament called the Sagebrush Classic. What began as a little scramble golf tournament for the customers of their downtown Pub in Bend, Oregon quickly turned into one of the big social events of the summer.

I had the pleasure of attending as part of On the Go-Go's staff to shoot video of the event.

Here internationally acclaimed Spanish Chef Jose Andres deconstructs his Not your everyday Capresse salad for us with some tongue in cheek commentary from Italian Chef Roberto Donna. Both of these Chef's were great fun to talk to, were great on camera, and provided us with some amazing food.

Both Chefs run a number of critically acclaimed restaurants in the the Washington, D.C. area, and perhaps someday I'll have the opportunity to visit them. Meanwhile I'll just have to enjoy the memories of this year's Sagebrush Classic.

In June Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe Shop hosted the first Pickin & Paddlin Wednesday event with local Bend Band Blackstrap. All afternoon folks came out to try out different kinds of canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards. Lots of fun on the water, but that was only a prelude to the evening's entertainment.

Blackstrap set up center stage on the back lawn at Alder Creek and gave a lively performance of some downhome, homegrown, Central Oregon Bluegrass. By the end of the evening everyone was on the grass dancing.

Pickin & Paddlin Wednesdays are great fun for the whole family. Next up in July are The Sweet Harlots and in August The Moon Mountain Ramblers Y'all come out to Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe shop and pass a good time.

Alder Creek hosted the Spring Paddle Fest in April, and is owned by Geoff Frank, and is a primary supporter of the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance.

Kayaking is one of the primary reasons that I moved to Oregon. My Dad taught me how to canoe when I was still wearing diapers, and we were always going on great weekend canoe trips in Louisiana and Mississippi. Sometimes we'd go a bit farther out. These were great beautiful rivers with swift currents, and big sandy beaches. Sometimes there was a ripple, but no serious whitewater. That was to come later when I was in high school.

At the McKenzie River Put In

Since coming to Bend I've made a lot of friends at Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe shop. Figured it was the best way to find some kayaking buddies here, and turns out it was a good idea. John Hise manages the shop for Geoff Frank, and he's probably got more Oregon river water under his keel than anyone else in Central Oregon.

John Hise and his friend Christy

Hank Hill sells boats at Alder Creek, and he's in a situation kind of like me. He's done a lot of paddling in Sea Kayaks, but is pretty new to whitewater. We're both pretty excited about getting some water time, so we planned to make this run on our own.

Hank Hill

The drive out to Blue River is beautiful. You're traveling through thick evergreen forests and mountains. Some of the most stunning views in the United States. The drive is 85 miles from Bend, and takes about two hours. We left Bend at about noon. Once we got to Blue River, Oregon we unloaded, geared up, and Hank and John ran the car shuttle while Christy and I waited at the put in.

John says the McKenzie is the second coldest river in Oregon with the coldest being the Metolius. In mid summer the water felt perfect. It was crystal clear and running 2460 cfs. About normal for this time of year according to John.

The McKenzie River in Central Oregon

We headed down river. John and Christy in John's We-No-Nah Rogue Tandem White Water Touring canoe, Hank in a Dagger Mamba 8.0, and I was running a Jackson Kayak 4Fun. John likes to say that these little whitewater boats are made for spinnin and flippin.
Right at the put in there's a little class I rapid. Just some nice ripples coming down a little rock bar, and John started out by leading Christy through a peel out where you come out of an eddy into the main flow of the river. John's all about good eddy turns.

The river flows through a green velvet carpet of tall mountain hemlock. The sun was shining, and the water felt cool as we glided silently towards the first rapids. It didn't take too long and we were going through some small ripples. I was finding the Jackson a bit fidgety in the cross waves of the rapid. My paddling was a bit tentative while I concentrated on keeping upright through the waves.

The Jackson 4Fun that I used on this trip

I ended up swimming four times during this trip. The first time happened as I followed John and Christy into a really strong eddy at Fin Rock. No ripples here just a fast current, an old bridge abutment, a wicked eddyline. The bow of my kayak crossed over the eddy line, my downstream edge caught, I flipped, and punched out. Wow! This water feels great!

This turned out to be a great place to swim like I did. I was in a protected eddy near some big rocks with easy footing. Got the Jackson emptied out, and was back on the water in about two seconds. I peeled out of the eddy, and we were on our way downstream again.

More ripples and rapids and John told me about a boulder garden coming up. He challenged me to try and catch 20 eddies going through the boulder garden. This was one of those things that made having John on the trip very fortuitous. Had it just been Hank and me we would have enjoyed the river, but wouldn't have spent so much effort catching the eddies in the boulder garden. With each eddy turn my confidence and ability was increasing, and then going into eddy 17 I went swimming again.

Once again I simply punched out of the kayak, grabbed the stern handle of the boat, and swam downstream to a protected eddy. This swim was considerably longer, maybe 200 yards. The current was moving, but not really too fast. John and Hank used their boats to help me get mine into the eddy where I could empty water out of the boat and get going again. John said that I had plenty of boulders left to get my twenty eddies. I exited the boulder garden having captured 25 eddies and only swimming once.

We took a short break just downstream from the boulder garden, and there was a little play wave that John said was the perfect place to practice surfing. After the break I paddled over and started playing on the wave with the little Jackson playboat making it fun. Of course that's why it's called the Fun. The blunt bow dropped into the water and I did a couple of bow stalls, shot out, and paddled back into the wave. Just as I thought I was being swept downstream again the boat would surge forward and I was surfing. Once more, and then I got a little bit cocky. Over I go again. This time the water was shallow enough that I was almost able to brace myself back up. Not quite, I was swimming again.

The rest of the trip took us through the big rapids of this run. Screamer which John said was the big one. An easy series of standing waves 2, 3, maybe four foot high. Nice roller coaster ride in the Jackson with lots of water splashing my face. Next up was Eagle Rock, not as big as Screamer, but big enough. After my run through the boulder garden I was catching all the eddies I could. It was good practice, and lots of fun. A few times my little boat did some squirrely stuff that showed its playboat design. I was really getting stoked.

At the Takeout

Just above the take out point I went swimming again. I'd found a nice rock with a good powerful eddy that I was playing with. After catching this one a couple of times I ended up going over the fourth and final time of this trip. I swam the capsized kayak into the take out. My body was sun kissed, and I could feel the soreness of the exertion coming on. We loaded up, and headed home. Back before dark. What a rush. I love living in Oregon!

This past weekend I was out with the crew from Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe shop in Bend, and Geoff Franks busted this great seal launch just below Tetherow Logjam on the Deschutes River.

I did my own seal launch just a few feet downstream from here where the bank of the river was only about two feet high. I was really nervous about the drop and flipping over because I can't do that fancy eskimo roll just yet. That's something that I'm going to learn tomorrow during the Brace and Roll class offered by Alder Creek and taught by the amazing Christina Russel.

Meanwhile if you're visiting Bend on the last Wednesday of the month in July and August come by Alder Creek for "Pickin & Paddling", an afternoon of free demos, music, and refreshments.

Here's the post on the Brace and Roll Class.

Kayaking the Deschutes River in Bend

Last weekend my niece Joanna Ridgeway came to town for a visit, and we went kayaking on the Deschutes River. No white water on this trip, just a pleasant paddle upstream from Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe Shop to the Bill Healy bridge. This section of the Deschutes is backed up by a low damn which was built to create a pond where logs were stored for the local saw mill. Well the saw mill is now called the Old Mill District and it has been renovated into a shopping and entertainment district in Bend.

Joanna enjoying a beautiful day.

The guys over at Alder Creek have a great location right on the water in Bend. It's so easy to rent kayaks, canoes, and gear and get right on the river for a fun afternoon. I'm really looking forward to attending their whitewater classes so I can get a good combat roll down. Then it's time to get into the gnarly stuff.

Joanna making Bend look even more beautiful.

The Bend Farmers Market in Drake Park

It's June and the Farmers Market is here. Every Wednesday in Drake Park a ton of local growers assemble to sell their produce to the locals of Bend, Oregon. This takes place half a block away from my apartment, and I've been looking forward to it since arriving in Bend in January.

Sorry, No Dogs allowed in the Farmers Market.

You could probably say that I'm going to be a regular at this thing.

Summer Squash and Tomatoes

Carrots and Turnips

Lettuce

Greens and Strawberries

More fresh produce at the Bend Farmers Market in Drake Park

Sweet Onions, Beets, Turnips, and Radishes. Every kid's culinary nightmare.

Find more photos of the Bend Farmers Market at On the Go Go in the photogallery.

Bend Farmers Market presented by Philip Robert.

Yesterday I got into a kayak for the first time in over twenty-five years. What a difference in the sport. Last time I was in a kayak they were all made of fiberglass and the short ones were about 14 feet long. Now they're made of plastic, carbon fiber, fiberglass, wood, abs, and other materials. The kayaks that I'm interested in learning how to paddle are playboats and creekboats which are primarily made of plastic and are considerably shorter than 14 feet. Here's an example of a playboat in action. Don Grail on the Colorado river last May paddling a Jackson Fun kayak

The boats that I tried out were a Dagger Mamba creekboat
which has a rounded bottom for sliding over rocks easily, a Jackson 4Fun playboat
, a Liquidlogic Biscuit 65 playboat
, and a Tempest sea kayak.

After paddling the different kayaks I decided to try out a paddle board. A paddle board is a large stable surfboard that you stand up on and paddle with a long paddle. It takes a lot of balance, but they're quite fun. I was doing really well until I went over a log in the river. I didn't expect it. It wasn't sticking up enough to make a ripple in the surface of the water and it just barely bumped the surfboard's fin. I lost my balance and went for a cool spring swim.