Same, But Different

View out my front door this time last year.

View out my front door today.

Just love the bright red berries on the hawthorn tree - and so do the birds and squirrels!

© 2007 SegoLily

Calendar

View the Calendar of Events every Monday. It can also be accessed by selecting Calendar from the right-hand column, and older calendars can be viewed there also. Check back for updates! If you have any events you would like to submit that compliment the sites content, please email them to pachaATcableoneDOTnet. Thanks!

December 3rd - 9th

Tuesday, December 4th, 2007
*Sounds of the Season
A Christmas Concert presented by both the CSI Symphonic Band and Percussion Ensembles
More Info

Wednesday, December 5th 2007
*CSI Theatre Department Presents: The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
In 1846, Henry David Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay his taxes as a way to protest the United States’ involvement in the Mexican War. Playwrights Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee (Inherit the Wind) take this incident and spin it into an interesting and very provocative drama that weaves dream sequences in and out of the past and present as Thoreau serves out his short sentence, giving us a very intimate look at what Thoreau’s mindset might have been, even before he penned his own reflections on Civil Disobedience.
More Info

*Idaho Alpine Club General Meeting - "Rowing to Alaska"
Pete Oslund was an avid climber when he severely injured his legs in a fall while doing repairs on the roof of his church. Unfortunately, he had to give up climbing and find a new pursuit. Casting about for a new activity, he took up kayaking- but in a big way. He designed and built a wooden kayak and fitted it with oarlocks and proceeded to row it 1200 miles from Bellingham, WA to Sitka, AK over the course of two summers. He rowed on the rainy days as well as the sunny ones and camped on the shoreline wherever his day ended, sometimes in places frequented by grizzly bears. What is most inspiring about Pete is that he rowed to Alaska at an age when many of us would choose to cruise the world on a comfortable recliner encamped in front of a TV. So come and enjoy Pete's slide show of this memorable trip.

The meeting is open to the public. All outdoor enthusiasts are invited to attend.
More Info

Thursday, December 6th, 2007
*CSI Theatre Department Presents: The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
More Info

Friday, December 7th, 2007
*"Woodstock" at the Herrett Center
Students in the College of Southern Idaho’s Cabinetmaking and Welding programs have scheduled their 18th annual Christmas show and auction, “Woodstock,” Friday and Saturday, Dec. 7 and 8 in the Rick Allen Community Room at the Herrett Center for Arts and Science.

Woodstock Club president Marian Frix says students from each club have increased their efforts to provide more and even finer quality works in this year’s show than in the past. For the first time, CSI Culinary Arts students will also join the event, selling specially made treats and refreshments during the viewing and auction portions of the event. They will also have elaborate gingerbread houses for sale.

More than 20 large wooden items will be displayed and sold, including an 1890 style covered wagon bench, a maple executive desk, mahogany and cedar hope chests, an oak mission style table and end tables, mahogany and red oak poker table, and a bed frame crafted from logs of mountain mahogany. There will be gun cases, armoires, chests of drawers, apothecary, and fireplace mantle. Smaller items such as fruit bowls, game and cutting boards, some made of very exotic wood such as purple heart, will be displayed and sold. Welding students will be displaying decorative art works and other metal cut-outs, coat racks, and trailer hitch covers. Money raised from the event will help the students attend next spring’s Homebuilders Show in Orlando.

The public is encouraged to visit the display from 1 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7 in the Herrett Center’s Rick Allen Community room. Additional viewing will be from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8. Bidding begins at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
More Info

*CSI Theatre Department Presents: The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
More Info

Saturday, December 8th, 2007
*Magic Valley Chorale Christmas Concert
Choral concert featuring the Magic Valley Chorale
More Info

*CSI Theatre Department Presents: The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
More Info

Sunday, December 9th, 2007
*Magic Valley Chorale Christmas Concert
Choral concert featuring the Magic Valley Chorale
More Info

*Christmas in City Park
Get into the holiday spirit at our beautiful city park. The whole family will enjoy the lights and entertainment provided by local musicians. Bundle up and feel the magic of the season.
More info, call 736-2265
Time: 5PM
Location: Twin Falls City Park Band Shell

Volunteers Needed for Sagebrush Seed Collection

Sagebrush

IDAHO FISH AND GAME HEADQUARTERS NEWS RELEASE - Boise, ID
Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and officials from the state departments of Agriculture and Fish and Game are asking for several hundred volunteers to help gather sagebrush seed on four Saturdays - up to 80 volunteers on each day - November 17, and December 1, 8 and 15 in the southwest Idaho region.
The Magic Valley region also will need up to 60 volunteers on each of four Saturdays - November 10 and 17 and December 1 and 8. "More than 2 million acres of private, county, state and federal land burned in Idaho during this year's fire season," Otter said. "Thousands of people were temporarily forced out of their homes, and lives were put at risk. We owe it to the people we serve to act in concert with our neighboring states to reduce this annual threat and restore the lands on which our lifestyle and economy depend."
The Murphy Fire burned more than 650,000 acres of sagebrush steppe in southern Idaho and northern Nevada. Of 75 sage-grouse leks within the fire perimeter, 39 were known to be active in the past five years.
This part of Idaho and Nevada is one of the few remaining places with large areas of unfragmented sagebrush habitat. Seeding sagebrush within the burned area will speed the return of suitable habitat for sage grouse and other wildlife dependant on sagebrush. Officials plan to seed by aerial broadcast a diverse mixture of native and nonnative grasses and forbs on more than 8,000 acres, bitterbrush on more than 1,200 acres and locally collected sagebrush seed on more than 22,000 acres of burned sage-grouse nesting and wintering habitat during fall 2007 and spring 2008.
Seeding key areas can drastically improve the probability of restoring the Jarbidge sagebrush steppe ecosystem.
Volunteers have helped Fish and Game collect locally adapted sagebrush seed every fall since 1992 in the Southwest Region. Sagebrush seeds are tiny - about the size of a pin head - and it takes about 2 million to make a pound of cleaned seeds.
To sign up or for information, contact Fish and Game at 208-327-7095 in the Southwest Region and 208-324-4359 in the Magic Valley Region.

Southern Idaho Outdoors in Picture Form - Another Foray into the South Hills

Date: November 12, 2007

Adventurers: Myself, my Mother, and my Little Boy (20 months as of two days ago!)

Location: South Hills/Shoshone Basin/Cottonwood Basin/Buckskin Ridge/Rock Creek Recreation Area/Sawtooth National Forest

Intended Destination: Eagle Hiking Trail (#243) by Petit Campground

Route There (Back-country Adventure): From Twin Falls on Blue Lakes, down Nat Soo Pah road, on Oakley-Rogerson road, into Sawtooth National Forest, along FS-500 to Magic Mountain

Route Back (Paved Assurance): FS-515 - turns into Rock Creek Road (also known as G-5), to Hansen, to Kimberly, to Twin Falls

Highest Elevation: ~ 7,000 ft (~2134 m)

Temperature: Hand-Numbingly Cold

Time: Left at 2:30 PM, returned at 6:30 PM (gets dark about 5/5:30)

Mode of Travel: Subaru Outback

Here is the familiar sagebrush and willow scene that I displayed on my last trip.

Further in, trees break up the horizon line.

Like a forest of skeletons - aspens leafless in the bitter cold.

My companions heading toward the creek - which creek exactly, I'm not sure. I can't quite remember where we are at this point on the map (a USGS topo map - and if you've ever tried to use one, you'd see how easy it is to wonder where the heck you are). The thing is, we weren't looking at the map as we were driving. I figured I had a pretty good idea where I was. As a member of the 2005 B.U.R.P Crew for the Department of Environmental Quality, we spent a good portion of the summer driving around this area. But still, there are a lot of roads out here and a lot of creeks. My best guess is Shoshone Creek up by Bear Gulch and I'm pretty certain that I am right. Look how well the two blend in with their surroundings.

The colors are so beautiful and the water so glassy.

That's because it has froze over. My Little Boy thought this concept was quite amazing. "Ice!"

See that snowy hill in the background...that's where we're headed.

Good ol' Shoshone Basin.

Look at this gnarled tree - what an interesting silhouette it has.

Here, I believe, are the Shoshone Wildlife Ponds. This, again, I can't say with complete certainty, but there were a lot of ponds. There are also a lot of beavers and, incidentally, beaver dams. A beautiful place! The sun was setting so wonderfully and lighting up the sky with an array of sunset colors - unfortunately, my camera does not capture an array of sunset colors... (Update: This is not Shoshone Wildlife Pond. It turns out that the actual Shosone Wildlife Pond is some other thing in the vicinity that is just one pond and is fenced off. We (my husband and I) are calling them The Beaver Ponds, which certainly suits them.)

As you can see, there are patches of snow.

Further up, and there is more snow and more conifers.

What a perfect Christmas-like scene! My Little Boy was SO excited about the snow. I gave him some to hold in his hand. After it would melt into a cold puddle, he would say, "More." The whole trip he was very happy and never got upset about being strapped into the carseat with only occasional journeys out onto solid ground. He loved looking out the windows at all of the beauty around him. Plus, he had a couple of rocks, a stick, and a pinecone - bits of nature we had collected along the way - to keep him satisfied. He really looks forward to these sort of outings - especially when he can explore. He enjoys looking at maps with me and repeats "South Hills! South Hills!" whenever I mention them. He's truly a Nature Boy!

OK, this is where we got a bit lost. Well not lost, per say; it was more that we were second-guessing ourselves. We knew we didn't want to go on Buckskin Road...

...and we weren't sure about this one either. But we headed down it any way, even with the name...

The road got skinnier, snowier, and bumpier as we traversed along it. This certainly helped in the decision making process - we only went so far before we decided to reverse.

But look at the view the road led to! Once again, my camera does not do the justice my eyes saw! I stood out in the freezing cold for quite some time wanting to take in every bit of this scene and experience the feelings it filled me up with. Mountains...I love mountains!!

Do you know what mountains these are? I'm quite sure they're in Nevada, but I'm having a hard time finding out just which ones they are.

Waiting in the car ready to go - so I said goodbye to that mesmerizing view. We drove the three miles (but a very long three miles backcountry) to the Rock Creek Ranger Station (as indicated on the sign) and if we would have looked at the topo, we would have seen that this lead us right to our destination. But instead, we were looking at the South Hills Trail Map, which for some crazy reason, does not have the Ranger Station on it. Admittedly, we were getting a bit nervous. We weren't 100% sure where we were and it was getting late. Even more nerve-wracking was that we were still gaining elevation and the roads were getting snowier. There were some spots completely glazed over with a sheet of snow. To many, this is no big deal, for me...it equated to driving slower than necessary and clenching the steering wheel a bit to tightly. Needless to say, when I finally arrived home, my shoulders were stiff from the tension. I hate snowy/icy roads! And these roads were curvy and had sheer drop offs. I could have let my more experienced Mother drive, but instead, I made up my mind to do it myself and get the practice (and confidence) I lacked. Obviously I made it out just fine, but I couldn't know that until I did. (Does that make sense?)

After the long, anxiety-ridden drive, we landed right at the Ranger Station and Magic Mountain Ski Area. This is where we were headed - well not actually here. We meant to go hike the Eagle trail, but being that it is three miles we decided against it. At this point we were ready to head home.

You can see it's fairly dark out, but because Ross Falls trail (#244) is only .4 miles round trip, we decided to do it. I had been there before with my husband in warmer temperatures and it is really very pretty. It was pretty this time too (even while lugging my sleepy bundled up toddler).

The following are pictures of the falls and the creek. It's so dark, I had to brighten the pics just so they can be viewed. Use your imagination - it's a refreshing and delightful sight. I think that these pictures, though dark, are interesting all the same.

Icicles, brrr. Mine and my mom's camera batteries both died after we snapped a few pictures of the falls. Time to head home. Little did I know that my poor husband was at that very moment looking up Deadline Ridge on Google in order to come and find us and rescue us if need be. (He had just so happened to call me at that very spot we stopped to get our whereabouts and I mentioned to him the names - luckily we were at a high enough point to get service.) He figured we must have gotten stuck or something. He called numerous times when I had no service and my phone never showed any missed calls (but it did show voicemails later). The drive home (on paved roads!) was curvy and dark and my adrenaline was still a little high. I was just intent on getting home and kept thinking I would call my husband at such and such point, but didn't ever release my death-grip from the steering wheel. Eventually he made one last call before heading out as a search party and it went through. We were just leaving Kimberly and I felt so sorry for not calling him! If it were me and I was the one waiting at home I would have been angry, but he was more relieved than anything and just a bit annoyed. He was glad to have us arrive safely at home and so was I!

© 2007 SegoLily

Calendar

View the Calendar of Events every Monday. It can also be accessed by selecting Calendar from the right-hand column, and older calendars can be viewed there also. Check back for updates! If you have any events you would like to submit that compliment the sites content, please email them to pachaATcableoneDOTnet. Thanks!

November 22nd - December 2nd

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
*Salsa Night at Pandora's
Steven Crawford, one of the weekly drop-in instructors at the CSI Rec Center, and his dance group, Motion With Rhythm, will host Salsa Night at Pandora's in downtown Twin Falls. A night of dinner and dancing runs from 8 p.m. to midnight Wednesday, Nov. 28. Admission is $10 per person, which does not include dinner or drinks - $22 per person, which includes dinner and drinks - or $40 per couple with dinner and drinks.

Pandora's is located at 516 Hansen Street in Twin Falls.

This event is sponsored by DJ Idaho, Motion with Rhythm, Pandora's, and Ooh La La! Fashion Boutique
More Info

*CSI Theatre Department Presents: The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
In 1846, Henry David Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay his taxes as a way to protest the United States’ involvement in the Mexican War. Playwrights Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee (Inherit the Wind) take this incident and spin it into an interesting and very provocative drama that weaves dream sequences in and out of the past and present as Thoreau serves out his short sentence, giving us a very intimate look at what Thoreau’s mindset might have been, even before he penned his own reflections on Civil Disobedience.
More Info

Thursday, November 29th, 2007
*"Magic Mud"
Magic Mud, the College of Southern Idaho Art Department’s annual fundraiser, is scheduled for Friday through Sunday, Nov. 30 through Dec. 2 at the CSI Student Union Building.

The event brings the works of student and professional potters together for a holiday show and sale. CSI Pottery instructor Bill West says artists will be showing and selling lots of decorative and functional items including platters, bowls, vases, casserole dishes, cups, teapots, and many unique objects. CSI Art instructor Mike Youngman says his students will join the show this year to display and sell their artworks.

The show will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
More Info

*CSI Theatre Department Presents: The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
More Info

Friday, November 30th, 2007
11/30
* CSI Theatre Department Presents: The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
More Info

Saturday, December 1st, 2007
*"Lost and Found" Extreme Ski Movie
“Lost and Found,” the 12th annual ski and snowboard film by Teton Gravity Research, Inc., will be hosted by the College of Southern Idaho’s Outdoor Program at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1 in the Rick Allen Community Room at the Herrett Center for Arts and Science.

The Herrett Center showing is one of 120 worldwide stops for the film, which features world class skiers and snowboarders. Filmed almost entirely in North America, Lost and Found takes extreme snow enthusiasts heli-skiing at several British Columbia locations, mountains in Wyoming, Utah, and Montana, and Austria and Switzerland. Those who attend will be able to enter the TGR sweepstakes. Prizes include a helicopter-ski trip for two to Alaska, a winter vacation for two at Jackson Hole, an Aspen X-games vacation package, and a TGR gear package that includes skies, jackets, and other gear.

Admission to the film will be $8 per person. CSI Outdoor Program coordinator Stacey Ward says the first 60 people through the doors at the Herrett Center the evening of Dec. 8 will receive ski passes to Soldier Mountain. There will also be a raffle for Soldier Mountain season passes and other prizes. Tickets are $1 each.
More Info

* CSI Theatre Department Presents: The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
More Info

Sunday, December 2nd, 2007
*CSI Chamber Choir Christmas Concert
Christmas choral pieces
More Info

*Christmas in City Park
Get into the holiday spirit at our beautiful city park. The whole family will enjoy the lights and entertainment provided by local musicians. Bundle up and feel the magic of the season.
More info, call 736-2265
Time: 5PM
Location: Twin Falls City Park Band Shell

Energy Efficiency is Clear

Energy-efficient windows at Meadowlark Farms!

Southern Idaho Places in Picture Form - North Cottonwood Creek, South Hills

About a week ago, my little boy and I took a trip out to the South Hills and ended at North Cottonwood Creek. The South Hills are a kind of sanctuary for me. I was born in Twin Falls and lived in a house "a mile North of Nat Soo Pah" (the way it was explained to others), right down the road from my grandpa's house. We moved away from Idaho when I was just one, but my mom and the two youngest girls - my sister Dana and myself - moved back and lived at my grandpa's house, where my mother grew up, when I was 11 years old. This area is know as the Salmon Tract and it is my ancestors (the Grays and Jones) who settled the area in the late 1800's. I feel connected to the land and know that a part of my history runs in its waters and lies deep in the soil. When I wonder amongst the sagebrush, I feel at peace and am full of reverence for the land.

Southern Idaho is made up of the sagebrush steppe - a wonderful ecosystem full of life and beauty. (Though I didn't think so when I first moved here in 1994.) The area is sometimes referred to as a cold or high desert. Many people see it as a wasteland, but if one looks, one can find vast amounts of beauty and life. Unfortunately, the sagebrush steppe is dwindling in size due to special interest groups. Much of what does remain is badly altered. Luckily, there are people working to preserve this amazing habitat.

A Sagebrush Community

A Lone Sagebrush

Here is the riparian zone of North Cottonwood Creek - the creek's dry of course. Sadly, the cottonwoods are now far and few between.


This is opposite of the creek - quite a starling difference in flora and color schemes.

Glowing willows with the blue hills and sky as the canvas.

Looking to the right...

and looking to the left - quite the contrast!

Willows with their seeds surrounded in cottony down, ready to float in the wind and begin new life.

A closer view.

This road leads to self-discovery, bliss, peace, happiness, or whatever it is you need. Care to travel along?


Which way, which way?

Looking Upstream...

and looking downstream.

I was very disappointed to find LOTS of trash - beer bottles, shotgun shells, plastic bags, pop bottles and cans, and the usual-out-in-the-boonies junk that seems to plague most isolated places. I can never understand how people can go out and enjoy these beautiful places and then leave their litter spread about. So careless and disrespectful they are!

Willows in a Sea of Sagebrush

Sun Shining Through the Cottonwood Tree

© 2007 SegoLily