Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park

My husband and I took the dogs to this park today. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&wrapid=tljp1305495942640040&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=martin+luther+king+park+corvallis&fb=1&gl=us&hq=martin+luther+king+park&hnear=0x54c0409daa14d77d:0xd70d808f22bdc0be,Corvallis,+OR&cid=0,0,8869148078492489677&ei=l0nQTZWlBZC4sQOCmIHDCw&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBsQnwIwAA
This park was re-named in 2009, so those who grew up in the area will remember it by a different name.

While not as large as the off-leash Willamette Park in South Corvallis off 99, it is large enough for the dogs to roam, and has a huge off-leash area (most of the park). It is also a smidge closer to our home, and on the way to PetCo, so it is a very convenient place to stop. Then there is that darn GeoCache somewhere near the bridge that I can't find. One of these days, I'll figure it out.

If you've never gone GeoCaching, you should. It is a great way to explore your neighborhoods or places you visit. It's how I've discovered a couple of places here in Corvallis, which I will write about later. Some of the caches are at the ends of long hikes in out-of-the-way places. Others, called "cache and dash," are ones in regular neighborhoods where you can jump out of your car, walk a short distance, and be done. I've met quite a few people who started with these and then worked their way up to longer and longer hikes - and lost a great amount of weight and got in shape in the process! http://www.geocaching.com/guide/default.aspx

But back to the Park. We took our dogs on a mile-long loop over a couple of bridges around the park. Most of the trail is gravel, though there is a section that is paved. This paved section continues on and is popular with runners and bike riders. Dogs are supposed to be leashed on the paved bike path. There were several other dogs around and chances for our pups to go swimming in the little creek. There is also a path that leads off into the woods, where you can definitely get your heart rate up climbing the hill.

Off of the bike path there is another trail that leads up to the top of a different hill (no woods), with stunning views of the area. There is a kids' play area here as well as the "Walnut Barn" which is available for rent for parties.

I really like this park. Although I generally think of it as being fairly small, it is actually 36 acres. You can find information and how to rent it at the Corvallis site here:
http://www.ci.corvallis.or.us/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=588&Itemid=529

New Meetup Gaming Group in Town!

I have to admit it - I'm a huge Nerd at heart. My husband and I got married in Star Wars Galaxies, and also had a mock wedding at the 40th annual Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas - in our red shirts, no less. So when I found out there was a new Gaming Meetup Group in town, I jumped at the chance to go.

With this being a college town, it can be difficult to find people to hang out with. At least it can be difficult when you've spent all of your time studying and getting a degree and basically had no life for a while. But I knew this was going to be a good group when I was greeted with a coat of arms outside the front door.

Last night was board game night (there is a seperate D&D night which I have not attended). The group split in two. One group played Pandemic, a cooperative game. The rest of us played 7 Wonders, the object of which was to end the game with the most victory points, beating out all of the other players. I barely squeaked out on top with 59 points, while the next person had 52 (luckily both my military and another player's had beat him for a total of -5 points). The game is very interesting and easy to follow.

The next game we played was Word on the Street. This game combined a timer, thinking of a word based on a category on a card, and spelling it correctly while moving tiles on a gameboard. The fun part was trying to distract the other team by yelling random suggestions. It got really difficult to concentrate at the end as everyone kept screaming, "Catfish!" Of course, when the category was "name of a famous dog," I believe my impression of Snoop was pretty spot-on.

I'm looking forward to our next gaming night!

Corvallis is my Home

My husband and I moved to Corvallis, Oregon a couple of years ago when we bought the house he had grown up in from his parents. I spent the better part of a year fixing up our home and land, then went to Oregon State University to pick up a Master of Public Health degree.

In all this time, I feel like I haven't really found out anything about this community or the area we where we live. Sure, there are some places I go frequently, but I've never really taken the time to discover all of the great things about this town and the surrounding area.

This blog is to motivate me to get out there and find out what's going on in our community. Let's see what I can discover!