Well….It’s a deep subject.

or a hole in the ground. In this case, it is both. I’ll explain the deep subject soon. After an amazing weekend of firsts, we headed home from Lincoln City OR. Roy had an idea, and some open field running was involved in this trip. As most people know we can no longer pull the Lance trailer with the van we have, however that doesn’t stop us from enjoying the company of fellow Lance campers. The weekend of the 21st of June had the Lance owners gathered in Lincoln City, OR for summer camping in Oregon. We booked a hotel and headed up north. A side benefit was the annual kite festival which I will cover in another post.

On the way home we stopped at Thor’s Well in Yachats, OR. This is what they call a sink hole. Thor’s Well was suspected to be a cave where the roof fell in. The best part of the well is when you have a wave shoot up through the hole. The other part is when the waves come over the wall and it drains out through the well. The best time to see Thor’s Well however is when it is high tide so you get full effect of pulling the plug in the bathtub.
On to the adventures. There is a handicapped accessible path that leads to stairs going down to the actual well. This path also goes down to the tide pool. If I had enough energy I might even have gone to the Cape Perpetua Visitors Center. As it was, I spent over 3 hours taking pictures, talking to people and even helping someone clean up his wounds. Check out the map below to see where Thor’s Well is.

I got out of the van and decided to head out and see what I could see and how close I could get to the well. My ibot can cover rocky ground but not ROCKY ground. I stopped to get my bearings at one of the higher over looks. I had my Nikon P1000 camera which will reach up to 3000mm. So, after the well was pointed out to me, I was able to go up on two wheels and zoom in on the well. Of course, after I went up on two wheels, I had to talk a little about what a game changer the chair is for me. I did answer a few questions about what the chair could do. In answering questions, I was getting information if there was a path I could get close to the well. There is and to my surprise it is paved all the way to the stairs. There is also another path a little steep, but it does head down to the tide pools. So, I knew I would have fun exploring the area.

When I started looking around, I decided to take a video with my camera and zoom as far as my lens would reach. See the video below.

I had a blast watching the look of surprise on people’s faces when the water pops up. It is enjoyable to see the different reactions to the power of the ocean. Right after I took the video, I saw two girls walk up casually to the edge of the Well.

The group of people with me up on the overlook saw a large wave coming in and knew that this will definitely surprise her. (It did.) You can tell she wasn’t expecting it, but the look on her face afterwards was well worth it.

I enjoyed people walking up to the well looking in and turning around I even saw the person I was going to have to patch up. The person in the blue shirt in the image on the left is the one who fell. I headed closer to the stairs and returned to my people watching.

I will say that sometimes when people watching I ask what are you thinking? I had one of those thoughts when I was photographing a woman who I guess wanted to get up close and personal with Thor’s Well and her cell phone. I am just glad she did not drop her phone.

I headed back up to the van just to let Roy know I was still ok, and I was having a blast. (I also wanted to make sure Roy was ok.) I’m greeted however with the question ‘Do we have any band – aids?’ my first thought was ‘oh no, what you do now’? Come to find out it was for the guy in the vehicle next to us. He had slipped on the rock and scratched himself up. We joked a little about what a clutz he was. (It wasn’t until I got home that I found out I had a picture of him.) I asked if he was with anyone and he said his sister and other family. So where are they. ‘Off exploring the trails. They probably don’t even know that I’m hurt’.

After I fixed him up, I was back down another trail. I did run into the sister and let her know her brother was good. She was thankful. I asked how steep the trail was that they came up. Not steep at all. Lesson learned here, do not ask someone who can walk if a trail is steep for a wheelchair. I will say I was a little nervous in some areas of the trail, but I made it.

In making it I was rewarded by getting close to the tide pools. The tide was coming in, so I did not see much exposed sea live. Except for the zillions of muscles. Check out the video below that shows the ocean up close along with some of the tide pools.

One of the pluses to traveling in Oregon is how accessible and wheelchair friendly the outdoor parks and attractions are. I am just getting out and enjoying Oregon, our new mobility van and my fantastic iBot wheelchair.

I did IT!

What was it? I think you can guess. I experienced a whole new world. I made it to the sand without getting stuck. I owe this to the confidence Roy has instilled in me and the ability of the ibot. Check out this video.

I was relieved, amazed, in awe. I spent almost an hour enjoying being at ‘ground level’. My perspective has changed for the longest time or since I’ve been at the coast and in a chair, I have been looking down on the beach. I’m ok with that perspective but I’ve added another perspective (ground level) to my photography viewpoint. I guess for me it was like I was able to get closer to the action. I can describe it as running down a hill to get to the bottom of the action and joining your friends.

What made it practical and possible for me was a sand mat. Some local communities here on the coast of Oregon will lay out mats so it goes over the soft sand to get to the hard sand.

I am very thankful for the opportunity to get closer to the sand. I need a little more confidence before I totally attack the sand with no training wheels so to speak. The facts are simple, yet I keep going back to my joy and exuberance and feeling of escaping the restriction of not being able to get close to the shore.

Just the power of sitting in front of the ocean. I watched this girl who was running on the wet sand and the joy and surprise that was on her face when a small wave rolled up on her feet. You can tell she wasn’t expecting it. I am so thankful to be able to see the joy and body language up close.

I saw her and her family later in the day when they were walking past me to head up the beach. I asked her if she enjoyed herself and if that was her first time. The answer she gave me was yes to both. It felt like I was experiencing a first with her. I asked them to pick up a rock for me as a memory of my first trip to the beach.

After my excitement settled in, I sat there and waited. I waited for the birds that I knew would come, the people that walk down the beach, and a few landscapes change when the surf rolled in. After snapping some pictures enjoying the breezes, it was time to head back to the parking lot and load up the chair and head back to Brookings from Gold Beach.

Perspectives change and develop when you embrace new tools in front of, or underneath you.`

Power Through or……

Get Stuck. I got stuck. I have the video to prove it. Let me explain, I have been touting the amazing ability that the ibot could go through sand. Unfortunately, I wasn’t ready for the test drive. Well, I tried to dip my toes/wheels in the sand about a week earlier than the getting stuck pretty good happened. Common sense told me on the first trip don’t go too far into the sand.

That first trip, ok. That first 4 feet felt amazing and exhilarating and a little scary. I had stopped to soak the feeling in, then started to turn around. I realized not a good idea, so back up into my same tracks. I was back on solid ground and was amazed at how I still glowed. I took a picture of the tracks and headed back up the ramp.

I also stopped to take in the amazing view that I had not gotten to see this up close before.

Fast forward about a week later and I want to try again. This time, I want to go farther because Roy would be videotaping me. (I have to have my 15 minutes of fame). I did get a tad farther until I figured out I needed to go faster. My problem was I stopped, lost traction, and could not get started again. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers. Through teamwork, we were able to get the wheelchair back to solid ground.

I do have to say that this is and was a learning experience. I called the company and was assured that the ibot was fine. I am just glad that I can learn lessons the hard way sometimes. My next sand adventure will be up at a place that has mats to get you over the soft sand.

I just need to approach the outdoor world like I approach this disease, power through and ask for help when needed. Enjoy the video of my short journey into the sand.

Kids ask the honest questions

This is what happened Saturday night when I was at Harris Beach photographing the sunset. This was the first time I had been to Harris Beach since I got stuck in the sand. That is a story that will be covered shortly in its own blog. Harris Beach is perfect for sunset shots and is very easy to navigate around. The sun sets in a way so, anywhere in your shot, you can get the beach or rocks. Plus, this is a very popular spot for people, sunsets, and silhouettes.

As I said, this was my first time back. So, to say the least, I was gun shy. I went to the ramp and saw this ‘shelter’ built by someone out of driftwood (the sun was perfect).

Snapped a picture. Then, I decided to go on the grass, which is a semi bumpy hilly area that was facing the setting sun. It wasn’t the type of sunsets that are easy to shoot, but you can get some interesting results.

I’m going to back up a little bit and mention you don’t know if you don’t go. There were no fluffy sunset clouds, just a bank of clouds at the horizon. So my thought was it won’t be good. I am glad Roy doesn’t listen to me sometimes. (I will deny this comment in the future. 🙂 ) I am also glad I listen to Roy sometimes. We were just heading down to a restaurant that is about a block from the RV Park. I was like, do I need my camera? Roy said, ‘Remember you never know what you might see.’

Well, I went into the trailer to get the camera on my way out of the trailer, I looked up. So, glad I did because I saw three turkey vultures soaring overhead. They were out of range of my camera to photograph, I just enjoyed them. At this point and time at a little lower elevation, there appears a bald eagle. It took my mind a minute to realize what it was. Sometime. You just have to absorb the moment. I thought it was amazing how the light hit the white tail feathers, then he was gone.

Back to what happened at Harris Beach. I’m snapping away, and then I see this guy/mountain goat climbing up this rocky hill to get a better viewpoint. I decided his climb and the profile of him shooting the sunset would make some good photos.

He saw me taking photos of him when he got down he asked if he could get a copy. Of course I said. He gave me his number and we chatted about cameras. I have learned, though, that when shooting a scene, talk less shoot more. I got a few more shots once the sunset behind the bank, packed up, and got ready to load up.

I am still wanting to hit the beach, but I’m a tad shy. I see this group of people come up, a trail that I have been curious about since last year. I can see just the top of the trail. It is wide enough but, not sure what is out of sight. I’ve become quite bold. I see a group of people coming up that same trail. So, I ask if this chair could make it down. I also asked what it looked like at the bottom. I guess there is a big driftwood log near the bottom you have to work around. There is also a dropoff that looks like steps right out of sight. Oh, well. I will get on the beach sometime this summer.

As I’m talking to the adults, a boy who was about 6 years old pops out this question. Why are you in a wheelchair? I said I have Multiple Sclerosis. The boy seemed satisfied, especially after the dad leaned over and said, ‘that’s, what Jean has.’ I have to wonder how many adults have that same question and are afraid to ask it when they see someone in a chair.

I know that for me, it is easier to answer a child than to answer an adult. I find some adults to be a little condescending or even disapproving because I have no outward injuries. I have noticed. When I see an adult look or show some interest, I am quick to say I have MS. It was amazing to hear the curiosity and honesty in the boy’s question.

I hope that you take away from this post that it is ok to ask why I am in a wheelchair just please ask out of wonder and honest curiosity.

When Embracing Life Changes

It can be good, bad or indifferent. My change has both been good and bad. I believe for me there is no such thing as indifferent change. Maybe indifferent because you just realize that the change is more of the status quo just physically a tad worst. As I’m going down this rabbit hole of embracing change. I will back out and explain what has been happening to me that is causing me to embrace the good in change.

Earlier this year, I realized that if I wanted to continue to explore and take pictures, I needed something more. The fact that my old chair would not provide me with what I needed was hard to accept. Also hard to accept was having to transport the chair, have help unloading the chair then try and take photos, I was exhausted. I have a progressive disease and have entered that next stage. This means there is no getting better; it will now be a long decline.

So, early this year, I saw an ad for a wheelchair (ibot) that would make my photography and life easier. I wasn’t sure if the VA would entertain the possibility of providing me the chair. Roy said, “If you want to try then go for it.” The VA San Diego had a chair that was available for a test drive. Off we went to San Diego and the SCI clinic to test drive it. I answered some questions about why I needed it, plus did a test drive. I knew right then and there this chair would be a life changer. The next step was to get fitted for the chair itself and more test driving. I also started to adjust to the fact that yes, I needed this chair. There is a stair climbing mode that I did not get. Not sure I want to attempt that.

The picture on the left is from one of the training sessions. The cool thing about being on two wheels is that I won’t feel talked down to. I understand that it is not intentional it does happen though. Another thing this chair does is to go over curbs and go through dirt and sand. I did learn the hard way I have to have a little more confidence when I do go through sand.

In recent months I also have come to grips that I can’t do what I used to with getting things in and out of our vehicle. Time to embrace a new way to transport things. This new chair does not break down, and Roy’s scooter was getting hard for us to bring in and out. The handicapped accessible van was actually easy to accept the help it provides. I am now able to have the energy to take pictures, go on trails and every once in a while, go shopping. Then I can still put the chair away and have some energy. When I started to use my original wheelchair, I was completely ok with ‘man handling’ the chairs. Both Roy’s scooter and my old chair came apart for easy transport. It’s strange how progression and age change the ability and desire to ‘man handle’ things.

Fast forward or rewind to April 15th one of the better days of my life.

I say that because I knew then that a new horizon had started to open up for me. I will say I was a tad overwhelmed with the ‘bells and whistles’ positions and controls. (I am still in that learning circle). Just so everyone understands I even had to take a driving test. (Still not legal to have a driver’s license in California.) I love the fact that this chair is completely custom to me. I am posting a video that is a sped-up version of the first time I went on two wheels with my chair, and it went through different positions to learn my body’s center of gravity.

Now that the groundwork and backstories are shared. I am looking forward to sharing first experiences with my chair. I will also be able to share how I got some unique shots from my ibot. In the coming weeks I am hoping I will be able to share baby osprey pictures with you. Just like last summer, we are settled in Brookings, Oregon.