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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2017)
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, February 1, 2017 Page A-9 Winding Trails: by Al Hobart Thursday, Feb. 2, 1967 Illinois Valley News progressed, it sounded more and more like the voice of an angel. It was still Bill’s masculine, friendly but business-like voice I heard, but what it said was what produced the hallucination referred to and sent my mind soaring off into the regions where little angels are supposed to dwell. You get that way about cross-country skiing. The thrilling words that came crackling over the wire from Bill’s house in Grants Pass were to the effect that our cross- country ski club and guests were going on a couple of bang-up ski tours over the weekend, and to come running right in with my ski equipment prepared to stay and travel with them (the Pruitt’s) through the following busy two days. To say that I accepted was merely to waste a couple of words. Early Saturday morning we headed out for the Gold Rey Rancho, stronghold of John Day, our local x c ski club president and the popular sport’s national leader, where we picked up John’s invaluable little snowmobile, the Ski-doo, and all proceeded to Eagle Point, rendezvous point for the tour gang. The ski-tour party, 18 of us all told, including three women and three small boys, drove first to Lake of the Woods, where, following a ski trail laid out by the Ski-doo, we skied about 2 miles. Skiing – Lake of the Woods, 4-Mile Lake, Crater Lake to Diamond Lake This is one of my favorite days. The day after. A day of thorough, relaxed enjoyment, contentedly lounging at home, listening to the burbling of little Packer’s Creek down below the cabin and the crackling of the brisk fire in the old wood-burning cast- iron heating stove, while the ground outside is lightly covered with frozen snow and the temperature is hovering around the freezing point. Slightly, deliciously weary after a full weekend of cross-country skiing, this day is like sopping up the last smear of tasty gravy after the heaping plate of delectable pot roast and potatoes has been disposed of. Blue Monday it may be to some, but to me it’s of the rosiest hue as I happily relive every minute of the exhilarating exciting two days just past. It started off with a telephone message from Bill Pruitt late Friday. The voice on the scratchy old phone at first sounded pleasant, but just earthy. Then, as the conversation ROGUE VALLEY OF GOVERNMENTS Food & Friends Menu FRIDAY – FEB. 3 It is the mission of Illinois Valley Wellness Resources to support the health and wellbeing of the senior and disabled residents of the Illinois Valley. Currently, we are in the process of building resources for seniors and the disabled. According to a recent survey our Valley seniors are looking for transportation, caregivers, firewood, handymen, computer CHICKEN A LA KING OVER RICE WEDNESDAY - FEB. 8 VEGETABLE CHEESE STRATA If you need meals delivered please call 541-955-8839. skills, housekeepers and yard work. If you would like to provide one of these services and will complete a background check and have references, please contact us so we can add you to our resource list. A service that we are currently offering is Home Safety Evaluations. We can refer you to a Registered Nurse who can provide you with a safety evaluation checklist and Sponsored by MONDAY – FEB. 6 COUNTRY FRIED STEAK W/ GRAVY ski tour day. Eight of us, all men, skied the 15 miles from Crater Lake to Diamond Lake. This five-hour trek, with several of us on our narrow, light racing skis, was, I think, my most pleasureful tour to date. The way this tour was conducted is an example of what efficient teamwork, and the magic of club companionship, can accomplish, making it possible for those of us who were to make the long ski tour to ride to the take-off point, ski down and across to the finish point, climb aboard our waiting car at that end and proceed straight home. We all drove to the high Crater Lake rim in Bill’s Jeep station wagon. Leaving the car empty and alone, we rubbed our magic lamp and took off. Presently, when we were sometime gone, two little pixies appeared on the rim and whisked our car away, transporting it the long way around to the Diamond Lake end, where it was waiting for us when we ended the tour. The two lp’s (Claudette and Donna by name – the Senoras Pruitt and Latusick to you) thus earned the enthusiastic gratitude of their ski companions. From near the Crater Lake Lodge, we skied 5 miles around the rim to the north entrance, from where we followed the road down the mountain, across pumice desert and so on to our Diamond Lake terminus. The day was perfect – sunny and windless, and only pleasantly cold. The Cascades’ matchless peaks stood out sharp and clear in the near and far distances, adding a priceless ingredient to this wonderful winter tour on skis. Making steady progress on the upgrades with the aid of the ski poles and proper wax; soaring swiftly, ecstatically down the steeper slopes, and gliding gently for long distances on the moderate ones – all this, combined with the exhilarating cold air and muscle toning exercise, added up to a joyful outing that can be found only on a cross- country ski tour. Once, when my wax had worn down and the skis were slicker than banana peels, I glided for several miles with only an occasional backward thrust with my ski poles. Only the friendly Clark’s nutcrackers that we were leaving behind in their high wintry world, and my skiing companions, could appreciate my soaring thoughts on those long smooth glides. Back in Eagle Point, some of the group transferred to John’s flying saucer and we took off our separate ways, our memorable weekend of cross-country skiing slipping into a pleasure-crowded past, making way for others soon to come. Senior SPoTLiGHT Illinois Valley Wellness Resources seeking services. COUNCIL Only member of the group who didn’t ski was Mike Latusick. His brother Dan, 10, and Billy Pruitt, 7, skied right along with the rest of us, for at least part of the course. But Mike rode all the way; he rode in a comfortable canvas carrier on his dad’s back. Mikey is just 2. After a couple of hours of playing around on Lake of the Woods we drove back down the highway 3 miles, to the 4-mile Lake Road junction. The 4-mile Lake round-trip is 12 miles; it took us just over three hours to make the run. Eleven of us made this beautiful tour, the women and children contenting themselves with lesser trips while we were gone. On our way back we stopped at one point to take pictures of a dramatically lovely mountain view. Where the snow- buried road, now a ski trail, skirts little Lake Bernice, a clear vista of startling beautiful Mt. McLaughlin (Mt. Pitt), its lofty sharp outline edge dark and pure white against the western sky, nearly takes your breath away with its majestic splendor. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a lone mountain view more sensationally attractive than Mt. McLaughlin in winter dress, especially as it appears from this particular viewpoint. The next day, Sunday, was a banner recommendations. The nurse can also help you with the following: • Medication preparation • Physician visits • Hiring of caregivers If you need a Home Safety Evaluation, have a service to share or you want to express a service need you have here in the Illinois Valley please call our program coordinator Laura Mancuso at 541-592-9781. i.V. Wellness resources The importance of hearing loss treatment Last week we discussed hearing impairments and that many people assume hearing loss is a normal part of aging. A study by the National Council on Aging and recently reported in Medscape, found that individuals with untreated hearing loss were more likely to experience “embarrassment, fatigue, irritability, tension and stress, anger, avoidance of social activities, withdrawal from social situa- tions, depression, loneliness, social isolation, less alertness to the environment, impaired memory, less psychological health.” Although some of these things can be associated with aging, you can see how adding in a hearing impairment can sig- nificantly impact one’s daily life, especially their relationships with others. Avoidance of social activ- ity, withdrawing from social situations and social interactions due to a hearing impairment, worsens the effects of cognitive decline. A link has been found between hearing impairment and dementia. Some symptoms attributed to dementia may be the effects of miscommunication and confusion caused by untreated hearing loss. Cognitive decline is not just dementia, it’s the ability to process and under- stand speech, to focus on the person you’re trying to hear and ignoring the background noise. These brain processes are damaged by cognitive decline. Those already diagnosed with dementia function better when their hearing impairment is treated. The sooner that hearing loss is treated, the greater the benefit and the easier the adjustment will be. You can contact I.V. Wellness Resources at www. ivwellnesresources@gmail.com. Senior Bulletin AARP TAx-AIDE PROGRAM Providing free tax as- sistance to people of all ages with middle and low incomes. Tax counselors are IRS-certified. Call 541- 592-6139 for a Wednesday appointment in Cave Junc- tion or 541-956-4450 for a Monday through Saturday appointment in Grants Pass. Free for Seniors If you are a senior and want to place a FREE AD for a living or health care need call Laura at 541-592-2541 or email laura@illinois-valley- news.com. 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