Cat Eyes---A Cat Woman's Photos: Five Cats Fixed Today. Swimming in the Hagg

I took up the five Alsea cats to be fixed today, then went off in search of recreation. I meant to search out somewhere pretty, but ended up at a small reservoir. I can't say it was pretty, like being in the mountains or even other more scenic reservoirs I've visited, but at least the water was wet. There's a trail around the lake. Again, not that pretty, but great if one lived close enough to use it to stay in shape. I walked about a mile of the trail, then came back, as I had to get back to the clinic. To get there, I drove through Yamhill and Gaston, both tiny towns that look like they're falling apart and maybe have been for awhile.

I swam for maybe 40 minutes. The reservoir was low, so you hopped off this dirt edge then walked across the caked dirt down to the water. Most reservoirs are getting that way by this time of year.

The restroom was god awful. Someone had gone to the bathroom, number two, on the floor, in two places. I immediately got out of there, as there was even water or urine pooled around the toilets. Later I heard a woman come out shrieking to her boyfriend that there was poop on the floor of the restroom and she'd stepped in it. I cringed to think of that, because it was truley disgusting. The cleaning crews were all around, but doing nothing, like so many employees who work such jobs. They should all be fired leaving a restroom in that bad of shape while they drive their trucks in circles around it.

You can rent canoes or small electric motor boats that might hold two or three. The former cost $10 an hour and the latter $20. I tried to find $10 but had only $6 and some change, so I just put shorts on and went swimming, wearing the same sandals I'd driven up in into the water, to protect my feet from broken glass. I plan to make some new sandals out of an old tire I have. My plans to make myself some tire shoes were stymied due to lack of anything to cut through rubber and steel strands. I lost my tin snips somehow.

If you want to go somewhere to swim cheaper than a city pool, this is ok, especially if you live up there. Or to relax floating on the water in the sun on an air mattress if you have one. If you're looking to get out away from it all in the beauty of nature, this is not the place to go. If you have a kayak or canoe, it'd be a lot of fun out there or a sailboat too.