Better Late Than Something Something /  by Erik Sudheimer

Presenting April from the my in progress 2023 “second a day” video.

Also yesterday’s news but we dropped episode 22 of SHORELUNCH a few weeks back. We filmed this one on the Willamette river in a weird industrial area in beautiful Portland Or.

Episode #23 is currently in the editing phase and will feature guest Yia Vang of Outdoor Network and PBS fame. Then we head east to film 2 episodes in New Jersey in June.

Creatures of Habit /  by Erik Sudheimer

This is a map outline of the city of Portland. The dark hash marks represent areas I’ve visited in the city since calling it home.

I just got back from a lunch run during which I crossed the Willamette river on the Broadway bridge. That view used to stop me in my tracks. Standing high on the longest bascule bridge (AKA lift bridge) in the world I would take in the cityscape glinting against the hills, the snow capped mountains in the distance and the weirdly majestic riverside industry. 

Today I didn’t even pause, I just ran on thinking about laundry and how to approach an edit I needed to finish. This, taking for granted a beautiful view that formerly enamored me, struck me on my cool-down walk home. The thought sent me off on a tangent about how quickly we take things for granted. How quickly we develop patterns that become habits and how we often leave interesting discoveries just the next block over. 

I thought about how, just days before I moved from Minneapolis, I discovered The Museum of Russian Art. How could I live in a place for 8 years and not know of this institution just miles from my home?

This line of thinking prompted me to make the above map which depicts how much of my city I have yet to explore. I’m hoping to use it to motivate myself to get off the known and comfortable paths both geographically and metaphorically speaking.

Shit, we’re out of detergent.

Red Eyes /  by Erik Sudheimer

I dropped off Ian, my adult child, at the airport today at 4:30am. Despite his maturity and the stunning level of togetherness he possesses for someone in their early 20s, I will continue to refer to him as my “adult child” for years to come. Mainly because I think it’s funny … and he’s learned to tolerate me.

During his 5 day visit we fell into familiar patterns, exploring, rockhounding, general outdoor nerdery and Mario Kart. To say the weather cooperated would be a stretch, although we did have some sun and mild temps to go along with the hail-snow and murder-winds.

Wasco County /  by Erik Sudheimer

We blazed out to central Oregon this past weekend and spent a day volunteering with the Oregon Natural Desert Association. The org’s mission is to defend public land, preserve natural areas and restore habitats, amongst a handful of other worthy goals.

Our volunteer group harvested and bagged 2,500 willow and cottonwood cuttings, which will be put in cold storage before being planted later in the spring. Once rooted our cuttings will prevent erosion and provide cooling shade for high desert rivers and the fish that live in them.

Not corpses! Each bag contains 150-200 tree cuttings.

After the harvest, we spent as much time as the sun allowed exploring the John Day Fossil Beds. It’s a mind bending snapshot of millions of years of geologic time.  

These rocks are remnants of a three hundred meter high wall of boiling volcanic mud called a lahar that swept through this area fifty-ish million years ago. The event was likely a bummer for the tiny four-toed horses and other fantastical animals living in what was then a rainforest. Also check out my sweet sun hat.

For years, during our rural road trips, it’s been the duty of the passenger to google small towns as we pass through. We’re often trying to figure out why there is a town in a seemingly nondescript spot? Who lives here? Who lived here before European settlers?

We weren’t expecting exciting results from our google search as we left the fossil beds and passed through a nearly abandoned town called Antelope. We were however shocked to discover that in the 1980s this tiny spot at the bottom of a dry valley was the center of a conflict between townspeople and the followers of an Indian spiritual leader named Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.

It’s almost a too-weird-to-be-true story that devolves into violence and bioterrorism. It’s also the subject of the Netflix documentary series Wild Wild Country. On top of covering the religious movement and its subsequent backlash, the documentary is an examination of community, religion, freedom and who is deserving of that freedom. The town of Antelope features heavily in documentary footage and some of it looks straight out of a fantastic 80s sci-fi film. It’s worth a watch.

We also hiked a bit in the Deschutes and White River valleys. I made Amy pose by waterfalls and, despite me wearing a beanie due to Sunday’s cool weather, she continued to mock my sun hat.

Titles Are Hard and I’m Tired of Computers /  by Erik Sudheimer

Motivated by interest rates and our desire to buy a house in the summer, I’ve picked up some freelance work. Although the work has been fun, in reality these past few weeks have just been a lot of office hours. Fortunately for you, this isn’t reality. It’s the internet, the place where you always depict your life in the best possible light.

So instead of sharing photos of me demonstrating poor ergonomics in front of screens. Here’s a few pics from my brief escapes into the real world …

Amy went to Bend for a few days of meetings, I tagged along and worked at her hotel. We had enough daylight for a quick high desert walk and caught some amazing snow near Sisters on our way back to Portland.

Recently Visited Climates of Oregon /  by Erik Sudheimer

Coastal Strip - Rain, fog, wind, fudge, bumper boats. We hiked out to Cape Falcon after multiple recommendations, it did not disappoint.

The Cascades - Snow, volcanoes, adventure vans, gnar bros. This is where you go to visit winter when you want it. We took a short walk/ski to Trillium Lake to gaze at the 11,249 foot tall Mount Hood. Thats 3,429m for those of you who like logical systems of measurement.

1990s Apartment Home Office - Carpeted, cryptic Post-it messages, occasional cat visits. This is the habitat where I spend the majority of my time, mostly deciding if I want to work sitting or standing.

Eastern Columbia River Valley - Out in the transition zone between moderate rainforest and dry shrub-steppe desert we hiked the Hood River Mountain loop. The sun and clear skies provided warmth and views of Mount Adams up in Washington. We also successfully managed to not get lost in the encroaching dusk while contending with multiple unmarked trail intersections.

Must Resist Using a Trite Time Expression /  by Erik Sudheimer

Back in the early twenty-teens it was fashionable to make “second a day videos.” For those not familiar, essentially it’s shooting a clip on your phone or whatever camera is handy, selecting one second of footage every day and dropping it on a timeline. At the end of a year you have a rapid fire video recap. For example, here’s one I did in 2017-2018 starting and ending on my birthday.

I haven’t made one consistently but I’m starting my fifth video … well, in 2017 I also took a Polaroid a day and I guess that’s an adjacent project … let’s call this year six.

One cool thing about having these is how many memories can be unearthed by a simple second of video. Shockingly, it’s often the most mundane shots that spark the most recall.

So, with the understanding that today is tomorrow’s wistful memory, here’s January, the start of my 2023 video.



Hey Sun /  by Erik Sudheimer

When we arrived in Oregon it was late fall. The last seasonal color was only hanging on the most stubborn trees. We made it through December, statistically the coldest month, in which we turned on our heat once.

Now, two months on from our arrival, plants are sprouting (my allergies are raging) and the evenings are noticeably, ever so slightly, longer. I know it’s not springtime yet but we’ve had a few sunny days which sent sleeveless Portlanders to parks and rooftops to “soak it up” with enough zeal to make Sheryl proud.

In the spirit of newness that accompanies the season, we’ve officially adopted our foster pal Sadie.

She passed her audtion, exhibiting the correct combination of softness, aloofness and tolerance of stoner metal. This quietly opinionated lady wormed her way into our hearts and like the slowly returning sun, brought a ‘lil more brightness into our lives.

Soup Virgin /  by Erik Sudheimer

For anyone who may be in the mood for a swear laden, fishing and soup based adventure, Nate and I released episode #20 of Shorelunch yesterday. We shot this one on a brisk December morning back in Minneapolis. 

It’s been fun to create and organically grow this program from nothing. From a global audience perspective our numbers are weak, but that’s not the point. From day one the mission has been to simply have a good time making good content and we’ve been immensely successful. Over time, I’ve come to realize that another positive of making the show has been the cool people that we’ve met along the way.

Speaking of cool people, Nate was recently invited on Joe Cermele’s Cut and Retie podcast to talk about our show. Joe is a podcaster and author who happens to be the former fishing editor of Field & Stream as well as, shockingly, a big fan of the program.

It’s sounding very likely that we’ll be out on the east coast in the coming months to film with Joe in a TBD capacity. This is a very big fish for our small potatoes. 

Meow Friend! /  by Erik Sudheimer

Meet our ‘dorbs new roommate! Her name is Sadie and she’s a foster from Animal Aid in SW Portland. Sadly her former human had to be moved into memory care and could no longer look after her. She has a vigorous purr, loves belly rubs and being weird. Her “low walk” game is very strong (we’re speculating that she may have been a slinky in a previous life).

Holiday Hypnosis /  by Erik Sudheimer

I’ve just returned from a holiday whirlwind in the upper midwest. Here are some of my trip’s many achievements.  

  • Shared food and drinks with many family members and friends

  • Luxuriated through a blizzard 

  • Almost defeated The Oregon Trail card game (I died two cards away)

  • Forgot to pack pants

  • Found a plumber the day after Christmas to snake our sewer line

  • Sculpted a piece of ice into the shape of Texas

  • Went to the Mall of America to buy pants (not actually super proud of this)

  • Ate my first snap dragon (flaming raisins burning in a pool of fortified brandy)

  • Saw some exceptional snow suits

  • Bowled a 144

  • Subsisted largely on cookies and beer 

  • Arrived considerably underdressed for a gathering

  • Pet at least twelve cats and three dogs

  • Maintained an aggressive social calendar but still didn’t get time with everyone I’d hoped

  • Watched a man get a haircut on a frozen lake

  • Lost decisively at Farkle

  • Constructed an ice hair altar

  • Called Oregon home for the first time in a sentence

  • Watched my annual 30 minutes of pro football

  • Returned to a place where “real feel” isn’t a used weather term

Happy 2023 😘

Silver Creek /  by Erik Sudheimer

We were going to ski this past weekend but all of the interesting looking trailheads were on roads that required snow chains and snow chains are not recommended for use on our Subaru.

So while we await the arrival of our car’s “snow socks,” a textile traction aid that is a regulatory approved alternative to snow chains, we opted to take a hike at lower elevations.

You’re easy on the eyes Oregon.

Mountain View /  by Erik Sudheimer

This is the view from our home office/guest room/bike storage room. As I work this enthralling vista sits just above my monitor. On clear days you can see a mountain peak up in Washington … kinda. 

I’m sure every Portlander worth their high cuffed Carhartt work pants can identify the surrounding peaks instantly but as I’m still wearing my PDX trainee badge I needed to do some internet sleuthing.

Type. Click.

At first I was like, this is Mount Saint Helens the infamous stratovolcano! It sits about 50 miles north of Portland and tops out at 8,300 feet above sea level. Before the eruption it’s height was 9,677 feet, meaning that anyone sitting by this window on May 18th, 1980 could have witnessed the top 1,377 feet of mountain get blasted off.

But as I researched further I began to realize that the pictures don’t match and it doesn’t seem grandiose enough to be Saint Helens. Also it’s maybe a little too far west. So now, with 68% confidence, I’m thinking my office gazes out on Lakeview Peak a 3800 foot prominence of no discernable significance. I’ll update as I learn more.

I yet have yet to earn my work pants.

Free and Uninterrupted Use /  by Erik Sudheimer

Despite our typical weekend routine of sleeping in like professionals, we found enough daylight yesterday for a lil’ hike on the coast. 

One of the cool things about the Oregon coast, outside of the dramatic meeting of sky, sea and rock, is that the entire coastline from Washington to California is public. It’s protected by legislation that creates an easement, guarantees points of access and allows, "free and uninterrupted use of the beaches."

I’d love to see Minnesota enact some similar policies on the North Shore of Lake Superior.