Tom at Mildred Kanipe's

Last week I had a couple of shots from the Mildred Kanipe Park. Today, I took Tom out to walk the hills of this 1,100 acre space. It was very cool, as Tom personally knew Mildred. Mildred was a dyed-in-the-wool honest to goodness old West figure. She drove her dented red Ford flatbed around, wore knee-high gum boots, had her long gray hair pulled back and flowing down her back. She died in 1983, and upon her death she bequeathed her property to Douglas County, Oregon, and left us this beautiful park. It was a great hike today, with Tom reminiscing about Mildred, and many other characters of the day: Doc and Shorty, Grandpa Emerson, Grandma Harvey…the list is long and colorful. We'll be back to this place often. Tom had the right word for the magical oak savannas: "Whimsical."