Pacific City – Day 2

Sunday started out a bit cold so we took a short drive up the coast to Tillamook for their great ice cream and squeeky cheese. By the time we got back and saddled up, it was another beautiful day riding on the beach… this time, the horses did much better about going over the water!

Pacific City Thousand Trails – Day 1

Today was our first full day at the Pacific City Thousand Trails campground with the horses. We went on our first beach ride…and had an absolute blast! The trip was full of challenges – to get to the beach, we had to ride along a half-mile of city road, then walk down a very steep and narrow path. Once we got to the beach, both horses were amped. We don’t think either had been to the beach before, and the loud waves made them very nervous.

If you come to visit, be sure to stay low!!

Happy Mother’s Day! The following account of Colton’s Mother’s Day events were taken from the Oregonian and the Molalla Pioneer (the local newspapers). The neighbors mentioned below live approximately 200 yards from our place, on the same street…

Colton man accidentally shoots wife while cleaning gun
Posted by The Oregonian May 14, 2007 17:46PM

A 37-year-old Colton man accidentally shot his wife in the leg Sunday while preparing to clean a .357-caliber pistol, according to a report from the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

Joseph Lewis called 9-1-1 about noon on Mother’s Day and said he had accidentally shot 33-year-old Heidi Lewis, according to the report. When deputies responded to the couple’s home in the 28000 block of Shibley Road, they found the injured woman with a towel wrapped around her right thigh, lying next to a “bed littered with many pistols and a few rifles.”

Police questioned both husband and wife before medical personnel arrived to transport Heidi Lewis to a hospital. Asked if they had been fighting, Heidi Lewis told police, “No, we were just cleaning our guns.” Deputies noted the smell of cleaning solvent in the air.

The couple’s 12-year-old and 7-year-old sons told police they were outside washing their parents’ car at the time of the accident.

Joseph Lewis was not cited. “After talking to all parties involved we determined this to be an unfortunate accident,” the report concluded.

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And because the Mollala Pioneer includes more detail and quotes from the wife, we had to include the entry…

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Police call shooting of Colton woman an unfortunate accident 
Posted by The Molalla Pioneer, May 18, 2007
By Abby Sewell

A Colton man shot his wife in the leg with a pistol in what police determined to be an accident on Sunday morning. According to the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office report, Joseph Lewis, 37, was preparing to clean a number of firearms in the bedroom of the family’s home on South Shibley Road when one of the guns discharged.

Lewis told the police that his wife Heidi Lewis, 33, handed him a SIG P229 .357-caliber pistol so he could open it. In the process of trying to clear the pistol, the slide slid forward and the gun went off, hitting Heidi’s leg. The bullet entered her thigh through the rear and exited through the front. Joseph called 911 at 11:58 a.m. CCSO and Molalla Fire Department personnel responded to the scene. Heidi was taken to Oregon Health Sciences University by LifeFlight, where she underwent surgery for a broken femur bone.

She was in the hospital recovering as of press time.
It was quite the ordeal,” Heidi said. “My husband felt really bad about it. When the police came, my husband had wrapped my leg in a towel, and it had swelled up to about three times what it normally would be And then when the police got there, they acted like (Joseph) did something wrong and wouldn’t let him be in the same room with me.” After interviewing Joseph, Heidi and their two children who were on the scene, the report written by a CCSO deputy concluded, “After talking to all parties involved, we determined this to be an unfortunate accident.”

Heidi said, as regular hunters who are used to handling guns, the accident came as a shock. We deal with guns a lot and we had just gone through a hunter safety class with our children, and it was just kind of a crazy fluke,” she said.

Colton-style Bon Fire

Safety First! That’s our motto…and so before taking on our first Colton-style bon fire, Brad met with Gary, the Colton Fire Chief for some pointers and a permit to burn. Upon seeing the two piles of tree stumps and scrap wood that Brad had prepared, Gary suggested, “Make them into one BIG pile! That way it will REALLY burn!!”. Gary then provided the Colton Fire Department recepie of gas and oil mixture to ensure the job gets done…

Before…

During…

Almost After…