We live in a two-house compound at the edge of a 25-acre flood-plain just upstream from the Carver Bridge on the Clackamas River in Carver, Oregon. The houses are joined by a common deck; Dale and Dolly's house is about twice the size of Warren's. Our property includes a deeded 20-foot-wide, quarter-mile-long parcel leading from the houses to the banks of the Clackamas River, where the beach and swimming hole make it a popular spot for rafters, boaters, and fishermen to gather before the last quarter-mile float downstream to the Carver Park boat ramp. The beach borders a stretch of the river known as the Carver Curves; the stretch of road in front of the flood-plain between the beach and our compound is also known as the Carver Curves, as it consists of several narrow S-curves with a sharp 50-foot drop-off into the river with only a guardrail on one side, and basalt cliffs rising up and bordering the road on the other side.
This particular portion of the main road to Estacada is the scene of at least one or more traffic fatalities annually, as drivers roar through the curves at insane speeds, sometimes while intoxicated; illegal (and unreasonably dangerous) passing maneuvers account for most of the fatalities. The Clackamas River is only slightly less deadly just downstream from the beautiful swimming hole and beach located in the middle of the river's version of the Carver Curves: the current pushes mightily against a deeply undercut basalt cliff, sucking in the strongest of swimmers; their drowned corpses have to be winched out from where they are wedged underwater.
Because of the unique geology and hydrology of the Carver Curves, there are just eight residential compounds ringing the floodplain; the cliffs across the road from our neighborhood make the prospect of new development there highly unlikely. The little hamlet of Carver was annexed by the new city of Damascus in 2006, and some on the City Council of the new city had visions of an industrial park springing up on the floodplain, until the local residents and FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) pointed out that the entire floodplain flooded with swift-running Clackamas River flood-waters every winter. Now our neighborhood has been re-zoned as a "Conservation Overlay" area on the Damascus Planning Commission zoning maps.
So, everyone in the neighborhood lives just above the hundred-year flood level of the river, and we all enjoy the fertile sandy soil of the floodplain through the gardening season; the blackberries are plentiful in the fall, and leftover plantings of grapes, apples and pears from past farming operations provide ample bounty for the entire neighborhood in their seasons. Each winter, we watch the river rise and inundate our gardens and fields; we've learned to bring everything of value up to the house for winter storage so the river doesn't claim our stuff.
The Moore Family unit living in the Carver Curves has a unique little attribute that makes us a little different from a lot of families: we're all totally disabled. Dale has numerous spinal cord injuries to a malformed spine that cause seizures, blindness, very convincing but false symptoms of heart attack and respiratory failure, and seem to be correlated with outbreaks of bipolar syndrome; Dolly has severe fibromyalgia and debilitating migraine headaches that occur very frequently; and Warren has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. With all the work necessary to pay the bills and maintain our home compound, it takes some special teamwork to keep everything from falling apart at The Lodge, our fond nickname for home. Somehow, Dolly and Dale manage to trade off good days and bad days to support each other physically, mentally and emotionally; and Warren provides essential support for both of his physically-challenged parents while living at home and attending PSU at age 28. We have had to learn to be actively understanding, compassionate and empathetic with each other in order to keep our lifestyle going.
We've changed this blog to a team effort to share what we've learned and what we're still learning, as well as to share photos, recipes, plans, and whatever else that we think might be useful to others.
We welcome comments and input. This blog is also intended to be a new way for us to stay connected to the outside world, as we tend to become a bit isolated due to our location, lifestyle and disabilities.
With respect, and hopes for a bright future of personal growth and new understanding,
Dale
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