Find Your Happy Place
Finding Comfort on Top of Dog Mountain
By Erin Peters
Where do you go to reset and refocus? Is it a real place or just a state of mind? People in and around town were asked where they go to relax, what makes it so special, who they enjoy their space with, if COVID-19 has made them feel differently about their happy place, and what they notice about themselves after they leave their calming space. Take a look at the positive outlooks these locals have…
Kristin Klindt’s Favorite Place: Lava Beds in Parkdale
Kristin Klindt, The Dalles, VP Product Marketing at MarketCast
1. Where is my happy place?
It takes a bit of work to get to the top of the lava beds in Parkdale, which I have now officially deemed as my happy place. But once I get there, I am rewarded with an amazing view of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and the valley below.
2. What makes it so special?
The lava beds are a special place to me for so many reasons. First, it’s always a bit of an adventure to get there because there are so many different routes. As your journey gets steeper and the terrain more rugged, your daily worries tend to wash away as you focus on safely making it to your destination. And, once you finish the fairly quick trek – you’ll notice the landscape has transformed all around you.
3. How do you feel when you’re there?
While I’m there, I feel calm and comfortable. It brings back memories of when I was a child growing up in the area and gives me a few moments of solace, not worrying about anything but just sitting there and taking in the beauty of the surroundings.
4. Do you enjoy sharing your space with anyone else?
I love sharing my happy place. I don’t visit nearly as often as I would like to and I am always willing to share the trip with anyone that wants to come along.
5. Has COVID-19 made you feel differently about your happy place or has it impacted your accessibility to your happy place?
Fortunately, the pandemic or social distancing doesn’t impact my happy place. It’s about as socially distanced as you get. However, winter is a different story as accessibility is limited.
6. What do you notice about yourself once you leave that place?
I feel a small sense of peace, humbleness and pretty lucky. The lava beds are a reminder of the massive power of Mt. Hood, the Cascades and Mother Nature in general. Many years ago, my parents fought to preserve the lava beds from becoming a rock-crushing site. I knew it was an important cause at the time, but now I am so thankful they took action.
Matt Ebby, The Dalles, Director of Community Relations at a senior care facility
1. Where is my happy place?
While this can vary from time to time, my current happy place is at home in my garden. I spend a lot of hours after work and on the weekends digging in the dirt.
2. What makes it so special?
There is something so relaxing about spending a couple of weeks every spring preparing the soil, planting the seeds and watching things magically come to life throughout the spring, summer, and fall.
3. How do you feel when you are there?
It is always very peaceful. Working in the garden puts me in the present moment. I can easily clear my head from the most stressful days at work by just pulling a few weeds and watering.
4. Do you enjoy sharing your space with anyone else?
Absolutely! Although most of my family may find it boring, I am always willing to give them a “garden tour” to show them what is growing and what is coming up next!
5. Has COVID-19 made you feel differently about your happy place?
It has really made me appreciate it that much more. When I am out there, there is no need to wear a mask or keep social distance. With all of the stress and uncertainty of the pandemic, 10 minutes in the garden helps me relax and breathe just a little easier.
6. What do you notice about yourself when you leave your happy place?
I always leave a little more relaxed and if I am lucky enough, I will bring some fresh vegetables into the house.
Samantha Tenneson’s Home Gym
Samantha Tenneson, The Dalles, PE Teacher
My happy place is working out. I have a gym at home, which helps me be able to do this. Having 3 young kids makes it hard to leave the house for a workout at a gym. It’s special because it's mine! I'm able to use it anytime of day, which makes it convenient.
I feel great! It definitely helps me release any negative energy I have and gives me happy endorphins. My sister in law and I are always sharing our home gyms with one another. She's my go-to workout partner.
COVID-19 has me feeling safe in my happy place. I feel like I can stay safe and healthy in my home gym. When I leave my happy place, I'm happy! I'm ready to conquer things and start my day. Once I leave my happy place, I feel relaxed. I feel accomplished.
Lara Chodelska’s Safe Space
Lara Chodelska, The Dalles, returned Peace Corps volunteer (Tanzania)
For two years my happy place was the hillside behind my house. It was a very long hillside/ridgeline and I would walk to various parts of it every evening to watch the clouds and the sunset. Every day the view was different. I might be watching a summer storm roll in, watching it drop rain on nearby hills and villages, or I might be watching an exquisite sunset glow down through clouds. In summer the dust would turn the sky incredible colours, and in winter the clouds would be particularly fluffy and multi-layered in the sky. One of my favourite things about it was that I was always alone… It was just me and my dog, watching the sky change day by day, watching one day turn into another, and feeling grateful every single day that we were there, watching the natural and ever changing beauty of the seasons. Sitting on that hilltop brought me an inner peace like nowhere else, calmed my mind and inner turmoil, and made me feel safe both inside and out. I had to leave that home due to COVID-19 and there's seldom a day that goes by that I don't miss that hilltop and my home there, and the simplicity I found sitting and watching the clouds go by and the sun rise and set. I haven't yet found a suitable replacement for that incredible spot that means to me what that time and that place did.
Morgan Rincon’s View From her Home
Morgan Rincon, Mosier, Rehabilitation Counselor and Group Fitness Instructor
1. Where is your happy place? My home. It might sound cheesy but if I have to be sheltered in place I am happy to be at my home looking out at the beautiful gorge.
2. What makes it so special? Every day that I wake up I am thankful for all the beauty that surrounds. I am excited to open the curtains in the morning and look at what the day brings. We live in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
3. How do you feel when you’re there? I feel connected to the earth. I look out and see trees, hills, river and sky. I try to catch the sunset; each and every sunset is like a unique painting in the sky. I step out on the porch at night to view the stars. It never ever gets boring.
4. Do you enjoy sharing your space with anyone else? I live with my husband and 3 kids. We enjoy sharing our space with quail, deer, turkey, lizards, bunnies and occasionally coyote.
5. Has COVID-19 made you feel differently about your happy place? OR has COVID-19 impacted your accessibility to your happy place? It has been surprisingly good to be stuck at home with the family. We live in a small house for 5 people and we're all learning to work from home & distance learn in our shared space. We've learned to find enjoyment in the little things we do together like walking to the mailbox, baking desserts, watching movies, family dinnertime. COVID-19 has forced family time but has brought us closer together to really enjoy those simple things.
6. What do you notice about yourself once you leave that place? It's nice to get out and see people but I'm always happy to get back to home. I like the slower pace of life.
Janohn Clower’s Favorite Getaway Spot: Short Sands Beach
Janohn Clower, Portland, Counselor at Chenowith in The Dalles
My happy place is Short Sands Beach on the Oregon Coast.
What makes it so special is the Short Sands is a cove that is protected by surrounded cliffs with trees with a view of rhythmic waves.
When I am here I feel peaceful.
I enjoy being in this space with my family and dog, friends, and surfers.
COVID-19 definitely made an impacted on accessibility to Short Sands. For a while it was not permitted to travel to the coast. We are still very cautious and mindful of when we choose to go to the beach.
I notice after I leave the beach I have a renewed sense of serenity.
Kasey McCullough, The Dalles, Brewmaster/owner of Working Hands Fermentation
Kasey McCullough’s Photo of the Puget Sound
1. Where is your happy place?
My family has a shared beach house that is right on the hood canal on the Puget Sound in Washington.
2.What makes is so special?
My family has owned the property for 100 years. It is a place where we all gather in the spring, summer and fall as much as we can. I have so many found memories with my family and friends. We celebrate birthdays, and holidays up there. It’s also a place where my grandparents, and parents have taught me so much, especially how to respect the land, water, and wildlife. It’s also a place I spent so much one on one time with my dad and spent a good portion of a year building a new house together right before he passed away.
3. How do you feel when you are there?
When I’m at the canal, I am always able to let life’s stresses go away. Even when the summer season gets busy, and there are lots of vacationers on the water, it still feels so peaceful to me. I feel like I belong there, and that I am close to my dad when I’m on the water.
4. Do you enjoy sharing your space with anyone else?
I love sharing my space, but I have to know that whoever goes there respects the importance that it has to my family and me. My family is pretty social, and my grandparents had a group of 5 families that all lived on 1 street together in Lakewood, WA, who would all travel together. They called themselves the Windy Weather Travelers. They would go to the canal every single weekend in the summer with their entire families, when there was only a small 2-bedroom cabin! I think that mentality was engrained in the next generation.
5.Has COVID-19 made you feel differently about your happy place? Or has COVID-19 impacted your accessibility to your happy place?
COVID-19 has actually offered me a few positives. One being the fact that I had been laid off due to COVID-19 shutdowns, so I had a lot of free time on my hands. I’ve never really had the time to go up to the beach house and stay for a week straight, but I have been able to do that several times this year.
6. What do you notice about yourself once you leave that place?
When I leave the beach house, there’s a 10-minute or so winding drive that follows the water, to the closest town. I spend that time going through memories of all the great times up there with the people I love most. I can often times go up there when things aren’t going my way, when I’m struggling, or upset, and spend even just a day there, and when I leave, I am happy. I’m relaxed, and recharged. It’s a place where I clear my head without even noticing or trying.
Kassee Lynch’s Adventures in the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness
Kassee Lynch, The Dalles, Reading Teacher
Where is your happy place?
My happy place is a walk or hike in nature. It could be a mountaintop, the beach, or a well-worn path on the outskirts of town.
What makes it so special?
While I enjoy a breathtaking view from the top of a mountain, for me, it’s not just the destination but the journey as well.
How do you feel when you’re there?
I appreciate having the ground beneath my feet at a pace I set for myself. I enjoy feeling the air move around me, an increased heart rate, and the sound of my breath.
Do you enjoy sharing your space with anyone else?
I have a wonderful group of fellow hikers that add even more joy to my ‘happy’ places. I also have a great companion in my dog.
Has COVID-19 made you feel differently about your happy place? Or has it impacted your accessibility to your happy place?
The COVID-19 virus has not stopped me from seeking my happy places. The open air is a definite advantage, and I’ve found that most ‘happy place’ seekers, I encounter along the trail, mask up at a considerable distance before passing.
What do you notice about yourself once you leave that place?
I feel most ‘free’ when I’m in my ‘happy place’, and the euphoria I feel, while there, stays with me for several hours afterward.
Tyler Belcher, The Dalles, Brown Roofing
1. My happy place is the gym.
2. It is a place where I can go to focus. I can work on myself and focus on my personal goals. Taking time for yourself to do what makes you happy is important.
3. Going to the gym makes me feel alive. I feel great when I’m exercising and lifting weights.
4. Having a lifting partner is nice sometimes, but working out alone is good too. It’s nice to have someone to challenge you or give you advice. Lifting alone teaches you discipline and how to really push yourself.
5. My gym was shut down for about 2 months due to COVID-19. It has since reopened and has been complying with COVID-19 guidelines, while operating at close to normal capacity.
6. I feel good about myself for putting in the work. And I look forward to going to the gym everyday after work.
Hannah Tacke Curling up with a Good Book
Hannah Tacke, Bend, Behavioral Health Quality Improvement Specialist
1. Where is your happy place?
Reading a book in my oversized beanbag.
2. What makes it so special?
It is one of the most peaceful places I can think of and I love learning new things through reading.
3. How do you feel when you’re there?
Calm, content, and relaxed.
4. Do you enjoy sharing your space with anyone else?
Do my plants count?
5. Has COVID-19 made you feel differently about your happy place? OR has COVID-19 impacted your accessibility to your happy place?
COVID-19 and being at home more has actually brought me back to my happy place more often! It is what got me back into reading for fun after a long hiatus during grad school.
6. What do you notice about yourself once you leave that place?
I'm usually more relaxed, rejuvenated and can think more clearly.
Wherever your happy place is, make sure you are taking time to get there and finding time to unwind. It is so important for our mental health to spend time in the places we love.
