Catching Up

In late August, Linda and Loretta came to visit. They arrived on a Thursday evening and departed on Monday afternoon. Mom took them to the Outlet Mall in Woodburn after they arrived. They shopped till they dropped. Dad had to work so he was not able to join them (so sad, ha!).

On Saturday we went to the coast. It was a sunny day all the way until we arrived at the water’s edge and there was a fog that hung over the water. It was so strange because it was sunny and clear just a short distance from the water. Linda called it “Ghost Beach” because of the fog and the way people looked when they were walking on the beach. After a while, the fog cleared and we were able to see. Unfortunately it was cool out, as usual, but we had a nice walk on the beach. We are not sure that they were impressed with the Oregon beaches because of how overcast and cool it was.

We did go to Tillamook Cheese factory and had lunch. We passed on the ice cream since it was already too cool. We headed up the coast and bought some cherries at a roadside stand and then headed to Seaside to have dinner. There was a big party on the beach in conjunction with Hood to Coast, an annual event where people do a run relay from Mt. Hood to the coast. We didn’t stay too long.

On Sunday after Church, we drove through the Gorge and viewed the waterfalls. We circled around and came back on the south side of Mt. Hood. We showed them Trillium Lake, one of our favorite spots, and then drove up to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood. It was too cold to stay at Trillium Lake and Linda had a problem breathing at the elevation at Timberline. We only stayed a short time and headed back home.

On Monday we went downtown to Voodoo Donuts and stood in a long line to buy some very mediocre donuts. Afterwards, we took them to the airport and they headed home.

On Labor Day, our friends Karen and John invited us to go to central Oregon to go camping with their group. We pulled down all of our camping gear and headed over on Friday evening. We camped on the Indian reservation as John's brothers wife is Indian and they go to this spot every year. It was a great spot. After we set up camp, we went to the Longhouse and played games. As soon as it was dark enough, John took his “small” 10” telescope out into a field and we looked at the moon. The view was unbelievable. His scope focused in so well that you could see all kinds of detail. We also looked at a few stars.

On Saturday, we went with Karen and John to Smith Rock State Park. This is an area in the high desert. It was a bit of a drive and we passed several large mountains to get there. You go from green and trees everywhere to all of a sudden being in the desert. We spent the day hiking in the Smith Park area. We saw some great sights. John loves the outdoors and Smith Rock is his favorite place. There were many people that were rock climbing. Mom is ready to start this as a new hobby.

I saw these geese fishing and as I walked by, all of them dove into the water.

When we returned, we decided to head home rather than stay another night. There were several forest fires around and it was causing a problem with mom’s asthma. Before we left, John had the telescope out again and showed us Saturn. All we could do was say “WOW”. It was the coolest thing. We started researching telescopes as soon as we got home. On Sunday, dad made some Indian fry bread. There was some at the Longhouse although we did not eat any. Dad researched on the internet and found how easy it was to make. We ate some with dinner and then again as a late night snack. Of course we had to eat a ton of blackberry jam on it!

On Monday, Labor Day, we decided to go bike riding. We rode from east Portland all the way to the Willamette River, six miles each way. Mom was a trooper and made it all the way.

John is also into carnivorous plants and has many around his house. Mom is intrigued and wanted to get some. The following Saturday they took us to a carnivorous plant nursery and we bought some of our own. Another new hobby for mom. So far, they have eaten a ton of wasps and other bugs. We are amazed at how many bugs are in them. We bought five in total. Three are outdoor plants and two are indoor. They are very cool looking. The pitcher plants have a very slippery inside area and the bugs slide in and cannot get back out. The Colorado Giant (Venus Flytrap) grabs the bugs when they land.

Seminary has started for mom and she is enjoying it. Dad went to Florida (all by himself) for the annual Edgewater Open House. It was great being around some warm ocean water for a change.

Since our adventures, we have purchased a telescope. It arrived when dad was in Florida. We have been using it every chance we get and have been able to view Jupiter and its moons, Earth's moon, Venus, Andromeda Galaxy and some Nebulas. The photos below were from dads cell and aren't great but they do show some of what we can see.

This is Jupiter. You can see one of the moons just above and on the left hand side.

 This is also Jupiter but zoomed out. You can't see any of the moons.

 This is the only of of the Earth's moons that came close to turning out.

They blackberries are gone for the season. We have picked so many. We made jam and syrup, pies and cobblers. Fortunately, we were able to freeze quite a few for winters use.

Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries

The week before this past Saturday, we took the morning and early afternoon to can some fruits. We had bought 20lbs of apricots, 20lbs of peaches, 10lbs of cherries, 10lbs of blueberries and 5lbs of nectarines. We froze the cherries and blueberries but needed to can the apricots and peaches. We thought we could can all of the apricots and peaches in the morning but only made it through the apricots by mid-afternoon. It was much more time consuming than we anticipated.

We were tired and burned out of canning so we decided to go to Trillium Lake and try out our new inflatable kayak. We bought it before we went on vacation and couldn’t wait to try it out. Trillium Lake is at the base of Mt. Hood and has a beautiful view of the mountain at the head of the lake and a reflection of the lake in the water. We partially inflated the kayak at home and headed to the lake. We inflated the large tubes on the sides once we arrived as they are the easiest to inflate. We headed out on our adventure. The water was like glass in most areas. There were a lot of people there that day so it was a little crowded, but not too bad.  We cruised around for an hour or so and the sun began to set behind the mountain. It was pretty warm when we got there but once the sun went behind the mountain, it began to cool off. We headed to the shore and set up the grill for dinner. People were starting to clear out but we hung around. We had a great meal and then headed back home.

We finished the peaches the following Monday evening. If that wasn’t enough, we bought 20lbs of apples and made applesauce. In addition, we picked about three gallons of blackberries. We froze some, made blackberry syrup and blackberry jam out of the rest. The blackberries are free and grow wild everywhere. They are so good but so dangerous to pick. Dad has to venture into some of the patches and always leaves with a few scars!

Our garden has been producing unbelievable amounts of green beans. After the deer had eaten the tops of the plants on two separate occasions, we didn’t think we would get much. Dad picks a large handful every day and we get enough for a meal. We have been freezing some and eating some. The cucumbers are also doing very well and we have given some away and eating the rest. We are getting a couple a day on average. The artichoke plant is growing but no artichokes so far. We are anxious to get some. We are wondering if it will produce the first year or not. It is a perennial plant. We have also planted five blueberry bushes in the yard and multiple strawberry plants. Next year we hope to be swimming in berries. We also plan to expand our garden area to plant more beans.

The yard is also coming along nicely. We have spent a fortune on water for the lawn and it is filling in. We have more weeds than expected but are also working on getting rid of those. It still has a long ways to go but is getting there. These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago and it looks 1000 times better now.

A woman from work and her family spent Wednesday thru Saturday with us. Mom took them to the zoo, the coast and Mt. Hood. It was nice to have company. Linda and Loretta will be visiting the end of this month and that is most likely it for the year. We have been blessed to have had; Rachel and Dean, Caleb and Camber, Todd and Jerolyn, Kari Burkhardt and her son Geron, Nellie, Ann (from work) and her family and Linda and Loretta. Grandma Georgie and Bud were going to come in May but had to cancel due to Bud’s chemotherapy. Grandma Marcell was here last November so we have had a lot of visitors.

Dad was in Kansas City last week and back on Friday, just in time for the company picnic on Saturday.         

Going Rogue

On Wednesday morning, we were officially on vacation. Nellie came in the night before to join us. We had decided to go down the Oregon coast into Northern California and then loop back north, through Crater Lake, and back to Portland. The weather forecast was for temperatures in the low to mid 60's  but sunny. Wednesday started cloudy and stayed that way. We headed to Lincoln City and found a nice spot on the beach. It was a little cool but not terrible. Dad took a nap and mom and Nellie went exploring.

Our goal was to end up in Newport at the end of the day at our hotel. After we left Lincoln City, we went through Depoe Bay. This is a whale spotting area. We looked and looked and looked but all we found were whale rocks, no real whales.

We then headed to Newport and checked in. Not a great place but better than the place we stayed in Arkansas. We went down tot he beach and cooked a nice dinner of kabobs and rice. It was a little chilly but a nice evening overall.

The next morning we headed to the Hatfield Science Center to see the exhibits and octopus.

 Nellie was a little squeemish and didn't want to touch the anemone's, unchins or starfish but she finally did.

 The octopus spent quite a bit of time out of her sleeping area while they fed her.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Yaquina Head. This is one of our favorite places as the seals are just off the coast and the beach is made up of smooth lava rocks that make cool rumbling sounds as the water goes back and forth across them.

Friday was at Gold Beach for Jerry's Rogue Jets. This is a 80 mile round trip up the Rogue River on jet boats. It was really cool. We saw bald eagles, ospry, deer, elk, four bears!, otter and racoons. The jet boats are cool and fast. You also get very wet. We had a nice dinner up the river and then headed back. It was getting dark and colder as we came back. We headed to the beach to watch the sunset but it happened so fast we missed most of it and then it was too cold to stay any longer. This was the only sunny day we had on vacation. The forecast was for sunny and cool weather for the entire time but the sun only materialized on Friday. Fortunately that was the day we were on the river. Otherwise, we would have skipped the river tourn.

The driver loved to do these 360's.

A view down the river.

Saturday was to Crescent City and the giant redwoods. We had lunch on the beach and then drove through and saw some HUGE trees. We stopped at another beach on the way back to the hotel and cooked pork chops and had a fire watching the sunset. A great end to a great day.

Sunday was back to Oregon to go to Crater Lake. The Rogue River begins around Crater Lake and ends at the coast in Gold Beach. We were able to see both ends of it. After a long drive on Sunday, we ended up in Medford, OR. On the way we stopped to see some great scenery in the Smith River area. Once we arrived in Medford, we headed to a State Park, Tou Velle just 15 minutes from the hotel. It was right on the Rogue River. A beautiful picnic sight.

Monday was on to Crater Lake and back home. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US at over 1,900 ft. It is only accessable at one point and that is after a hike that goes down 700 feet. The water is unbelievably clear and has a deep rich blue color. It is six miles long and in a volcano crater. We thought we could go swimming but the water was too cold. We did put our hands in it (and Nellie's toes).

As always, vacation went way too fast. It seems like we just left and are now back. We just dropped Nellie off at the airport and she is on her way home. Dad is back to work on Wednesday. We always loved the vacations when the kids were little.