Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream...or kayaking on the country's birthday

The twigs are working so many hours this summer that we haven't been able to go on any vacations together. It's a different "season" for our family dynamic. I'm grateful the twigs have strong work ethics and wouldn't trade that, but at the same time I sure miss vacationing together.

Everyone had the 4th of July off so we decided to make hay while the sun was shining!

We ditched the parades and went kayaking. Our girlie suggested Causey Reservoir and we were early enough in the day that we had the water to ourselves for a little while.

We started at the North finger and paddled to the dam, then down the longest East finger of the lake.

It was a gorgeous day and we had a blast! The stream that fed the East finger was still flowing much more than I'd imagined with it being a low water year. Everything was green and lush. We got out of our kayaks for a few minutes and played in the stream. That's some COLD water!   :)

We loved having Jenny join us! 

Best two Jenny quotes of the day...

"I love parliamentary procedure!"

&

When asked if Hunter was climbing out of his kayak and up the steep bank 

in pursuit of a flower, she responded,

"No, it's a snake, pretty much the opposite of a flower."

 Happy 4th of July - we love this beautiful country!

A Pelton Wheel and a yurt...

UEA weekend we'd hoped to escape to our beloved rock heaven in the desert of Moab but the twigs trumped that plan so we looked for closer and quicker escapes. Our very fun Scottie and April always have at least 3 great ideas ready at the blink of an eye and had carved out a few days to escape with us. They knew of an amazing little place in Southeastern Idaho and away we went to Oneida Narrows Reservoir.

On the banks of the Reservoir is an "off the grid" little hot springs called Maple Grove and was my first encounter with homemade power. I found it very interesting. They used a Pelton Wheel to garner power from water as well as using solar panels and a windmill. Pelton Wheels are noisy! (The Pelton Wheel and windmill are in the bottom left corner.)

That first night we hopped in the hot pool at 10:00 pm and stayed till after midnight. It was perfect! Then we made the mad dash back to the yurt and learned that a little power at midnight to heat a cold yurt is totally fantastic! Did I say Pelton Wheels are noisy - I take it all back, never heard a thing.

Did I say yurt? Why yes, yes I did. Sleeping in a yurt has been on my bucket list for years and it was so much fun I may have to do it again, sans boxelder bugs.   :)

We went for a little ramble out yonder and met this big friendly dog named Diesel. He helped ease our longing for sweet Kipper and made us think maybe we could love another dog.

Scott and April know how to play and come well prepared!  (The Mr. and I think that's the cutest little trailer for two.)

They are also completely generous which tickles the twigs who didn't stop smiling.

Thanks Scottie and April for your rockin' ideas and for being fabulous you!   xoxo

Oregon with radical Styles, Mr. Sandman, Zac's Buddy, sweet Nouget, and trippy Mocha...

We like to try new things on our summer vacations. Over the years we've had a blast experiencing things like zip-lining...

...scuba diving...

...jet boating through rapids with this guy at Jerry's Rogue Jetboats...

...who was expert at doing 180's in rapids like this (their picture, not mine, cause I was soaking wet and laughing myself silly)

 

...which made our hair look like this.

So when I asked the Mr. and the twigs what they'd like to try this year (bungee jumping, hot air ballooning??) I was a little surprised to hear them say horseback riding on the beach. It didn't sound crazy high-adventure but it did sound beautiful so I made reservations. This little paragraph, however, on the participant agreement form got my adrenaline racing as I realized it may be "high-adventure" after all.

     ...A horse,regardless of its training and usual behavior, may act unpredictably causing you to be thrown or injured by the horse. Horses may bite, kick, buck, lie down, or stumble. Saddles may slip...Your horse may collide with obstacles such as creeks, bridges, wild animals, stumps, rocks, and cliffs..."

The last time we rode a horse it looked like this. Don't you just love Hunter hanging off the back.  :)

I sure hoped I wouldn't collide with any bridges, wild animals, or cliffs as my horse was biting me and my saddle was sliding off!

No worries, the horses were gentle and the ride through the forest and along the beach was totally beautiful.   :)

 

The picture quality is a little wonky, sorry. I wasn't letting go of the saddle horn for nothin' on account of my vivid imagination and those participant agreement tidbits.

We rode along a stream and through a forest out to the dunes and then onto the beach.

 Some of the horses were more willing to enter the water, like Zac's horse, Buddy.

Our guides, Emily and Matt, were on the ball at every turn and even took a picture for us. Thanks guys!

Zac on Buddy, our girlie on Nouget, the Mr. on Sandman, me on Mocha, and Hunter on Styles.
We love this world and God's breathtaking creations!

Oregon punch with a side of crab...

This was our first visit to the Devil's Punchbowl on the Oregon coast and it didn't disappoint! We skipped looking into the punchbowl from the top and just headed right under the arch and inside because the tide was rising and our time would be limited.

Since Hunter was a tiny little guy he's always been interested in crawly things. He could spot a bug lickety split!

This moment made me laugh... there's our Hunter...looking at some interesting itsy bitsy creature.

 Back out on the beach, Hunter found more creatures.

I used to say he might be an entomologist some day. He's leaning more toward Orthodontics. Guess brackets are itsy bitsy things too.    :)

 The tide caught our girlie and the Mr. out on this sandbar.

I think he was trying to persuade her to give him a piggyback ride to dry ground.    :)

No luck this time, big guy. Looks like you're wading.    :)

Oregon...we love your waterfalls!

There were more fabulously beautiful waterfalls along the Colombia River Gorge than we could fit in! Along with Oneonta Falls here, we did manage to see Horsetail, Ponytail, Middle Oneonta, and Triple Falls.

Zac, (Elder Branch now) was learning to use his camera that Rachelle & Debbie gave him for his mission on Horsetail Falls. Thanks ladies!   :)

The next falls on the hike, Ponytail Falls, looked interesting to us when we were planning our trip because the trail actually goes behind the waterfalls! We couldn't wait to see it.

Halfway up the mountain we lost this guy. He stopped to tie his shoes then...he took a "short cut" and we didn't notice. I know, how could we not notice? His "short cut" went straight up the mountainside instead of following the dozens of switchbacks.

We started calling for him and when we'd pass other hikers we'd ask if they'd seen a really tall blonde guy dressed like batman.

Finally our paths crossed, whew!

Just around the next turn was Ponytail Falls. It was spectacular!

Zac wanted to get the full experience of the falls and climbed down next to the pool.

After Ponytail Falls we continued on and up to Triple Falls. It was a beautiful hike with numerous little waterfalls, bridges, lush moss-covered trees, and wildflowers along the way.

The twigs loved this tree near Middle Oneonta Falls.

Our sweet girl and our photo-bomber...

I noticed a trend in these pictures of Zac trying to climb everything he sees. Ha ha ha   :)

 

There were opportunities to talk together of our gratitude for people who make trails and repair washed out trails like this one.

 

We eventually reached Triple Falls! The viewpoints were from across the gorge (below) which makes the scale of the falls deceptive until you realize the little dots at the tops of the falls are actually people, pretty gutsy people, we decided, when we hiked around to the top of the falls but passed on getting to their same vantage point.

Oregon, we love your waterfalls!