Wallowa Lake Camping

I know it took me awhile, but here are some of the photos from our Father's Day group camping at Wallowa Lake. Despite the rain, everyone had a wonderful time. As usual, the kids all entertained each other well, the food and company was great, and the area was gorgeous. I hope we get to go back again some day.

As you can see....I'm playing around with my blog design again! I can't seem to get it the way I want it. I guess I'm better off starting with a plain white one for now. Be patient with me.

NEW SCRAPBOOK GOODIES COMING SOON!!!! Stay posted!

So, I'm another year older

Friday was my 38th Birthday. When Jeff and the kids asked me what I wanted to do to celebrate I simply said, "How about an adventure?" and left everything in Jeff's hands. He spent quite a bit of time researching on the internet, Google Earth, and his GPS maps until he settled on Palmer Lake for our destination. He had been to the lake with friend Steve and their boys a couple years ago, but I had never been. There was a small river on the map (Palmer Creek) that appeared meandering and an interesting place to take the canoe. We picked a great day to go too, because it reached near 100 degrees back home (maybe a little cooler where we were).

The little river was lined with bushes and trees which were (to my surprise and excitement) filled with Bobolinks, a cool bird that I didn't even know existed until recently. Their song is so pretty. Click here to hear for yourself.

We also followed a pair of immature bald eagles around all afternoon (or were they following us?) and spotted an Osprey taking a dive in the lake. I snapped several photos of the landscape and was pleasantly surprised to see an OBVIOUS alluvial fan in one of them (a land formation term I learned while student teaching). Very cool!!

And then on the way home we spotted a herd of female and baby mountain sheep which are commonly seen in the area. Apparently the males hide out in the high mountain tops during the warm summer months.

When we got home our friends The Streeters had us over for dinner to visit with The Bartletts who were in town visiting. It had been two years since our last visit, but the kids acted like it was just yesterday and had a wonderful time. Thanks Jill and Steve for hosting, for surprising me with a yummy ice cream cake, and thank you everyone for the cards and gifts! What a special day!

Bike Ride Through Rock Creek Area

We got a phone call from friend Theresa the other day wanting to go on a bike ride. I willingly jumped on the opportunity and even talked Jeff, Max, and his friend Dylan into coming along. It turned out to be a 13 mile ride out to the abandoned silver mining operation commonly known around here as the China Wall. We also spotted a Calliope Hummingbird with a nest and two tiny eggs. I hope to go back and visit again once the babies hatch.