Where I left off...Part One

Here is where I left off.

April 2015

Such a precious little critter

. 

                   

Mid-June 2015

Then it happened.  The Stuff.   

Bad break. Freak accident.

Then this happened

Size reference:  that plate is only 1" long

Then this happened

August 2015

A  second surgery was require to remove the plate due to complications....

Then this happened

Cast finally off..

Good as new!

Here she is today, happy and very healthy...and in need of a spa day lol. 

Thus ends part one. 

 

Montana Camping 2014: The Voyage Home

I can't believe I forgot the ending!

We got packed up and tore down the tent. Part of it was wet, but Kaley and I took a towel to wipe it down.

"Mom, can I go to the store one last time? I need to say goodbye to my friends."

How could I refuse that?

"Mom, I need some money-I want to buy them a chocolate before we go."

 I did not cave this time.  Zombie virus contained.

We went to check out and I took her picture with one of the employees.  He'd given her a ride from the store to our campsite the night before. Really. The Girl Who Must Shop was quite a hit with the population of the campground, but I think we established that in earlier posts.

A fond farewell

I wanted to check the Falls for any of the artists I'd met the year before and talked Kaley into going. The road construction was still awful but not quite as dusty as the day before.  We pulled in  and I was really happy to see the girl I bought my painted rock from last year. 

I talked to her for a few minutes and it turns out that Robert (the wood carver) was taking several days off that particular week but would be back and would be there through this September. We got to talking about her art and we started talking photography.

She's taken the plunge and her work is being displayed at a local gallery. I'm excited for her. She was focusing on her sketches at the snack shack but just so happened to have one rock leftover from last year. I got it cheap.

She took my information to pass on to Robert, and while I probably won't hear from him, I'm still glad I made that extra stop.

The Child Who Must Shop made her voice known and the zombie virus broke containment.
 "Mom, can I have *insert every item on the menu* please? " 

I did not cave. Take that, zombie. 

"But you got something."

I got a rock-a rock for goodness sake. There is no comparison.

I stood firm and got her back in the care and we were off!  I hope I never experienced the horrific road construction of this trip again.  I will also make sure that I don't schedule a camp out during an unusual heat wave. 

We stopped at the main crossroads and gassed up and got snacks.  And were nearly overcome by gas. As in cows. Cows in a big semi. The smell was so bad you could almost taste it. Really. We got out of there as quickly as we could.  We were heading home and all was golden....

I really need to learn not to say such things....epic road construction. Again. At least it was on paved road, but it was down to tiny lanes and 25 mph for a few miles. UGH.

All did end well.

To recap this adventure:

* Deer poo is gross and stupid.

* Wildflowers make the best fire starters.

* Butterflies are a girl's best friend.

* Pine tree twigs make the best swords.

* The campground store is Mecca.

* Zombies protection is a must.

* Balloons should never, ever go on camping trips.

* No matter how hard you try, a rock or tree root will always find the spot where you sleep.

* If you see deer when pulling up to your campsite, many critters that will cross your path.

* Road construction is the universe's method of revenge.

* Avoid cows at all costs.

I hope you enjoyed the trials and hilarity that took place on this adventure!

Until next time,

Robyn :)

Montana Camping 2014 Day Two

Yep, it was a long night. I think I slept a total of  three hours. It will be a simple fix.

On cue Mariah asked to go shopping.  The zombie shopping virus took over.   Must...shop...must...badger...mom...until...she...caves...

I was weak and caved. In my defense it was a really strong zombie virus. The zombie came back with a green bandana that she wore for the rest of the trip.

Note said green bandana

Since I had the brilliant idea of camping during a heat wave we had to go to Libby for ice. As soon as we entered, the sky opened up and the heavens sang. There before us was the Deli To End All Delis.  And the Best. Bakery. Ever.   We came out with a whole bunch more than we'd planned to get (hey, we are on vacation, right?) Let me tell you we savored every bite of that epic yuminess.

I had an apple fritter but I LOVED the ants on watermelon cookies!

We decided to try Ross Creek Cedars this trip since we had been denied by the ice in May.  There was a spot of road construction on the way but not too bad, (Little did I know the construction horror that awaited us later.)

Note: The guy driving the Corvette was very impatient.

We made it up the narrow road with no problems. I have an irrational fear of meeting another car and having to back down the mountain to a pull out-the road is that narrow. The parking lot was busy. I wasn't pleased-yes, I'm selfish that way-especially when it's a place I love so much.

This is one narrow road!

The creeks were low but nice. There is a trail that I started to walk with Kaley and Mariah but I had to stop right after we got started. Talk about embarrassing.  I told them to go on and went back to the car. Took a few shots and sat in the car frustrated.

Mariah playing in one of the creeks.

They came back a few minutes later and told me that there were benches along the way and I decided I NEEDED to do this.  I grabbed my cane and we were off.  It was so worth it.  The trees were amazing; some were hollow and you could climb inside of them. Mariah was afraid at first but climbed in with some encouragement.  She was so proud of herself!

Squeezing in.

She did it!

Took a quick break and met Gracie, a Catahoula leopard dog. She is absolutely gorgeous but a bit shy.  

Gracie

The lighting was strange and I forgot to use my polarizing filter but it wasn't a total fail. I did get a nice panoramic shot of the Cabinet Mountains on our way down.

Cabinet Mountain Range

We went back to camp and I sat in the shade and read a book. I moved the beds around before it got dark and was looking forward to a decent night's sleep.

We had a 'one log' fire that night. Vera ( owner's daughter) brought Mariah twigs for kindling, which she happily accepted.  The fire burned  high so I tossed water on it. I told Mariah that I wasn't interesting in burning the forest down so we would save the wood for another camping trip.

Tiki came over to visit with Mariah and take her nightly walk.

Oh wait-I never told you about Tiki!

Remember when I thought that the deer was a good omen? 

We met Tiki last night before going to bed. She belongs to a couple traveling the country in their ginormous RV from Florida. Her owner walks her nightly on a leash and it was love at first sight for Mariah.  Tiki had a thing for her as well. Tiki is a five month old Main Coon mix and one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. The key would be to keep Mariah from invading their space too much. It turned out to be no problem at all.

Tiki-what a gorgeous girl! Very sweet, too.

Went to bed and sank into blissful oblivion in my nest of blankets....and mocked the tree root that no longer had power over me...and I  mocked the rock that was next to it as well.

Thus ends Day Two.

Until next time,

Robyn :)

P.S. Enjoy a few more photos from the day's adventure!

A small island.

 

I loved the reflection 

 

A tree had been struck by lighting many years ago.  Names are etched all over this log.

Another tree that had been struck by lightning

This was such a peaceful place. 

When Can I Go Again?

I thought it would be a great time to post today. 

This weekend is filled with events around the local area which have driving me to seek refuge in my own home. We have Hoop Fest in Spokane, which touts itself as the world's largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament. This year over 27,000 players are signed up with another 250,000 expected spectators. 450 courts. The entire downtown district is shut down.   

Tomorrow we have Iron Man here in Coeur d'Alene.  That will be a day long event as well and downtown is already overflowing.  I used to live on the course and am so glad I don't now.  It was fun to watch once but....

I really enjoyed blogging over my vacation and have decided to try and blog regularly-maybe not daily because my life is actually pretty boring, but a couple times a week because I'm sure I can eek out five hundred words here and there about something in that time period.

So I've had a couple of days to relax and unwind and believe it or not, I'm ready to go again! 

 Granted, it's nice to have the familiarity of home but I'm also quickly reminded of why I wanted to get away in the first place.  Everything  I left is still here now that I'm home. Laundry. Litter boxes. Many other things that begin with the letter "L."

Feel free to insert an epic face palm at any time. 

Time to toss on some music-I think I will blog to Daughtry today.

I find myself really restless, and it's honestly unexpected.  It couldn't be that Mariah immediately reverted to the child that I suspect has an alien living inside of her.  It could be the fact that one of my cats  (Caspian) is now plotting my demise because I dared show affection for a feral cat-you know, the one I've taken care of for four years.

 I don't see what the big deal is-she actually wanted to come inside for once and Kaley and I let her in on different nights-only for ten minutes, mind you.   You would have thought that we had tortured, abandoned, and tossed him away like a used tissue the way he responded. Just because Jude decided to play with Caspian's catnip toy he repaid Jude's visit by promptly peeing in  one of the bathtubs. I can't leave out the mournful meowing and pouting. 

I had planned to take a lot of pictures while on this trip but due to some unexpected circumstances I focused on simply visiting and spending some quality one on one with Mariah and my relatives.

Speaking of photography, Art Wolfe ("Art Wolfe's Travels to the Edge" on PBS),  whose work is amazing, is offering a FREE online day course on July 18th and I was able to sign up before it was filled-I admire his nature landscapes so much. I am over-the-top thrilled that I am going to be able to participate. I'm sure I will take a bajillion notes.

Being the paranoid individual I can occasionally be, I will make sure I have a couple of computer backups in case any of mine decide to give me grief. If you are interested in learning more about who he is and what he does, or maybe even sign up to take the course, go here.  

I am in the planning stages of a short camping trip and am probably going back to Montana.  I really want to get back to the Ross Creek Cedars area-the one that was too iced-over to get to last March.  I did a bit of research and there is a really neat interpretive trail I'd like to shoot.

I've selected a couple of favorite ocean wave shots to share with you. The focus I had this year was the reflective quality of the waves and the spray that crested them from the wind. I've decided to print a couple out and send them to my parents and aunt & uncle as a thank you for such a nice time.

I'm ready to go and truly relax and enjoy the woods.  The smell of a campfire. Watching marshmallows burn and morph into science fiction creatures. The damp morning dew. Sunscreen. Bug repellent. The sound of my flyswatter, which will joyously be destroying the mosquitoes that will not be able to resist me. A flyswatter battle might even break out between Kaley and I.

 You just never know.

 I will be checking with the Forest Service over there before I decided on where to camp.  I'm down for a lot of things, but bears in camp isn't one of them. I'm thinking the area around the Yaak River or Bull Lake. I'm even considering going back to the Kootenai River Campground.  

One of the things at the top of my list is to see if I can find the amazing wood carver I blogged about on my last camping trip over there. This time I plan to buy some of his work if my mission is successful. 

I'd like find out what his story is-I just know it would be amazing. Who knows-maybe he will let me interview him. I shall keep you updated on this upcoming trip that is supposed to be simple and will probably end up being carried out like an international coup.

Until next time,

Robyn

Day Eleven: The End Is Near

I was so tired last night! 

Weary lay-on-the-bed-to-tired-to-move tired. I even skipped the blog.  I did save enough energy to take Mariah swimming one last time. She finally saw another human being at the pool!  And of course it was an elementary school librarian (Mariah's favorite thing) who just happened to have grown up in Coeur d'Alene.

Vista Point on Hwy 30 overlooking the Columbia Gorge

 I decided to wait until this morning to pack.  I  let Mariah sleep in a bit so I could get the sorting and packing done without any interference.  I finally woke her up and  was totally unprepared for the complete meltdown that began before her eyes were even open all the way.  Not totally unexpected, but the timing was just not....

Forty-five minutes later all was back on track. Mariah went to turn the key in and I overheard her having quite the conversation..inviting the desk gal to come and visit us in Idaho...on our couch...

Hwy 30

We made good time through Portland.  I took the exit that led to Historic Highway 30-the one that has all the waterfalls.   It was a nice drive and I did get a few shots of a couple of them. It was honestly a bit disappointing at a few of them.  They were very overcrowded and the parking was so bad  you could barely navigate getting through the little lots. 

On the bright side, I loved the shots I got and the drive was still very pretty. I like to take my time when I drive on roads like that so I regularly pulled over so cars could pass me.  It was a bit tricky passing the bicyclists on the narrow roads, but it added an element of excitement to the whole thing.

So gorgeous

We arrived in The Dalles mid-afternoon and grabbed some lunch.  Went and got all checked in to our motel without any fuss.  Mariah was chomping at the bit to go swimming but I made her a deal that I had to kill my headache first.

Headache down to a dull roar, I took her down to swim and for some odd reason I asked the desk gal if there was anything I needed to know about the pool. Good /bad thing (depending on your view) I asked. The pool is closed today-something about the chlorine level being too low.  Mariah tried to sweet talk her way in, but alas, no success. To her credit, she took it well.

We turned to go back to the elevator and....

Behold: VENDING MACHINES.

Got back to the room and she begged for 'just one thing' from the machines. Knowing The Midget as I do, I knew that 'one' was just the beginning of 'many' so I loaded her up with $5 in change and send her on her way with only a request for a drink for me.

Latourell Falls

She got Skittles, a Payday,  FIVE rolls of Lifesavers mints, a drink for me, and a pack of gum for the desk gal. (really). Of course she forgot to get a drink for herself so we had to add to that.  I can't believe the next words out of her mouth.

"Mom, I'm STARVING."

Um, hello, offspring, you just downed a big meal and finished off my desert three hours ago....

Okay I figured I was in for the night and caved and ordered pizza.  I think Mariah's highlights on this trip are all food related.  As in related to the hotel rooms.

For a list of the waterfalls on this drive go here.

The first leg home is complete.  Looking forward to finally being home tomorrow afternoon. It's been a nice vacation overall and part of me wishes we still had a few days left; the other part of me will be so glad to be done.  Yes, I'm a complicated person-but aren't we all?

Until next time,

Robyn

Day Nine: If Memory Serves

What a beautiful morning to start our day.

My aunt took Mariah and I out for breakfast at a really neat little cafe called Eats and Treats. It was really great and I was surprised to find out that it's a gluten free establishment.  As 'first timers' Mariah and I got a free cookie.  It was the most decadent chocolate chip cookie I've had in a very long time.

On the way up the mountain

It's a place my aunt and uncle frequent after church and it was so neat so see so many people come up and say hello to me-they'd been telling everyone we were coming and it was so sweet to see just how much they were looking forward to it.   The owner's wife even stopped over to introduce herself.  It was a great start to our day!

Wild Sweet Pea

I should probably start out by saying that the last time we visited these places was around eighteen years ago.  So we were going from memory only-no maps.  It's more fun that way in my book-at least for short distances.

We found the cemetery I was originally going to visit within  fifteen minutes. It was nice, mind you, but had nothing on the cemetery we visited the other day.  We drove through it and enjoyed the time we were there, but it was not what I'd expected-as memories often are when matched up with reality.

Alsea Falls

We headed on out toward the main destination of our day's journey: Alsea Falls.   When we went so many years ago it was really late in the day so we'd not gone down to the falls themselves. We just walked to a quick overlook and my aunt had snapped a picture and then we left.

I had a momentary internal struggle with which lens to take (I didn't want to haul the whole bag down) an decided that my short basic lens would be sufficient. It was a short hike and a bit more difficult that I'd thought it would be, but I hung in there and made my way down.

Like mother like daughter

It was worth it. The falls were smaller than I remembered but you were able to get right up to them.  I took several shots that I hope turn out well-I won't know until I get them home and under editing scrutiny-and have shared a few here. 

We spent some time by the falls and made our way back to the car.  I wanted to take our time going back so we got started and along the way decided to make a random visit to a wildlife refuge. Mariah was happy they had a gift shop! I got her a couple of things and my aunt bought me a really neat pair of earrings and some epic butterfly socks. (don't judge).  They had some really interesting literature so I grabbed some of that as well. 

My awesome earrings

It was really warm by then and we enjoyed cruising with the windows down and the wind in our hair.  Of course I ended up looking like I had stuck my fingers in a light socket, but hey, I claim my old lady hair with pride.  At least I still have hair to frizz.

We ended up dropping my aunt off and  headed back to the hotel so Mariah could swim.  She's not feeling so hot-my guess is that the heat, too much chlorine in the hotel pool, and too much root beer are to blame. We just watched The Wolverine and I've got her tucked in to bed.

I love the pattern of this newly-mown field.

Tomorrow's plans are to simply spend some time with my aunt and uncle.  Mariah wants to go hang out with their neighbor and chill in his patrol car because it looks so cool (he's a sheriff's deputy).

I can't believe it's almost time to start our journey home! We've really enjoyed this trip, but I am kind of looking forward to getting home as well. After all, I have a camping trip to plan.

Until next time,

Robyn

Day Six: Rolling Along

Our last day at the beach-I'm really going to miss it. I'm sitting in the living room this evening so I can look out and watch the surf as I type.  It's become overcast over the last couple of hours and it's starting to look like a storm is moving in.

Quiet night

Woke up ready to hit the beach and go rock hunting-was ready to brave the stairs and enjoy the surf....and I look out and while the tide was going out, there were no rocks to be seen.  I was pretty disappointed and decided to let Mariah sleep in again.

She woke up a bit later (I'm starting to see a pattern) and was pretty bummed about the beach but I promised her an epic swim session-as long as she wanted.  She went to get her suit...and it was gone.  Turns out my mom packed early this morning before she left.

Tootsie

After several tears and a couple of hugs I noticed there were finally rocks showing on the beach so I immediately offered to take her down and hunt for agates, rocks, and other assorted beachy treasure.  I was really pleased to find that they have added hand rails to all the stairs now so would be able to pull myself along on the trip back up.

Astro

It was absolutely beautiful-light wind, sun, and the sand wasn't hot enough to fry my toes. I wish I'd remembered to take my kite down. She was very happy with the treasures we found.  After a couple of hours we came back up and I started the mammoth task of washing all of our stuff and packing.

We will be leaving early in the morning and heading over to see my aunt and uncle in Corvallis.  I will pick another suit up for Mariah when we get there as it will be hot and she will want to use the pool at the hotel.

Coastal clouds

I have plans to visit a really neat pioneer cemetery, Alsea Falls, and Brownsville, a  pioneer town. Central Oregon is a pretty neat place to explore!

The trip so far has been really nice-I'm enjoying the 'just us' time that Mariah and I shared today. We watched Willy Wonka, The Smurfs, and about 6 episodes of a fixer-upper show. 

Suitcases are packed and we are having a party in the living room-Mariah has made a fort to sleep in (I got permission from the 'rents first of course, just in case the maids say something when we check out in the morning).  

Mariah was on the deck earlier and made up a song about the waves in the ocean and sang it to me while we watched the tide coming in. The waves are a bit bigger than usual tonight and were very soothing.

Was able to Skype with my other offspring (Jae) and found out that they finally had a rain-free day today.  She was watering my garden while I'm gone and has had the easiest job ever to this point.

We are going to call it an early night so we can get a nice early start tomorrow. It's only a couple hours over to Corvallis but I want to plan for spontaneous photos along the way.  I finally remembered to log in and answer weekly questions for a read along I'm taking part in-I can win some swag so I wanted to 'really' take part. 

The view from our unit

My new SIM card for my cell arrived here today but I have to wait until I'm in Corvallis to activate it. Le Sigh. That's been an adventure in itself.

Here's hoping for great weather and many photo ops tomorrow!

Until next time,

Robyn (and Mariah)