Our Quick Summer Getaway--Oregon, Beautiful Oregon

Friday we spent the morning packing and waiting patiently for Bill to finish the trailer brakes. We ended up replacing the whole wheel assembly on all four wheels. He finished around 1, and we were on the road after he showered. The clouds began rolling in, but we were thankful for a sunny morning for him to work outside getting us ready to go. By the time we hit Brownsville, we realized we had not eaten lunch, and thought about getting in touch with Harry & Flo. We were lucky to catch them in, and met up with them in Sutherlin for lunch around 3pm. We had a nice visit…and it’s always great to see them.

We were back on the road by 4ish, and headed toward Grants Pass and the Hwy to Oregon Caves. The County park we were heading for was CLOSED!! There was a private park, but it looked like deliverance…and I was ready to be in a State Park! Back 40 minutes to Grants Pass, where we were lucky enough to find an empty spot for the weekend. There were lots of “one night only” sites….but we wanted at least two. Good thing we didn’t wait til Friday to leave.

We set up camp, enjoyed hot dogs over the fire…and a nice warm evening around the fire was such a treat after all the rain we’ve endured!

Friday morning was beautiful, and we packed a lunch and headed out early. Our destination was Oregon Caves and the Redwoods. We fueled up, picked up a few items we needed and hit 199 toward the caves. We stopped along the road at the Burl Gallery. It was a roadside phenomenon! There were things there I’d never seen or imagined before. Purple waterfalls, very neat tree houses, beautiful carvings, wonderful furniture…a very unique place!



We headed off from there and enjoyed the ride into Cave Junction….stopping at the Visitor Center there. We were told the 17 mile ride up to the cave would take about 45 minutes. I thought “45 minutes, to drive 17 miles?” The trip up was just about that! After the last campground, the road got very narrow, and we passed a sign that read “Motorhomes & trailers not suggested beyond this point. The elevation gain was quite a bit, and I thought of Bills Mom on a similar road, saying “Surely, this must be a one way road”. It was not, and although it was narrow, there was plenty of room for passing! Bill & Charlie continued to remind me of the steep drop off on the side…no guardrails, oh, they thought they were cute!!

We finally arrived up at the caves, and got in the 1:00 tour. The tour was 90 minutes and we passed all the way through the mountain of marble caves. Both Ryan & I were a bit nervous hearing about the low areas we would have to get through, but it was never tight, too enclosed, never a worrisome event for either of us. The sights we saw took our minds off any feeling of closeness in there!

After passing through the cave, going up all the way through…we came out into the bright light, and the ranger said we could hike .3 miles down to the visitor center, or go up and over the mountain .7 miles to see the view. We hiked that, and are so glad we did. The view was wonderful, and the cougar that watched us, even more exciting. Thankfully, I never saw it, but Kristin & Charlie did!

By the time we got back down to the visitor center, it was after 3, and we decided that it was time to call it a day, and head back to camp. We had lunch in the parking lot, and headed back toward Grants Pass to meander through town, and then get dinner at camp.

We came across a Motorcycle “Bear” event….it was fun to check them out, and they had a bike that you could get on, and have your picture taken. Charlie was the only brave soul…..

Back to camp we headed…enjoyed a great night around the fire, chili cooked in the dutch oven, and just a relaxing evening. We registered for one more night, so that we could hit the redwoods on Saturday.

Saturday brought more sun, but as we were nearing the redwoods, there were clouds looming. We drove right through them and enjoyed sunshine the rest of the day. We were driving along a beautiful river, when Bill saw a sign that said “Scenic Drive”---so we took a quick left. What we saw, was better than going to the redwoods national park….it was a 6 mile drive, through redwoods, giants, mind you, but not as big as those in the actual National Park…but amazingly big enough for us!

We walked a river trail, and then a Grove walk, through redwoods so tall you couldn’t see the tops. It was an amazing afternoon, and seeing the tall ferns, clover cover, and tall trees….there isn’t a prettier sight! Charlie mentioned how people spend time & money to get that kind of landscaping…and God did it all….

We had a great lunch in the park, and then finished up the nature drive, driving over the worst road ever….holes we thought our truck would get lost in. But, driving through those HUGE trees was incredible…our truck looked like a toy truck in there! After about 4 hours on this road, we finished the drive, and headed back to camp.

Along the way, we hit this neat meat market….and picked up steaks for supper. Never have I seen such a neat market. We enjoyed the best steaks ever….then hung out at the campfire lazy, and full!

Sunday brought another beautiful day as we headed to Applegate Christian Fellowship in Jacksonville. Our goal was to hear John Courson preach. We’ve read his bible commentaries for a few years now, and it was so neat to hear him teach. The amphitheater was huge….and parking was like going to a concert. We entered and were passed what I called McCommunion…as it was in the same type foil that OJ comes in at McDonalds….peel back the foil…your wafer is there…peel back the next layer…juice. All in one neat drive through package! With a congregation that size, I understood the need to do that…but communion just when the service started was a bit too soon for me. All in all, it was an incredible experience…but we missed our own Calvary family in Lebanon, and our own incredible teacher Tom.

We headed back to camp, had lunch, tore down, and headed Northwest…toward the coast. As we passed Sutherlin, the weather started to cloud up…and by Eugene, it was raining. Maybe we should have stayed south??

We got to Florence, got groceries and fuel, and decided instead of South Beach in Newport, that we would hit Carl Washburne State Park…we were tired of driving! The rain slacked off, and was just a mist….so we were able to have a fire before calling it a night. It seemed lonely in camp without our favorite hosts Flo and Harry.

On Monday, we had a lazy morning, and then headed off to Cape Perpetua. You can see for miles down the shore, and the view is like no other. We walked the cape loop, and then headed down to Devils Churn, before going to Heceta Head Light House, and the Beach. Kristin played in the water, while Charlie & Ryan headed up to the light house, and Bill & I had a nice nap on the beach. The weather was perfect!

We headed back to camp for a late lunch/early dinner, and then walked to the beach from camp. It’s a nice ½ mile walk to the beach, and with beach walking, you probably get 2 miles before returning to camp. It was windy, but the skies so blue—just one of those days! We returned to camp, had a fire, enjoyed a nice evening, and our last night of campfire.

Tuesday, it was still nice, and we had a morning fire, complete with brunch over the fire. Potatoes, onion, garlic, bacon, eggs, all in the same pot….yummy! We hung out until around 1, then packed it up, and headed home. Great trip, but too short! Would have loved to explore more of Southwest Oregon, but that will be for another time!

Check out all the slide shows….there’s a little something for everyone, and of course, don’t miss Bill’s special slide show. You never know what you’re going to get!

Here it is....Bill's slide show!

This past week was rainy...we were wondering if summer was ever going to get here. It arrived on Friday, when it was a sunny 75 degrees. Saturday was no disappointment, as it was 82, sunny, perfect, except that I had to work 10-2. It actually was a productive day....reaching a lot of people, getting some good call backs, and the time flew. It was even a better surprise when Jen & Brady came down around 5pm, spent the night, and went to church with us this morning, before taking off to Sunriver. Zoe is joining us for a few days. She fits in so well, and is such a good girl we don't mind having her.

Today, we spent a lot of time outside, and the kids decided to get the buckets out and play in the water. This bucket thing has never worn off since they were little. I could not get them to do the bucket head shot....but we have several from years past so I wasn't too disappointed, and it's only June....so have all summer to work on catching that shot.

What I did get was our 3rd Chickadee family on film today. It was awesome. I was standing on the porch 5 feet from the box, and the parents allowed me to take pictures!!

She sits here...waiting to see if the coast is really clear....but she's gotten used to us being here...



It was a lazy day...it doesn't get much better than this!! Off to work tomorrow...and hoping to get out camping later this week...yippee!!

K-9 Officer Dog Trials in Bend

We woke to sunny skies, and big puffy clouds on Saturday. It was BEAUTIFUL! We got ready and headed through the pass toward Bend where friend Tony who is a K-9 police officer was participating in the Central Oregon K-9 Dog Trials. The pass was beautiful and I thought of all those dear to me who live far away that would have appreciated how beautiful the day was, and how pretty the scenery was. Trust me, I absorbed enough sunshine and beauty for all of us!! After weeks and weeks and weeks of rain, and almost 7 inches this week, Sunshine on Saturday morning was such a blessing...I don't think anything could have kept us inside. Regardless, we were very thankful, as we knew we'd be sitting outside for 3 hours!
Little did we think about sunscreen, especially after the sun dipped behind some clouds after we'd been there about an hour. It was still a nice warm day, but I believe the "magnification" of the sun through those clouds is what did us all in. We enjoyed the dogs, and the trials...including an agility course, "find the bad guy" in the box, speed in catching an assailant, being called off one bad guy to head to another, and assisting the officer when he is under attack. It was great to watch all the different things, and these dogs are amazing, as are their trainers/owners. Each of these dogs lives with these officers...day in & day out. Here is our favorite officer Tony and his dog Creck. Creck has been with Tony for about 2 1/2 years now....after Perry, his previous dog retired. Perry, sadly, was put down this past January, a sad day for all.
Creck & Tony did great in the competition. Although they did not receive any medals, in my opinion, Tony got one of the highest honors ever, when the announcer mentioned that when Tony speaks, his dogs know he means business. He seems to have the respect of fellow officers too. You can see the respect, and love this dog has for Tony. For example...these two were coming through the box....the way this dog was looking at Tony, he might as well have spoken "Are you OK? Where are we going next? What would you like from me? I Love You Dad!" I know, alot to read from a picture....but you see so much when they are out together. This is a picture of two other Springfield officers and their dogs. Daren & Cyrill on the left #2, Brian & Bronko center #7, and of course Tony and Creck.
Creck over the gate--awesome....

This was the winner of the entire trial....Brian & Bronko...they did a great job!! Congrats!








After visiting on the field, we headed off with Nate, Katie, Audrie, Tony, Tina, Maddy & one other Springfield officer Daren--(Who, by the way was lots of fun!) to Pilot Butte Diner/Burger Joint...best sandwiches around!! Charlie was amazed we had a police escort to supper!!

It was a great day...lots of fun, and can't wait for the Springfield Trials in 3 weeks. Come on out...June 26th...noon-3! If you are interested in going, let me know, and I'll get you the details! Enjoy the pics below....I've whittled them down from the 888 I took!!

Weekend Fun

Memorial Day weekend. ALMOST always a weekend at home for the Richards family! We do not like the crowds of Memorial Day weekend, and have only camped when there has been a big group of us with reservations somewhere. After Bill got home from school on Friday, and Shawnna work...it was the weekend!! We had no big plans...and it was a usual movie night. We sat down to watch "The Road". HOWEVER...after 10 minutes..Kristin & I bailed...as this was not a family movie! About 10 minutes later, Ryan bailed! The three of us played a game of cribbage, and Charlie & Bill continued to watch the movie downstairs! This is the first time in a over a week, I've been thankful that our big TV wasn't working. As it is an expensive fix...it is going to hang on the wall, until we decided it's a worthy expense....600 to fix, or buy a new one, or do without? At some point, Charlie is going to be sick of us piling into "his room"!!


A surprise for Kristin was friend McKenzie arrived from Washington to spend the weekend with her grandparents. Saturday, they were inseparable, and enjoyed Saturday, the night Saturday night and all day Sunday. They were very "into girly stuff" on Saturday....and I caught them in the kitchen, doing oatmeal facials.



I'd say they were a little heavy on the oatmeal...as the kitchen was covered as much as they were!


You could have eaten it all though, since they mixed oatmeal, honey and half & half....what a facial! Boy were they surprised when I walked in with the camera. Sunday, we headed to church, and then over the pass to Sisters for the day. We were able to catch up with our artist friend Jennifer and check out her new place. We did some shopping and then headed to Bend to check out the outlets, and of course Harbor Freight. We rounded the day out with dinner at Pilot Butte--and then had a nice drive back home. Monday was a lazy-but also productive day, as Bill got a lot of his programming done for school, and I was able to catch up with some work for the dentist and some blogging. Ryan & Charlie went fishing--no luck, but had a good time. Since Bill & I missed our Sunday afternoon nap...we had a make up nap!! After naptime...Kristin & I did some planting in the front, cleaned up the porch and have the pots looking good!! All in all a good day! Tuesday brought an overcast day...little rain..and between the drops the kids & I got some much needed yard work done. We got the mole plants in the ground, lots of trimming done, and the grass cut before the rain got too heavy, and the weed wacker gave up the ghost for the day. Again..another productive day...yard work & laundry. What more could a girl ask for?! Bill has been suffering for weeks with a migraine....please keep him in prayer. Until next time....

Incredible Weekend

This past weekend, Bill & I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary. We've actually been together 24 (dated 2 years prior to getting married) and have enjoyed every year together. Our biggest test to our marriage, 1st kids, then job loss last year. Thankfully, I can say, we've overcome those and put our trust in the Lord and have moved forward. Being married to your best friend is certainly a plus when trials enter in!!
As a surprise, I booked a room at Anchor Pier Lodge in Newport. Sean and Tracey had originally found this place for us last year, and we decided to go back. We love the room, the bay, and the sea lions. The only drawback is the street parking. The hospitality and the cleanliness are incredible!

I blew the surprise the night before we left, simply, because it's hard to lie--and even though it's for a surprise gift, lying is not something that meshes well, and therefore, I screwed up, hours before the planned surprise! It all worked well though, as Bill suggested I leave with him early in the morning, and head to school with him, bum around while he had class,and then us leave from school, and head over from Salem, cruising down the coast...stopping at one of our favorite places for lunch. So, it was, I went to school, dropped him off, and headed off to have the suburban detailed. It was well worth the $27.00---it was washed, cleaned inside & out, rims done, the whole nine yards...while I sat in the sun and enjoyed my coffee!!

Charlie came to hang with Ryan, and Kristin spent the weekend with Grandma Alice. Both kids had a blast--Charlie & Ryan went to see Robin Hood, and Kristin just loves her "girl time" with Grandma. It so happened that Kristin & Grandma had their plans set before we had ours!! Convenient!!

I picked up Bill at noon, and we headed to the coast...stopping for lunch, and hitting the outlets on our way to Newport. We arrived in Newport about 5, checked in, and unloaded the car. Being we were right in old town....the car did not move all weekend!! We walked everywhere....it was awesome.

We had a great nap, and then headed to dinner around 8pm, and decided to try the Rogue Ales Public House on Bay street just down from where we were staying. I was a bit hesitant, as it was full of fisherman when we arrived, but we were not disappointed with the food or the service. Both were incredible. I had some fresh brewed Root Beer that was incredible...even more so with a splash of Hazelnut rum in it (the waiters idea, I would have NEVER put those two together)...but it was wonderful. Rueben (our waiter, not our food!) was great, and made our visit there so enjoyable, that we headed back on Saturday to try some other good foods. By the time we perused the menu, we decided two trips was not enough....what a variety of different foods they have....Blue cheese on a hot dog with grilled onions...YUMMY!! Pork sliders is our next venture!



We spent Saturday being lazy, bumming around Newport Old Towne, and watching the fishing traffic. I had no idea what a busy port this was. The weather was perfect, and we spent some time on the deck, enjoying the sun and the sea lions. While the journal in the room indicated that the noise from them bothered some, it never really bothered us.

Sunday, we headed home, wishing our time could be extended, but enjoyed the time we were blessed with. My best friend, two and a half days to ourselves, what more could a girl ask for??!!

Chelsea the Farm Dog

Chelsea is our oldest dog now. She came to us after Kahlua died, and what we hoped would be a good companion for Bailey. What we have learned, is that Chelsea is a loner, a farm dog, and has the instinct to protect. She is 1/2 shepherd and 1/2 Maremma. Maremma's are bred to be watchdogs on farms, mainly to be with the sheep. We knew she had an instinct to protect, as we've watched that in her barking and her possessive nature about her property line! Over the years we've watched her keep an eye on the kids...always near where they were when the were little....and still watchful when Kristin is outside alone. What we didn't realize, was the nature she really has to heard, to keep her charges safe. Kristin was outside today working with me in the yard, and she had her chicks out there pecking around in the grass. We weren't paying close attention, since they hadn't moved much from the area she put them in, but they started heading toward the driveway. To us it was no big deal, but to Chelsea, she rounded those chicks up, and headed them back to the grass in no time! It was very cool to watch.



Not only did she lay out there with the the entire time, but after she hearded them back to the grass, she stayed close, making sure they didn't get that far from her again.




This is a side we've not seen of Chelsea. However, it was great to see her gentle nature, and even "mothering" side when a chick ended up under the steps. Chelsea was right to her side, and waited with the chick until Kristin got there and got it out of the tall, tangly grass. Way to go Chelsea..you've earned another day or two of keep. Well done!

Sunday --beautiful Sunday.....

What a beautiful day it was....

We headed to church, and enjoyed a great service with Rod & Lissa....then a good lunch at KFC, which allowed us to visit awhile before going home. Brandon is getting so big!

We arrived home, and it was so nice, and Kristin's chicks are getting so big, that we told her they needed out of the cage for awhile. So, she let them out in the front. They had a great time picking around in the grass. They didn't stray too far from her though. She has become their mother hen! We keep trying to convince her to give them to a family that has a group of chicks, but she is pretty adamant on wanting to try to do this....now she has to convince Daddy...Mom is a sucker for pets of any kind!




We took our usual Sunday afternoon nap...a quick one mind you, and then we piled in the car, and headed off for a ride together. We hit an old logging road outside of Sweet Home,and took it all the way to Cascadia....a few side trips between here & there mind you. We saw Foster Lake & Sweet Home from heights we've never seen before (Aunt Cec would have loved it!), Green Peter Dam from 2500 ft...and some great views. It was an amazing drive, and God's beauty was all around us.
Foster Lake and Sweet Home

The house from down in town....with a close zoom, then cropped..a bit grainy, but pretty good for probably over a mile away!



Green Peter Lake & Cascade Mountain Range
We ended up out by Cascadia park, so we took Bill to see the Wolves out there. I counted 30 in one pen, and there were many, many more out there. I'm not sure if it's a rescue, or what the deal is. Most of them were beautiful white wolves. Bill tried to get someone's attention to talk to someone, but you don't dare open a gate where there are 30 white wolves waiting to greet you! No one ever came to the gate...one of those unspoken blessings from God, I'm sure. We have only been down to 2 dogs for two weeks....surely it's not time for another!

Afterward, we headed to Skyline for dinner, and then home to get ready for Home School group tomorrow....a great day, and a fine ending to the weekend!