Gotta love it

Our first camping trip of the year. The tent was warm even though the nights were cool. The views were fantastic. We even managed to find a new waterfall while doing a hike that was so big you can't get it all in one pic! I must say, after being away all winter it felt wonderful to finally be out there. It's like visiting an old friend and I'm looking forward to our next journey out there.

Camping Mid-September

This camping trip was along the same rutted road as the Dry Creek. I just love that area for camping because we get serenaded by an OWL and anyone who knows me knows I adore owls. The weather this past weekend was not optimal, it rained off and on. We tarped above our main camping area to stay dry but. temps were around 60ish during the warmest part of the day, night time temps around 40ish which was tolerable if you were 'camped out' next to a nice big fire. The altitude at this campsite is about 1800ft, that means it gets a bit cooler. My ears got a bit nippy so I made myself a cute little cap to wear but.... Camping out by the fire means inevitably you have to go to your sleeping bag and freeze....not so.
Recently we picked up a 12'X12' canvas tent complete with wood stove. I must admit, I absolutely love this tent! We were warm, dry, could dress standing up and there was plenty of room for our king size blow up mattress. (Yeah, we were roughing it) I must say the dogs were impressed with the warmth of the tent as well.
I'm looking forward to camping well into October.

I'm such a slacker!

I've done so many cool things since my last post but I never got around to posting them until now.
We have done alot more camping and I have lots of pics to share. In this post I can tell you about something that really depresses me. All of the lovely shots you'll see here will be cut off to the public in the next year or so. It seems that the environmentalists don't think anyone should have places to go camping that aren't 'camp grounds' with tons of other people around and where you have to leash your dog and listen to others party all night long. Yuck, not my idea of a good time. This area WAS due to be bouldered in so no one could ever enjoy it again, over Labor Day. Which I think is pretty sneaky of them. You come back next spring planning on your favorite spot and it's blocked off. As you can see from the picture of the road, this isn't a spot for families in their station wagons, this is definately off-road 4-wheeling and the road looks like that in many spots back to the campsites and the dry creek. Maybe instead of shutting it off they could spend a bit of money on filling in the ruts...LOL.
While we were camping way back on said rutted road, far away from people, with happy dogs who could run free.... we went for a hike and found this Dry River bed. It was really wierd, the air around it was noticeably cooler and it was like you could still feel or hear the water although there was none. Its impossible to explain the feeling you have while you're walking on the smooth river stones. We found so many beautiful rocks that we would never have had access to if it wasn't dry.
I was facinated by the huge chunk of lava rock that was worn smooth, they were all shapes and sizes.

This was a nice easy hike and that particular day we had my sweeties Mother, Sister and nephew with us. It was heavy going as we departed because we had all found rocks that we just couldn't part with.

High up on a mountain

Camping at around 3372 ft has lots of advantages like great views and some disadvantages like lots of very strong sunshine. Our weekend day temps were definately in the 90's with little or no shade availible. Thankfully Grantbo and Marybo brought along their gazebos to help us all keep cool. In the evenings temps dipped nicely into the 50's so a nice campfire wasn't out of the question. We broke out the game Balderdash one evening and that was a blast! The first picture was taken from Lookout Mtn and that is our campsite! Pretty cool huh?

Here's a quick candid shot of me. I don't normally like any pictures of myself but this one is ok. As you can see the evening temps have set in and I'm curled up in a blanket and have a nice warm sweater on.

Dan found that by walking a short distance down the hill during the hottest part of the day that there was a very strong cool breeze, natures air conditioning at it's best!

Lucy of course is game to go camping anytime!We just say "load 'em up" and she's ready to go.We of course have to make sure to pack her 'Chuck-it' and balls.


Pictures just don't do this justice, it's very deceptive because the drop off from the campsite to Poison Gulch below is quite a drop!
There was plenty of wildlife to be seen and heard at night. Each night we had one particular deer come up near the camp to check to see if we left any food. We named that one the Mooch Deer.

And we had a real good scare one night when in our tents we heard a few deer come running REAL fast through our camp. Something was chasing them. After that we heard something that sounded different pad it's way rather akwardly through the camp. We're thinking it was either a bear or big foot.














Just up from where we were camping is Lookout Mountain. From the top on a clear day you can see Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Rainer, Jefferson and Mt. Hood. I was able to get some shots of Mt. St. Helens and Rainer in the same shot and then used my zoom to get some really good ones of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood.

All in all it was a fun trip but we had lots of mishaps. And I didn't want to bring up the flies but, where is my Sting-eze?

Rainy Memorial Day Weekend Camping

Great company, awesome food and unbelievable scenery...................



Seldom and I spent the weekend with Grantbo and Marybo and had a great time despite constant rain. We were able to be out of the rain most of the time as Seldom was absolutely BRILLIANT in putting up a tarp so that we could enjoy the campfire and stay dry.


As you can see we were pretty well prepared for the rain and we did have our tent under the tarp as well, so we stayed dry while sleeping as well. Grantbo and Marybo woke up wet the second morning. :( They tarped their tent and were great after that.

One of the best things over the weekend was the FOOD!!!! Grantbo really outdid himself with his ribs on Saturday night. They were better then what I've had at fancy restaurants. His special trick was using apple wood to smoke the ribs as he slow cooked them over the campfire.
My mouth waters just typing this, they were that good!
A great pic of Grantbo our Commando Camp Chef!!!
After all that rain, on sunday things cleared up for a gorgeous day so we took a nice hike to Falls Creek Waterfall.... I took a few pics along the way.

As pretty as this picture is, it just doesn't do the waterfall justice. While standing there the sounds, the SMELL and the feeling of the area..........just beyond words.

This pic is a bit further back to give a better perspective of how big it really is. (about 250ft)
The guys got tired of our slower pace so they kinda went ahead as we were getting close so Marybo and I walked at a relaxed pace. Here's a quick shot of Marybo walking over a small creek on the trail.


We learned lots on this trip as always....
Rainy camping with small lap dogs means your pants are going to get filthy. (But they are such great little warmers you don't really mind that much)

Mother's Day Weekend

This was our second trip camping this year, with nights in the mountains still ranging down to freezing, we're kinda pushing it but it's just so great to get out there!
I have lots of pics to share of our weekend in Washington, in and around Gifford Pinchot Natl Forest.

With the weather getting warmer during the day, we were able to get to almost 3,000ft, here are some pics showing the snow we encountered and where we decided to turn it around for the day. Got some great pics of my sweetheart and also some great views of Mt. Adams. And just for Mianna and Carol Ann, finally a picture of me too ;)

A blogging we will go!

Due to the recent spam attacks at the other place I had my blog, I have decided to go ahead and start a new one. I'll try to get everything moved over here and hopefully this spot I'll have better luck.