Vacation Time – Part 3

Crater Lake!! There is no way to describe the beauty of this AWESOME place! We were blessed with a beautiful clear sunny day and it was so blue & clear. You could see 50 feet or more down & take photos of the rocks in the water. On a clear day the rangers said you could see  over 140 feet down! Now that is clear water!!

We took the 2 hour ranger boat ride around the lake & was so neat. Is a 1.1 mile walk down to the boat & as the ranger said a 1.1 mile hike back up that feels like a 11 mile hike & he was so not kidding! But it was totally worth it.

The clear blue waters, the snow, the mountains…it is so beautiful. Add in the cool weather, chipmunks, and awesome views & you have a perfect world. Words & photos can in no way describe how pretty it is here.

 

 

Simply AWESOME!! The blue is unreal! Part 4 will be the Redwood Forest & jetboats & Part 5 the last one on San Fran

Vacation Time – part two

Sunday after Church we headed toward the coastline of Oregon. Was abit cloudy, cold & misty part of the day. We saw some lighthouses & watched a whale right off the coastline. I saw it right by the shore but by time I got a camera it was further off. Was neat to watch it blow water & keep coming up.  The bird on the shore is an eagle we saw. It isn’t old enough to have a white head yet.

 

We stayed at a condo in Newport, Or. & planned to walk the beach but cold misty weather wasn’t really beach weather…so that morning we headed to the tidal pools again. These were AWESOME!!! Was by a lighthouse & the sea lions hung out here and there were so many starfish & sea urchins. Simply beautiful!! After eating out a nice breakfast, which is a treat for our bunch we headed out towards our cabin.

Along the way we visited the Sea Lion Caves. Here you see a whole colony of sea lions that hang out on the rocky banks of the ocean. You go down an elevator into a dark cave & can look into the part of the cave all the sea lions swim up into & hang out in. Is really a neat place!

Then we saw Elk and they are such attractive animals.  Some had really impressive antlers!!

Then we finished driving to the really neat cabin we stayed at the next two nights.

Awesome, beautiful country!! I love Oregon!! When I get time Part 3 will be Crater Lake.

Vacation Time – Part One

I’ve gone though my photos several times and ended up thinning them down to 542 photos I can’t part with. I think I took around 1200!! Not kidding!! The areas we visited were Awesome in beauty and was hard not to try to record it all.

We started out flying out of Austin Wednesday afternoon and had a layover in Denver. Arrived in Seattle, Washington about  2 a.m.Thursday morning Texas time..but just midnight their time. So after getting our rental car and going to our Hotel 1 mile away we were tired!

Thursday we rode a Huge ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, Wa. and that was neat. Then we drove to Port Angeles, Wa. Here is the Olympic National Park area. We drove up Hurricane Ridge & was cloudy so our mountain views were not good. The ranger said would probably be better Friday morning. So we went down to the town & drove around & found the beach area. Saw some geese & pretty scenery.

 

Early Friday we drove back up Hurricane Ridge & was Awesome! Mountains, snow & beautiful flowers everywhere. Lots of deer up here also.

Then we headed down to the tidal pools & checked that out. Was really, really rough climbing over all the mussels & rocks…but was unreal!! Starfish of all colors, sea urchins & crabs in all the tidal pools. Last night the water was covering everywhere we walked & was just neat. [ The second tidal pools we visited were better - so more photos later]

Then we drove around Olympic Park to see the rain forest. Was pretty but not as neat as we expected.

Saturday morning found us at the Columbia River Gorge area. We saw several of the biggest waterfalls along the way & then started on the fruit loop. We picked cherries. We petted & fed Alpacas. We admired the lavender fields & orchards & vineyards. We picked blueberries. Was really fun!

 

Then as we had time we went to the Bonneville Dam & watched the fish come up the fish ladders…& then visited the fish Hatchery. We drove back up the Columbia River Gorge road, a pretty drive of lots of waterfalls. And we spent the night in Hillsboro to be close to Church on Sunday.

These photos are not edited..& all the rest won’t be edited either. These colors are for real! Is Awesome country!!  Will post other photos as I have time!

Fireworks & July 4th

I live in a place called America & What a blessing it is to be free

Our Country might have some problems..But it still is a great place to be!!

I get to worship here freely..I own my house & much more..

We travel our America freely..And enjoy Peace without fighting & War.

I sure do love our America & I’m glad to say I live here

SO..America please hold to those Values that our forefathers lived & Died for!

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Family time, Fireworks & Freedom…can’t get much better than that!

Dustin Graduation Party At The Lake

We reserved the picnic area this year & threw a big hotdog cookout to celebrate Dustin graduating from high school. We camped all weekend & enjoyed some beautiful HOT Texas weather!

Camping & fishing with the grandkiddos!

Party Time!