Travel Roundup

The two of us are still in the bubble of post-vacation euphoria. It's a whole lot more palatable than facing the realities of real world and daily life.

Lingering over vacation photos has been made all the easier because both my Berninas are still in for spa treatments being done while we were away. I couldn't have sewn if I'd wanted to.

So back to vacation. I gave myself permission to take time to organize the memories and to journal about our impressions. Sorting, weeding, and organizing the pictures and videos has been time-consuming work. Going through them so many times, however, has made it simpler for me to determine some of my most favorite pictures and the highlights of the trip.

This moody picture is one of my favorites. The Clearwater River is a rapids-filled and fast-moving waterway that spills into the Snake River. Located in Idaho, explorers Lewis and Clark followed the Clearwater on their way to the Pacific. It is easy to imagine the explorers seeing views exactly like this on their Westward journey. Were they as amazed as we were at the breathtaking beauty of the West? How did they ever convey the enormity of the mountains, the beauty of the land and the sounds of the wilds? 

Words have failed me a lot since this trip; I told someone that I don't think I know enough adjectives to adequately sum it all up. My pictures don't come near to doing justice to all the beauty, but we took them anyway - over 300 still shots and over 100 short videos. (All on our iPhones!)

This photo of the Columbia River as the sun was baking off the morning mist is another of my top pictures. This was taken as we headed east out of Hood River, OR, on our way to Idaho and then Montana. As I think of it now, this picture was taken the same day as the first one - this one at around 7am, and the one up top around 4pm. The Clearwater River runs into the Snake River, and the Snake River runs into this river, the Columbia. And of course, the Columbia runs into the Pacific. All of this area was mapped for President Thomas Jefferson by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 

Another highlight was our quick drive through the Redwood Forest in the northwest corner of California. Many folks take their entire vacation in the Redwoods, so we only saw a tiny bit in our 2-3-hour jaunt. We frequently remarked that coming back to explore these natural beauties and attractions more fully is always an option. 

Our 10-day journey had two goals: 1) to return our son to his home in Oregon (he'd been with us in Ohio for most of the pandemic), and 2) to visit cousins in Montana. Having DS Adam along for the first half of the trip as a tour guide through Oregon was great; he knew his way around to Three Sister peaks, Crater Lake, and Klamath Falls. He also mapped out a reasonable route for us to follow after we dropped him off. The photo below is near where Adam lives on the Sprague River.

I seem to have taken quite a few pictures of waterways. I will not apologize for this; the routes we traveled typically followed various rivers, and I suspect they were once ancient trails used by Native Americans and early European settlers. And the beauty speaks for itself. It was near this river that we saw a bald eagle soaring high overhead, looking just as majestic as one would expect.

Posing in front of Crater Lake, we documented our visit with this photo. DH was smart in bringing a sweatshirt; there was still snow on the ground in places throughout this park, and with a brisk breeze, I was chilled, for sure.

The peaks of the Three Sisters. I shared about my visit to Sisters, OR, and the destination quilt shop stop, The Stitchin' Post on Instagram here. I will do a post for the blog soon.

One of my bucket list goals was seeing the Pacific Ocean, having never yet done so. It is now checked off that list, because we saw the most beautiful ocean views traveling north along the Oregon coast.

Besides taking Adam back to Oregon, our other primary goal on this trip was to visit cousins at their remote mountain cabin, so I will finish this wrap-up with some pictures and details from central Montana.

Approaching the road to Steve and Peg's, we saw this herd of elk casually grazing.

Standing in front of the cabin, one can see distant BLM property.

Steve loaded us into his ATV in order to show us
the rugged 40 acres on which his cabin is located.

This clearing is a plateau above their cabin.

The cabin has all the comforts of home; yet no mail service. Steve's ingenuity
provided access to internet and satellite TV. Yes, the mounted elk was
one of Steve's bow-hunting successes from several years ago.

After a supper of elk burgers, we sat around the firepit,
enjoying the view while Steve and Peg prepared s'mores.

Coincidentally, this was our 41st anniversary;
what a memorable way to celebrate.

Breakfast, black coffee and elk sausage.

The cabin is so remote that we couldn't drive our car to it;
Steve returns us to where we parked in his ATV. 
We had this Montana-style traffic jam with other commuters.

Our farewell picture: Peg, Steve, Kevin and Jayne.
We'll get to see them again this November for a Buckeye football game.

Is it evident that we enjoyed our visit with them? They were so gracious in welcoming us. We sprung our visit on them rather last minute, but they couldn't have been more hospitable. As you might imagine, they get very few guests besides their own kids, and occasionally, their siblings. I do believe it was as special for them to host us as it was for us to experience their hidden Montana gem.

Today, I pick up my sewing machines. I might yet have a sewing post for this blog. The handstitching has continued on the periwinkle blocks, and I have also pulled out some big-stitch quilting for a UFO that needs finishing.

Hope you are having a great day, and 

Happy Quilting, Friends!