Janet Brien's photos

(+7 insets!) (this update is another doorstop...coffee will be necessary to make it through to the end! :D) Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well, I miss everyone a lot. I really miss my "normal" routine of cruising around everyone's streams and dropping off comments for all of your latest pictures. However, I have had to change my priorities from my usual photography/ipernity/chores/etc. to trip preparation in all regards. I'm the sort of person that can't have the distraction of a favorite pastime interfering with important tasks. If I try to spend a small amount of time with something like photography or ipernity, I end up becoming totally absorbed and procrastinating away hours of time. I just can't seem to balance that one so the best option is just to stay away from these activities until I have my priorities under control. Trip Planning So, I'm still working on our Vancouver Island trip itinerary and also doing zillions of prep tasks, etc…six weeks is a lot for planning and coordination, let me tell you! We were able to find a person in the area who's an expert with snakes and frogs and he will be caring for Snakey McSnakerton and our two ancient, 18-year old frogs while we are away. We've arranged for a house-sitter. Pumpkin is microchipped and paperwork is in order. Steve's got all of our trip reservations--including our ferry crossings--finalized. I now know that we can bring most of our food across the border both ways--but no eggs or fruit! Oh, and by the way, did you know that a sing freshwater fishing license is just $37 for a Canadian and a whopping $84 for a non-native? In other words, we'll be spending $168 just for the chance to fish! Sound the general alarm, that's CRAZY!! And yet, we'll pay the price because we're going to be on the island for five weeks. Did you notice the part where I mentioned "fresh water"? We WON'T be fishing in the ocean/shore/bay pier. That would be another $125 EACH to try that. (And, just for funzies I looked into boat charters of any sort…AHHHH!!! It's a minimum of $600-$700 to go out on a boat for two people…as much as I would dearly LOVE to have a guided trip for fishing, we just can't afford such extravagances.) RV/Truck Maintenance… When we were at our last RV destination, Diamond Lake, we noticed that one of the trailer wheels wasn't behaving quite right--it didn't turn freely when we backed the trailer up, pushing into the gravel instead of rolling over it (but seemed ok going forward). This was strange because we'd had the bearings repacked and the whole rig checked out by a local shop. But when we got home, Steve checked each of the wheels and discovered that three of the four wheel's hubs were cool to the touch as they should be, but the one we were concerned about was very hot--a bad sign that the bearings aren't moving easily. So, right away Steve got the trailer into the shop. Turned out to be such a strange situation that the shop admitted never seeing it before in the 20 years they've been servicing RVs! In fact, parts of the bearings assembly disintegrated into the wheel and it was a total mess--it was lucky we got home, actually. Because of Steve's diligence to check for problems, he discovered this blow-out accident waiting to happen. Happily, the repair didn't cost us a cent because it was the shop's error--although to be fair, it was a manufacturer's error--not theirs--because they'd done everything right except for putting in a bearing assembly that was defective. Steve also took the truck in for an inspection by our local mechanic. We really should have done this before we began our RV adventures but the timing didn't work out until now. As it turned out, we learned that to get our truck up to snuff, we needed to sink nearly $5k into engine repairs. That's on top of the transmission we had rebuilt. Holy money pit Batman, at that point you really need to stop and think about cost vs. value. Steve and Huck, our mechanic, talked about the truck for a while and if these costs were worth it. But, just like our transmission mechanic, Huck didn't hesitate with the same opinion: these trucks will last forever with routine care, and this truck is unquestionably worth more than we paid for it, despite the transmission and maintenance costs. And, with these repairs out of the way, we won't need any work done on the truck for 100k miles or more. Ah well, it's just money and more importantly, we have peace of mind. The truck did make odd sounds sometimes which made us wonder. Now Steve knows what they meant. It's all good. RV Upgrades, also known as, "STEVE IS AMAZING!!!" Meanwhile, Steve has been working on making our RV better and better! His most important project when we got home was to fix the wonky, defective kitchen drawers and then to BUILD four new drawers--a pair that would go under the dinette seats and two under the master bed. First he fixed the kitchen drawers. The idiot things didn't open/close properly and the slides were partially broken…what a nightmare! He replaced the cheap-crappy slide mechanisms with new ones that have a soft-close feature which pulls the drawer shut at the last inch. While he was fixing the drawer, he also added 6" to the length/depth of the drawer! MORE ROOM IS MORE!!! YAYYYYY!!! What a difference!! When he was done we stood there like silly little kids taking turns opening and closing the drawers! HOORAY!!! *happy dance* The thing is--we use those drawers dozens of times every day and every time we had to fight with the drawers to some degree. By the time we got home from our last trip, we were both raving lunatics, and that's why he had those drawers fixed the day after we got back! HUZZAH! After the kitchen drawers he attacked the dinette! The seats have cushions that can be removed, exposing a crappy piece of plywood that covers storage space below. Potentially useful? ABSOLUTELY! Realistically useful? NOT! So Steve set to work building a pair of drawers that should have been there to begin with. It was a challenge to figure out the drawer faces but his solution of using stained wood faces in a black frame works just super. We are beside ourselves with happiness at how amazing these drawers turned out. (Did I mention the fact that Steve's never built drawers like this before from scratch?) Now we'll have a proper place for our pots and pans and plenty of other stuff. All easily accessible by opening a drawer! Steve's AMAZING!!! Finally, he's in the last stages of building drawers into the bed frame so we have proper places to put our clothes. We've been making due with the pair of closets at either side of the bed but the spaces are too small and require us to pile our clothes up and squish them into place. Trying to pull out an item of clothing at the bottom of a pile is a guaranteed disaster with clothes falling onto the floor, tipping over, and making a huge mess. Neither of us made a peep about it on our last trip because there was nothing we could do about the situation but we totally hit the wall. It would be a big project but the effort would really pay off. As he expected, the horrendous lack of building skill in the trailer's construction made it very challenging in regards to dealing with so many lopsided angles but he's been able to come up with clever solutions for every problem. He's almost done now and we are so excited to put these new spaces into use! YAY FOR MY CLEVER MAN!!! :) Today's Pictures Today's main picture and inset are a pair of the many lovely wild Columbine blossoms that Steve and I saw when we were staying at L.L. Stub Stewart State Park. Using a flash really make them explode in fiery color, especially against a dark background. I also have an inset which shows a Columbine in natural lighting. Incredible flowers, aren't they? I was so happy I got to see them in bloom, as I'd missed their bloom time here at home. I'm also including insets that show the drawer work that Steve's done! What fun it is to show off Steve's handiwork! :) Pam, I'm hoping that you've been doing as well as can be expected! Miss you mucho my dear! *MANY HUGS* and thank you so much for the comments on my picture! :) Explored on 7/19/19; highest placement, #7.

(+3 insets!) I'd like to apologize for not being around ipernity for the past couple of days. I have been totally distracted by an all-encompassing project that's seems like idle fun and entertainment but it's actually very important. Steve and I will soon be going on our longest trip yet--6 weeks--and we'll be traveling all over Vancouver Island! Our campsites are all reserved now, thanks to Steve's diligent hunting, internet surfing and hours of phone calls. Planning worked out much better this time because we made sure there was a lot more time before our trip began. We still had to contend with a couple of holidays but it all worked out in the end and our itinerary is all set now! My job is Activity Director and it's been my task to discover awesome stuff for us to do…hikes, mountain bike and paved paths to ride, places to go fishing, lovely drives, cool towns to visit, festivals and events not to miss…it's a dizzying amount of stuff to look up and organize. Directions are needed, pdfs need to be downloaded, dates must match the times we'll be in the area, and I also have to make sure it doesn't take too long to get to various places that look like fun. Some of the highlights will include hikes to lovely waterfalls and one that will take us to a crashed airplane from 1945. Another adventure will take us on a quick ferry ride to Newcastle Island for a grand afternoon of bike riding with amazing views. We'll go to the world-famous Butchart Gardens in Victoria and the nearby butterfly gardens--this is where Steve will have to drag me and my camera away or we'll never leave! :D We'll go fishing for trout, salmon and bass in lakes and streams--maybe even some ocean beach fishing too! One day we'll float lazily down part of the Cowichan River in a pair of innertubes. We'll go on a long drive to see many areas we'll not be able to stay, and one place we'll drive to is the Pacific Rim National Park and many, many provincial (state) parks too. There will be trips to mountain bike riding parks and strolls along quaint harbors. Though we'll be eating our own food most of the time, we'll certainly make room for world-class sushi at least a few times! :) With so many days for us to explore this beautiful island, we're hoping to get a really nice experience of all that Vancouver Island has to offer! All that being said, I still have a lot of work to do finding cool stuff for us to see and do! So I wanted to let you know that my time is short and I hope you understand! There's just not enough time in the day for all of the things I'd like to do! Today's pictures are my last few that I've processed from Diamond Lake, though I have piles yet to do. My main picture is not going to be a favorite of arachnophobes but it's pretty darn special and I just had to feature it for my leading image. The day that I went on a macro stroll, I wandered down to the creek that leads out to Diamond Lake. The water in the creek was moving very slow and it was a lot more like a log-jammed pond than a proper creek. The mosquitoes there were absolutely ecstatic by my arrival and they seemed to think they were very clever with their joke, "Have you arrived for lunch?" Hardy har har…but the joke was certainly on me because they dined heartily while I was forced to ignore them. Why would I let myself become lunch!? Honestly, I just couldn't help myself. I found so many incredible flowers and grasses to photograph, and as you saw the other day, damselflies too! As I rounded the edge of the stream to go on the other side, I looked down when I saw a round, light-colored something moving very quickly right at my feet. It could only be one thing--a mother spider carrying her egg sac behind her! It was something I'd never seen before and wow was I excited! The spider stopped stock-still just below, partially hidden by some blades of grass. By shifting very slowly, I was able to get a pretty clear view of her and with virtual fingers crossed, I clicked away, gradually leaning in closer and closer until I felt it would be too alarming if I got any closer. Stepping away to give her space, I was satisfied by my series and hoped I'd have something I could use. As you can see, I *WAS* successful! I am over the moon with joy to get this picture of a hunting spider (not sure of the exact species) with her lovely egg sac. WOOT! :D I also have three insets to share. One of them is another picture of the creek from the other side that I got with my Sony later that day…it's just such a cool looking creek with all of the logs in it! The second inset really pulls at my heart. On my way back to our RV I encountered this majestic old beauty of a dog. It wanted to very BADLY to come up to me for some attention but I needed to get away from the feasting mosquitoes so I only paused long enough for this picture. What a dear, dear doggy! And finally, a picture of our truck and trailer at our campsite! I've been taking a picture at each campsite and some day it will be fun to put them all together into a massive campsite show! :) Pam, I had to shake my head in horror to read that there are mosquitoes that make your joints swell…that's horrendous! I have read from others--Ruth especially--that some folks are badly allergic to mosquito bites…what a terrible situation. :( I do know that insect bites vary from bug to bug and person to person…who knew that mosquitoes could be so toxic? I mean, of course MALARIA but in the US…I'd just not thought they can be so bad! *SENDING BIG HUGS YOUR WAY!* Explored on 7/13/19; highest placement, #3.

(+5 insets) (please view large to see extra beauty of this trail!) (sorry for the blown out bits on some pictures!) (oh, and get a cup of coffee...it's STORY TIME! :D) Even before Steve and I made reservations to stay at Diamond Lake, we were told that there was one serious problem with it: This place is absolutely notorious for MOSQUITOES. In fact, we met a State Park camp host earlier on our trip who mentioned that the mosquitoes were so bad that when she stopped for a visit a couple of weeks previously, she and her friend were swarmed by blood-suckers before they even got out of the car. They actually had to abort their visit because they couldn't get away from them. Steve and I couldn't believe this lady wasn't exaggerating, and even though we read a lot of comments from other visitors who stated the same thing, we didn't want to believe them. Confound it all, we wanted to go to Diamond Lake! A few mosquitoes were nothing to be scared away from, right? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! <--- That's a maniacal laugh, one followed by many more…oh, so many more! It turns out that this camp host was 100% accurate. When we pulled into the campground, we stopped at the registration booth to check in. Steve was greeted by mosquitoes before he even entered the building. When we got to our site, we were soon surrounded by bunches of 1"+ blood-thirsty monsters which quickly drove us into the trailer. We couldn't stop repeating, "OH MY GAWD!! THE MOSQUITOES!!!" We sprayed ourselves with mosquito repellant and to our relief, that kept them at bay. Sort of. Did you know that mosquitoes are perfectly happy to push their sharp proboscis' through your SHIRTS and into your skin? Wherever we didn't have repellent, they'd land and attempt this sneaky method to separate us from our life's liquid. If they couldn't land on us, they would fly around us in boisterous clouds. We noticed to our disgust that they would land on us anyway staying as long as they could before being repelled by the noxious fumes, ever-seeking a tasty meal. Somehow they knew to swarm around the door to our trailer so we'd have to dive in and out as fast as possible to keep them outside. We were unsuccessful. At least they were large enough that we could see them easily. They were also slow-moving, which helped too. Still, we began to accumulate bug bites, especially Steve. For some reason he attracts mosquitoes much more than I do and he was extremely unhappy about his popularity and the resulting bites. One morning he woke up to feel lots of itchy spots on his back. I counted them. TWELVE BITES in one small area, the poor guy!! Thank goodness for our method of treating itchy bites: all it takes is a wet paper towel that's been heated up in the microwave, and then pressed on the bite. This burns out the histamines that cause the itching and stops it completely for several hours or more. If only we'd known this simple trick as kids! For multiple bites, a hot shower does the trick. Steve had plenty of those during our stay--I mostly got bites on my hands so could just run them under the hot water for relief. I am usually very tolerant of mosquitoes. "WHATEVER" is my usual response, but these guys were relentless! They follow you all over the place! When I went down to the creek to take pictures, it was just incredible and I was finally driven back to the RV to get away from them. Insanity!! On our last day before heading home, we decided to go on a hike. The day before we'd ridden our bikes around the lake and it was MARVELOUS! What a glorious ride! It's true that the mosquitoes would begin to swarm if we stopped for too long but once we got going we quickly left them behind. We figured a hike would be the same situation. We forgot some extremely important logic: our bike ride was just an hour and change, along with the fact that riding our bikes quickly left the mosquitoes behind. But hiking…not the same thing. Not at all. There was a lovely hike we discovered that led from a trailhead just a few miles from our campground and meandered up onto the side of Mt. Thielson for an out and back of about 10 miles. The pictures were wonderful and we were really excited as we set out that morning, our backpacks readied with bottles of water and a wonderful lunch. I even brought my Sony so I could take pictures on the way back. Little did I know I'd never take it out… Have you ever participated in a relay race? Run with a baton, pass it to the next person, they take off and so it continues. Now, picture a pack of mosquitoes. Imagine Steve and me, walking along a trail with a cloud of mosquitos following along behind us. As we walk along the path, the first mosquitoes eventually get tired and slow down. BUT WAIT! What's that I see? Why, there are NEW mosquitoes standing by to take up the chase! HOORAY!!! *glower* The hike started off well enough--what a BEAUTIFUL TRAIL!!! Dappled shadows captivated me, flowers were here and there to delight me, and there was even a beautiful creek to enjoy. We stopped to drink some water. Within seconds we were surrounded by a cloud of mosquitoes, so we took off again as soon as we'd had a few sips. I stopped to look at the creek below and…omg…THE MOSQUITOES!! "KEEP WALKING!!" Steve cried, and off we went. Anytime we stopped walking, we were soon surrounded. What's more, where sweat had washed away repellent, the mosquitoes landed in droves. Frantic slaps would often resemble blood baths. I usually keep calm about bugs flying around but they were landing on my face and hands, my arms and everywhere else that didn't have a lot of repellent. I simply couldn't believe this assault! Steve got the extra strong lotion and I slathered it on everywhere. STILL THEY SWARMED! We took off at a fast walk and finally left them behind. We were not quite to the half-way point, which was where we would stop and have our lunch. We were both very hungry after several hours of hiking and we needed a break--we hadn't paused for more than 30 seconds since we began this walk. But just as we were about to sit and enjoy a much-needed rest and break, the mosquitoes caught up to us again. Suddenly we realized our biggest mistake: The mosquitoes would not let us rest. They would not let us eat our lunch. They would not stop. Ever…until we were lifeless, dried husks. All kidding aside, we were hungry and tired and never planned on a non-stop hike without a break. And yet, that was exactly what was forced on us. No way would we get to the turn-around spot--we turned around right then and began heading back. Each of us had a bag of mixed nuts to eat as we walked, and we drank water on the move as well. I was in front and Steve told me that there were dozens of mosquitoes following along behind me, and undoubtedly they were behind him too. Neither one of us had ever encountered such a situation in our lives. Nor had we walked so long without a break. In the end we would walk about 5 hours without stopping. We were so exhausted that we had to be very careful about where we placed our feet. It's times when you're tired that you are most likely to hurt yourself and we both knew it. We stumbled plenty but did our best to keep our heads on straight. Thankfully we got back to the truck without a problem but both of us were dead in the water when we got back to the RV. It's funny--we would have been able to hike for many more hours, many more miles, had we only been able to stop for even a moment. It's too bad about the mosquitoes because the hike was just lovely…the pictures I'm sharing today aren't the best because they're from my phone and suffer from overexposure. But you get the idea. Bottom line: if someone warns you about mosquitoes, LISTEN TO THEM!! :D We've since learned that the mosquitoes leave in late August and don't come back until spring, and that's why we didn't notice them the last time we'd visited--it had been the end of September! We'd love to come back to this beautiful place but we'll never return during mosquito season!! Pam, have you ever had to deal with a mosquito invasion like this? I pity anyone who had had to deal with relentless clouds of these blood-sucking monsters!! *tosses a mosquito net your way along with a hug* Explored on 7/10/19; highest placement, #10.

(+4 insets!) Since I've been posting about Diamond Lake for the past two days, I thought I'd continue the trend with another adventure we had when we were there! We'd done some reading and learned that Diamond Lake was supposedly an absolutely fantastic place for fishing! If reports were to be believed, the fish nearly jumped into the boats, so eager were they to become our dinner. We couldn't wait to try our luck! First we tried shore fishing. A few hours of nary a single nibble, we retreated to our RV feeling a bit disappointed but understanding that you can't always get lucky! And besides, we were looking forward to the next day, as we'd signed up for an all-day boat rental! Visions of a boat full of fish swam around in our heads as we fell asleep that night. We PLANNED to get up at about 7am…but when the thermometer read 30 degrees we quickly decided a nice long snuggle was a much better idea. The fish could wait, thank you very much! The sun was shining brightly when we arrived at the marina. It was a much warmer and more reasonable hour of 9am, and we were soon on our way with Steve happily motoring us along. We'd gotten advice on where we should try our luck and soon we were anchored, baited up and casting our lines into the cobalt waters of Diamond Lake. Cutting to the chase: we are now convinced that Diamond Lake has no fish! :D We spent about 12 hours between us with not a single bite. We tried fishing all over the lake with no avail. We did catch some weeds and an old, rusty lure but I don't think that counts. We saw a few fish jump so there ARE fish in the lake. As highly touted as one of the best lakes to fish in Oregon, they certainly didn't bite while we were fishing. We tried everything from real and fake worms to flashy spinners and all kinds of interesting baits which included floating and non-floating marshmallows in a variety of colors and scents, we tried using bobbers to get distance, down and up presentations (bait sinking down from a bobber or floating to a specific depth, using weights to sink the bait or bring the bait down to a certain depth as it floats from the bottom) reeling in slow and fast, and just letting the bait sit. Not a single nibble. Even though it would have been fantastic to catch even one fish--or get a single nibble for that matter, we didn't mind. It was fun to get the opportunity to try. We got to use lots of different methods. We both got better with our casting and rigging our lines. Our conversations were very nice and it was so peaceful just sitting out there on that beautiful lake, gazing up at the lovely mountains that peered down at us with their snowy caps. One of the things I mentioned was the bliss of having all of this time to just SIT and soak in the atmosphere and setting. Steve agreed completely. In between our attempts to catch fish, we had a fabulous day on the lake. The weather was wonderful. Puffy-white clouds kept the heat down when the sun caused us to take off our sweaters. Later on the storm clouds raised a bit of concern but it never rained. Steve was happy as a clam motoring up and down the lake, across from one side to the other, maneuvering in to dock up for bathroom breaks, and even keeping us from harm! When we began the day's adventure on the lake, the water was mirror-smooth, but as the hours passed, a breeze formed and in the afternoon it began to get windy enough that being out in the middle of the lake was quite choppy indeed. After returning to the boat after a lunch break at the RV, we decided to motor the long distance to the southern shores. We'd read that bait fishing was said to be fruitful and since we saw no boats so far from the marina, we thought maybe we'd have a chance at a nibble. However, the closer we got, the choppier the water became. Upon arriving at a likely fishing spot, our boat bobbed up and down like a cork with waves that we large enough to be disturbing. We realized that fishing would be stressful and perhaps even dangerous because of the unpredictability of the white-caps and wind. Looking at the ominous storm clouds above, we agreed it was time to head back. Carefully moving through the choppy water, Steve hugged the shoreline and I held on tight. We likened the trip to an "E-Ticket-Ride" with the constant slap-slap of the boat bouncing over the waves and steering to aim into the swells. Both of us laughed with the excitement of the ride, what a thrill! Once we returned to the marina, we climbed out of the boat, exhausted but very happy with our day. We squared up with the harbor master and as we drove the three miles back to the RV, both of us enjoyed talking about the nice day we'd had. Yes, it would have been nice to have caught some fish we still had a great time! I am including four other pictures as insets which show the lovely setting, including Mt. Thielson (pointy cap) and Mt. Bailey (round cap), the beautiful forest edging the lake, and a pair of fun pictures of Steve fishing and motoring us along! Pam, I'm hoping this day has treated you well--I'm sorry to hear that you have a similar problem with pesky rodents. Moles are absolutely horrible as well. We get them too but not as much as the ground squirrels. UGH! Oh well, live and let live…but we don't have to like it! :D *BIG HUGS TO YOU!*

(+2 insets!) Diamond Lake was the last place we stayed on our epic 25-day RV adventure and that's where we got to see these hopelessly adorable ground squirrels! In fact, there was also a group of bitty little chippers (chipmunks) that lived in a hole almost directly under our RV! All of these little guys were such fun for us to see and interact with. One morning I needed to cut up some new bread squares for Pumpkin and just before I tossed the pile of crumbs in the garbage, a fine thought entered my mind…"Ooooooh, let's have some fun!" I popped out of the trailer and carefully poured the crumbs into the entrance of the little chipper's hole. I went back inside and realized that Pumpkin's nut and seed-treat container also needed refilling. "Oh my, look at all of these bits and pieces…whatever shall I do with them?!!" Out I went and I had to laugh because in the few minutes I was away, the pile of bread crumbs had diminished! "Busy little chippers, have some more!" Adding the pile of nut bits and seeds on top of the bread crumbs, I climbed back into the coach and peeked out the window. A little face was poking out of the hole, hard at work! I laughed and carried on with Pumpkin's food. A few minutes later Steve stepped inside, "HEY! There's a chipmunk out there eating a pile of stuff, it's so cute!" I told him what I'd done and we both looked out to see the cutie pie stuffing its cheeks with goodies! So adorable. The little ground squirrels which I'm featuring today were really cool because we'd never seen them before. In fact, I couldn't be positive exactly WHAT they were. I figured they were some sort of ground squirrel but they were smaller than the ones that live on our property and actually, they looked totally different. Short tails, non-spotted coats, I wondered what they were. Only, I couldn't tell. And I had no way to know. Why? No internet. Zip, nada, zilch. And that simply drove me batty! If there's one thing that I must have, it's the ability to do research on all of the things I'm curious about! And let me tell you, I'm a very curious little monkey indeed! I always have been and I always will be…the world is such a fascinating place with endless things to learn and discover! When I was a kid I learned about the amazing place called the library. I would become so enchanted with this fantastic portal to knowledge that I started working at my school library in 4th grade and this continued through my senior year in high school. When the internet came to be, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! To think…a research library the size of the world, available from the comfort of my home. What a sweet deal. The internet immediately became my favorite resource for investigation and I have always called upon it ravenously. But now…to find that I cannot have it whenever I want…well, let's just say it's been extremely frustrating. The fact is that I just can't stand not knowing something and having to just deal with it. ARGH! I will say that within an hour of having an internet connection again, I made a beeline for "ground squirrels of Oregon" and just like a hopeless junkie finally getting a fix...ohhhhhhh the RELIEF of finally discovering what this little guy was: a Belding's Ground Squirrel !! LOL, you probably think I'm a little off the deep end but I can't help it…I just GOTTA KNOW! :D I am also including two insets with a couple of other views. These are all youngsters and totally adorable (in case you didn't figure that out yet!) :D. And the reason we've never seen them before is because they don't live in our county and are found in a fairly small area in comparison to the very common California Ground Squirrel, found all over the western U.S. Pam, do you guys have ground squirrels where you live? Monstrous little fellows, they are always trying to dig under our foundation, the stinkers! Yes they are cute but my opinion of them is not the best because they are so destructive and eat all of my flowers! Well, they were here first so I can't complain too much! I hope all is well with you today my dear! :) *BIG HUGS*

(+2 insets!) (please view large for even more detail!) We had originally planned to visit two other places on our Central Oregon Trip, including a two-day side trip out to the coast at Tillamook and a four-night stay at Detroit Lake State Park. Because of our transmission snafu, we ended up turning our four nights at L.L. Stub Stewart State Park to 11 nights and cancelling our other destinations. However, we did end up adding a different destination for our last five nights: Diamond Lake! We'd discovered this place on the way home from my birthday trip last year. We'd headed up to Sun River for a few glorious days of hiking and biking at the end of September and on the way back to Medford we had enough time to stop off at a spot along the way that we'd only driven past before. There was a 10-mile paved path around this beautiful lake which seemed like the perfect distance for a brief stop. That trail turned out to be one of the most delightful we'd ever had the pleasure of riding on and we wanted to return and repeat the experience. I'm happy to report that going around Diamond Lake again was equally fantastic on our second time around! During our stay we also went on another bike ride and a long hike, along with two days of fishing! The RV campground we stayed at was super too, with a wonderful forest setting and lots of birds and other animals to enjoy. I went out with my macro lens one morning and got hundreds of neat images as I strolled along. Part of my wandering took me down to a small, lazy creek clogged with logs which emptied into Diamond Lake. There I found all kind of cool subjects by the water, including damselflies! My main picture today shows my lucky close-up portrait! I have an inset which shows the whole damselfly. Unfortunately the light was low enough that I couldn't get a proper full-dof image but I'm still very happy that I got such a nice, crisp image of its face. This guy was so brave…I just kept creeping closer and closer until I stopped because I didn't want to scare it away. I managed to get a dozen pictures that were crisp, hooray! :) And what luck…today's Saturday Self-Challenge is all about things that fly or float! :D (I'm also sharing an inset that shows the creek so you can see how filled with logs it was! The creek really seemed more like a pond but there was a culvert which led under the main road there and emptied into Diamond Lake) Pam, it's wonderful to be in communication with you again--I've really missed our little back and forth conversations! Best of all, I'm so happy that you are so understanding that I won't be able to post pictures every day when I'm away. It would have been nice but you know how it is! :D *SENDING BIG HUGS YOUR WAY!* Explored on 7/8/19; highest placement, #1.

Hi everyone! We are finally home from our 3-week RV trip to four of Central Oregon's lovely state parks: LaPine, The Cove Palisades, L.L. Stub Stewart and Diamond Lake.What an amazing trip it was! There were so many beautiful places, so many wonderful adventures, and so many "firsts" too! It was also a trip which taught me a few things, but most of all I had to wave goodbye to an internet connection and just forget about it. I also realized that it was just impossible to keep up with a proper journal. It's always a struggle: do you LIVE the adventure or do you DOCUMENT it? It's all a balancing act and part of that balance is just throwing your hands in the air and enjoying the show without taking a single picture or writing a word about it. We were blessed to lose our truck's transmission in a place where we were safe. If asked, "Where would you like to be stuck if you were stranded in your RV for a week while your truck was being repaired?", we'd both say "L.L. Stubb State Park!" Honestly, there were many wonderful parks we would happily hole up in but we sure loved staying at L.L. Stubb with its endless hiking and mountain bike trails, comfortable weather, and gorgeous local. Deep, rich, beautiful forests are not the worst surroundings and in the end we got our truck back in premier condition and ready for years of adventures in the future! I've missed everyone here so very much. Even when there was an internet connection, I rarely had the time to visit which was too bad but what are you going to do, right?! :) I sure do hope that everyone has been doing ok and I look forward to visiting between the ebb and flow of chores around here! Today's picture is a one of a favorite subject: a fern frond! You may know how much I adore them--In fact, I'm infatuated by these lovely plants! When we were in L.L. Stubb State Park, we stayed at two sites. The first five days we stayed at their upper campground, the next five days we stayed at their lower campground. Next to our site was a steep hillside which of course I was soon crawling around on with my camera and macro lens. Why? Well, remember the Foxgloves I shared last? The white ones were waving at me and I couldn't resist. Once I was down there I found bunches of other lovely subjects to photograph. I saw some ferns too but they weren't in great condition. In fact, many fronds were in the process of yellowing and dying back. Then I noticed how colorful they were and took a closer look. HOLY COW, THEY WERE BEAUTIFUL!!! I was totally enchanted, and so today I wanted to share this picture with you so you can see how incredible a dying fern frond can be! :) Pam, you've been on my mind every day too. I hope you are well. I've been thinking a lot about Marie-Claire too and wishing for positive news--if anyone reading this knows how she is doing, I sure would like to know! Sending my biggest *HUGGZ* to everyone this evening!! Explored on 7/6/19; highest placement, #1.

(+ 6 insets!) (please view large) This post is another War & Peace door stop…read at your peril! Or get a cup of coffee, kick back, and get caught up on part of our RV adventures ! Adventures with Groceries and Bikes! Oh dear…we are stranded in L.L. Stub Stewart State Park without a car while our truck is getting its transmission totally rebuilt. This park is a glorious slice of heaven…whatever shall we do?! :D I think we'll have a fabulous time, that's what! L.L. Stub Stewart is known for its massive web of hiking, biking and equestrian trails, and if we were interested, they also have a challenging disc-golf course too. The photography opportunities are endless and Steve has a reasonable internet connection as well. Stranded indeed. Heh. However, as wonderful as it is here, we had a problem. Namely, groceries. When we left for Tillamook the other day, the first stops were to be Costco and a large grocery store. Our provisions were planned to last for increments along the way and resupplied at predetermined destinations. It's true that we could probably survive without more food but it was far from ideal if we could come up with a better solution. Steve realized that the nearby towns of Banks and Vernonia--22 miles apart in opposite directions--both had grocery stores. And they were easily accessed via a very popular, paved rails-to-trails path which led right through L.L. Stub Stewart State Park at the midway point. This easily-accessible trail was one of the reasons our campground was so popular and we knew this first-hand. Just the day before we left for Tillamook we'd ridden our bikes 11 miles down the gradual descent to Banks and then back again. It was a wonderful and beautiful ride through healthy, vibrant green forest dotted with countless flowers along the way. The 22-mile trip, with its combination of distance and 500-foot elevation gain, was enough to totally wipe us out by the time we'd returned to L.L. Stub Stewart. Remembering our original plan to do all 44-miles in one day made us laugh weakly as we panted and pedaled in our lowest gears slowly up the last hills to our RV. Still, we were bummed that we didn't get to enjoy the entire trail. We made a promise to come back in the future, so we'd just do the other half of that marvelous rails-to-trails ride. Now, with an actual need, we had a real challenge to ride from L.L. Stub Stewart to Vernonia and back! Raise your fists in the air and join us in yelling, "HUZZAH for the BRIEN GROCERY CHALLENGE!" There were plenty of things we needed. For one thing, we were beginning to run low on creamer for our life-blood espressos.*GASP!!!* But more than that, we needed an entire henhouse full of eggies! Prepare to be amazed! We eat four eggs for our brunch every day, which means a normal dozen eggs only lasts us three days. We were out of our egg-sausage muffins and the recipe calls for ten eggs. We need to make another batch of "fauxtato" salad and those require six. Pancakes, which are a once every two-week treat--require four eggs. If we were staying for another full week we would need a total of--SERIOUSLY???!!--48 eggs!! Heh. (By the way, did you know that cholesterol has nothing to do with risk of heart disease? Don't believe me? Here's just one article (click link) In other words, eggs can be eaten at will!) Our next problem was figuring out how we'd get our groceries back to our RV intact. Steve and I stared at our little ice chest which returned our stare, laughing. "I am a huge, heavy, rectangular box and you won't be able to carry me to the store and back." Apparently the ice chest didn't know Steve very well. He is an ingenious jerry-rigger with a great mind for working out amazing solutions to crazy problems. Just like this one. I knew he'd come up with something perfect and he did. He started off by placing the box on the narrow pannier rack behind his seat and staring at it quietly. "Hmm…what I need is something wide under the box to support it." After a moment of thought he put the box down and said, "I've got it! One of the boards I use for the leveling jacks under the trailer would be perfect! I've even got screws to mount it to my bike." (Steve adds, "The thickness of the wood wasn't ideal but it was literally the only wood we had!) With a grin and bounce in his step, Steve was soon building a sturdy platform on the pannier. A few minutes later he had the box attached, rock-solid, to the platform with the use of several strong bungees. I beamed in appreciation. "Honey, you're amazing! That's awesome!!" The Ride to Vernonia I packed a few snacks, we put on our backpacks, stashed our water bottles and off we went. Like the trip from L.L. Stub Stewart to Banks, the trail to Vernonia led through thick, beautiful deciduous forest accented by conifers here and there. Let's not forget the never-ending wildflower show along the way! Large daisies, zillions of blossoms in the dandelion family of all types and sizes, elegant tiger lilies, wild berry flowers and so many others. A first for me was the foxgloves (Digitalis purpura) that were simply everywhere. Mostly in shades of magenta, lavender and purple, I would sometimes see an occasional spike of pure white ones with purple-spotted throats. I was curious enough to look this flower up online and discovered that it's not a native flower (its home is in Europe, Asia and Africa) but has naturalized to the point of being a noxious weed in some places. All I can say is "HOORAY!!" because I love these stunning flowers, native or not. We were ready for a well-deserved break when we finally pulled into Vernonia, locked our bikes up at the grocery store and picked up our supplies. We found just about everything we needed and better yet, almost all of it fit into the ice chest affixed to Steve's bike! How cool is that? I handled the bag of apples and a couple of other items but it was a surprise that we had so much room to spare. I hoped the load wouldn't be too much for Steve to handle but his first comment was just what I wanted to hear: I can barely tell there's anything back there! YAY! Before we left for our return trip, we stopped at a nearby park to eat our snacks and have a short rest. While munching, we enjoyed watching a group of horses nearby that were relaxing outside their trailers after a trail ride. We also chatted with an older couple who strolled by with their German shepherds and, of all things, a blue and gold macaw! The Ride Back to L.L. Stub Stewart Before we hopped on our bikes to leave, Steve noticed that his back tire was nearly flat. Again. He's been having a continual problem with his rear "tubeless" tire. He filled it before our ride but now it was nearly flat again. Talk about annoying! That darn tire has plagued him since he got it a couple of months ago and he's had enough. He couldn't help announcing, "That's IT! When we get back to the RV I'm going to put a tube in this tire!" Once he got the pressure back up we rode our bikes back the way we came on the Banks-Vernonia Trail, enjoying the lovely scenery. For about 10 minutes. He crackled over the walkie-talkie, "It's flat again…" We pulled over and he refilled it, grumbling about his stupid tire. This time when we continued our ride, he let me know that he'd be riding as fast as he could to get a far along the trail before needing to refill the tire. I didn't mind being left in the dust and his logic was sound. I was far enough behind him that sometimes I didn't see his bike but eventually I'd catch up when he had to stop and refill his tire. We did have a fun time with a pair of ladies riding along the trail with us. They were a lot slower than Steve and a bit slower than us so Steve whizzed by them with an amusing comment for them. He let me know via walkie-talkie that they would be happy to move to the side when I got to them. When I arrived, I said, "Hey guys, I'm going to come through the middle!" They said ok with happy laughter and away I went. A bit later I arrived at Steve's side where he was busily pumping up his back tire. After a few minutes, along came the ladies and Steve said he was sure he'd seen them before. They laughed and one turned with a challenge, "TAG…YOU"RE IT!" Hoots and hollers of gleeful mirth filled the air! Once his tire was full, Steve took off again, eventually reaching the pair of ladies again. As they moved to the side to let him pass, Steve told them, "If anyone ever suggests tubeless tires to you, Just Say No!" I shared the laughter over the walkie-talkie and after a few minutes I caught up to them as well. They'd been keeping an eye on where I was and slid to the side so I could pass. As I did, I couldn't help crooning, "I have arrived to return the favor…"TAG! YOU'RE IT!" The air filled with a fit of giggles from all of us and I pulled ahead. We didn't see them again but won't forget this fun-loving pair. Happily (and with a bit of sarcasm) Steve only had to do that three (yes, THREE) more times before we finally chugged our way up the last few hills into L.L. Stub Stewart and pulled to a stop at our RV. Can you spell T-I-R-E-D?! That would be us! Steve was totally done for, the poor guy. Not only had he dealt with a back tire that went flat every 15 minutes, he was also carrying about 10 extra pounds of groceries in his backpack and at least 40 pounds from the heavy old ice cooler box, the heavy wood plank platform and the groceries which included a half-gallon of creamer and bunches of other stuff. Ridiculous, and yet he did it! My hero! :) Needless to say, we didn't do much more other than take showers, drink our afternoon espressos, eat dinner and relax until 9 sharp when we watched our show with Pumpkin and then fell into bed face-first. It had been a wonderful day. We were so proud that we rose to the challenge to get groceries. We also got to complete the 22-mile Banks to Vernonia Rails-to-Trails ride. With a day between rides we rode 44 miles in total with 500-feet elevation gain both days. That may not seem like much but trust me, the combination of distance and elevation was quite the accomplishment! We will always remember this adventure, hooray! Pictures I'm including today are a pair of droplet-covered daisies after a late-night shower with insets of Foxgloves in purple and white! I also have a picture of Steve on his bike (with a flat back tire) and the attached ice chest!) And finally, the lady who drove the tow truck kindly sent us the picture she took of the unbelievable sight which she drove so competently! THANK YOU LAURA! Thinking of you, Pam, and you too, Marie-Claire!! ALL MY BEST! Explored on 6/25/19; highest placement, #7.

(+1 inset) Holy cow, what an adventure we are having! Steve and I are now at a lovely state park called L.L. Stub Stewart and will be here until at least Wednesday we think. We were supposed to be in Tillamook today but an enormous wrench was thrown into the works… Our truck's transmission decided it no longer had the will to live and left us on a long and winding gravel road as we were heading out from L.L. Stub Stewart towards the coastal community of Tillamook, Oregon. Long story short, all is well and we are happy and safe with a wonderful site arranged for as long as we need it! I'm sharing a view from the rim of the 600-foot canyon of The Cove Palisades which looks down into the beautiful Lake Billy Chinook . We went on a hike from our campsite up to the top and around a loop trail which took us many enjoyable--though very hot--hours to complete. Incredible, breathtaking views the whole way, with countless flowers and interesting plants and trees to appreciate. I'm also including an inset…WE CAUGHT FISHIES!!! Hooray!!! After some bumpy failures on previous days, Steve caught his first fish one morning while fishing from the shore of Lake Billy Chinook. We learned that a small and adorably cute fishing boat was only $70 for 4 hours! The next day we got up early and soon found ourselves in a spot that was well-known to be a prime fishing spot. It WAS! Steve caught 2 7" Small-mouth Bass, a 12" California Squawfish (invasive junk fish which eats trout and salmon eggs and fry) and a gorgeous 16" Rainbow Trout! I caught a small but lovely silvery shimmering 8" land-locked salmon called a Kokanee! Both of us were beside ourselves with excitement and pride. We'd actually caught our DINNER which would give us two night's meals, hooray! I would love to spend more time chatting but I'm out of time! We will be hopping on our bikes after brunch and heading down the "rails to trails" path that leads between the town of Banks past L.L. Stub Stewart all the way out to Vernonia. It's a 22-mile paved path in total length and today we'll be doing the length between L.L. Stub Stewart and Vernonia. Two days ago we went to Banks and back and it thoroughly kicked our er…behinds with its slow but steady climb from Banks back to our campground. Today's ride will be a lot less strenuous. A good thing as we need groceries today and will be loaded down with full backpacks on the way back! Much love to you, Pam, to you, Marie-Claire, and to all of you who have visited in the past days! Explored on 6/23/19; highest placement, #1.

Hi everyone!! Steve and I are finally back in the world that actually contains an internet connection! We don't know how long it will last but I'm posting this picture while I can. Our last stop was 6 days/5 nights at a wonderful state park called The Cove Palisades, located in north-central Oregon on beautiful Lake Billy Chinook. We'd never visited terrain described as "high desert" before, and were unprepared for the incredible beauty of this place. The canyon walls reminded us of places we'd seen in Arizona, Utah or New Mexico. Incredible. We are now at our next stop, close to the north-western edge of Oregon. The park is L.L. Stub Stewart park, and sits in lovely forest and grassy meadows. We arrived late yesterday so wre're still settling in for this 4-day stay. I'll try to update as I can! Explored on 6/19/19; highest placement, #1.

(+1 inset!) Please note: I no longer have internet, will check in when I can So I am going to try to get my posts up first thing in the morning now because my usual way of doing things isn't working out. Basically, I am pushing my post time later and later because we do things that keep me away from my computer until the latest I can manage. Then I'm so tired that it can be frustrating if there are any issues at all. Last night Steve and I got back from an incredible 2-hour bike ride along the Deschutes River and it was 8pm. Then there was dinner and that made it 9pm. And then we were dead exhausted from the long day and long ride and just to add a wrench in the works, the internet disappeared on us completely. There would be no posting. How annoying that was. But also a lesson learned. So, I'll be posting this early today. I began by posting yesterday's picture--which is a "technical fail" as a "365" post but who cares, right? I'm posting two pictures of the chipmunks I successfully photographed yesterday! The main one makes me laugh because he's standing up so high on his hind legs! The inset shows one of the chipmunks licking the grease off the griddle we had sitting on the picnic table. SO CUTE! Sorry Pam, no time to chat! *BIG HUGS* :)

(NOTE: as a "365" this picture was uploaded too late to count. We lost all of our internet last night and couldn't post until this morning. Thus, today I will be posting two pictures!) This morning I'm trying a new experiment! Remember the picnic table in my last post? That's where I'm sitting right now! And why not? I have a laptop, the table is in the shade, and it's much more interesting to be outside than in, right? Being immersed in this pretty place instead of inside my fluffy nest is a total win, I'm discovering! (If you don't know, I sleep in the lower bunkbed of our RV…it's a lovely little nest for me; Steve sleeps in the bed up front because he snores and this arrangement is perfect for us!) It's sunny with a bright blue sky and all around me are dappled shadows of the tree trunks and pine clusters on the silty dirt around me. It's still chilly but I prepared myself by wearing a sweater and a hat and I'm perfectly comfortable as I take in the scene around me. Once again the smell of warming pine forest is nearly intoxicating. To me, this smell is synonymous with summer fun because I've only smelled it in campgrounds, on hikes, or up at my parent's summer cabin which is nestled in the middle of a redwood forest. There's no way to feel anything other than bubbly and happy with such associations! Beyond this strip of forest in front of me is one of the well-appointed camp bathrooms. It's really nice and has a set of large bathrooms and showers for each gender including a set for both/neutral. I've been watching people come and go and can't help feeling lucky that our RV has its own bathroom and shower. The smells of bacon, eggs, sausage and toast are drifting around now and I can hear bits of conversation from folks getting ready for the day, whether that means more adventures here or else preparing for the 11am checkout perhaps homeward bound. I've seen one robin but it flew off before I could get its picture. The trees are brimming with twittering birds of seemingly countless variety, though I've only seen the robin. It's so nice to hear the wildlife though. Ok, I gotta be honest here. I'm on the lookout for CHIPPERS. Thinking about sitting at the picnic table immediately had me hoping I might see another darling chipmunk and get its picture. I saw one flash by and disappear back into the bushes soon after I sat down but it didn't come back. SCORE!! Just now I was the victim of a CHIPPER AMBUSH!! Out of the blue a little guy came zooming up to me and then around the table, here and there, up ON the table and then AWAY! All in the course of a minute! I had my camera ready…I thought. Heh. You'll see my useable attempts including the blurry shot. LOL, cute little devil. I'll keep trying for better pictures. Cross your fingers for me! :) Steve just poked his head out. "We have no power." Oh no… ------------ Steve has been to the camp host and back again to find out what's going on. No power for the entire park which also means no water. No answers either. I guess the power must have gone out soon after I went out to write my post. I'm back I'm back in my nest now as it was too bright to be on my laptop anymore. Unlike me, Steve can't have his shower like I did, nor can he have anything other than a cold breakfast. Our morning energy-juice, aka espresso, isn't possible without power either so we're a bit stuck until things are restored. Hmm, thinking about the activity outside, I now understand why there was such a steady stream to the bathrooms! It seemed a bit odd because most RVs have bathrooms and most of the people camping around here are in RVs. Suffice to say I was a bit confused. -------------- It's 11am and power's been restored, hooray! While we waited, I went on a bike ride around the "South" and "Middle" loops of the campground which was great fun! I ended up going on four laps because it was such a nice way to get some morning exercise and wake up my body. I also enjoyed watching folks walk around and start their day. People were walking their dogs, taking a stroll, and I could see them having breakfasts of all sorts at their picnic tables. It was fun to see. We had some serious concerns in regards to the power situation. It gets very warm here and that means our RV gets hot, and we must have the AC to make sure it stays cool enough for Pumpkin. Without the ability to regulate the temperature, we can't leave her in the trailer unattended. Likewise, if it's too hot outside, our options are further limited to the running cab of our truck, which would then be the only AC available. ------------ We went on an amazing bike ride this evening, the picture I'm sharing is one of the lovely views! Can't write anymore! :D *HUGS PAM*!

(+3 insets!) (Sorry, this is probably my longest War & Peace novel yet! Scroll to the bottom for photo info or get some coffee, kick back and have yourself a read if you like!) :) Oh, the SMELL of PINE FOREST when sunshine is just starting to warm up the pine needles….MMMMMMMMMM!!! There is simply nothing like that amazing fragrance and that's what hit me in the face as I opened the door of our RV to take a sneaky peek outside. I spotted movement on the ground off to my right and--OH!! A CHIPPER!!! *SQUEEE*!!!--there was a tiny chipmunk poised on a rock about 10 feet from our doorway. "Awwww," I cooed, how adorable it was! I tucked back into the RV and grabbed my Sony, but when I opened the door again the bitty chipper scooted off at Tasmanian Devil speed, disappearing into the bushes. However, I did get to see its dark tail flicking and its little feeties kicking up the silty dust as it zoomed away…"Ohhhhh, so cute!!!" I purred happily as I stepped outside and took a deep breath of the lovely, scented air. "Mmmmmmmm…." I repeated, "It smells soooooOOOooooo good out here!" I took a pair of pictures where I stood to capture my first impressions, noticing too that it was chilly but not too cold…how nice! My photos showed both the picnic table with conifer forest beyond and also an upwards capture of the lovely trees that stretched up to the beautiful blue sky. I peered around, hoping to see my wee buddy but there was no sign of it, so after enjoying more forest fresh air, I reentered the RV and got my day started…hooray!! Our RV trip has truly begun! :) I'd already enjoyed a snuggle with Steve and a shower supervised by Pumpkin. She was sitting in her clear travel cage now as she ate her breakfast and watched me move around the RV. We twittered and whistled back and forth as I set up her day cage with fresh vitamin-enriched water and made my Americano-style espresso. Steve was cuddled in his fluffy bed, still exhausted from the drive and days of preparation for this trip. He didn't usually get up as early as me so as I climbed back into my "Nest" with my computer, he drifted back into a blissful snooze. "Good," I thought to myself, he needs the sleep and it's only 8am. I spent an hour working on pictures and enjoying the sounds of the campground coming to life around our trailer. It was a great place. Quiet even though it was full. I'd always judged my perception of campgrounds on a few experiences which were accented by yelling kids and guffawing adults, campfire smoke and mosquitoes. The reality that we have experienced thus-far has been the opposite and we couldn't be happier. I gently woke Steve a bit after 9am and he smiled sleepily up at me, yawning and stretching. We shared our "good mornings" and soon Steve and Pumpkin were singing in the shower and having a merry time listening to music. Steve's now eating his hemp-heart porridge for breakfast along with his iced espresso and cream. He enjoys cruising the photo/info/fun website, "Imgur.com" while he eats and is really pleased that our mobile reception is so good Before sitting down, he heated up an egg-sausage quiche muffin for me (he'll be having one too!)and I'm about as satisfied as can be. Pumpkin (our supervisor) approves of all of these proceedings and is content and totally happy as she sits in her clear cage right next to Steve. All of us really love being on our adventures and Pumpkin adores the non-stop attention she gets during the day. Even when we are away, she has a view of the Great Outdoors in a new place, something she never tires of. Life is Good. :) Yesterday we were so pleased with ourselves because this trip's preparations have been the smoothest yet, even though this trip will also be a full week longer than our last trip. We have our roles down to a pretty exact science and it was nearly effortless to get everything ready and packed. And then, about an hour from home, Steve yelled, "Oh no…I forgot the thumb drive!" I cringed inwardly. Oh no…not the thumb drive. All of our movies. Our shows. At home. We both stared at the three weeks before us, now seemingly devoid of shows to watch in our hourly nightly ritual. Since Pumpkin was a 6-month-old chick, we've spent this precious hour to allow her to bond with us, clean her feathers and settle down for the night before being tucked into her little tent which hangs from the top of her cage. No, we didn't NEED the shows. We could read books but it would be a huge departure from our normal situation. Well, I can guarantee that we'll NEVER forget the thumb drive again, lol. The silly thing is that I had it on our "DON'T FORGET" list but since it's something Steve handles, it slipped my mind to vocally remind him. Oh well…we were annoyed but soon arrived at, "Who cares…it doesn't matter." My but aren't we turning into mature adults these days?! :D (In the past we would have been very upset to the point of the day being basically ruined. How silly! :D) When we got to our campsite, Steve discovered that his phone was getting really fast speeds and we would be able to easily stream shows from Amazon. YAY! So last night we watched a show from Amazon called Bosch, based on the Michael Connelly books which feature the very popular detective, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. Steve and I have both read and enjoyed this series of books in audio form and figured the show would be fun to watch. It was! And now we have a new series to enjoy, yay! :) We're not sure how the show-watching situation will go throughout our trip but whatever happens, it will all be just fine! :) Today is set to get pretty warm but hopefully not too hot in the deep forest. We're planning on going on a bike ride and maybe a hike…maybe fishing…we're not sure what else. I'll be tuning in later to let you know what we came up with! --------------- Well, it's been a fun, interesting and frustrating day for us. To give you a clue, right now Steve is watching fishing videos and I only stopped watching with him so I can get my post up! :D Our adventures today began with a totally awesome bike ride along the Deschutes river on a well-tended dirt trail that took us along the bank for a number of miles, sometimes cutting inland a bit but always touching the river again and showing off lovely views. We stopped on many occasions to enjoy the beautiful river. At one point the trail ended and we had a choice to return the way we came or try riding back on roads which would eventually take us back to the park. Had we known the roads were all rough gravel, we would have taken the trail; instead we ended up traveling back on bone-jarring roads. We were finally dumped onto the main road back to our campground and made good time on the asphalt highway. Live and learn! But the first half of our ride was fabulous and we'll likely do that again before we go--we'll make sure to take the correct trail back to camp! After lunch we organized our fishing gear and headed out to the bank of the Deschutes River--literally a two-minute walk from our trailer! This swift-moving river is so pretty and full of potential yummy FISHIES! Could we actually catch a fish today??? Noop. No, nada, not a chance! We did get two casts each though…just before we lost out lovely, shiny lures in hidden snags. BOO! Most of our time was spent trying to get our lines set up to begin with. It's funny because even though I've done a lot of fishing as a kid, it's been 40 YEARS and I essentially remember nothing. We prepared by reading informative website pages and watching intro YouTube videos that explained what we should do but as it turned out, we didn't watch the right ones. "Frustrating" was definitely the word of the day for us. After losing our lures we decided to go back to our RV, have some dinner and then watch videos on everything we were confused about. That was the right answer. After just a few topics we both feel so much better prepared. Just now Steve announced that he knows what he'll be doing for his next attempt and is redoing his line in preparation for tomorrow's attempt! Once I'm done here he's going to show me what he did and explain the setup while we get mine set up. Yay! Well, today's score is FISHIES: 1 and BRIENS: 0. Maybe we can reverse the lead tomorrow and have FISHIES for dinner! :) Today's main picture is the view of the pretty trees stretching up to the sky that I took this morning. I have three insets too…one of them is the other view I got as I stepped outside: the picnic table and view beyond. I've got a picture of our truck and rig at our campsite and finally, a portrait of Steve! :) Last evening when I was getting my macros, Steve was barbequing our steaks and he looked so cute that I told him to "Say Cheese!" and he did! This particular picture turned out so well that Steve was thrilled--he almost never likes his pictures but this one is super! :) Pam, I forgot to mention how much fun it was reading about your fishing history! Funny how the years just drift by from the time we were avid fisher-folk! Well, Steve and I are going to keep trying to figure it out until we snatch some NOMMY FISHIES for our dinners! :) At this point it has been anything but a positive experience but tomorrow is another day and we'll try other methods until we find one that works! :) We're thinking about you…CHANNEL YOUR FISHIE-CATCHING LUCK please!! *BIG HUGS*

Today's the day! *bounces up and down in excitement* We're going RV camping again!! This will be our longest trip yet, a full 21 days of adventures! We'll be checking out a few of Oregon's central state parks this time around with locations on both rivers and lakes, in forest and high-desert settings. Our starting point will be in an area we're familiar with, though we haven't been at the exact location before. LaPine State Park is near both Sunriver and Bend, Oregon, nestled in deep forest and hugging the popular Deschutes River. We stayed at Sunriver for my birthday last September and had a fantastic time mountain bike riding and hiking while we were there. Criss-crossed with nearly countless multi-experience bike and hike trails, it would take many weeks to traverse them all (During winter the whole area is packed with ski-bunnies!). The LaPine/Sunriver/Bend area was the first place we thought of for our next trip, though it turned out that we couldn't stay as long as we'd hoped. Due to extreme popularity and proximity to the flourishing town of Bend, we had to be satisfied with only 3 nights here for this trip (with a single night's stop off at the end of our trip). In the future we'll make reservations well in advance so we can stay for a week next time! We're really happy that we get to spend several days here though, and can't wait to explore this area again! Since we won't be leaving until about 1pm today (check-in is at 4pm and it only takes a couple of hours to get to LaPine), I'm preparing as much of my post early because I have some time now.I'm betting that it will be very late when I post tonight so I'm taking advantage of this opportunity now. Another change for this trip is that we've got a friend of ours staying at our place while we're gone since it will be three weeks away and we'd like to make sure our frogs and snake are cared for. It will be a win-win because he'll get the chance to hang out at our rural home with access to great cycling (a favorite activity of his) and we'll have peace of mind! ------------- We're here!! And oh my goodness It's absolutely gorgeous in this pine fores!t Our site is marvelous and spacious too. We pulled into LaPine State Campground at about 4pm and got settled by around 6 or so. Dinner was melt-in-your-mouth ribeye steaks with our nommy faux-tato salad...soooo yummy!! Lots of birds all over the place and there are CHIPPERS here! An adorable chipmunk ran over to our site and Steve tossed a bbq-pork rind at him...a second later the little guy was racing away with his prize--SO CUTE! I hope I'll get pictures while we're here! I'm too rushed to write much more today except to say that we're delighted by this wonderful campground and can't wait to go for a bike ride tomorrow and check this stunning park out! I had enough time to step outside our RV and take some macros. This cluster of dead pine leaves caught my eye and turned out looking a little bit like a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree…or maybe a brown Tribble? :D No other pictures tonight, I'm out of time! Pam, I hope all is well with you, wish you were here! :) *BIG HUGS* Explored on 6/10/19; highest placement, #3.

(+1 inset!) Oh my, it's been another crazy day…it's just amazing how the hours just disappear. I got up at 6:45am this morning and I am just now sitting down to relax for a couple of minutes before dinner and more running around. Today I did a lot of cooking and meal preparation for our upcoming trip. I simply don't know how the hours drain away but after all is said and done, we now have 15 breakfast egg, onion, cheese and sausage muffins, a couple of quarts of faux-tato salad (made with cauliflower...it's 10x better than potato!), and a bunch of other things are sorted out and ready to go. Whew! The best part is having Steve try each of my creations and then wanting to eat them all! :) I'm bummed that I haven't had time to visit contacts on ipernity or leave comments. It's frustrating but time is so short that I don't even have time to work on my pictures. A shame. I haven't been able to process very many images from our past trip but what are you going to do when life is throwing a million tasks at you? I do apologize for not visiting—I feel guilty when so many have stopped by to say hi and I've not been able to reciprocate. I'm not sure what I can do about this problem...I can barely comment when we're away on our trips and when I get home I'm swamped with a million things to do. I would love some advice from you busy folks who manage to fit commenting into your day! This is also Saturday, and that means Saturday Self Challenge! When I read what the topic was a few days ago, I wasn't sure that I'd be able to get out for pictures of a subject for "Statues and Monuments". However, as luck would have it, Steve and I went out a couple of days ago and there was enough time for a picture of a particular statue I loved. In downtown Medford we have the Ginger Rogers theater—she lived here for all of her later life! Outside the theater is a square called Vogel Plaza. It's nothing special, though it's been used for protests and demonstrations through the years. The one thing that does make it special in my eyes is the awesome sculpture located on the far side of the square from the theater. There sits a bronze gentleman who is pondering his next chess move. Opposite to him is an empty bronze chair which tempts anyone nearby to sit in it! The artwork is fabulous with awesome details, an obvious understanding of proper anatomy and of course, a brilliant idea and execution. I asked Steve to pose for me so I could have a fun picture to share—I couldn't be happier with the wonderful mirror image he created for me! I also have an inset today...it's ME sitting in the empty bronze chair back in 2013! What fun! :) Pam, do you like to play chess? I love it but chess is a game which takes such a long time to play. I participated in online matches for a while but eventually I grew weary...I just don't have the time to contemplate all of the moves and look forward to the following possibilities, etc. It is a great intellectual pastime though! And my father—with his math-bent genius IQ—taught me as a kid and heh...beat me all the way up until he passed away at age 87. What a mind. Playing chess with my father made me feel like I was a cornered mouse being toyed with by a cat who likes to play with its food! LOLOL...well, I think it was nice that the smarts I got from my parents is all of the creative sort! Hope your day was a good one my dear! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 6/9/19; highest placement, #1.

(+1 inset!) (please view large for the best impression!) :D What a day! Finally I have a moment to sit down and it's after 8pm! Sheesh! So much to write though, so let me get this new novel written! :D The excitement of today began last night, actually. Every evening we watch an hour of a movie or an episode brought to us via Netflix. Night before last we'd finished watching the first season of what turned out to be a fantastic sci-fi show called "The Expanse." We'd need to start something new except...I had a plan. We're leaving on our next RV adventure in a few days and I'd been dropping hints about fishing but Steve apparently wasn't tuning in. Fact is, for all but the past couple of months of our relationship, Steve has been totally uninterested in fishing. He had an issue with it, but primarily with folks who catch and release because he thinks it's horribly cruel (I agree). Those who fish and actually eat the fish or catch to sell the fish are fine but because he loves fish (as divers and self-appointed ambassadors to the sea, we both love and respect marine life), the idea of catching, killing, cleaning and eating a fish was totally out of the question. I respected his feelings on the subject and didn't try to change his mind. We both feel that it's a person's right to choose not to do something they don't like. However, that being said...I love fishing! What fun it is! Throughout my teen years until I was about 16 or so, I went fishing almost every weekend up at our summer cabin. The resort community where our family's cabin resided put on a couple of fishing contests every year, and every single year I'd invariably with first or second place in several categories—Biggest Bluegill, Most Bluegill Caught, Biggest Catfish, Most Catfish Caught, and sometimes I'd get lucky and catch a winning Carp too. My brothers also fished (except my oldest brother, he couldn't care less about fishing!) and both Brian and Scott vied for the top place in the Bass and Trout categories. Once we stopped going up to the cabin, I stopped fishing and life went on. I never thought about it. When I met Steve, it was fun telling him about my fishing history and it was ok to me that he didn't like the idea. I'd had my day in the sun with angling and was content without it. But a funny thing happened. We got an RV. We began going on camping trips. And everywhere we went, we saw folks fishing and going out in boats. I didn't say anything about it...but one day out of the blue, Steve said to me, "You know, I think I might want to change my mind about fishing." We talked about our feelings regarding fish and he thought that maybe he could handle killing a fish and ultimately eating it. I was amazed because it's a big step to get to that point. In fact, even though we love eating poultry, beef and pork, we absolutely could not raise these animals, have them killed and then eat them. We are very cognizant of the origin of every bite we eat but we love these animals too much to kill and eat livestock that we actually know. It's too close. Fish are different. They are different enough that even though they do have a variable amount of intelligence, it's not a hard task to distance yourself from feeling destroyed over the thought. I have killed plenty of fish in my young days of fishing and even though it's not fun, it can be done quickly and humanely and then you have a meal to eat! Which brings me to an admission: when I fished as a teen, I never ever ate my catches! (My parents did!) At that age, the only fish I'd eat was tuna from a can, mixed with plenty of mayonnaise and made into a sandwich or casserole. We all know that canned tuna really isn't like a normal "fishy" fish, and that's the only reason I'd eat it. Other than a bit of catfish sometimes in my 30's, I wouldn't eat fish for years until I met Steve. My ex tried to get me to eat raw fish in sushi but his attempts to shame me into it weren't exactly a technique that would have a chance of working. Then I met Steve. Soon after we met he took me to his favorite sushi restaurant and had me try hamachi. To my utter disbelief, I *LOVED* it. Sushi soon became my favorite food and at the same time, Steve took me to seafood restaurants and introduced me to different kinds of fish that I almost always loved. These days we have sushi on special occasions and we will pick up a lovely steelhead trout about once a month. We adore fish and are hopeless trout junkies. Bass is lovely too but too pricey usually, as are most of our favorites. Which brings us back to camping in our RV and our next adventure. We'll be staying at several lakes for up to 5 days each and I couldn't stop thinking about fishing and what Steve had said. However, I wasn't making a big enough noise apparently. So last night, instead of watching Netflix, I suggested we watch a series of videos made by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. They explained everything you'd need to know about how to catch trout, including what to buy, how to get set up and even exact techniques. Steve loved the idea so much that we not only watched the entire series last night, we got up early this morning and went all over the place to look at fishing gear! We are now the proud owners of two new poles, really nice reels and everything we need to go trout fishing on our trip!! HOORAY!!! We are so excited! The idea of catching our yummy trout dinners has us bouncing up and down! I am so happy that Steve is excited too. We can't wait to try out this new fun activity together! :) Ok, today's photo is another view of the amazing sunset that Steve and I photographed when we were in Coo's Bay. It was the first picture I took as we arrived on the beach and I loved the way the sun was shining through the trees. I am also including an inset, which is an archive picture I posted years ago when I had my older camera. Steve and I went to Ashland, about 40 miles south of us, to photograph the splendor of autumn at Lithia Park. I found this amazing mosaic artwork as we entered the park and just loved the detail. It's a trout! How perfect to share for today! :) Pam, do you like to go fishing? It really is such fun and so exciting. I can't wait to catch and cook our own fish...what about you? Is that something you've ever tried? Anyway, my thoughts are on you right now...and I'm hoping you'd doing well today! *BIG HUGS*!!! Explored on 6/8/19; highest placement, #1.

(+2 insets!) (please view large so you can actually see me!) :D Steve and I have been so busy since we got back from our trip a week ago. We've been working around the house cleaning up, preparing for our next trip and doing errands, all of which have taken my time from processing pictures. However, the past couple of days have been a lot more relaxed so I've been able to focus on a few folders that were really important to me. Specifically, I wanted to make sure I attacked the pictures I took at Jedediah Smith State Park. This lovely place was the first stop on our Oregon Coast trip--though it's not actually on the coast itself but instead a mere five miles inland. Within Jedediah are a number of specific groves, one of them being the magnificent and popular Stout Grove. That was where we decided to enjoy Jedediah's wonderful redwood forest. Stout Grove was awesome. Although it rained before and after our visit, for some lucky reason the downpour stopped about 15 minutes after we arrived and started up again as we headed out a couple of hours later. What are the odds? I would say that they were in our favor because throughout our trip we were blessed by this happening over and over again. We dearly appreciated the amazing luck we had and made the most of our rain-free opportunities! We hiked on lovely trails covered in pine-needles, making our passage a silent one. Far above us we could hear birds twittering and sometimes we'd see one fly by and land on a branch just out of our view. We admired the incredibly lush ferns that were absolutely everywhere, as well as the flowers and other plants along the way. The smell of a redwood forest is rich and instantly recognizable and I reveled in the aroma I knew so well as a kid up at our summer cabin that was nestled in a redwood forest too! Here and there, immense toppled trees lay on the mossy floor, slowly turning into the earth below them. The forest was deeply shadowed and felt very reverent and special. Talking in low tones, we passed only a few other people, all of whom were as awe-struck as we were; they too recognized and honored this ancient forest and its rare trees. We wanted to find the most famous giant of this grove, "The Stout Tree". It was named after Frank D. Stout, a lumberman whose wife donated the tract of land which is the home of Stout Grove. This incredible behemoth is one of the tallest trees in the world at 340 feet and 16 feet in diameter. It is the tallest tree in Stout grove and when we found ourselves standing before The Stout Tree, it literally took our breath away. My picture today was actually taken by my husband, and shows me standing in front of the marvelous Stout Tree. (Since I'd just taken a picture of him in front of another tree and also some other places, he didn't care about having his photo taken and really wanted to take a picture of me in front of it!) :D How convenient that there's a fence here…since after all, today is the day I post my picture for Happy Fence Friday! :D I have also included a fence picture I took within Stout Grove, as well as a picture I took of Steve in front of another truly massive Redwood. Aren't these trees just amazing?! :) (I'll be showing lots of redwood tree pictures in coming days but I don't want to drown you in them all at once!) Pam, I can't remember if you mentioned visiting a redwood forest while you were in California…I think you might have told me you'd gotten to visit Muir Woods? What a place. It's just nutty there, so many incredible beauties to see. What I love about these trees is that they really let you know how small and insignificant you are! Also, it seems that the older the tree, the more I feel their spirits, so walking among these giants is like communing with family that I deeply respect and love. If only we knew how to communicate with them but they're just so different. Maybe someday someone will figure out how to do it. What I would pay to hear their stories. BTW, I've been really enjoying our chats and you've been on my mind so much today! *BIG, BIG HUGS TO YOU MY DEAR!* Explored on 6/7/19; highest placement, #2.