Sunday, October 29, 2017

On Top of the World- Basking in the Fall Mt. View

It was a beautiful SUNNY October day. Oreo dog and I set out for the Mirror Lake trailhead on a Monday without the crowds with our friend Sarah who I have missed hiking with. I have been under an amazing amount of work stress so hiking with or without children has been a huge priority.
With Oreo dog pulling me up the hill we made it to Mirror Lake in record time.
We wandered around Mirror Lake. The reflection of snow covered Mt. Hood was lovely.
We continued up toward the top of Tom Dick and Harry Mountain stopping to enjoy the fall color.
When we got to the top we enjoyed the amazing view of Mt. Hood!
The panoramic mountain view was fantastic- Mt. Adams in the distance.
Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier could also be seen in the distance.
We savored in the view from the top and worked on cooking some lunch and making coffee.
Oreo dog tried to steal the lunch and drink the coffee as well as wanting to chase a chipmunk off the cliff. I held tightly to her leash.
Sarah enjoyed the view while Oreo dog could not figure out why we had stopped!
Mt. Jefferson?
Enjoying being so close to Mt. Hood.
Oreo dog and I hanging out at the mountain viewpoint.
Mt. St. Helens looking lovely in the distance.
We headed back down and enjoyed the fall colors reflecting on the lake.
What a wonderful fall day to let go of stress, catch up on future hopes, and bask in the mountain views.
We gave the lake one last look and headed down toward the car.
Oreo dog led the way. I gave her a B for hiking today because she is pulling hard after all the little animals but having a dog pull you up a mountain is not always a bad thing!

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Dog and Kid Wet Romp

 Mom: We headed out with friends to Thousand Acres Dog Park on the Sandy River Delta. We were a little nervous about Oreo because we were not sure if she would come back since this is not a fenced dog park and she is so fast. She had two chances to run near a huge mud puddle and here at the Sandy River.
 Amy:The sandy river was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Analise: I liked the river and getting super wet! 😇😂👺💗💂👰👻👽💦💥👅
 Analise: I liked playing with Oreo in the water and climbing the tree! 🐕🍦🍝🍐🍇🍉🍰🐚🐈🐆🍧🐶🐬🍱🐏🐓🐔🐦🍭🍚🍛🍦🍗🍟🍡🍩
 Mom: Our friends youngest daughter has the same name as my youngest- Annalise.
 Amy: I fell twice.
 Analise: I liked hiking with friends Michael and the other Annalise! 🎅🎄🎐🎏🎸🎹🎺🎰🎓🂴♦🀢🀡🀨🂧🃊🃂🂭🂢🂧🃎🂬🃊🃘🂸🃂🃂🃂🏆🎽
 Analise: Me making a silly face! 🕘🔮🔑💎👟💐💮💉👜📺🔍📶📹📢📣📑📑
 Analise: My friend Michael and I were testing who was taller. Michael is a little taller. 👰👧💢😉💖💅😏😏💭😑😑😚😈👳👈👧👶👧💟💆💘💙💙💝💝
 Amy: Oreo was so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Analise: Oreo got to play off leash and I got to dance with her in mud puddles!⛖🏰🏰🚩🚢🚘🚏🏬🏡🏯🚀🏦🏦🚖🚕🚃🚃🚏🚗🗻🚙🚄⛨⛩⛩⛩🚂🛅🛅🛅🚳🚳🚗🚙🚚🚔
 Amy: There was a big puddle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Analise: I splashed in the big puddle while Oreo played chase. I was playing Capture the Flag🌐🌌♊🌍🌞🌟🔥🌕⛎♏♒🌚🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌊★🌙🌠
 Analise: I loved watching Moana in my friends van and was playing Moana while puddle splashing! 🅩🅰🅱🅲🅳🅴🅵🅶🅷🅸🅹🅺🅙🅚🅛🈠🈯🈚🅿🅿🆑🆑🅣
 Mom: Oreo was playing chase with the other dogs but didn't follow anybody home and stayed with "her pack". The kids were wading up to their waists in the puddle and river which I was not expecting in mid October but I am glad to have hearty Oregonian children!
Mom: It was a really fun and wet adventure. We headed back to dry and warm up.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

4T and a B (Train, Trail, Tram, Trolley, and Bus) Urban Adventure

 Mom: Unforseen events made us cancel our Mt. St. Helens adventure. We were grateful that the student we host at Reed, Annie, was willing to try an in town adventure. We set out for Reed College by bus. Here we are enjoying a tree at Reed. We headed back to the bus stop and then downtown where we would begin our adventure on the 4T Trail.
 Amy: First T- TRAIN. We rode the train to the zoo???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Mom: We made it the Washington Park Max stop and started the second T "Trail" for a 4.5 mile hike up to Counsel Crest and down to the OHSU Tram.
Mom: We enjoyed the fall colors along the way up to Counsel Crest.
 Mom: Up on top we soaked in the mountain views and then headed back down the other side toward OHSU.
 Amy: The trail was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Amy:  The mural was very beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Mom: We hiked up from the Marquam Shelter to the top of the OHSU tram- Third T. Here we are waiting for the tram.
 Amy: The view was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Mom: After the enjoying the tram ride down we hopped on the fourth T- trolley aka streetcar and headed back downtown.
 Amy: Before we went to Kitt's [our housemate that now lives downtown] house, we went to the Chinese garden!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Mom: The Chinese Garden was so peaceful! I really enjoyed the pond. It was so great that we ran into our friend Kitt and were able to enjoy it with her. She and Annie both gave us some information about the deeper meaning of things in the garden.
 Amy:  It was beautiful too.
 Mom: This seems like a good place for an introvert to sit and reflect. I love this little "secret" alcove.
 Amy: I agree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Mom: I love seeing the reflection of the Pagoda in the water.
 Amy: The lily pads were pretty.
 Mom: The fish seemed interested in us. We enjoyed watching them swim through this beautiful place. Some were really big and they were in lots of different colors.
 Amy: Our adventure was fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 Mom: One of the things I read from the garden guide talks about the "Three Friends of Winter that remind us to persevere. The plum braves the cold of winter to blossom; the pine stays green throughout the cold season; and the bamboo bends in storms, but does not break." This message seemed timely.
Mom: Kitt invited us up to her apartment roof. This is her wonderful view of the city. What a fun day exploring our city! We took the bus back to Reed and back home.