couldn't be me

OK, so the picture on the last blog couldn't be me - I'm not that skinny!!

Back from Florida and trying to adjust to the 3 hour time difference. I want dinner about 3 pm and bed about 6! It always takes me a few days.

Mom is doing a little better, she seemed more interested in life and she is starting to eat more and almost enjoy it. I am so grateful for this.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

in the Hurricane!

That's not me, but it could be, I am in south Florida visiting my parents, the hurricane came through here last night, wow, it was pretty exciting!! I spent most of the morning bucketing water out of the pool as it threatened to overflow into the patio and house! My parent's house backs on the golf course and a small pond that is now a huge lake!!

We were lucky that was the worst of it.

It was very disappointing to find that the wireless connection I use to get in my parent's garage is no longer working, the neighbors are gone for the summer and canceled their service, how selfish of them! So it has been hard to find a connection. I am at Panera's bakery where they have free wireless, much more comfortable than the garage anyway.

My mom is doing much better, still recovering from the cancer......that terrible scourge.

Talk to you next week.

a day at the creek

We know how to beat the heat, head for Cow Creek!

Beth and Emily were here for a few days on their way home from California.

The tubes make for great fun just lazying in the river. When we felt ambitious, we walk, swim the tubes up to the small rapids and let the current swish us through.


The creek looks shallow but over our heads where Beth and Em are, though you can still see the rocky bottom it is so clear.

It is called Cow Creek for the Cow Creek band of Native Americans who lived here. The first week-end William and I lived in the house we bought in Myrtle Creek, we would not move for several months but we had just gotten the key. The first day we drove off to find Stanton Park, a place we had visited several times in the years driving from Port Townsend to California. It is what we thought an awesome spot for tubing. We were trying to drive there and took a back road so as not to go on I-5. We got lost, and ended up going past Riddle and up the Cow Creek road. We knew this was not right and we turned around. A mile or so later we saw an huge swimming hole, as the road was along a creek. We pulled in and found the best creek swimming I have ever seen. There is the huge swimming hole that is very popular and the one we first saw from the road, but there is also a place further down that has it's own parking spot and a private beach. If your car is there it is the unspoken rule that you get that beach. It is sandy and a safe entrance and you can go up a ways from there. Not up as far as the big swimming hole as that is up some rapids and a small waterfall from there. It was so amazing that we "found" is our first day getting lost trying to get to a place that was not nearly as wonderful!

Emily tried lots of ways to ride the tubes. She had a great time with them.And when your tired, they make a great pillow.

08-08-08

An auspicious date, lots of eighths,

promising a day

that's going to be GREAT!

Sycan River Adventure

Willie and I just got back from a little trip to Eastern Oregon, the Sycan River, near the Sycan Marsh, to be exact. We live west of Crater Lake on the edge of this map.

I had been doing some late night real estate research and found that there was this huge development, surrounded by the Fremont National Forest, near the Sycan River. It is unusual to have so much private land, plotted off, especially surround by national forest. This is high desert, 5,000'.

What sparked my interest was a log cabin on 10 acres with trees for sale in that development for $29,000. Wow, I started looking at that area and found that there were many lots for sale, 10 acres - $14,000, then I even saw on E-Bay, 10 acres - $6,000!! I checked it all out on Google Earth. Huge rectangle, maybe 10 miles by 2 miles, with a regular grid of roads for 10 acre parcels.I started thinking I could afford to buy some recreational land here.

Of course it depended on what it looked like, there is some bleak land in Eastern Oregon, sagebrush and huge lava rock that goes on as far as you can see....we had to check it out and since Friday was my birthday, and I got to pick where the birthday trip would be this year, I picked the Sycan River!

We headed up the back road to Crater Lake.

We did not go all the way up to look at the lake this time, we just skirted the southern end of the National Park and went on down to Fort Klamath. This is a view of the back of Crater Lake, the mountain in the background it what is left of the rim of Mount Manzama when it blew off. These columns were formed by hot gas escaping back to the surface. The little waterfall you can see in the top right is the Annie River and she cut this amazing canyon.

From our house it was 200 miles of paved road to the turn off to the property. Ah, but which turnoff? It was remote here, 75 miles north of Klamath Falls. It was gorgeous here too, large meadows rimmed by pine trees, lots of springs and wetlands. There would be green lovely grass and wildflowers and then it would abruptly turn into sagebrush and lava rocks.

Luckily, we were in one of the many possible side roads looking at our map when a woman drove up and since she could not pass us, she stopped and we started talking, she told us that half the roads on the map we had were either not passable or not there. Wow. She directed us a way that we could come out a mile or so above the property and take the road there from down.

After 3 grueling miles uphill, on sandy roads, we got to where we declared it - the end of the road. She and we, we decided had different definitions of road.

Here is a close-up of the last shot, the "street sign" is the road before the one the cabin is on. The "road" goes straight ahead. We turned the truck around, got out our bikes and headed down. Most of the trail was sand or rough rock river crossings, it was getting late and we needed to get back to the truck, and go find a camp site near the river before dark.
Heading out, though I was still very intrigued and planned to come back the next day. We found a great campsite on forest service land, just north 3 miles on the Sycan River. And just north of there is the Sycan March, 30,000 acres of wetlands owned by the Nature Conservancy.

I thought it very peaceful and beautiful. There was hardly any one up there and the views were awesome.

The next day we rode out on our bikes.

It was a great ride up an old forest service road to the "development", we came in the back way and thought we knew where we were, and realized we were too tired to get to the cabin and ride back.....unbelievable. So still could not get there.
Then found a woman who said we were actually not on the road we thought and riding away from the main road.

We met a guy walking in as we were going out who had just bought 10 acres on E-Bay, sight on seen and was now going to look for it! He had the same map we did.

The realtor, sent me a map and said there is a sign up.

We might have stayed another day if the next morning we were not awakened at 6 am to the sound of chain saws and trees falling. We were in the National Forest and some yahoos were cutting firewood illegally at dawn on a Sunday, I couldn't believe it.

On the way out, soon after the pavement started, was a for sale sign, 8 acres, $4,800. It was wonderful, large pines, green meadows, privacy, flat, views, springs, wow....Even to spend just a little time there every year, would be like a renewal, a pilgrimage, just to know that spot of wildness is there...I'll let you know.

Again, thanks to my loving husband for these great photos.

I'm thinking about going back in September.......................................... :)