Pacific Crest Trail

Today we went to Saied Valley to try the little cafe there. I had a good breakfast and Mike had a veggie burger, both good. On the way back, Mike stopped to walk on the Pacific Crest Trail. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 2,650-mile national scenic trail that runs from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington.
Since he was on the Appalachian Trail this spring, he's been on both trails in the same year.

We saw a young couple being dropped off by parents to do the hike through Oregon. They'll have some rough terrain and beautiful scenery along the way.

It's 86 degrees today but feels cooler because of the pines. We still have a lot of smoke because of the forest fires and it'll probably continue for a while yet. We run the A/C for a little while in the late afternoon but it cools off over night.

It's so peaceful here, with the stream running in the background, hummingbirds darting about and the birds chirping I'll be hanging out in the gazebo until dinner which will be some variation on ham, since Mike smoked one yesterday that we need to work on finishing up. Definitely the low stress life!

Garden Delights

What is it about we humans that makes us want to decorate the space around us? In our little corner of the campground I've added touches to our surroundings and I don't see any hope of stopping. The first month I bought a couple of flower whirlywigs that twirl in the breeze. The little girl across the path likes them and they're a bright patch when walking back from the laundry.

Late in May Mike got some tomato plants and they're starting to get blossoms now. I've got some cilantro and sage growing with them too. A tiny little garden.

Today, the 4th of July, I bought a carved wooden twirly bird because it reminded me of the wooden lawn ornaments that my maternal grandpa made. A good way to celebrate.

I hope you all have delights to share and remind you of someone you love.

Natural Wonders

This week we went to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. It's about 70 miles north of Medford where we stayed the night before heading to the lake the next morning. On the way, we stopped at Mill Creek falls, a beautiful waterfall on the Rogue River about halfway to the lake. That's Mike standing on the cliff across from the falls.
Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. at 1943 feet. It has no tributaries - it's fed from snowfall, 533 inches average per year. One section of the loop road was still closed because of snow. Mike parked next to the snow bank so I could get a picture of the car in snow!
The lake is a very deep blue, though because of the fires in Northern California the past week, there was a haze in the early part of the day. It took us about 2 hours to drive around the open part of the loop road and stop at the overlooks. It is a very peaceful, serene place where I would like to come back to again. We are so lucky to be able to explore the country and see this beauty.