My husband texted on his way home yesterday and said, "Get your suits on, we're going to Barton Park."  Barton Park is just a 25-minute drive from our house - good time to catch up with each other about the day - and it's so nice to be able to take a quick outdoor trip there at the end of the day during the week.  

Thor hung on as they went out into the river, always wanting to do whatever his dad is doing, always game to try anything.  I watched as they body-surfed a short rapid with each other, Thor's laughter bouncing off the riverbank.  Then I watched him go by himself on the next run and saw his little head bobbing down the river until he hit still water.  He could not have been more proud of himself for doing that on his own (6th picture from the top, he tells me about it).  I remember taking him there when he was little, how he would hang onto our fingers at first, then bravely take a few steps into the water.

The sun began to wane.  It's getting dark so much earlier, all of the sudden, it seems.  I noted some fallen golden leaves on the walk back to the car.  There was a certain smell to the air, like the river in summer, but with the slightest tinge of the woods in fall.  Next week Thor starts school.  A new routine will begin.  How quickly things come and go.  


Barton Park, August 2007.

cocooned

8.21.2014


I don't know what one can say about the Oregon coast that hasn't been said.  It is truly one of our happiest places.  Friday was my favorite kind of coastal day.  The wind carried our woes away.  A misty fog cocooned the trees and coastline, enveloping us in its warmth.  It felt like we were in a dream.  

weekday adventuring

8.19.2014


We took off at the end of last week for some adventuring.  The boy has been asking to go to KahNeeTa all summer.  It had been a couple of years since our last visit, and it seemed the perfect day to go.  The sun came out intermittently and warmed us to the bone.  The temperature was absolutely perfect.  Thor is finally tall enough to go on the big water slide and pretty much just did that over and over the entire time.  We went up to the lodge to sit by the fire as the sky darkened, and we witnessed the most beautiful and melodic downpour, watching the subdued desert colors deepen.

Heading north, we drove to one of my husband's favorite places ~ the Deschutes at Maupin.  He worked for a rafting company there as a teenager and has done countless trips down the river as a kid with his dad and as an adult with his friends.  He really wanted to show us this place that means so much to him, and I think we all agreed a family raft through this stunning landscape is going to happen. 
by mlekoshi