Hah! Turns out I'm not very good at continuing in the theme of catching up. And somehow, the last year just, well, disappeared. Not that I haven't been doing *stuff*, I just haven't somehow gotten back to cataloguing it. Looks like a year behind a desk/computer will do that to me.
2017 'twas good. Yeah, I'm old (yay 40!) but life is good. I have a kick-ass job (learning tons, fantastic coworkers), have caught up with some old friends, acquired some new hobbies, love my adorable husband, and have plenty on the agenda still to do. Just...haven't been sitting down much. But I love keeping family and friends up to date, so here goes nothing. {GRIN}
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| Andy, trying his hand at fly fishing (Wilson River) |
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| Because...this guy |
JANUARY
We had a hellishly cold and wet winter last year (so far, this year is MUCH MUCH better. Hal-leh-lu-yah). In retrospect though, it makes me sad as I love hiking the gorge in the snow and rain and wind. (This year, most trails on the Oregon side are closed, thanks to the horrifying
Eagle Creek fire....)
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| Dry Creek falls, one of my favorites for cold weather wanderings. Impossible, yet, to know if it still exists |
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| frozen hairs |
FEBRUARY
Splitting time between deserts and the coast and waterfalls, hunting up decent weather days between the deluge, looking for sun...
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| Sunny northern coast and shipwrecks |
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| Deschutes River Trail...can you find the wandering collie? |
MARCH
Lots of local wanderings, rediscovering places close by. More rain. Mud. Dogs. Dory continues to ever-so-slowly settle in.
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| winter shores of the Columbia River and Sandy River delta |
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| Mud. So much mud. |
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| She's a cutie but a weirdo |
APRIL
Finding new places (for us, at least) on the coast. And one of my last hikes on the Oregon side of the gorge, my beloved
Wahkeena/Devils/Angels Rest loop, likely destroyed now.
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| Evening light, Drift Creek Falls |
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| Drift Creek falls |
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| I love the slumbering forests of the gorge (Wahkeena trail) |
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| trillium blooms |
MAY
An early heat wave starts and the pug craps out on a hike.
JUNE
My mom visits for her 70th birthday. <3. Wineries, the gorge, long drives, Helens.
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| Helens, Johnston Ridge. My mom couldn't get enough |
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| Loowit trail. Negotiating snow boulders isn't always fun |
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| puppy snowcones |
JULY
Even the mountains are hot. Lupine like I have never seen. Introducing a good friend to the joys of huckleberries.
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| LUPINE. Tilly Jane trail |
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| Elk Cove |
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| Fireweed galore. Recovery in old burn zones |
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| dropping into a summertime Heather Canyon |
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| J.B. is the best-est |
AUGUST
One word. ECLIPSE.
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| The coast wasn't insane like Central Oregon....still entertaining on the 101 though |
SEPTEMBER
I love my husband. September is always a good month. Twenty-freaking-years.
OCTOBER
Two words: NORTH CASCADES. (Finally....OMGOMGOMG). Hunting larch.
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| Heather-Maple Pass loop |
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| Glorious larch at a freezing 6800' |
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| brrrrrrrr |
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| (Saw my first bear on trail here!) |
NOVEMBER
Sleepy, shorter days, racing sunlight. The world is starting to wind down.
DECEMBER
Ice storms (again) and a perfect, solstice hike.
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| Trail buddies |
Now...to play catch up on everything else....
