The Deschutes

Just some Pics I took on our trip to the Deschutes. We went over for a long weekend while my mom stayed behind with Gabe and Sage. This area is habitat to rattle snakes, so we decided it would be a good opportunity to go without taking the dog and the kid. We were joined by a friend of ours from Portland. We did quite a bit of fishing, but did not manage to catch anything except for a couple of small trout. It was my first time away from Gabe for more then one night, and although I thought about him alot, I did enjoy having time to myself to fish, read, and just be lazy.

Pendleton Vacation 2011

Once again, it was finally time to pack up and head east to Pendleton for a week of outdoor exploring and family fun at the Pendleton Round-Up. Yee-haw!! Last year Gabe was a little too young to really get excited about all the animals and stuff, but this time he really enjoyed, and even participated, in some of the activities.

The Pony Rides (he Loved it!)

Visiting the "Indian Village"

The real stars of the Rodeo.

The PBR Bulls. Oh, they don't look so mean.

Dan and I left Gabe with Grandma and Great Grandma/Grandpa to head off to the mountains for a few days.

The Lostine River

We camped on the Willowa River

And did some Grouse Hunting.

As with most vacations, this one was not without incident. We had a water hose break in the camper and flood 6 gallons of water (fresh...thank god!) into the floor of our camper. Luckily, it is under warranty so we were able to get it fixed right away and get everything dried out before any damage could occur. Oh well, we had a good time anyway and are already looking forward to next year!

Davis Lake

Finally, the weekend came around and it was time to take another family camping trip. We headed out Friday morning towards the Oregon Cascades. Our original destination was somewhat overcrowded with people, not to mention mosquitoes, so we ended up at an old favorite...Davis Lake. It was already Friday afternoon when we finally pulled into the campground , so the sites were sort of picked thru already. We chose a site that was somewhat secluded, which was good, but didn't have much shade, which was not so good. It was HOT! (I mean like in the 90's) So, we spent most of our time at the creek that flows into the lake.

Gabe loved wading around once he got used to the water, which is snowmelt. I think he endured the cold because it was so hot outside.

There is a cool little path that follows the creek on it's journey to the lake. Summer has come so late to these high mountain lakes this year, there are still wildflowers blooming all around.

Waiting at the boat launch for Dada to return. The fishing was real tough this year, but the fish were BIG. I guess that made it worth it.

As you can see from some of the photos, there was a very big fire about 8 years ago started by someone leaving their campfire unattended in the campground. We used to come up here before the fire and camp and fish. It was a nationally recognized blue ribbon trout (fly fishing only) lake. Shortly after the fire, someone dumped bass into the lake and they have been competing with the trout ever since. The forest is just now starting to regrow, but it will be my son's lifetime before it starts to resemble what it once was. It is still a beautiful place, in my eyes.

Grandma and Aunt and Cousins.....OH MY!

Dan's Mom, his sister Kristi, and her kids Ashley and Terry came from eastern Oregon to stay with us for a whole week. We had a great time. The kids really enjoyed jumping on the trampoline and even the adults got in on the fun!

Gabe "jumping" with Aunt Kris

Roasting marshmallows for Smores. We did this a couple nights during their visit. We could roast a pretty mean marshmallow by the end.

We took the whole bunch to Alsea Falls for a day of exploring.

Furn Ridge Reservoir

We all took turns going for a spin in the boat with Dan. The lake isn't much for fishing, but it has lots of native birds nesting along its shores and happens to be close to our house so it is a good place for us to try out the boat motor each year before we take it to the Cascades.

Gabe got a Train Set from his Grandma for his Birthday. He is absolutely obsessed with it! We have relocated it to the coffee table so he can have all his new cars up on the tracks too. He calls the train "KeeKee" ( I guess that is what we sound like when we make train sounds.)

Dan's Grandparents sent Gabe a "real" John Deer wheel barrow for his Birthday! He loves filling it with toys and pushig it around the yard. As I have said before, it is all great practice to get him ready for the teenage years. There is always work to be done on the property :)

Nana & Grampa Visit

My folks came for a visit in July and took Gabe to all of his favorite places (and spoiled him just a little bit too.)

At the Pizza Place
At Gathering Together Farm

At Safeway (believe it or not, this makes the list of "favorite places" because of the ride in cars on the front of the grocery carts)

Putting together Gabe's new Motorcycle
My little Biker! (Tattoo pending :)

We had a great time with Nana and Grampa! At least once a day Gabe says "Nana,Umpa...Carby?" And I say "yes, they did go carby, but they will be back soon."