Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Diamond and Crater Lake

This past weekend we decided to head on down to Diamond Lake and Crater lake in southern Oregon. We both took Friday off so we could have more time to explore.

We ended up finding a nice spot to camp near Diamond Lake. The main campsite near the water was full but we had plenty of other places to choose from a little further south. It was called Broken Arrow Campground. It was a really nice location. The sites were large and had lots of room in between locations which is always nice. They also had showers that were close and I believe they were fairly new.

The mosquito's were a little on the annoying side and then at night it got down below freezing but the rest of the time the weather was amazing. On Saturday we headed out early to Crater Lake near by. We got there early enough before the park had even opened which was nice. We ended up being the only people for a while at the viewpoints. It was extremely quiet and really beautiful. We drove to a few other places along the rim road and then ended up at the lodge. Its a really old building with wonderful woodwork inside and out.

After we left the lodge we wanted to keep going around the rim but ended up driving down the other side of Crater Lake to Mazama Campground. We didn't realize that the other side of the rim was closed still for the season. It actually turned out to work out going down to Mazama because we were close to being out of gas and they had a self-serve gas station....which you never see in Oregon!

Diamond lake was really a great spot to hang out and enjoy the surroundings. There was a nice bike path the went all the way around the lake which we rode part of one day and walked it on another. We found a really great meadow and creek for Puma to swim in.

On the way home we took the long way through Bend and Sisters and many small towns east of us. I was very happy we took this way since neither of us had been to Bend or through those mountains.

Here are a few pictures of our trip. You can also see more pictures here and see where we drove and stopped along the way here.





Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Opal Creek


Opal Creek
Originally uploaded by ryan_nowell
This past weekend we decided that since we chose not to go camping because the weather was not going to be too much fun, we decided on a hike. Emma found an article in a magazine about this place called Opal Creek. It's about 40 miles east of Salem Oregon. We didn't really look at the details of getting there and ended up being longer then we expected but the drive was really nice.

When we finally arrived we parked at the end of the trail head. The hike was about 4 miles up to Opal Creek and an old mining town. The old town was really great. Lots of old buildings and equipment from when it was a busy little town. The old buildings have been converted to cottages for people to rent out. They are very rustic but have everything that you would need.

The views along the way were really amazing. The creek was as clear as you can get and all the huge Doug Firs were really wonderful. Here are a few pictures of the trip and of course you can see more here.






Wednesday, June 13, 2007

One Step Closer

So the medicine cabinet is finally done! Took a little longer then I wanted but I also didn't work on it full time. I think it turned out pretty well for never doing anything like that before. Here are a few pictures and I have some more on Flickr




I still have the other cabinet to build above the toilet as well. Not sure when I will be starting that since we plan on going camping again this weekend.

Monday, June 04, 2007

Busy Busy Bee!!

Ok so it's been a little while since I updated this. We have been super busy and I suppose a little lazy. Last weekend we ended up going on a great trip to Green Peter Lake which is just south of Salem and a little bit east. We ended up meeting up with friends on Saturday and were able to stay until Monday because of the holiday. The weather was great! A bit chilly at times but made the campfire feel wonderful. The lake water was a bit chilly as well but once you got in it wasn't too bad. I will post some pictures as soon as I get a chance.

Last week I ended up working with the folks from my old job. Made some extra money but sometimes it doesn't feel like it's worth it. On Thursday we ended up working from 7 am until 11:45 pm. Made for a very long day. Emma is working nights until August which means we only really see each other on the weekend. I ended up working most of the day on Saturday so that wasn't too fun.

We also had a nice visit from Kari and her boyfriend Gibbs. They came down on Saturday and stayed for the night. Kari was down in Albany checking out a fund raiser for the Boys and Girls club. We went out for dinner at one of our favorite places to eat Fire on the Mountain! Love that place. Best chicken wings I have ever had. Then of course we went out to breakfast the next morning to the Tin Shed. Another favorite of ours. We ended up being lazy all day yesterday which was nice for once. The weather has been warm....in the mid 80's. I know that doesn't sound like much especially since I grew up in AZ but I am really used the cooler weather.

Today I hope to continue on the medicine cabinet for the bathroom. I am still interested to see how cutting the mirror goes.