Obsessed with OREGON

Words do not do justice to my new FAVORITE place on earth. But WAIT, I said in a previous post that it is a sin to pick one fave destination so let me just say that OREGON is right “up there” in my opinion. Thought I would just give you an onscreen view of this gem instead of trying to describe it. And because I loooooooooooooove Oregon sooooooooo very much and it is almost my fave place on earth – which is round and rather than getting too wordy and going around and around and around I thought I would get right to the point or the nucleus of the matter and include you all in my CIRCLE of friends, and show you an endless infinity of beauty,………….. 😜😜😜😜😜😳 Ha Ha Ha

Cannon Beach

Oregon Coast

Multnomah Falls

Appreciation

Weather Forcast

Driftwood, Drifting Clouds, Drifting Sand

Goodnight Oregon

It is my wish that you had a BALL peeking in at my post. Please keep on following Rob n Les as we travel the “Globe”. HaHaHaHa. 😍

LEAF Your Stress Behind

When all seems like chaos similar to this feature photo – a mish mash of tree limbs – “leaf” it all behind and come for a walk with me.

While one cannot always walk amongst the Redwoods in Redwood National Park can Ya not find a leaf somewhere near you?
In Saskatchewan we are more likely to find the Birch.

And birch trees are glorious but with the Redwood trees I couldn’t help but think of that old TV show “The Friendly Giant.” For those of you old enough to remember the giant, he always told us viewers to “Look up, look waaaaaaaay up” and Jerome the giraffe would pop his head in the window of the castle. Ha ha.

Maybe that is why I have a thing for the giraffe,….. Anyway, these giant Redwoods make YA look waaaaaaay up

and UP some more,……

After a day in amongst these beauties the only stress I had was my pain in the neck.
STRESSED is really DESSERTS spelled backwards! So remember how dwarfed most of our worries become when we look at the big picture

Here is a bit of science for you. Yes, I do read those National Park pamphlets in order to educate myself 😜 Apparently when a tree undergoes stress it will show up as “BURLS” which are large growths or knots on it’s stalk. Here is an example from Humboldt Redwoods State Park

Now, I don’t know about you but don’t you think those knots add character and beauty to that old tree? So now I welcome stress and know there is beauty in all my knots and lines and cellulite and wrinkles. 💃
My blogging goal is always to entertain, to educate (only a little) and to give YA a smile. Try out this fun personality test but don’t stress yourself out.

Here is the link for you,…..
http://mordenl.tumblr.com/post/63071368382/this-is-cool-l00k-at-the-trees-and-choose-the-one
I will “leaf” you with a few more photos

and Rob and I and the Pleasureway must move on

Hope you will continue to PEEK

at my crazy blog when we have OREGON stories next up,……

SOURCES
http://mordenl.tumblr.com – Tree Personality Test Via Pinterest
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Friendly_Giant

The “Mighty” YOSEMITE

This blog title should almost rhyme but only if you can pronounce this National Park correctly. I am sure that my hubby Rob is not the first to say “yose eh mite” instead of “yose emity” Hahaha. He will be annoyed with me for this. 😊 Here is the link to prove I am right yet again, YOSEMITE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS6_uh-fwmY I so very seldom am right – just had to brag a little.

This is our first campsite in YOSEMITE at the Wawona campground. Tika enjoyed the river.

This is a quote from John Muir that I found on Pinterest

I thought this was a fitting visual for what I am trying to convey with this post. John Muir was one man, a naturalist who was instrumental in the efforts to establish and protect this amazing land. If you are a bit of a history buff check out this article on him. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/john-muirs-yosemite-10737/

Anyway, it MIGHT be a good idea to get back on track here and share what I’ve learned about this awesome place on earth. If there is one thing I have taken away from our YOSEMITE experience, it is that I will never again think that the might of one person cannot make a significant difference in the world.

We decided to hike the John Muir Trail within the park and I highly recommend it. Would it be too dramatic of me to suggest it will change your life? Ah, what the heck! I said it anyway. Any time that I conquer my fear of heights is a win win for me. Since Rob and I have started travelling – about 9 years, I have evolved from Minnie Mouse to Mighty Mouse.
There was a lot of vertical and some leg tingling moments on the hiking trail,….

To the point where I told Rob to continue and I would just wait,…..

But then I put my “BIG GIRL PANTIES” on and persevered. Thank God I got over myself because I would have missed all this.

AS IF I would ever have the nerve to dive off a waterfall,…..

We continued on the trail for about 5 hours. I think this is about the highest viewpoint.

Notice how I am clinging to “Mighty Rob.” Just like this tree clings to the rock face?

So,…. the next day after a ROBAXACET infusion, we did the “easy” trail around lower YOSEMITE Falls. I must admit it is stunningly beautiful

Especially when you can view both Upper and Lower Falls together.

However, I still prefer the challenge of more strenuous hiking. I keep pecking, pecking, pecking away

until I become a permanent MIGHTY MOUSE. Thank you John Muir.

SOURCES

http://degreesearch.org/blog/education-inspiration-14-john-muir/
Wildlife photo – Pinterest. cracked.com
Check out “Spirit of Yosemite” – a movie showing within the Yosemite Valley theatre.

It’s a BLUE BLOG POST!

I was thinking that I had better catch up on a few more winter holiday blogs and didn’t have much time and then started to feel a little blue,………. But that only lasted a few seconds until I started looking at recent photos and saw all that glorious blue.

OREGON Coast

Gardening Ideas Via FACEBOOK

A morning kayak at Buffalo Pound!

So then I listened to a little “blues”. Check out George Ezra.
His voice is awesome. ,…http://youtu.be/ZS0WvzRVByg

So a little humour goes a long way!

That’s why I cannot run marathons!

So bye bye for now chicks. I sincerely hope the bluebird of happiness flies up your nose or at least migrates near you. 😜
Next up – Yosemite, Oregon Coast, and Victoria Island BC.

May The Peace Be With You!

So a picture speaks a thousand words? Well maybe just one word – PEACE! I had to backtrack on the hiking trail and scramble down a few rocks to get this photo of a tree branch. Why? Because it spoke to me. Hiking in nature always brings me peace and this just a reminder.

“PEACE MAN”

Rob and I left Death Valley National Park in California and drove on through both Kings Canyon and Sequoia parks in California. We specifically tried to avoid the interstates in order to capture scenery like this,….

Sometimes I wonder whether I have been drinking when I look back at my journal notes,….Rolling ranch land with waving green mounds iced with golden mustard wildflowers?

Machu Picchu like mountains covered in green fur????

The permanence of rock and the fleeting flowers of lavender ????

,… The juice of the sun “lime” ing the moss of the trees?????

Okay, enough right? See how sometimes a thousand words are not necessary? I just like to “SILENTLY” contemplate natures beauty. In fact, I think it’s almost a sin to talk while hiking through these national parks because how can you truly notice everything around you while chatting.
Here are a few more photos to quietly contemplate on your own. Hope this brings you PEACE and please just forget about my wordy descriptions. Heh Heh Heh! Enjoy 😍

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Life after “Death Valley”

I must admit that I was a little leary about visiting a place called Death Valley due to the name. Who really wants to tempt fate? However, after passing through Joshua Tree National Park, we decided to continue our California nature tour.

Devoid of toxins and feeling all relaxed and renewed after our mineral swim at Tecopa Hot Springs – http://www.tecopahotsprings.org – the next stop was this national park. The origin of the unfortunate name dates around 1849 when gold seekers endured hunger and thirst in the 120 mile long arid and hot valley. Upon leaving they referred to the area as the “Death Valley.” A sign posted at the valleys lowest elevation tells it all:

The area has a record temperature in July of 134 degrees. Yikes! Glad we visited in March.

Tika enjoyed running around on the crusty soil!

North Americas lowest elevation is at Badwater Basin – 282 feet below sea level

Okay, so sometimes I have to be “corny” and admit what I was thinking as I was standing at the lowest point in North America! I admit that I thought “This is NOT my lowest point – it may be the HIGHEST point in my life 😊🚐💃 Newly retired and spending this awesome adventure with my soul mate is pretty awesome. Okay,……. enough of that mushy stuff.

We hiked the Natural Bridge area into a little canyon.

Death Valley came ALIVE for me when we chose to take the 9 mile drive called Artists Palette.

Nature never ceases to surprise me. Volcanic action has created an alphabet of color – copper, green, lilac, ochre, red, sand,…… Get my point?

Mud never looked so good as on the “Twenty Mule Team Canyon” drive. I don’t know why it’s called 20 mules. Maybe the 21st mule perished from the heat? This is the mudstone badlands.

I find nature very humbling – look how small Rob looks!

We waved goodbye to Death Valley after our last stop at the Mesquite Flat – a picturesque landscape of wind swept waves of sand.


Goodbye Death Valley and thank you for making us feel so full of life!

Sources:
All photos are my own.
Facts sourced from the book National Parks Of The United States – Seventh Edition