One Lovely Blog Award

I'd like to blame it on living so close to places like this...
(this kind of reminds me of an infinity pool--well sort of)

 

 

Or maybe on my constant need to meet cuties like these
(howdy feathered ones)...

 

but I can't.

The fact is I am just imperfect and blew it.

You may have noticed the One Lovely Blog Award over to the side here >
and you may have even seen this post from way back in autumn of 2013
http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2013/10/o-perfect-day.html
and wondered why Aimee would all of a sudden share a whole bunch of trivia with you all.

Well it seems like somehow I had a brain freeze or ? and
 I neglected to tie all that trivia to
the lovely award that Miss Willow of
 http://whimsywillowsfarm.blogspot.com/
bestowed on me a couple of months before that.
I did have good intentions though:)

May I now take a moment of your time and THANK Miss Willow properly--
along with her two fav blogging hens of course!
And, if you haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting HoneyBee, Cricket and all of the awesome residents of Whimsy Willow Farm I highly recommend a trip there--
you won't be sorry!

And now, since it's been awhile, I will share with you a bit more trivia---
(you can find the original trivia by following the "O Perfect Day" link above)
just because it seems the right thing to do:)

And THANK YOU, thank you Miss Willow for your support,  the One Lovely Blog Award
and for all the times you've made me smile and giggle these past months:)
Bless you!

Aimee Trivia

1.  I am very shy,
 except when I am not.
Then you get to meet extroverted Aimee:)

2. I am totally and completely in love with horses. When I was younger, I had a horse collection filled with lovely steeds with names like Little Con, Misty, Jupiter and so on. In my early 20s, I bestowed this collection on the daughter of a friend who also loved horses. Sometimes though, I dream of Little Con and his friends coming back for a visit. I also, as you may know, owned a real horse--actually a Welsh pony. If I owned one today I would be tempted to choose a Fjord horse. 

3. I am related (distantly) to at least one president and one of
my ancestors appears on a census sheet with another president.

4. I am Celtic, German, French and English with perhaps a bit of Danish thrown in.
I also like to say my heart is Norwegian. One of my goals is to get my kitchen organized so I can cook some of the recipes I have wanted to try--things like lefse which makes me hungry
 just thinking of it:)

5. I've read the entire Bible through several times and would like to do that again. However
 this year I am concentrating on just the New Testament.
I always find new things every time I read it.

6. The farthest west I've been was to Hawaii (Kailua-Kona); the farthest east was to Colorado, The farthest north was probably Jasper in Alberta, Canada and the farthest south was Ensenada, Mexico. Mexico was the birthplace of Little Con and Misty (of #2 fame--LOL).

7. I love learning and can spend hours on the Internet (as I used to spend with encyclopedias as a teenager). I have a special love for history and family history (doesn't matter if it is mine or a friend or relative). In fact I love to surprise friends and family with little tidbits of their family heritage once in awhile:)

And now I would LOVE to pass on this One Lovely Blog Award to seven or so other bloggers.

 

MANY of you come to mind that have fabulous lovely blogs filled with sunshine, mountains,
yummy recipes, flowers, grandkids, furry ones, crafts and more...
but I am not sure if you participate in blog awards or not.
Let me try and find my "thinking cap"
(stored during our very HOT summer of course)
and I'll be back:)

Blessings,
Aimee

Photos:

Necanicum Estuary during our continuing celebration this past weekend:)

Journey to Another "End": Pt II

On Monday,

 I showed you the perfect sand dollars we found on our recent trip to a 'new' beach!

But there were more exciting adventures and finds that day...

 

 

Our next find was a starfish!

Grandma was the first to spot it in one of the very, very shallow river 'channels'

of the Necanicum River.

She was SO EXCITED and started screaming at me to come QUICK!

I did.

 

At first she thought it was dead, since it was on its back.
But when she picked the starfish up she realized it was probably still alive--
how cool is that:)

She returned him to the water, this time right side up...
 

A few minutes later it was me doing the screaming because I found a starfish all by myself!

Did you see the first photo?
That was my starfish--
we were all pretty excited about seeing two of them within a few minutes of time :)

 

 

Grandma also found a purple sand dollar down on the beach.

Beautiful isn't it?

 

 

But when she looked at it more carefully, she could see and feel that it had a hairy backside:)
 

And Grandma knew, from her sleepless night of Internet research,

that this was indicative of a living sand dollar.

Her and Papa placed it gently back in a wet location and put a bit of sand around it.

 

 

No way was Grandma going to hurt a living creature!

Besides you're not supposed to do that.

 

 

Grandma is not totally fond of this photo,

but it does show the sand 'craters' near the "End"--

or I should say "The End of the World"?

 

Apparently that is a local name for this area--

and with all the unique aspects of this beach,

plus a great view out to the Pacific,

I think that is a good name for it.  

 

Here's a really good article about this area and sand dollars: 

http://henryehooper.wordpress.com/witness-post-sand-dollars/

 

Grandma says the beach here looks like a moonscape! LOL

What do you think?

 

 

Here I am trying out one of the sand 'craters':)

I couldn't stay long though because the tide was coming in... 

 

Grandma absolutely LOVED all the different patterns on the sand that we found;

she says this is was one of the most interesting beaches she's ever been too

and since she's been to a LOT of beaches that's saying a lot!

 

Here's another pattern in the sand.

Very, very cool!

 

 

It was an awesome day

and Grandma says we'll definitely be going back here again.

I hope they'll be taking me:)

 

 Hope you enjoyed our little journey.

Wishing you all a GREAT day and a wonderful weekend!

The Small One

 

 

Links/Notes:

http://www.beachconnection.net/news/bizbea010710_421.htm

http://www.beachconnection.net/vtour_seas6.htm

http://oregoncoast.beachconnection.net/news/sandoll030812_433.php

http://audubonportland.org/local-birding/iba/iba-map/necanicum

 

All beach photos from this and Monday's post taken in Seaside, Oregon.

Directions to the beach/estuary (south shore):

1. From Highway 101 turn left onto 12th Avenue at the traffic signal.

2. Travel down 12th, crossing over the bridge, until you come to the public parking lot at the end of the avenue. Make sure you look for the crab pots hanging over the bridge rail

when you cross over the Necanicum River!

3. Park your car and remove all the 'essentials' from your trunk. LOL

4.  Take either the concrete steps or ramp. Now take the short path you can see over the dune. This will put you on the beach. Turning left here (plus a long walk) would take you to the main promenade area of Seaside and an often very crowded beach.

5. Be different and turn right instead! Now you are on the less crowded northern portion of Seaside's beach. It's a whole different experience I promise!

6. Walk, walk and walk some more to the north if you want to go all the way to the "end".

You'll know you're there when you have a whole lot of river between you

and the next beach up the coast (Gearhart)  :)

Just to let you know, we arrived about an hour after low tide. We found the sand dollars in a wet area before the river and towards the ocean; the starfish were found in the estuary area.

Journey to Another "End"

 

Hi! It's me--the Small One,

aka Aimee's granddaughter.

Today I've taken over Grandma's laptop to tell you all about our latest adventure--

an early birthday celebration for someone I know:) 

 

HAPPY EARLY Birthday Grandma!

 

Now since it was Grandma's celebration,

 that meant she got to decide where we'd all go

and since she has a LONG list of places she likes,

it took her quite awhile to settle on the city by the bay.

No, no! LOL

Not THAT city by the bay,

but Astoria--

the city by Young's Bay in NW Oregon

and

famous for being the location of quite a few movies among other things.

 

But the night before the celebration,

Grandma couldn't sleep which meant she spent tons of time on the Internet

and unbeknownst to me (or anyone else) she found a new place for us to explore instead.

 

Here's what happened...

 

 

First we started with

breakfast in the Coast Range...

oh, and my first coffee

(Grandpa is such a PNW boy that thinks everyone should LOVE coffee.

Don't worry Grandma he gave me only a little itty bit.)

 

Grandma's family has been coming here to Camp 18 for years.

 

 

She loves the woodland setting along pretty Humbug Creek,

the very entertaining birds,

the historical outdoor display about logging,

the fact that you get to eat in a beautiful log building 

and the yummy food!

Oh, it's also very neat that it's so close to the coast!

 

 

I like it at Camp 18 too!

Here I am playing walrus...

After we ate and explored outside for awhile we all got into the car again.

It was then, as we were headed down the tree lined road, that

Grandma broke the news to Papa that she was thinking of a new destination for today's fun.

I knew something was up when she started spelling...

S-A-N-D  D

and she mentioned me.

Hum, where could she be thinking of having us go now?

 

 

Before too long we drove over a bridge and I heard her talking about crab pots.

I guess a lot of people hang their crab pots off this particular bridge.

Pretty cool huh?

Soon Papa parked our car, we grabbed all the 'essentials' out of the trunk and started walking--

first down some steps and then on a short path over the dunes...

 

 

Peek-a-boo headland.

Grandma loves headlands:) 

 

Pretty trees in a sea of grass. 

Grandma loves trees too!

 

When we were over the dune this is where we ended up at.

(Can you see Tilly?

I didn't know what Tilly was until this trip.

There's a lot to learn about the coast you know and my grandparents want me to learn all I can).

 

Then we turned right and started walking

a LONG ways toward a river.

 

On the way there we saw many interesting things...

a lot of broken crab shells,

a whole bunch of different patterns in the sand,

seagulls and dogs,

and

a whole bunch of broken sand dollars.

 

 

Then Papa found these!

Now, I know what SAND D meant--

sand dollars and perfect sand dollars at that!

Yippee!

I like this place:)

 

But that wasn't all we saw and found there...

 

Stay tuned for part two and learn more about this "End".

 

Bye for now:)

The Small One

 

Notes:

See next post for some links

(Grandma, what's a "link"?)

Journey To "The End": Part II

We finally made it--
sort of.

By that I mean we reached our goal -
Road's End Point -
and I was VERY grateful and excited to be there!

But, since the tide was coming in,
 we didn't have enough time to explore what lay beyond the first rocky area

(although one of us did have a quick peak at part of it over the rocks--
I'll let you guess which one of us that was. LOL).

 

The tide was coming in;

the hubby was going out.

 

Visions of hubby being on the evening news were playing in Aimee's head...

"man rescued by Coast Guard after being stranded at Road's End Point by incoming tide".

Hubby?

 

Very rugged, very picturesque  area.

It was definitely worth coming!

 

 

 I was impressed with the geology of the area.

The ocean seems a lot different here at The Point--so wild and untamed!

SO different from the part of the beach we had started at.

 

We were not the first creatures to arrive there...
of course the winged ones did have a SLIGHT advantage over us humans:)
Very, very neat!

 

Aha!
A bit of sand...
a rock that looks like it's watching me.
Hey! Could this be the famous Wizard Rock?
Could this be the rock that guards the way to the "hidden" beach and cove?

Incoming waves.
No, no!
I haven't "discovered" the "secret" place yet;
I haven't taken a hundred photos of the beach, cove, sea life and caves there.
Incoming waves...

So close and yet so far.
The incoming tide isn't listening to my pleas for it to take its time so
further discoveries and explorations will have to wait for another time.

Goodbye Road's End Point...
goodbye possible Wizard's Rock...
goodbye until next time.

 

Hello momentary safety!

Looking back from the beach along the headland

(I think some of this is covered up at high tide).

 

A closer look at one of the trees on top of the headland/point.

Look at those roots!
If only trees could talk...

Hold on little tree--

it's not long before those famous winter storms begin.
Hold on and be strong.

 

 The beautiful colors of the section that faces the main beach.
When we were walking towards the headland/point/promontory we saw some hikers on
 top of one of the rocks that are on the top.
From what I could find on the web it sounds like there's a trail that leads up there
from a private camp to the north of here
(along the banks of the Salmon River which is between this area and Cascade Head).
It looks just a BIT LOT too high for me.
I think I'll stick to walking along the beach.
Besides I LOVE walking in the ocean!

 

Looking towards the south...

somewhere down there is the Road's End State Recreation Site where we started from.

 

This walk was such an unexpected blessing.
We both got a bit of exercise on a perfect sunny day
and it turned out to be a spiritual retreat of sorts for me.

Walking amidst all of this rugged, untouched beauty reminded me
of God's power, glory and love for all of us.
 It took my mind off of the troubling news reports of late
and refocused them on the One who made all of this---and made me too.
My heart felt peaceful once again.

It was a journey to "The End",
but it also marked a new beginning for me -
and that made this journey even more special:)

Blessings,

Aimee

Links:
http://www.oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=163
(Road's End Rec Site)
http://www.roadsendoregon.org/history
(Landowner's website that has some fascinating pdf files on the area's history)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/12150532@N04/7551007436/
(On Flickr: Old Man Travels Photostream. Some awesome photos of the "secret" place)
http://www.beachconnection.net/vtour_linc19.htm
(I think this is where I first learned about Road's End Point)
http://www.oregongeology.org/sub/publications/OG/OBv36n11.pdf
PDF file on the geology of the coast from Road's End through Tillamook Bay
 including aerial photos of the different areas.
 

Journey To 'The End'

 

 

So what exactly is my Farmer Boy doing here and why is his wife just a BIT whole LOT panicky?

Stay tuned and all shall be explained as I tell you about our latest adventure.

 

 

It started out innocently enough.
After lunch we arrived at one of my fav beaches and plopped ourselves down on a quilt to rest.
The hubby rested;
the woman amused herself by resting,
shooting photos
and thinking what a glorious, peaceful song the sea makes.

She had some other thoughts though too as her hubby would soon find out...

 

 

Then I asked the totally unsuspecting, peacefully resting Farmer Boy
a teeny tiny, itsy bitty question...

Um. Could we please get a 'little closer' to The Point so I could take some better photos of it?

 

The Point--
that magical place where the land meets the sea;

the same place that has always caught and held captive my gaze since

 first visiting this little piece of sandy paradise years ago.
The place that looks SO tantalizing close when you're sitting on a quilt on the beach there.

 

        Yep, THAT point  ^^^^ the one right there:)
 

Surprisingly, the hubby said "yes"

and soon thereafter we set off on our journey--

the Farmer Boy in sandals;

the Aimee Gal, as always, in bare feet.

 

 

Along the way we passed by surfers--
LOTS of them.

 

We also passed by people--
doing the things people do to have fun when at the ocean. 

 Gradually though the crowds thinned out as we left the 'main' park area

and came to the end of the houses that line the area above the beach
(you can't see them, but there are a lot of houses up there)

 

Of course we saw birds too--

after all this is the beach and the birds seem to love it as much as the locals and visitors all do

(or maybe they just know where to go for free food. LOL).

 

 

We saw lots of interesting shells, jelly fish and assorted ocean plant life too

(don't you think this looks like a palm tree taking a nap?
Yep, you are correct, Aimee does have a vivid imagination--a very vivid imagination!)

 

 

We walked by lots of dogs--

cute, furry,

small and LARGE.

Lots of awesome dog owners too!

 

Closer and closer we came to The Point...

(^ about 20 minutes into our walk)

About 20 minutes later we were even closer...LOL

 And then perhaps 5 to 9 minutes after this photo was taken we were finally there!

Yippee!

  

 

And so will you be on my next post:)

Blessings,

Aimee

 

 Next: THE END
Links on next post.

  

OUR Day: September 7, 2014

What official holiday has its own flower (the forget-me-not)

and its own song ("A Song for Grandma and Grandpa" by Johnny Prill)?

Ah, I guess I kind of gave it away with that last question....

Well this past Sunday was OUR THEIR a special day for ALL of us-

Grandparents Day!

 

 

We spent time at a favorite lake feeding the locals..

 

 

Yum, yum!

I wonder if any of these ducks have grand-ducklings?

 

 

Talking together under the shade of a tree...

 

 

Swinging on an old fashioned grandparent type swing set.

(Brings back good memories...)

 

 

Then we traveled down to the creek where SOME of us took selfies

and OTHERS of us took photos of the ones taking selfies:)

 (you got to love a 'captive' audience)

 

 

A few of our party braved the wading pool there and had a LOT of fun!

 

The wading pool is right next to the creek that they (temporarily) dam

up each year during the summer months.

Voila! A big pool for locals and visitors too.

Pretty neat huh?

 

 

Then we went down the lovely road and under this VERY damaged trestle to nowhere.

Quite the drop off yes?

You won't find me up there!

 

And up this hillside...

 

which overlooks some of our gorgeous coast range!

 

There some of us ran around,

some of us laid on the quilt

and others of us walked around taking pictures:)

Was it easy to guess who did the running around?

 

Autumn in summer--

you got to love it

(I know I do)!

And what makes it even better?

Well Grandparents Day of course!

 

 

Of course ANY day with ANY of our five grandkids is a GREAT day for us!

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Links/Notes:

http://www.grandparents-day.com/

Official Grandparents Day song at You Tube

(might need Kleenex on this one)

About the trail that goes through here plus some history and geology of this area

http://www.foresthiker.com/?page_id=653

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banks%E2%80%93Vernonia_State_Trail

Obviously we've never walked across Tophill,

the former railroad trestle pictured above which partially burned in the mid 1980's,

but I have been across the Buxton trestle.

Here is my post on the Buxton Trestle which is quite safe, family friendly and very pretty:

http://aimeeonthemountainside.blogspot.com/2012/09/in-footsteps-of-my-farmer-boy.html

And last, but not least, Vernonia parks:

http://www.vernoniachamber.org/tourism/parks/

And a great photo of "Dewey Pool" from a different angle:

http://www.vernoniasvoice.com/tag/dewey-pool/