On Into Idaho

Crossing over the Snake River we entered into the state of Idaho. Here's a few pictures I took during our time there-not necessarily in order of course:) Since I was still in the dining area of our RV and since the windows were still icky...well you know.

I always enjoy seeing the windmills of the Gorge, Wyoming and Idaho. 

These things are huge!

Somewhere in Idaho. I liked the colors. 

We ended up in Glenn's Ferry this time through and it was fun to see this historical town! It would be on my list of things to see should we go this way again. Also it would be fun to see the Three Island Crossing State Park area sometime. 

(if you guessed that black thing in the photo as being our rear view mirror,
give yourself a big pat on the back. LOL).

A closer view of the wagon and another part of our RV in the photo...LOL

More Idaho. Not sure when I took this particular photo,
but the lighting in the very early morning was just beautiful-both here and in Wyoming.

Spotted this guy somewhere between Boise and the border on our way back through Idaho.
 Isn't he adorable? 

Haven't been able to find out anymore about him though...
anyone know?

Next up: Utah!

Blessings, 

Aimee

A final note-

Many years ago, 

after a VERY distressing incident brought on by MY own actions, 

I made a decision to keep this blog a politics-free zone 

and have done so for the last three Presidential elections. 

Since then, incidents in my life have 

confirmed that this was the right decision for me...

in fact, given the often very stressful circumstances of my life and my personality, 

it was absolutely vital.

I want this blog to be a place of peace--

I NEED this blog to be a place of peace--

a place anyone, no matter their political affiliation, 

no matter their personal convictions and beliefs, 

can feel comfortable, 

can feel welcome, 

can feel loved. 

I need that for you

and 

I need that for me.

I hope you will understand. 

Peace, 

Aimee

First Things First: Oregon

Sorry about the delay in posting but we were enjoying another RV adventure-
albeit a much shorter one:)

Continuing with Aimee's Cross Country Adventure...
All adventures have a starting point--

we'll start our little trip here in the lovely Columbia River Gorge around sunrise. Since we traveled a lot in the pre-dawn hours, I saw a LOT of sunrises-a lot of gorgeous sunrises!

Pre-dawn photo of the Columbia River Gorge

Early morning fishermen on the Columbia River

Since most of the photos in Oregon were taken from my chosen seat-in the dinette area of our home on wheels-and since there was some kind of icky film/scum on the windows, the photos are a bit imperfect (okay a lot), but hopefully they'll be sufficient to give you a taste of the beauty that can be found east of the Cascades...

The famous poplar tree forest in the Boardman area. 

Sigh, the famous soon-to-be-cut poplar tree forest.
BIG sigh. 

A trip through the Gorge won't be the same without it-

it has already changed from several years ago.

The also famous (I could say infamous) Emigrant Hill - AKA Cabbage Hill.
A lovely trip up, up, up into the Blue Mountains and
on the way back,
 a lovely trip down, down, down-past 2 runaway truck ramps. It's a trip you'll never forget...
(an older post with more pics is here)

 A quick photo at the top-our reward for making it up the hill:)

Autumn color in the Blue Mountains--

we saw a LOT of autumn color on our trip.
I LOVE autumn!

 Love Baker City but sadly there was no time to explore it more on this trip. 

One day I am going to make it to the Oregon Trail Center here though--one day!

Some of the old buildings in the area east of Baker City

I was glad to see the old mysterious plant at Lime wasn't ALL gone. 

Next: Idaho and Utah

Blessings, 

Aimee

A Dream Come True: Aimee's Autumn Cross Country Adventure

Oh my, it's been a long time since I've posted, and a long time since I read and responded to your always kind comments. For the latter I do offer my sincere apologies, but I have an explanation :)

You see, sometimes dreams DO come true and I have been living out my dream of seeing the Deep South and points in between this autumn! In fact, besides seeing places I had only DREAMED of seeing, I had the joy of spending extended time with my DD and her lovely family AND spending extended time with my DS#2 and his lovely southern girlfriend:) I even had the extra special dream come true of celebrating my birthday with them!


There were SO many times I wanted to pinch myself because I felt that this had to be a dream NOT reality -- but it was all true and I am feeling SO blessed right now I can't stop smiling.


But this dream all started several years back when my DH bought me an RV for another birthday...
suddenly in late summer a plan rapidly developed that we would travel from our beautiful PNW to the lovely South. Before the trip my hubby went through, it seemed, every square inch of our home on wheels making sure everything would be in good shape for the many miles that lay between us and our goal and, it seemed he packed every tool known to mankind (LOL). Meanwhile I went to work organizing the wardrobe, pantry and other parts of our home for the next month+


Then one morning, well before sunrise we set out on our adventure-an adventure which would involve aspens (my favorite tree!), lots of time with beautiful Arabian horses, learning how to make TRADITIONAL Mexican food (made by a woman with one of the loveliest hearts I have ever had the privilege of knowing), trips back in time (pony express, Oregon Trail and antebellum homes to die for)....

It truly, truly was amazing! We traveled through/to 14 states, crossed countless rivers, climbed over the continental divide and survived (by God's grace) winds that blew us around as well as semis that did the same, a storm such as our family in Utah had never seen and missed out on seeing the Atlantic Ocean because of a hurricane! I met a cousin I had corresponded with for years (so, so COOL!) and ate a whole bunch of Southern food (but gained-at the most-only 3#), saw many sunrises and many sunsets.

But perhaps you would like to relive our adventure? LOL--I know I definitely would so let's start!  Let's call this an "appetizer" because I still have so many photos to sort through but I do have a little "dessert" for you at the end:)

Alabama

The butterflies were amazing there!

Alabama. 

I FINALLY realized my dream of seeing a cardinal in person!

Next time I will dream of getting a better photo of these lovely birds :)

St Louis, Missouri

The Gateway Arch -- around sunrise and the Mississippi River!

Yep, I know this is an odd photo, but it helps bring back all the excitement of traveling through that city during the insane rush hour traffic! Needless to say, on the way back we hit the city well before dawn. 

LOL

REAL cotton in a REAL cotton field. Can't recall if this was in Florida, Georgia or Alabama, but I LOVED the fluffy white balls (bolls) that were in fields and - sometimes - in the middle of roads!
One of the most memorable gifts I received while in the South was a cotton boll (the top of the plant) glued into a mason jar! Anyone that knows me, knows I LOVE nature and-in fact-my hubby and I kept adding to our nature table display wherever we went on our adventure>

Utah

Two of my DD's lovely horses! I spent LOTS of time petting them, enjoying their lovely horsey smell (better than the most expensive bottle of perfume to a horse-lover like me), watching them run, just BEING with them! Heaven on earth!

Closer to home--well sort of...

The Columbia River Gorge. 

We were blessed to see the sun rise over many beautiful places--

the Gorge, the Continental Divide, Nebraska cornfields, the lovely Gulf Coast area of Florida--

so many beautiful places in our country!

And now -- a bit of dessert. 

This year has been a year filled with countless blessings (like our cross country adventure), 

but it has also been a year of loss for in less than one year we lost all three of our white furry babies :(

Little did we know that God, through our son and his girlfriend, 

had a gift waiting for us in the Deep South--

a very, very special little gift who would always remind us of answered prayers, 

the kindness of family

and 

the South. 

Meet our new pup pup

Blessings for a new week, 

Aimee

PS: Since I am writing this at a rather late hour, I ask you to excuse any typos and other errors:)

Thanks!

Magical Summer Continued

One morning we got up really early and headed off to Depoe Bay. 

Early mornings in a fishing community is magical too with the sounds and sights of boats getting ready to leave the safety of the bay for the open sea. It truly was an experience I won't soon forget!

BTW, do you see the little beach in the corner there? 

In all the times I have been to Depoe Bay (and there have been countless times), I had NO idea there was any beach in the city at all:)

Some of the life to be seen in the tidal pools further north...

incredible!

One of the local residents--

I never tire of seeing them. 

Might have already posted this..apologies if I did. 

This is looking northward from the tidal pools. 

Our visitors totally fell in love with them...

I can hardly wait to show them the ones we recently visited--

no slippery rocks there :)

I feel like someone is watching me!

Shudder, shudder. 

Pink flowers! As you may know this girl LOVES pink. 

Did I tell you my sweet kids bought me a iPhone this summer?

And, they made sure it was rose colored (technically rose gold)...

it is SO fun to be able to FaceTime them now and, not only hear them, but SEE them too!

Can hardly wait till my DD joins our bunch of Apple lovers:)

North of Depoe Bay, south of the tide pools, is the historic community of Taft (part of Lincoln City) and lovely Siletz Bay. And these guys are some of their more famous residents--

the Salesian Spit harbor seals. 

They were more active then I had seen them before and we enjoyed watching them move about on land and in the bay.

Such fun we had--posting these photos brings back those days!

Hope you are making sweet memories this summer too!

Blessings, 

Aimee

Magical Summer

This has been a magical summer. 

YES it has!

Not too hot for the most part

(always awesome for those of us who are heat intolerant), 

but still filled with many beautiful days.

Garden pickings have been plentiful enough for us to be able to stop buying fruit at the grocery store. 

Figs, lots of berries, apples and Asian pears with more fruit on the way. 

Hubby and I have been eating MUCH healthier and losing weight (yippee!)

and I am right on schedule to be my ideal, healthy weight in early autumn:)

Now that my DH is retired, 

we've also been hiking more in varied locations

(although I am sidelined today by a blister--boo!). 

And hopefully, hopefully we'll be able to do some camping soon too. 

It has indeed been a summer full of blessings

and I will be telling you more about them in the next few weeks

(we upped our data plan and have figured out part of the tech trouble we were having)

And now for blessing #1: 

Do you remember way back in May when I said I had some news?

Well between tech problems -- which included phone issues on both of my smartphones--

I just couldn't find a good pix of someone special who I wanted to introduce you to. 

And I definitely wanted a good pic because this little somebody is indeed VERY special...

then early one morning, about 0100 (1:00 AM for those who don't speak hospital or military time), I got the strangest text from my DD and it turned out she was bringing this special little someone, 

and four other very special people to see us. Oh--and she expected to be here in about 6 hours.

And, a bit later then the appointed time, 

after a marathon 6 -8 hour all night cleaning session, 

my house and we were ready to meet our guests:)

So, without further delay, 

our newest special one. 

Yes, we are totally in love with her--and with ALL of our special guests!

SO adorable!

Just like her adorable daddy and mommy:)

This special little someone is our very FIRST great-granddaughter

and it goes without saying that she is cute, charming, totally well behaved 

and very, VERY special!

And, though our family had been on the road for hours and hours...

I knew where they'd want to go...

I told my hubby before they ever arrived.

And, yep, I was right...

they wanted to see our lovely sand and ocean right then. 

So down to the sand we did go. 

BTW, THREE of our very special guests had never, 

and I do mean NEVER, 

been to a ocean beach before.  

So, over the next 

--all too short days--

we beach hopped. 

And had an AMAZING time!!

And I remembered, what I had seemingly forgotten, 

that EARLY mornings are BEST spent on the sand...

(oh yea, one of my special visitors is on one of those boats out there)

Though you can't really see, 

the lighting is more magical in the morning, 

the beaches and roads a LOT less crowded. 

The atmosphere even feels different. 

And when a minus tide and those early AM hours coincide?

Aimee is in heaven. 

And that's the SAME way our special visitors felt as we walked the sands 

and explored the AMAZING life to be found in the tide pools.

God definitely blessed us this summer

and there were more blessings to come. 

I hope this has been a summer of blessings for you as well. 

Blessings, 

Aimee

Photos: 

Lincoln City, Oregon

A Walk Among the Irises and Columbine

Aimee was VERY bad last month. 

You see Aimee is a VERY passionate person--

especially when it comes to history. 

And, it just so happened that a LOVELY history research project developed in her mind 

early in April

and that was it...

before long I was dragging my DH to a pretty little area in the valley

and spending a WHOLE bunch of time there and

on the Internet doing research.

And, soon, very soon--

almost ALL of our allotted data time was gone. 

No data for browsing your lovely blogs,

no data to share my adventures with you. 

NO DATA. 

No.

Poor hubby. He suffered too.

But, it's a new month. 

And if I am really good, 

I might be able to catch up with my pastime of browsing blogs

and, maybe just maybe, create a few of my own. 

And if I am bad?

Well, I found a public wifi I can use :)

Here is our latest adventure...

a trip to a bit of heaven known as Schreiner's Iris Garden.

And now the photos

(data time is flying by)

Every time we go here, 

I am awed by the beauty and peace!

So MUCH variety!

Truly paradise!

Just incredible! 

My Mom would have loved it here--

she loved columbines. 

I do too and our home garden has many. 

LOVE!

A walk here always changes my focus--

it's like a breath of fresh air in the midst of a dust storm. 

A drink of cool water in the midst of a hot desert. 

I am crossing my fingers in hope that we make it back this way soon:)

A lot has happened since my last post. 

Many road trips as always. 

A trip back in time to the days of Beverly Cleary

(the object of the research project I mentioned). 

And there was unexpected news...

See ya soon!

Blessings, 

Aimee

Link:

http://www.schreinersgardens.com

(amazing, amazing place!)

Abundant Blessings

So much has happened since last I posted, but first I would like to take a moment and extend a HUGE thank you to those who left comments on the sad passing of our little Eskie gal. She will be missed for a long time always, but we have a lot of sweet memories of her and lots of photos. 

THANK YOU everyone--you are most KIND!

Now for the main reason I have been absent for a long time...and it's actually a GOOD thing, one of those blessings this post is about. Not too long after THAT sad day, my eldest son gifted me with a new little toy to play with and that is what I've been doing these past weeks....

to be honest, there were definitely some moments when it felt more like WORK than play, (that's what happens when you have to learn a totally different OS from what you have used FOREVER),  but now I am pretty good still learning to do things the Apple way and I mostly LOVE my laptop! Of course it helps to have SO much info on the web and a son that does tech support:)

Besides computer challenges and triumphs, my hubby and I have been taking a lot of day trips. We've been to beaches, bays, rivers, historical sites, lakes, wetlands and up hills. We have also been planning a few trips--some close, some further away. We'll see...

And now a few photos...I still haven't transferred any of the ones on my phones and even the most recent ones on my cameras. BUT, and this is an important but, at least I know how to transfer the photos now to my laptop and somewhat edit and organize them:):) And, as of just a few moments ago, I can actually upload them--sort of--to blogger. LOL.

 I am just SO used to doing things the other, non Apple way.

Oh well, challenges are good. I think:)
Update: my phone, the phone I was going to transfer those photos from...
well it's now decided not to respond anymore. Sigh. Good thing I had texted some of
them to my e-mail awhile back--but some photos are probably lost for good.
:(
Now on a happier note...photo time!

(Still learning this new photo editing app so bear with me please.
Suggestions welcome!)

One day we came back from a wetland area to find we had some visitors of our own. 

Apparently these guys take their "free ranging" seriously! 

Our wetlands adventures were many and we loved seeing all the geese, swans, ducks, eagles, egrets, heron and even beavers close up this winter! It almost made ALL the rain worth it (almost being the keyword here). 

Aren't they amazing? 

Beautiful on the ground, in the lake and in flight!

One last photo for now--

this is Depoe Bay on the central Oregon coast. 

The surf and sea spray was amazing that day spraying up onto the parking area...

a BIG blessing!

Yikes! I just looked at the time and it's way past bedtime. Hopefully by my next post I will have perfected the photo editing programs and can upload faster. Until then--

Blessings, 

Aimee

PS: Is everything in your yard in bloom right now? I can hardly believe it but we have roses--yes roses--in bloom! It isn't the first time, but it is still a bit shocking to see daffodils and roses all within a few yards of each other. Spring is AMAZING!