Jake & Sherri Wavra: 2013

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Backpacking Trip with Mia

I had a few extra days to myself before heading back to school, so I decided to take a backpacking trip with Mia up around Mt. Hood. Mia has proven to be a spectacular trail dog. Our first day, she and I hiked 14.5 miles climbing 6500ft. elevation gain, and she barely broke a sweat. I didn’t even bother keeping her on leash. Mia stuck right behind me on the trail, occasionally taking the lead, but never straying more than 10ft. away. When other people approached us on the trail, she hugged even tighter beside me. One time, however, we came across an older couple sitting down beside the trail, and Mia plopped her paws up on the lady’s lap to say hi. The woman politely gave Mia a pat on the head, and we moved on. I told Mia, “You’ve got to be more careful around strangers. You never know, that innocent looking old lady could’ve been an ax murderer.” Mia didn’t seem convinced. Mia also tackled her first major creek crossing. I hopped across on some rocks. She whined, pacing back and forth for a while, then charged across. Mia isn't a big fan of water, but at least she’s learning not to be afraid of it. We camped beside hidden lake, where we took a quick spit bath in the creek and called it a night. Mia, of course, wanted to sleep directly on top of my sleeping bag with me. After pushing each other around long enough, she resorted to hunkering down beside my face in front of the door to keep watch. We peeled out early the next morning and were home before 10am. I wonder where we’ll go exploring next together.

At 9000ft. elevation, Mt. Hood looked quite amazing

Good thing Mia doesn't have allergies, nonstop sniffing up there

Mia's first major creek crossing

Trying to work out sleeping arrangements in the tent

Ahhhh, much better

Mia took first watch while I read some National Geographic

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Cannon Beach Trip with Mia

Sherri and I have been itching to visit Cannon Beach again, so we decided to introduce Mia to surf and sand. We first hiked out to Crescent Beach- a more secluded section around the corner from Haystack rock. After chasing Mia around in the sand and sharing a picnic lunch together, we scouted to see if it was safe to wade around the shoreline to Cannon Beach. The water proved to be way too high, but the tide was going out. So we decided to take a sun nap and wait it out for a while. Sure enough, as the water receded, we got an opportunity to study starfish in the tide pools, and finally decided to go for it. It was still deep enough that I had to wade across, taking several trips with our backpacks and finally Mia. Sherri held onto my shoulder as she entered chin high water. People from the Cannon Beach side watched us cross. Mia swam the very last section all by herself. Good thing we practiced the week before up at Burnt Lake. Just then, the wind began to pick up, so I ran back to the car for the kite. We had a great time catching wind together. Sherri learned the art of whoopdeedoos, and I got to skimboard into the sunset- perfect day at the beach.

Footprints in the sand, and Pawprints

It's affirmed, Mia loves the beach too

"I need a break"

"Where's some drinkable water around here"

The ladies chilling at the beach together

Mia's not so sure about the surf though

Still some water between us and Cannon Beach

Tide pools were full of life

Oh go fly a kite

Burnt Lake Hike

Sherri and I bit the bullet and bought a National Parks Season Pass before hiking up to Burnt Lake near Mt. Hood. The pass basically gets you into any National Forest fee area as well. Mia loves hiking in the woods with her people. She also got her first swim lesson up there- needs a little more practice.

Honkin' dead tree- big enough to stand inside

Family photo time

Mia was quite brave climbing around the falls

"Please don't make me go swimming Dad."

Swimming lesson time

Mia biting at flies- I think she got this one

Wildflowers attracted swarms of bees

Sherri loves her new camera

Sherri's time-exposure masterpiece of the falls

Great Smokey Mountains National Park

Leaving MN, we continued driving east to Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Even though the scenery doesn’t compare to the western Rockies, it was fun taking Mia on a few hikes with us (most National Parks are super anti-dog). That afternoon, we drove straight to Fort Jackson, South Carolina to Visit Sherri’s brother and family. We spent a good couple of weeks there, taking advantage of all the fun things to do on base. Our twin nieces really had fun with Mia. Part of our daily routine was walking the dog together in the mornings (Mia walking them on leash) to a playground for some fun and exercise. They also drove us up to Carowinds theme park. Wow was that a blast- lots rollercoasters and a huge waterpark! It was tough saying goodbye as always, but home called us back again for a little time to ourselves before school starts again. Yes, school season is quickly approaching.

Our first National Park sign photo with Mia

Homesteaders lived in style

Traffic jam scenic drive

So much for sticking your nose out the window

We spotted a Heron from the riverbank

Yay for dog trails!

Classic Smokey Mountain Shot

They go on and on and on

Best cloud shot ever

Why don't you just make yourself at home there Mia

Trek Across America Summer Tour 2013

This year for Summer Break, Sherri, Mia (dog), and I packed into our new Toyota Prius on a trek across America to visit family. First stop, Camp Bighorn for a reunion party with some of Sherri’s old friends. We tried catching some shuteye camping under the stars, but proved to be a fitful night for Mia in her outside kennel. So we hit the road again before sun-up and drove straight to my parents’ new home in MN. After abandoning our Mapquest app around 3am, Dad finally guided us to their place with Morse code from a floodlight perched on the top of their garage. Mom and Dad sold the farm and moved onto a beautiful ranch to board their horses and watch sunsets over the rolling meadow in their backyard. That week we got to enjoy the company of my entire family (all 17 of us)- nieces, nephews, the works. We threw an epic baby shower for my brother, Joe, and his wife. We spent a whole day together scavenger hunting diapers in the woods, drawing autographed pictures for an alphabet book, and spoiling them with gifts (my favorite was a bottle of Jack Daniels). Of course the day wouldn’t have been complete without some Bocce Ball, Badmitton, Horseriding, 4-wheeling, lots of great tasting/fattening food, and a dooser campfire with plenty of burnt smores on the side. I love family.