Julie's Winter Break Visit

We had so much fun during Julie’s visit this Winter break. Sherri & I picked her up from the airport late Friday night (2am MN time). Mia was just as excited to see Julie since it was her chance for a sleeping buddy on the guest bed. The next morning, we walked Mia over to the park where she showed off her zoom-zooms. Then, we drove downtown to Powell’s Bookstore so Julie could experience some Portland ‘flavor.' The place was cram packed, more crowded then we’ve ever seen it. The first oddity Julie noticed was the way Portlanders cross the street whenever and wherever they so desire. For lunch we found some tasty orange chicken just down the street at one of our favorite happy hour restaurants. After bumping into more than enough people for one day, we headed back home to snack on the homemade Christmas treats Julie brought from MN. My favorite was plain old peanut brittle- I hadn’t tasted that stuff in ages. Sunday, we hiked from our house to the top of Powell Butte with Mia. We were unable to see Mt. Hood through all the fog, causing Julie to doubt whether it actually exists. That evening, we invited a teacher friend over for a double feature Redbox movie night. The following day we drove out to the coast for some sight seeing at Ecola State Park. Since the trail to Ecola point was washed out, we decided to take the back route and bushwhack through the woods, allowing us to have the scenic overlook all to ourselves. Tuesday, we set out in search for the infamous Viewpoint Inn (location used in the filming of ‘Twilight’). Come to find out, the building had caught fire, and the abandoned property now looks more like a crime scene, all wrapped in caution tape. Continuing further into the Columbia Gorge we visited Latourelle Falls and then hiked to the very top of Multnomah Falls. Lately, Mia’s been a little sloppy on leash, so Julie helped us retrain her on the way up. At each switchback, we’d stop and have Mia sit until we were ready to go again. Wednesday, we shopped the Woodburn Outlet Mall where Julie made out like a bandit. Sherri & I introduced her to two of our favorite stores- Marrell and GoLite. Julie also had to get something from the Columbia store after declaring it the official brand of Oregon. She says everyone here wears some form of grey colored Columbia clothing. That night we toasted in celebration of a new year while the neighbor’s music shook the walls of our house. We fought back by watching TV with really loud surround sound. During our final day together, we took Mia to the dog park across the street from our school where she ended up playing/flirting with a huge Newfoundland dog named Henry. Afterwards, Sherri gave Julie a tour of her classroom. For dinner, Sherri prepared an amazing hash brown casserole, ham, and cookie salad. Throughout the week we shared some really memorable conversations together. We’ll miss having her around.

Great street sign of biker dude getting caught up in the trolly tracks.

Group shot while hiking in the spooky fog up at Powell Butte.

View from Ecola Point just north of Cannon Beach.

Mia jumped into my arms just before the self timer went off.

Sherri expressing her vast knowledge of costal geology.

So much fun spending time with my big sister.

Self portrait photo shoot with Haystack Rock in the distance.

My beautiful wife.

Julie snatched a great silhouette of a tall pine.

Sherri worked some magic on this photo of a lonely lighthouse.

Julie holding Haystack Rock in the palm of her hand.

Our favorite saying of the trip- inside joke.

Mia performing tricks on the beach.

Crack in the wall with noisy marine life attached to the sides.

Julie snapped a great night photo of Haystack Rock.

Taking in the scenery at the base of Latourell Falls.

Mia was super excited to be out hiking with us.

Enjoying a healthy snack at the top of Multnomah Falls.

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

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