Summer fun

On our way to Medicine Lake my daughter and I were so busy talking and looking at all the wild flowers, that I overshot the turnoff by 10 miles. Let me tell you that if you go anywhere in the forest and don't know where you are, you can feel pretty lost. I pulled over, called my husband, told him what highway we were on, and he say's "oh honey you better turn around." I was very lucky to get reception then because we had none the rest of the day. Found our way back to the turn off which was a nice relief.

After unloading all our things down to the beach area we sat and had lunch of spinach, veggie and meat rollups, a bowl of fresh fruit and drinks and then took in the sun, swam in the warm water and tried our hand at rowing the raft. Not an easy thing. My daughter would go in circles just two feet from the shore till she was exhausted. I giggled so hard I thought I'd wet myself. So I did the right thing and pushed her out farther so she could float.

We had the beach all to ourselves for about an hour and a half when  people with dogs and kids started showing up.

We stayed on until the water started getting too cold for us to get back in, then drove on over to the Little Medicine Lake.

  

We strolled down a path that led us to the back of big Medicine Lake and took a few pics. 

 It is just as beautiful from this angle, don't you think?

 

After wondering back up the path to the truck, I almost got lost again, we changed into dry clothes and decided to head out and see the Lava Beds and historical sites along the way. First stop was a hike up a steep hill to what is called A Mammoth Crater.

Is'nt it huge? I got jello legs just

looking down into it. I'm not much for heights.

 

Then we went on down the road to a trail called Crystal Caves, which took us about 20 minutes to hike, which I almost turned back to the truck as it went on forever.

We thought this was it (left pic), but saw that the path continued around another bend to the actual cave (center pic). You can barely see the opening to the cave (center of pic in shadows next to pointed rock) because I was'nt about to hike down the narrow steep path to it.

Can you see the path? Bottom of pic is steps to start down.

Once back on the road we came upon the Balcony Boulevarde Caves. It does'nt look like anything is out there except lava rock, but omg they were everywhere. It was scary to think that under our feet we were walking over really huge caves.

We walked around for awhile and took pics of a few of what I'm sure many more caves that were out there. You really need to stay on the paths or you could just fall down into one. These paths were'nt as easily seen as the others we went on.  The caves were really close together and you did'nt see them until you were over the top of them. Hence, the balcony.

They don't look like much from my pics, but they went very deep and far. You could only go down into one that we looked at that was safe enough to climb down to. It is just hard to imagine this whole area out here is above so many caves. From the road all you see is the lava rocks. This was enough hiking and exploring for one day for both of us, so it was home from here.

We are already planning our next trip which we hope to take a drive over to Gold Hill and see the Oregon Vortex, which I have wanted to see for years. I can hardly wait.

Our Sunday Drive

Sunday morning my hubby, John, and I went out to hit the yard sales. The town of Bonanza had its annual craft festival and parade and everyone puts out a yard sale. What a blast we had. Found some pretty nice pieces. An old biscuit box, nutmeg grater, steam iron and tin box of Lipton Tea and an aluminum bowl.

I picked up this quilt at a recent yard sale and wanted to share it with you also. It is all hand stitched. I think it tells a story of the places they went and the things they loved.




We went into the Cafe and had a nice breakfast and then we sat on the tailgate of the truck and watched the parade. Walked around the different food and craft booths. I'm thinking of maybe setting up my own booth next year. Most things there were jewelry and not much hand sewn items.

We then came home and unloaded our truck, I packed a picnic lunch, grabbed the dogs and we headed into northern California to Medicine Lake. We have been going to this lake the last three years during winter and snowmobiling and this was our first time to see the lake in summer.  We were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful a lake this is out in the middle of nowhere.

It took about an hour and a half to get to the lake. Part of the road was gravel, part beat up pavement and part dirt. So a little rough and narrow at times. We plan to go back and camp in the tent so we can bring my boat and explore the lake and do some fishing. I guess this lake is about 107 feet deep, very clear water and warm enough to go swimming in.

It has a beach area where no dogs are allowed that is all sandy and roped off just for swimming which is where I am headed tomorrow with my daughter. We plan to do some hiking around and laying out in the sun.

After we had our lunch we took a drive up around the campground areas and up to what is called Little Medicine Lake. It is just a short walk up to this little prisine spot.

I could live here easily. Just stock it with fish.

It has a bench where you can just sit and take in the quiet of this place. So pretty. There looks like a walking path that goes around the lake. May have to check this out tomorrow.

Further up the road we came across two doe and three fawn. They were okay with taking their pics from the truck but when I got out to get a little closer, mom let me know I'd better back off. Aren't they cute?

There were lots of pretty different colored wild flowers in bloom everywhere you looked.

We came upon this tree on the side of the road, which to me looks like a pregnant woman. What do you think?

John had to have a pic of its behind. Notice the sign. I had to giggle.

We drove around for awhile and it was 6:30 before we headed for home. This was one very enjoyable , relaxing trip we had together and I hope we will have more of them soon.

__________

 We just recently lost our sister-in-law last week to cancer. Her and her husband have lived on the property with us for six years. This has been a tough year for us, so trying to find peace and understanding and keep our sanity is trying at times. We count our blessings every day and let those we love know it.

Visit to Crater Lake

We had not been up to Crater Lake in many years so it was a treat to go up and see it again. The Rim Village gift shop was not as large as it use to be and they have moved the parking areas to the backside of the building, but the lake itself is always a spectacular view.
One can take a boat ride out to the island you see on the left, where you will be dropped off for three hours to explore it. It was not going this day due to the weather. This is something I would like to do but even the hike down the hill to the boat is suppose to be pretty strenous and you have to be in good shape to do it.

We walked through the gift shop and then onto the Lodge for lunch. We had a great luncheon while outside the thunder storm hit. We tried to wait it out but were anxious to see more of the lake so up the path to the lookout tower was our first stop. It has a room that tells the story of how Crater Lake got started and has pictures of how things have changed over the centuries. The views from here were awesome as you can see.

This is leaning over the wall and looking straight down from the tower. The blue is so pretty and this did'nt do it justice with the cloud cover above us at times.

You just cannot capture the whole lake at one time it is so large. I read there is actually an area where you could hike down to the lake and swim in it. I did'nt even know that existed the first time I came here.

As we left the lookout tower we came upon this Clark's nutcracker (bird). He was quite a little show off and posed for everyone to take pics of him. He kept calling out for someone to feed him but the peanuts were left in the car. There were not any of our regular chipmunks out and about to be fed due to the rain. They would usually climb right up on your leg for a handout.

We left the Rim Village to take a chance on going around the east rim and we made it as far as the Vidae Falls when it started lightning and pouring down so hard we called it a day. I was able to get one shot of the falls before the car was totally soaked inside. They are pretty aren't they? We took our dogs with us the first time we came here and they would climb up the waterfall enjoying getting wet. No one was getting out of their cars today. It was just too risky to keep going up this narrow winding road with this downpour.

As we left the park and were headed home my husband spotted an Eagles nest so we turned the car around so I could capture the birds up in it. I was only able to get three of them but there were four birds in all.

Our next stop was to pick up a pizza and then home. We have had our share of thunderstorms lately but it was still nice to get out and see what we could.

I think next time I go up to the lake I will pack a picnic lunch, bring an umbrella, lots of mosquito wipes and a good book and just sit and take it all in. It is definetly one place that is hard to leave.

Picnic at Heart Lake

We have family visiting from California for the a few days and we all decided to take a picnic lunch and spend a day out at Heart Lake. After enjoying a nice barbeque of sausages, snacking on chips and homemade salsa, we watched the dogs run around and swim in the lake. They even wondered into the tall grass to hunt lizards and hiked around with the men.

My daughter-in-law and I watched butterflies flying about and saw a bunch of dragonflies over the water. We also spotted a water snake which I'm thankful kept on going about its business. It was'nt long before we were blessed with a thunder, lightning shower and a real hard down pour of rain. 

Even with the rain soaking everything pretty fast, it was enjoyable to be out at the lake. Everything there was green and there were wildflowers all about.

Just the calm on the lake was very relaxing to just sit by and veg and take in all the smells of the nearby pines and sagebrush.

You can see the clouds came right over us with quite a loud thunder. The lightning put on a good show for a bit also. I don't know if staying under the trees was a brilliant idea or not, but we did.

We cut up our watermelon, stood under a tree and waited out the storm. It would soon stop long enough for us to pack up our gear and head back home.

I think the dogs were pretty wore down by then. They slept all the way home without a peep. The rain was coming down so hard on the drive home you could not see the road ahead of us even with the wipers going at fast speed. It was a bit icky for a stretch. We watched all the action staying behind us.
 
 
Once we got home the boys went out to shoot their guns and Wendi and I watched a chick flick. All was good for a while until the thunder, wind and rain decided to come and visit over the house. Glad we were tucked away for the night. It is always pleasant to watch from the living room window.

Vintage Cookbooks, Bargain Prices

What a bargain I got when I purchased these vintage cookbooks at a yard sale for fifty cents each. There are many hand written recipes throughout the books. Some recipes were written on whatever piece of paper or envelope they had to use at the time. I can only imagine the women who used these books and what they meant to them at the time.

The 'Loyalty Cook Book.....Native Daughters of the Golden West' (left) was printed in 1948 by Willow Borba. It is inscribed : "To our Daughter Jackie when I'm through with it."

The 'Institue Cook Book" by Helen Cramp (right), was copyright in 1913, and has many handwritten recipes on all the blank pages of the book along with many on papers. It also includes a certificate from the International Institute Department of Domestic Science. Must have been pretty special to the owner of this book at the time. There are pressed flowers and leaves between some of the pages. The one thing about the two oldest books is that you can tell these were used on a daily basis. There is not many pages without food spills or grime on them.

'The Melting Pot Cookbook'  by the  Soroptimist International of Pittsburg (far left pic), is not as old dating to 2004 but also has many handwritten recipes inside and an inscription: "Jen & Meri  With all my Love, Grandma Jackie".

These are generations of women who have used these cookbooks and had many a memory when each time they were opened.

I found this pyrex paper in the Institute Cookbook. Don't you just love the old vintage look of it? It is in remarkable shape. Now what could I do with this? Any ideas are certainly welcome.

I hope to read through the pages of each book and maybe try a recipe or two.  They don't appear to be too complicated.

My daughter would love to have these books and would be saying "mom you don't even like to cook", but I love the history behind each and it just brings this feeling of 'home sweet home' when my mom always used her cookbooks. Besides like the one mother said, "Daughter, you'll just have to wait until I'm done with them."

Lake views of Crescent

My husband and I decided to go for a drive and went up to a lake we had not been to before which was about  85 miles north from our home to Crescent Lake. This has to be the prettiest lake for boating on so far that I have visited since living here in Oregon. We plan to go back and do some camping when we can. It is quite large and up to 200 ft deep, a clear green you can see at least 30 ft down. It has sandy beaches in spots around the lake and the views around are quite spectacular.

There were quite a few people sitting on the beach areas with kids playing in the water or sand.Some braved the water by water skiing or I think they call it boogie boarding. At least it wasn't filled with algae but it was still a bit cool when you got out of it from the bit of wind there was.

We pulled into an alcove for the dogs to take a potty and play in the water. Pearl was a bit skittish of it and it was her first boat ride so she like the inside on the seat where her sister, Onyx liked being up front, when we were going slow so she could look all around.

I, of course did not catch any fish but by the time we had arrived on the lake it was pretty much past their feeding times. We went all the way around the lake and everywhere it was really pretty. A lot of cabins tucked back into the trees for rentals and areas for tent and rv camping as well.

You can see there is still snow on one of the mountains nearby. I don't know the name of this one but it was still beautiful to look at.

The Fourth was a really nice time with a gathering of friends, BBQ and plenty of drink. Now it was time to gather the laundry and hang it out to dry. This is one freedom I hope I never lose as I really enjoy how my clothes smell from being out in the warm breezes that we get around her.

I went fishing on Fish Lake with my friend, Monica and her Mother in Law on Saturday and let me tell you, we froze our butts off out there. It was only 63 outside but with the wind and cloud cover I swear it was only 43. Never the less we enjoyed ourselves while wrapped up in my beach towels that I keep on the boat, we ate chicken salad sandwiches, drank a little wine, and had plenty of fish biting and steeling our bait, but no catches. I only hope the next time I go out the weather remembers it's suppose to be Summer.

My daughter helped me paint the tabletop of a little vintage table I will be using for my vintage trailer for outside dining. The chairs are red with chrome so we thought rather than a red checkered top why not go for what I like and that is, flowers and herbs.I think it turned out rather cute with a ladybug or two and a bumblebee and butterfly to boot. Who says we can't have fun and something pretty to eat off of?

Found a recipe I would like to give a try from the Companion Herb site for Dandelion Wine. Now you would'nt think that something we call a weed could be made into a drink, but hey, I'm willing to try it. It goes as follows:

Dandelion Wine

1 quart dandelion blossoms

1 gallon hot water

3 1/2 pounds sugar

2 lemons, cut up

2 oranges, cut up

Pour hot water over the dandelion blossoms and let stand 24 hours. Strain in a jelly bag then heat the juice again and add the sugar, lemons, and oranges. Reheat, then put into a stone jar. Let ferment. Skim every day for 6 to 7 weeks, then bottle.

You know I had to go around the yard looking for those darn blossoms and did you know I could not find a one! Don't worry, they'll be back and when they do I am going to collect each and every one of them and try and make some good old fashioned wine.

For now, I have another load to hang out and then it's time to dig into the enchilada's I made for dinner last night, and have a bite to eat.