Brent and I have been so busy with focusing on our house remodel that we haven’t gone out to explore our new surroundings too much. It doesn’t help that during the summer we also ran two marathons. That really puts a damper on going camping, hiking or anything else outdoors on top of a remodel. We lived in Oregon for all of 2017 and went on two-ish hikes. I say ish because the first one was really more like a walk near a trail that we couldn’t go on because the hubby was on call for the weekend. Ha!
Well, let’s just say that when we got the official word that our friends from Bozeman were flying out to come visit, we were definitely getting outside. We spent all day Friday outside exploring the Washington side of the gorge over on the west end. Since most of the Oregon trails will be closed for a year or more due to the Eagle Creek Fire, we went across the river. We started out at Falls Creek Falls which I’ve had my eyes on for months now. It was a longer drive and technically no longer in the gorge, but it was well worth the drive and the extra 2 mile walk to the trailhead since the road doesn’t open up until April. We enjoyed the extra time outdoors and the little man did so well on Brent’s back in the hiking carrier. He even had a chance to get out and hike a little himself. It was a light traffic day on the trail which made for the perfect hike. In good ol’ western states winter time, it rained on us a little, but it made for a beautiful hike. Flynn sure enjoyed the freedom to run around and explore. Hiking is one of his favorite things. I mean, who doesn’t love it?
We were close to Panther Creek Falls and I had read that it was worth a little extra drive to go see them. We went up this small paved road and missed the trailhead. We turned around and sure enough it was just off the road and you could barely see it. This hike is super short as in less than a quarter mile to the falls. It was well worth the extra little drive and I was not disappointed at all that we spent the time driving around trying to find these falls. We didn’t have cell reception or a map, so we were making educated guesses to find it.
The rest of the weekend was fairly relaxing. The guys spent Saturday working on the house a little while us ladies and the kiddo went on a walk. We then enjoyed a nice evening playing a game and watching the Olympics. Olympics time always makes for more couch time. I’m kinda okay with that and they will be over before we know it. Sunday was church day and a little exploring out in Dufur where I had a quick mini photo session for our friends. I loved how they turned out. Head over to Jessica Sara Photography and my blog post to see some of my favorites.
Monday came way to quick. Brent had already said goodbye to our friends Sunday night. They were set to fly out of Portland in the evening, so we still had all day to do something. We headed to Portland early and enjoyed a few hours at the zoo. Elijah loved it and we all enjoyed our time together. I can’t wait to take Elijah back because he was 100 times more excited than when we had gone in September.
Let’s just say I loved having friends visit for the weekend and I can’t wait to see more friends to come spend time with us. HINT HINT!!! It was so good to see them. It just made me realize how much I miss them and love them. They are such great people and friends. I’m so proud of them and how they are living out their lives.
Come along and enjoy part of our weekend together through these pictures.
