Outdoor Mom July: Part 3 – Travels
This is Part 3 of my Outdoor Mom entry. You can read Part 1 here: Outdoor Mom Part 1 – My Own Backyard and Part 2 here: Outdoor Mom Part 2-Wildlife Sightings
I keep reminding myself that the perfect summer weather is only here for a few short months in Central Oregon. It could get cold and wet as soon as September or early October so we need to be outdoors as much as we can right now. We made lots of time for kayaking and exploring in July, both close to home and during a trip to New York. Here are a few of the highlights.
Our youngest son was home for a few days at the beginning of the month so that gave us an opportunity to get out on the lake in the kayaks. We were there fairly early and it was fantastic weather for exploring this crystal clear lake up on the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway. We paddled across the lake, through a canal of sorts, and then over to the other part of the lake. We had the dog with us and she is such a good passenger, even if she gets excited when we see ducks and geese. The yellow water lilies were blooming and the damselflies were out in force, landing on our arms and legs if we stopped paddling.
We had some young people come and stay with us for a week and one thing we did was kayak up on Sparks Lake. I love this lake! The view of the mountains, the relaxed paddling around the lake’s edge, and the beautiful wildflowers all contributed to the enjoyment of the day.
One of the most amazing parts of living where we do now is the ability to drag our kayaks straight from the backyard down to the river. We had left the truck down at the pull-out earlier in the day so all we had to do was jump on the water and go. We went further than normal and it ended up being a four hour paddle/float down the Little Deschutes. The girls were really good sports about the unexpected length of the trip. My husband made up for it with a delicious dinner when we got back home.
I had the opportunity to spend some time in New York and Ontario with my kids during July. We were driving right through Niagara Falls so we made the stop and took the Hornblower cruise from the Canada side. All I can say is that it was WAY better than I expected and it was overwhelmingly beautiful. The power of the falls is awe inspiring.
We took one day while the girls were here to make the trip to Crater Lake National Park. We stopped and viewed the lake from two different viewing points, hiked the Castle Crest trail to see the wildflowers, and then hiked to Plaikni Falls. I will be writing up our entire trip in a separate entry.
This is a peak in our area that you can actually drive up to in a car. Let’s just say we’ll be driving up there probably every summer to take in the splendid view atop a volcanic mountain. It is breathtaking!
I hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse into our July travels and adventures. It was fun to have some young people to share the experiences with us.
This is Part 3 of my Outdoor Mom entry. You can read Part 1 here: Outdoor Mom Part 1 – My Own Backyard and Part 2 – Wildlife Viewings