Flaming Gorge

A few days after getting home from Oregon we headed to Flaming Gorge for our annual Fackrell trip.  We had amazing weather, and had so much fun with everyone for a few days of camping, boating and enjoying the sunny weather.  We missed Mike & Elise so much!

without further ado - here is our trip, in camera photos and stolen instagrams.

Thanks mom and dad for such a fun trip!

Oregon {Redmond & Portland} {Final Post}

Marcus served in Redmond so the first thing we did was explore the town a little and find his old apartment.  There were definitely nice areas here and Marcus said it was similar to a Park City, but his apartment did not seem that way.

Everywhere we had been so far was so green and beautiful.  Suddenly though, we were in the desert.  It was still beautiful, but in a completely different way.  We decided to do some hiking and hiked to Monkey Face, a well known rock climbing destination in Smith Rock State Park.  We took a trail called "Misery Trail" and it seriously was one of the most miserably hard hikes I have ever done.  It was so steep and it definitely didn't help that it was nearly 100 degrees!

From there were drove to Salem to spend the night so that we didn't have to drive all of the way to Portland.  On our way we stopped at Silver Falls to explore some more waterfalls, but when we got out to hike we realized how exhausted we were and that Asher may be a little bit sick of being carried about in the backpack.  We hiked to one fall and then quickly changed plans and went swimming in the river there instead.  Asher was so happy with this change of plans.  

Portland was amazing and so much fun to visit.  I loved the feel of the city.  We wandered around downtown and walked a lot.

We tried the ice cream at Salt & Straw and it was amazing.  They had such unusual flavors - goat cheese marionberry habanero - olive oil - birthday cakes with blueberry - and you could try as many as you wanted.  Marcus was much more daring with the flavors he chose to try but he settled on cinnamon snicker doodle (which tasted just like cookies) and sea salt with caramel ribbon.  My favorite was almond brittle with salted ganache.  

We kept walking and ended up at the International Rose Test Gardens which were absolutely beautiful. 

We loved walking through some beautiful neighborhoods.  The houses were smaller but so cute and had so much charm.  And just like everywhere else in Oregon, the hydrangeas were simply amazing.

and I absolutely fell in love with this house.

I'm sorry if this is your house and I'm posting it on my blog.

It was kind of just the perfect night - ice cream, walking, flowers, beautiful houses and exploring. 

Saturday morning we wandered around the market, ate some free Ben & Jerry's, did a little shopping, and just hung out before our flight left that afternoon.

Asher loves trying on hats and looking at himself in the mirror at H&M.  Look at his pouty little lips.

And then, sadly, it was time to come home.  Asher did great on both flights -- he had his own window seat on the way there, and sat on my lap for the flight home.  He loved watching out the window and seeing the other planes, trucks, tractors, and then once we were in the air the trees, water and clouds.  He read the skymall magazine and ate and organized peanuts and pretzels on the way there.  On the way home he read some books and lined his toys up across the tray.  

Until next time Oregon!

Oregon {Part 3}

We had finally arrived to Medford and were so happy to hang out with Mike and Elise.  Asher is absolutely in love with these two and was so happy to get so much attention from them.  Day one we mostly hung out in Ashland - we went to Lithia Park and drank the most disgusting mineral water from the Lithia Fountains.  It was pretty bad and Marcus even had Asher try it...who was not thrilled!  

The parks there are nothing like the parks here.  They remind me more of hiking trails.  Lithia Park has a cute river that runs through it and is completely enclosed by tall trees.  There are trails for hiking or running, and there was of course a playground.  They also had the cutest Japanese Gardens that were fun to check out.  Asher found a deer friend and was convinced he could ride it.

We had lots of fun swimming in the cold water at Emigrant Lake that afternoon and stopped to show Asher the Medford Temple after finding Marcus' old apartment here.

The next day we got a delicious biscuit breakfast at Buttercloud Bakery and then headed towards Crater Lake.  On our way we stopped to hike to three waterfalls: Mill Creek, Barr Creek and Pearsoney Falls.  The moss growing around the falls completely covered the rocks and was so gorgeous.  It was a bright green and looked so lush.

Crater Lake was incredible.  I could not believe how absolutely gorgeous it was here.  

This picture kills me.  He's so happy he is shaking as he squeezes his little toy.  haha.  I was so incredibly happy that I got to visit Elise and spend a few days with her.  Let alone in such a beautiful, amazing place.

Here are a few facts about Crater Lake:

-It was formed 7,700 years ago when the volcano Mount Mazama collapsed

-It is the deepest lake in the United States

-There are no rivers that flow into or out of it - it is filled purely by rain and snow - because of that it is a beautiful blue color and so incredibly clear

We took the one and only trail that takes you down to the water and had lots of fun soaking our feet in the clear water and catching crawfish.

From Crater Lake Mike and Lise headed home and we headed north to Redmond/Bend for the night.

We had such an amazing time with Mike and Elise and were so glad they let us come visit!

To be continued...

(are you getting sick of Oregon posts yet?  There's still one more to come!)