Category: travel

Spring in Oregon – Part 2

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“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls…” Psalm 42:7

Waterfalls mesmerize me. For a shutterbug, almost nothing else captivates like the roaring rush of water cascading over rocks in the lush and verdant Pacific Northwest.

As a small child, I spent many family vacations chasing waterfalls on the Olympic Peninsula and near Mt. Rainier in Washington State. My mom was a shutterbug, too.

Later, as a young adult, my husband proposed to me at my favorite waterfall — Sol Duc Falls in Washington — making waterfalls even more memorable for both of us.

As a parent now, I think passing along this multi-generational obsession with waterfalls to my children is imperative because waterfalls display God’s glorious creativity. Thankfully, waterfalls are more than plentiful in the great state of Oregon. And my dear aunt knows the perfect route to enjoy several breathtaking waterfalls in an easy half-day trip.

Site Two: Waterfalls along the Historic Columbia River Highway.  First up is Latourell Falls. This stunning waterfall is visible from the road, but a short downhill hike takes visitors close enough to feel a little spray.

As we continued eastward along the scenic route in a van named Big Red, we caught glimpses of several smaller waterfalls. At our next stop, we thoroughly enjoyed a quarter-mile hike starting at this waterfall at Benson State Park. Isn’t it heavenly?

Thanks, Aunt Sheila, for capturing this shot of us girls in front of the falls.

My dear Aunt Sheila is married to my Uncle Gary, who is by far the most experienced hiker I know. He led us on a little quarter-mile adventure up a path that rose high above the highway and railroad tracks. See the train hiding in the trees below?

We had to carefully cross over a few slippery rocks under this trickling little waterfall.

But don’t worry, the little sister kept her shoes dry this time.

In just a few minutes, we arrived at Multnomah Falls Lodge. Seated near the cozy fireplace, we delighted in a delicious and memorable lunch with aunts, uncle and Gramma. Tunes from Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring set the uplifting mood as we overlooked the Columbia Gorge and watched a few more Union Pacific trains race by. The big sister was certain we were seeing just one train go around and around in circles because the engines all looked just alike — yellow with an American flag.

After lunch, we went up with Aunt Lilac to see Multnomah Falls.

Then Uncle Gary joined me and the girls for a quick hike up to the bridge.

And so our waterfall tour ended on high at the gorgeous Multnomah Falls.

One spot we saved for next time is the falls at Bridal Veil, an adventure that requires more of a hike than our crew could handle that morning. We must go back!

NOTE: Read about our other recent adventures in Oregon here: Spring in Oregon — Part 1.

Spring in Oregon — Part 1

Diana B.2 Comments

The girls and I just rolled in from a lovely trip to Oregon, spending time with my aunt, who answers to the nickname “Aunt Lilac” when her great nieces are around.

Aunt Lilac and Uncle Bishop hosted us for a whole week, not only feeding us well, but also feeding my camera well! Shutterbugs cannot go hungry in Oregon; we feasted on many breathtaking sites.

Site One: The Bishop’s Close Elk Rock Garden in Portland. If you’ve been reading my blog a while, yes, this is the same magical garden I listed two years ago as #2 on my 8 Things We Love about Oregon post. We still love it!

Won’t you stroll along with us?

Fallen petals from the blooming magnolias blanket the path like over-grown snowflakes.

All the trees — not just the magnolias — seem magically magnificent in this garden.

From a distance, the buds on the camellias look like peonies. But up close, the delicate petals reveal their own enchanting beauty, reminding us of pink tissue paper.

The little sister delights in gathering fistfuls of petals and dropping them into the water near this little corner bench. I try to take a picture of her in action. She’s a water-lover, as I’ve mentioned before, and is quite enthralled with everything watery. Well, that is until she accidentally puts her foot — brand new shoe, sock and all — right into the water.

Sometimes shutterbugs must surrender the camera, console the soggy, and inspect shoes for stray salamanders.

Thankfully, Uncle Bishop knows just how to lift a little girl’s spirits, and he warms her bare toes in the pocket of his fleece jacket.

So the stroll through the Bishop’s Close ends happily after all.

We Can Fly!

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It was almost like Peter Pan himself invited us to go.

So of course we had to go flying– even if I was a bit unsure at first. Wasn’t Wendy a little nervous, too?

The little ones, they weren’t nervous at all. They’d gone before and were sure it would be fun to fly again. All full of faith and trust and pixie dust, they were. So we left our cares behind and soared right up into the blue sky — in a red and white Piper Cherokee.

We can fly! We can fly! We can fly!

But if I focused on what I didn’t understand, what I couldn’t control, I’d get too nervous.

So I focused on trusting the pilot and studying the big picture spread out below us.

Our kind pilot flew us a little more than 1,200 feet above the town we live in. How fascinating home looks from above!

The littlest one thought the March landscape looked like a brown and grey patchwork quilt, all those fields and lakes and clumps of trees pieced together with dirt roads and paved highways.

How exhilarating to see what the birds can see — and to see the birds themselves flying so far below us!

All too soon the sun started slipping farther west.

So our kind pilot brought us gently back down to earth — smiling and full of wonder. We flew!

Where are we, Toto?

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If you read my last post about our backyard snowfort, this picture might confuse you. 

Here are my coat-less, mitten-less, hat-less little pioneer women, in a snow-less prairie landscape. Their Pa put ’em up in that wagon.

 

Don’t they look refreshed and happy to be up there?

“Hey, Toto. We aren’t in Minnesota anymore.”

Nope. We’re in Kansas. Swept all the way down I-35 and beyond to this prairie home of a very famous pioneer woman.

(Although, I’d sure like to visit with a certain other famous Pioneer Woman, that’s another story… Did you hear there’s a movie of her life in the works?)

Well anyway, this is the Ingalls’ home — the Little House on the Prairie in Wayside, KS, — near Independence. We got to go inside, too. It’s cozy.

My very own Pa lives across the border and down the road just a piece. I don’t usually call him Pa and no, he doesn’t play the fiddle, but we love him a lot.

For the record, fellow Pioneer Woman readers, I’d like to apply as a substitute writer for that other Pioneer Woman. You know she’ll be waaaay too busy to write home once that movie thing takes off. So as a native Oklahoman, blogger, baker, and homeschool mom, don’t I qualify? Oh yes, I happen to have a few ties to the beef industry, too.

So, what do you say, Ree?

Also, just so you know, I can’t watch the Wizard of Oz. Flying monkeys freak me out.

Collecting the Scattered

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It had been four years. Four busy, long years since I had sat in the same room with my daddy and my big brother. We had all seen each other separately now and then, but not once had the three of us gathered together.

Four years is much too long to stay scattered in three states, especially when there are little people with whom you want to share your family ties.

So last month, our families reunited. We drove south all day, and they flew southeast all day, and then we all drove east four more hours to the Ozarks. There ten of us gathered to enjoy the fall. One sweet and handsome nephew, who now towers over me at 6 foot-something, was unable to join us. We missed you, Devin!

  

My parents used to take my brother and me to the Ozarks to enjoy Silver Dollar City when we were kids. We’d ride the bright red train — which always gets held up by redneck outlaws part-way through the trip. We’d drink ice-cold Sarsaparilla, bounce crazy on the swinging bridge, and stumble our way through Grandpa’s House — laughing out our disfigured reflections. Then we’d eat far too much salt water taffy and come home with extra special treasures like shiny cap guns and floppy hand-made rag dolls with yellow yarn braids. Silver Dollar City is a wonderful place for making memories together no matter your age.

It’s hard to recapture old childhood memories, of course, but we created new ones as we all twirled in the tea cups.

The cousins stumbled across the swinging bridge together and made it safely to this spot near the flour mill.

Daddy somehow convinced me to ride some rides I know better than to ride. He’s a completely different person when he has to wear his ball cap backwards. Who knew?

Daddy and I were hamming it up — it’s just a kiddy-sized rollercoaster.

My brother’s family looked calm as they waved to the camera.

Later I followed Daddy onto this giant froggy ride with the girls, thinking it’d be a yawner since little kids usually ride it without adults. But no. Linnea and I somehow got the freakishly high-bouncing frog. Whoah, Froggy! Even my engineer husband later confirmed that our particular frog was mechanically off kilter. Or something technical like that.

Part of what makes Silver Dollar City so unique is the opportunity to learn up close how things were made in the 1800s. With glass-blowing, candy-making, candle-dipping, pottery-throwing, wood-working and blacksmithing craftsmen all strutting their stuff — the whole family can learn a lot!

The girls dipped candles in the hot, colored wax — making something special to bring home and add to their collection of treasures.

Families are a collection of treasures, too. It’s stressful when loved ones are scattered across the country, but I think you treasure them that much more when you are finally all gathered up in one special place. I’m so thankful for my daddy and my big brother and the memorable time we shared in the Ozarks. I love you!

Florida Orange

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Here’s my entry for this week’s I Heart Faces Photo Challenge: Beach Fun. This is Laurel, age 4, at Bahia Honda State Park in Florida. Orange is her favorite color.

Check out more “beach fun” photos by clicking this button:

Princesses, Tea and Bucket Lists

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This weekend my niece is celebrating her birthday by heading off with her parents to have high tea at the Empress Hotel. I’m trying so hard not to be jealous!

The Empress Hotel is in Victoria, British Columbia. It’s one of the first landmarks you see when you arrive in Victoria by ferryboat. With ivy growing up its outer walls, the building truly looks like a palace.

I was 6 years old the first time I visited the Empress, and that happened to be the same week that Lady Diana married Prince Charles.

Most 6-year-old girls adore weddings, and a real-life princess wedding — well that’s even more magical. But top it off with the fact that the princess-bride shared my name! Cinderella and Snow White could not compete. The real story was far better than a fairy tale.

As the royal wedding was broadcast on television, 705 million people around the world watched the grand event. I remember staying up very late and watching part of it in our hotel room. In my memory, the room was at the Empress, but it could possibly have been another hotel in Victoria. Regardless, it was a magical memory from my childhood that I have long treasured, despite the true story’s tragic ending.

So back to the tea. Although I have had high tea in Canada once, and I have walked through the tea room at the Empress Hotel more than once, I’ve never had tea at the Empress. Truth is, until about seven years ago, I didn’t care much for tea. But since my dear friend Dani re-introduced me to the elegance of tea parties, and since I now have two lovely little tea-drinking daughters, I really, really hope to share a princess tea the Empress Hotel with them someday. In fact, tea at the Empress with my daughters would be in my bucket list. If I actually had a bucket list — a list of things I hope to do before I die.

Not too long ago, Bonita over at Encouraging Words for Writers blogged about bucket lists. Compiling one seems like a fun idea. My dear friend Aimee also has recommended the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, which could be required reading for someone compiling such a list. Another inspiring book on the subject, which also happens to be one of my favorite children’s books, is Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney.

Anyway, since I haven’t read the 1,000 Places book yet or given a bucket list much deep thought, I cannot share any sort of official list with you today. I can, however, share a very rough, very short, preliminary list — from off the top of my head — of some things I’d like to see or accomplish.

  • To have high tea at the Empress Hotel with both my daughters
  • To visit Prince Edward Island (It’s where the Anne of Green Gables series is based.)
  • To go horseback riding in Colorado with my children (I did this several times as a kid, and it was so fun!)
  • To visit Austria, Holland, Italy, Spain and England
  • To write a series of children’s books (I’d need someone else to illustrate them!)
  • To write a book about some amazing and inspiring women I know (You just wouldn’t believe what some have done because of their love for God.)
  • To take a college-level photography course
  • To visit Washington D.C.

What about you? Do you have a bucket list? If so, what’s in it? Do share your comments!

23 Blessings

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Today I write in celebration of God’s divine goodness toward our family during our Boundary Waters vacation earlier this month.

  1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
       he leads me beside quiet waters,

 3 he restores my soul.
       He guides me in paths of righteousness
       for his name’s sake.

 4 Even though I walk
       through the valley of the shadow of death,
       I will fear no evil,
       for you are with me;
       your rod and your staff,
       they comfort me.

 5 You prepare a table before me
       in the presence of my enemies.
       You anoint my head with oil;
       my cup overflows.

 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
       all the days of my life,
       and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
       forever.

Psalm 23

Father in heaven, thank You for leading us to this captivating place where I count so many blessings.

1. Fresh, gentle breezes drifting through open windows.

2. Daisies showing You love me.

3. Raspberries ripening, wild and sweet.

4. Waters parting as canoes glide quietly.

5. Water lilies floating elegantly.

6. A strong man persevering.

7. Hikers exploring new boundaries.

8. Rocks welcoming young climbers.

9. Water falling like stairsteps.

10. Little girls wading deep in clear water.

11. Pine trees scenting the air.

12. Wind rustling the leaves, which encourage it to slow down.

13. Hummingbirds darting to and fro while chickadees sing cheerfully.

14. Chipmunks bravely scurrying to play hide-and-seek.

15. Friends treasuring time together.

16. A sailboat whisking away in the wind.

17. A dog flying, fetching into the water.

18. Lupines growing tall but fading.

19. The moose evading the camera.

20. Popcorn promising to pile up like winter snow.

21. Tired little girls resting in snug bunk beds.

22. Loons crying lonesome in the night.

23. Your Love Lights, aurora borealis, brightening the dark night sky in the wee small hours.

Thank You, Father in heaven, for this peaceful place beside the water, this place where You give me rest and restore my soul. Your goodness and love follows me. My cup overflows.

“Gratitude is the culture of the sinners made saints.” –Ann Voskamp

Our Flower Girls

Diana B.5 Comments

 

“See the winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come.”  -Song of Solomon 2:11-12

 

 When Michael and I got married nearly 14 years ago, we had dozens of tulips but we didn’t have a single flower girl in the ceremony. We just didn’t know any young girls of the proper age to assign that role, except one whose family wasn’t able to attend the event. So I felt a little sad not having a flower girl in my wedding, but it was just as well. God’s desire was to bless us far beyond getting someone else’s a little girl all dressed up to toss out a few petals and fidget for the rest of a 45-minute ceremony.

Yes, God’s blessed us far beyond our wildest imaginations. Today we have two flower girls, and cumulatively they have blessed us with 11 years worth of all things flowery, dressy and girly — and I have a feeling there are still many more years of that to come.

Since they were wee little ones, hardly able to walk, our daughters have been our flower girls, pondering many a petal and sniffing each bloom thoughtfully. 

Linnea always has been the chief flower sniffer among us.  

Linnea at 18 months

 When she was small, Linnea demanded to sniff any real or fake flower within a 5-mile radius.  

Linnea at age 4

 She gladly helped me plant Impatiens in the backyard, and she sniffed them plenty, too. 

Linnea at age 7

Just a few weeks ago, she confirmed that this lily smelled quite lovely indeed. 

Now Laurel, on the other hand, always has been the chief caretaker of the flowers.  

Laurel at 19 months

 She’s always eager to relieve the Impatiens of their endless thirst.  

Laurel at 19 months

 And she’s always quick on the draw with a watering can. 

Laurel at 2.5

 Even the petunias wave in delight when Laurel comes share her sprinkles. 

Laurel at 3

 I’m sure my daughters’ flower sniffing and watering obsessions have nothing to do with the fact that both their names are also the names of flowers (Linnea is the national flower of Sweden, and the Mountain Laurel is the state flower of Pennsylvania and Connecticut.) 

I’m sure it has more to do with the fact that God created in them a need to behold and connect with something beautiful, a need for Him. Flowers are His creation, His handiwork. And right now God’s handiwork is blooming all over the countryside, beautifully showing us just a glimpse of our Creator’s indescribable glory.  

“See the winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come.”  -Song of Solomon 2:11-12

In Oregon earlier this month, the girls found flowers on a little nature walk we took in Lake Oswego.

finding flowers

Our stroll took us along part of this avenue of blooming crab apple trees. 

an avenue of blooming crab apple trees

Also, if you read this earlier post, you may recall the magnolia tree I mentioned was almost done blooming in the courtyard when we visited Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland. The blooms looked like this: 

magnolia

 And beneath the tree, the girls scrambled to collect fistfuls of fallen blooms. 

flower seekers

 Surely by now you can imagine why we just had to take our flower girls to the tulip festival in Oregon.  

The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

With tulips in nearly every color of the rainbow, the festival was truly a tulip-lover’s paradise, a botanical feast for the eyes. 

red tulips
red and white tulips
hot pink tulips
glowing orange and yellow tulips
purple tulips

It wasn’t easy, but somehow our flower girls victoriously overcame the temptation to pick the tulips. We did buy a lovely bouquet of tulips for my aunt, which helped us not feel so empty-handed. I kept longing to bring some of the tulips home with us, but instead I brought home another treasure: this picture of our flower girls admiring the tulips. 

our flower girls

I love that they are equipped with rubber boots and raincoats beneath a bright blue, sunshiny sky. The path was muddy and bumpy, and they splashed through dozens of puddles along the way. But the beauty around them made it all worthwhile. 

I also love that this picture offers so much perspective on life. If I focus too much on my own two boots and the muddy trial I’m walking through, I get bogged down and discouraged. But if I look upward, I see the rain is over and gone. I see the Son shining down on me, lighting my path. 

And if I look out beyond my path, I see fields of precious people, flowers quickly fading. They are here today, but many will be gone tomorrow. Some are ripe for harvest. Some have already turned toward the Light. Others will turn to Him eventually. And still others will never turn toward the Light of the World, Jesus. That’s a godly perspective of which I need to be constantly reminded. When I see those around me as flowers quickly fading — here today and gone tomorrow — I treat them differently. I am more loving, more patient, more heart-broken, and more passionate about sharing my faith in Christ Jesus. 

So, because I love this picture and because I love our precious flower girls, and yes, because I love tulips — in case I left any doubt about that — the tulip festival leaves big shoes to fill on our next nature walk! 

Laurel at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival
Linnea at The Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

 Wouldn’t you agree? 

Our Oregon Trail – Part 3

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12 Reasons to Go Back to Oregon

Aside from the fact that we now have relatives living in Portland and several relatives within half a day’s drive of that charming city, we came up with still more reasons to visit Oregon again someday. I thought I’d share them with you, just in case you get there before we do!

1. Silver Falls State Park

2. Portland Aerial Tram

3. Tillamook Cheese Factory

4. Moonstruck Chocolatier

5. Myrtle wood

6. Oregon Dunes near Florence

7. Portland Children’s Museum 

8. World Forestry Center

9. Astoria

10. Columbia River Gorge

11. Pendleton Woolen Mills

12. Mt. Hood