LaPine State Park
La Pine, Oregon
May 2022
Yes, that's snow. In May. We were camping in Central Oregon and just as Rod began to grill our hamburgers, it started snowing. That night it got down to 19 degrees. Nobody told us summer doesn't arrive in Oregon until August!
It was a busy month with travels and visitors, so I didn't read as much as usual, but one of the books I just finished was outstanding! I can't stop thinking about it, and plan to nominate it to my book group for a 2023 selection.
Books Read (click on the title for my review):
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (3.5/5)
Where Memories Lie by Deborah Crombie (3/5)
Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson (5/5)
Movies & TV Series:
Bosch: Legacy - We've watched three episodes and it's good, but not as good as the original Bosch. It feels disjointed, jumping between three unrelated storylines for each of the main characters.
Downton Abbey (Season 1) - I never finished watching this series, so I decided to start at the beginning and watch the entire series. I'm really enjoying it and can't believe how much I've forgotten!
Puzzlemania:
Visitors!
Celebrations!
While our visitors were here, we celebrated my mom's 89th birthday and my husband's milestone birthday! When we were in Nashville, our daughter and son-in-law took us shopping for Rod's birthday gift. He came home with a custom-made Gibson. How cool is that?!
Road Trip!
As I type this summary, we are in our third week of a road trip in our RV. It's the first trip since last October! We don't usually go away during the holiday season, and by January and February the weather is so nasty, we just hunker down at home. We had work done on the RV in March and flew to Nashville in April, so May was the first opportunity to hit the road. We spent four nights in LaPine State Park, four nights at Cove Palisades State Park (north of Bend) and two nights in Sisters. We fell in love with Bend and Sisters, where we spent a lot of time in coffee houses, bookstores, bakeries, and brewpubs. It's all about the food!
After a few days back at home (we didn't want to camp at a crowded park on Memorial Day Weekend), we are now at Nehalem State Park for a week. It's been great to get explore new areas, as well as revisit old favorites. I plan to blog about our trip, but I'll leave you with a few photos from each location.
LaPine State Park
La Pine, Oregon
Mt. Jefferson
Cove Palisades State Park
Culver, Oregon
Three Sisters
Sisters, Oregon
Nehalem, Oregon
I can't end this post without mentioning the heartbreaking tragedy in Uvalde, Texas. Memorial Day Weekend is a sad reminder for a very personal loss in my family, and my heart goes out to all the families who were affected by this recent act of violence. We must do better as a country to make changes in our gun laws. There is no excuse.
Rachel
1981-2005
Vicki, I agree! We all think my mom looks fabulous for 89. Great genes!
ReplyDeleteTo clarify, Rachel was not a victim of the Uvalde shooting. She was killed on Memorial Day Weekend in 2005.
What a beautiful post Les. Joy and sadness and great books as well. I loved all the pictures and your newish header as well. Happy belated birthday to Rod - I know know he is few month older than me LOL - You mom looks great too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Diane. Yes, joy & sadness seem to go hand-in-hand in the month of May. My new header photo of the Deschutes River was taken when we were camping in LaPine State Park. There's a wonderful trail that runs parallel to the river, which I enjoyed on several occasions. I agree that my mom looks great, but I can't believe Rod is 70 (and I'm 60)!!
DeleteWe loved the Bend area of Oregon! We wish we'd been able to spend more time there. We would take an assignment there if we found one. We've also talked about an assignment in northern California or the southern coast of Oregon. We really didn't spend much time on the coast while we were in Portland. My aunt and uncle are wrapping up a 3-week vacation on the coast of Oregon and Washington and their pictures have us ready to go back.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your husband and mother! The custom Gibson is awesome!
I'm sorry for your family's loss in 2005. Rachel was beautiful. I hope our lawmakers finally do something to end, or at least lessen, the violence. Doing nothing is changing nothing.
Enjoy your week!
Jen, I can easily see us returning to Bend & Sisters every year! When we find a favorite "local" spot, we tend to go back as often as possible. I think we've camped at Nehalem (south of Manzanita) 8 times in the past 5 years! I hope you guys get back to Oregon or Northern CA. There are so many beautiful spots to see.
DeleteYes, the Gibson is pretty cool! He says it's way more guitar than he deserves, but it sure sounds great!
Thanks for the kind words about Rachel. She was beautiful, smart, funny and such a good person. I don't think a day goes by that I don't think of her. Her murder was absolutely senseless.
Snow in May ! Love the camping photos and also your puzzles. Happy birthday to your husband!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about Rachel, what a lovely young woman. She looks remarkably like my niece Tammy who died at age 38. Too young for both women.
Tina, the snow was crazy! Thankfully, it didn't last (or stick). Thank you for your kind words about Rachel. I'm so sorry you lost your niece at such a young age, too. 24 and 38 is far too young. Their lives were really just beginning...
DeleteOh, Les, this is such a poignant mix of celebration and sorrow. Your trip sounds like fun and your photos are beautiful—we also love Sisters. We've been twice to the Sisters Folk Festival and I'll bet it's something you and Rod would enjoy. Nehalem is also one of our favorites. :-) So sweet to see your photos of your mom and Rod celebrating their birthdays...they both look great!
ReplyDeleteI still feel deeply sad about the tragedy in Uvalde, and I'm so sorry that you lost your beautiful daughter to senseless gun violence. We desperately need some fundamental changes in our laws.
Thank you, Laurel. Our trip was wonderful and a nice mix of mountains and beach. I'll bet the Sisters Folk Festival is great fun. I've only been to one (in Telluride), which was fantastic.
DeleteLove your month in review posts... but I still can't believe that snow! You travel to such beautiful places. I don't know when we'll do another great roadtrip adventure, but the Pacific Northwest is very high on our list.
ReplyDeleteLooks like your mom and Rod both had wonderful birthday celebrations. There are so many New York Puzzle Co puzzles that have caught my eye, including The Night Garden. That must've been hard with all the black sky! No puzzles here for the last month or so, but I set up a card table in our CT sunroom and hope to start one soon.
All of this senseless gun violence has just got to stop! I'm filled with a mixture of sadness and outrage. Surely we, as a country, can do better. I'm sure Rachel is always in your thoughts... sending a hug your way today, my friend.
I'm so glad you enjoy these monthly posts, JoAnn. I have fun putting them together and it's nice to document how I spend my time other than just reading. :) Yeah, that snow was pretty wild, but the 19 degree low was more astonishing. Glad it only lasted one day! We really enjoy our road trips and have another one coming up in a couple of months. I'm also beginning to plan for a trip to Glacier NP in September!
DeleteYep, that puzzle was a challenge with all the black pieces. We're working on another, but our puzzle time isn't as frequent during the summer months when we have so many other things going on. It's nice to get a little break from them, too.
I'm hopeful that our government will make some significant changes to our gun laws, but I'm also realistic... Thanks for the hugs. Rach is never far from our thoughts...
What a wonderful month you had with travel (really, snow in May?!), visitors and good books. Let's hope June is just as amazing.
ReplyDeleteHelen, the snow was pretty surprising, as was the 19 degree low that night! It feels like we're on a different planet than the rest of the country. Too much rain and chilly temps. Yesterday, we were 50 degrees cooler than where we're heading in a couple of months!
DeleteWow the photos of your trip are beautiful. So much to think about in this post ... both the good and the sad. Your mother looks well. Happy bday to both... and what a gift of that guitar! I'm so against guns of any kind & all the inaction over gun control really angers me. We are enjoying Bosch Legacy and are half way through. I wish we could see Operation Mincemeat but we don't have to Netflix. hmm. Still I plan to see it elsewhere if possible. Are you home yet or still on the road?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. Yes, the guitar was a GREAT gift! We are home and will stay here until early August when we head down to California for a few weeks. I'm also putting together a trip for early fall, probably to Glacier National Park.
DeleteI dream of trips to the PNW. It looks so beautiful! And that puzzle artwork is stunning!
ReplyDeleteYou are so correct about the gun laws. Something needs to be done.
Erin, we are very fortunate to live in this beautiful area. We love the PNW!
ReplyDelete