Rosemary Bushes

I have these 4 small Rosemary bushes that I purchased and set aside for the front.  I know I want some privacy, I also envision the front full of fragrant plants.  So I am placing the Rosemary along the front of the patio set back far enough that we can let them get nice and full and bushy with out encroaching on the patio slab.  I also would like to get Jasmine and plant those along the south side and have them climb the wood fence.

For now I have the Rosemary so Imma start with that.

The front is dirt and weeds and little else.  I gave the small strip intended for the Rosemary a good soak and pulled up the weeds.  It is much easier to pull crabgrass with a deep watering.  So mostly by hand, but I also utilized the hula hoe, the weeds came up and the small bushes went in.

They all looked pretty good, save for one that appeared to be a bit dried out.  I did take a few weeks to actually put them in, my bad!  I put it and hoped it would take.

Another deep soak and there you have it!  I can't wait for them to get all big.  I have many plans for you little Rosemary.

Tillamook and beyond

Oregon had many scenic moments.  Many.  Too many to count.  Honestly, it is so green and vibrate that it feels like a whole other country (namely Canada) I was wide eyed the whole time.  At one point I thought I was going to cry.  Literally.  We had planed to go to the coast and had to drive through the thickest most amazing forest. 

We stopped at a nice spot and did a quick detour hike through the thick ferns and ground cover.  It was a rain forest.  Everything was huge, the trees, the ferns, the flowers.  All oversized and incredibly green.  Layers of moss covered every surface and the trees towered high above seemingly endless into the sky.  The kids ooo'd and ahh'd in amazement and I had to join in.

Once we made it to the coast we drove a little north to Tillamook bay (with a side stop at the Tillamook factory to try some squeaky cheese!) and drove up along just north of Tillamook bay into The Barview Jetty park.  We parked and walked a short distant to the soft sand.  There was a strong northwesterly coming in the early evening.  It was exhilarating and deafening and I loved it.  The ocean is where my heart is.  I am use to the southern California beaches though, full of rocky pebbly sand and toned tanned beach bodies frolicking in the surf.   How assaulting!  This was a stark contrast.  The wild grass and reeds grew right out of the sand, just like I have seen of pictures of the east coast beaches.  It was new and exciting, I was actually stoked to see tall grass growing at the beach, don't ask me why.

Vast expanse stood before me, the wide foreboding sea, and the thick expanse of forest butting up right against the ocean. 

I was entranced by the beauty.  It was all too much.  The soft wind-blown sand melting under your feet.  The calm lapping waves of an ice cold sea. 

The squeals of delight coming from my soaked kids each time a wave threatened their feet.  This was it. Cue the tears.


I had this overwhelming feeling.  I never wanted to leave. I would make my home here by this driftwood and jelly fish, thank you very much.

I didn't want to go back to the car and drive to the hotel we had for three more nights.  It felt like home, only a home I had never known before.  Maybe I was falling in love (is that why I inexplicably quoted Sleepless in Seattle?) with Oregon.  I think you can fall in love with a place.

We ended the little beach trip with a walk onto the jetty.  It reached out so far, the kids loved walking out into the sea with out getting wet. It was time, the kids were soaked and cold and the fireworks stand was only open for 30 more minutes, so we went back to the car and left this little bit of heaven vowing to return someday.

A little something about the Timberline

So while we are looking at brochure after brochure of Oregon deciding what to do with our day, we come across a little blurb about a ski lodge near the peak of Mt. Hood that was in the feature motion picture The Shinning, well well well, don't mind if I do!


A quick Google search confirms, yes it is open, yes it is an active ski lodge and yes you can visit.  Fun fact, the Timberline is also a historical landmark.

It smelled like Christmas in there.  All the exposed wood and carvings everywhere made for interesting sights.  Alas we forgot the still camera so I can not share some of the beautifully carved benches and banisters, but you can Google Timberline Lodge and see some great pictures.  Much better then my little digital camera could do justice.  The hotel staff were super friendly and I know that you can arrange tours, but with a four and six year old to keep entertained, we opted to pass on the tour.

There were many trails all over the mountain and the Pacific Crest Trail runs right to the lodge.  So naturally we had to walk on it for a bit.  But at 6,000 plus feet, the hike was short lived!  That's the other thing, here it is close to July 4th and there is snow on the ground.  The ski lifts were running and all day snowboarders and skiers were coming on and off the mountain.  The kids built a snowman and had a snow ball fight... in July!

A little detour by the name of Dunsmuir

So while driving on the 5 through Northern California we saw signs for this little historic town called Dunsmuir.  It was early morning and we had already been on the road for two and a half hours and we were hungry.  So off the freeway we came, driving on to this winding mountain road.  This is what road trips are all about.  One of my favorite things to do is find little gems.  Things you wouldn't know about other then by driving and seeing with your eyes.  Some of the best experiences we have ever had on the road is from simple little impulses to follow a sign that says "this way" or saying "want to check that out?"

It ended up being this awesome little town high up in the forest with incredible views and according to this sign: The Best Water on Earth.  I love the confidence!

Full disclosure, I did drink the water and it was really good.  The fountains run continually so I hope the water is not recycled back in...
At any rate, we ate a fantastic breakfast a café and decided to walk around a bit before hitting the road again.  After all we had about 700 miles to cover by that night.  The town had little unique touches everywhere.  This fantastic mural for instance.

 The buildings were very interesting to look at as well, lots of homes that had unique and artistic little elements to them.  Lots of green everywhere.

The firehouse was very cool, a historic building that was well maintained and I think still functional.  I know the sign says Sheriff, but it was a Firehouse too!

We only took 20 minutes or so to walk around, but from what I could see this little historic town was peaceful and serene.  It is also a stop on the railroad, so that would be a fun little trip!  This is the train stop right here, or at least part of the station.  I think a newer building was off to the left, but I didn't get a shot of it.

There were all these historic buildings that were old homes turned into store fronts.  Being that it was early Monday morning; nothing was really open.  So I snapped shots of the store displays.

I knew we must be getting close to the Oregon boarder when I saw Blackberries growing onto the sidewalk.

The air was so fresh and clear up there. Everyone smiled as we passed, and were very polite.  It was refreshing to say the least.  I spotted this old movie theater, I just love old movie theaters.

We had circled back around and saw our parked car on the main drag.  Was that really the time?  We had been here an hour!  Oops, time to hit the road.

 One last look at the incredible view that is enjoyed by the locals here in Dunsmuir.   I believe that is Mt. Shasta...What an amazing little town.  I am glad we stopped here.