Earlier this month, we kicked off Summer with a family camping trip to Paulina Lake in Central Oregon. Lured by tales of a dig-your-own hot-spring, we spent two days hiking, relaxing, and soaking up the sun. We were successful in finding the hot-spring–an underground spring that bubbles up through the gravels at the shore of the lake–and, lucky for us, found the hard work of digging it out already done! We still had our work cut out for us in keeping it bearable by tempering the heat with buckets of cold lake water. By the end of the trip, Leland became a marshmallow-roasting pro, and was surprisingly gifted at lounging in the hammock. It must be hereditary . . .
There’s snow on the ground in Portland, and a lot more in the mountains! This shot is just our way of celebrating an early winter. We hope you’re enjoying it, wherever you are!
Three photographer friends and I headed out for a little photo exercise in the wilds of suburban Portland recently. I have passed by this spot a few times while out for a run and always wanted to come back with a few willing conspirators, lights, and a camera. Thanks to Aaron, Ashley, and Bryan I got my chance last week!
This post takes us back to the spring snows on Mt. Hood for Matt & Logan’s wedding at Timberline’s Silcox Hut. There were so many amazing details and stunning photos of the couple spread out over multiple blog posts that we did not get around to properly wrapping it all up. The photos below give you a glimpse of the glorious weather Matt and Logan awoke to on the morning after their wedding.
After a non-traditional send off involving snowballs in lieu of rice or bubbles (this was a complete surprise to the bride and groom, of course!), Matt & Logan took off down the mountain for their first ski–the first of many bluebird days together!
This post may seem a little off-topic, but it is our hope that you can get a glimpse of what we love to do in addition to our wedding and portrait work. We have had a number of adventures over the past few months that we are excited to share! Our travel and adventure blog has been on a hiatus for a few months, so until that becomes operational again, we will be sharing some adventures with you here. Enjoy!
For backcountry skiers in the Portland/Vancouver area, the transition from Winter to Spring brings a wealth of ski opportunities. The height of the Cascade volcanoes and a generally plentiful snowpack translates to skiing well into the early months of summer. For me, this usually includes a trip up Mt. St. Helens in addition to other forays into the alpine. Saturday was a beautiful day to get out on the mountain. Click the image at right, taken looking north into the crater from the summit rim, to view images of the ride down!
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After 3 weeks, 6 states, and over 3,000 miles of driving today is the second time we have seen rain. The first was last night as we camped in the Redwoods of northern California, and today a storm is pummeling the Southern Oregon coast as I write this huddled in the van with an awesome view of some rough surf. We have been lucky to experience different stages of fall throughout the west with beautiful weather! Today’s storm not only welcomes in the month of November but marks a decided change in the season. We will be home this afternoon, so this is my last “official” blog post from the road. I will definitely be posting more photos after we have settled back in and I can get to editing all of the 1700+ images we have!
To see our route, drag and zoom the map above. By my calculation (and google’s), we will have traveled about 3,500 miles in the last 3 weeks. We have really enjoyed the relaxation and sense of discovery that the road provides. Below is a small list of trip highlights we compiled while driving yesterday:
Early fall snow on Steens Mountain, OR
Spontaneous cattle drive on the highway
Listening to Coyote’s howling under a full moon in Nevada.
Hearing the hoot of an owl outside our tent bouncing off canyon walls at dawn.
Clear view of the milky way and other stars at night in Utah & Arizona.
L-O-N-G Arizona sunsets (including over the Grand Canyon).
Sunrise hike through Bryce Canyon.
Finding and soaking in a hot spring in a ditch in the Nevada desert.
Finding numerous ancestral puebloan ruins on a dayhike, and scrambling over slickrock ledges to get a closer look.
Seeing a herd of wild burros and horses.
Driving the winding road through Jerome, AZ at dusk.
Fall colors in Oak creek near Sedona, AZ.
Cooking various meals over the fire, such as polenta with mushrooms, onions, sweet peppers and buffalo sausage; fresh picked corn on the cob; and fire-roasted chiles.
Lots of seafood in CA and OR: scallops, fish tacos, sturgeon, smoked tuna, calamari steaks.
Dodging a falling tree branch after a wind gust blew through our camp under the redwoods.
Almost stepping on a rattlesnake while wearing sandals. (mere inches–no joke!)
Visiting old friends and soaking up the sun in Southern CA.
Beachcombing anytime we were close to the ocean–finding a bunch of minature sand-dollars was Joelle’s favorite.
Driving the Big Sur coastline very slowly at sunset.
Seeing Stella run, jump, climb, and explore every area we visited.
Of course, what would a trip log be without the obligatory road-trip self portrait? Here we are at Bryce Canyon.
Can you find the tent? Hint: look for yellow. Clicking on the photo to make it bigger will make this a lot easier! (It is worth seeing large even if you aren’t into playing this little game.)
After a chilly-yet-beautiful pre-wedding shoot with Josh & Stephanie in Bend, we hit the road for Eastern Oregon and the quest for solitude. There is something completely relaxing about driving into vast, open space, and that was exactly what we were looking for. Our first night found us headed towards the Steens Mountains. The Steens hold a huge amount of Aspen groves (fairly rare in Oregon), and we were hoping to glimpse some fall color. It turns out that we were greeted with snow instead! It was really cold camping at about 8,000 feet, but it was worth it to experience snow in October! Plus, it added wonderful texture and contrast to the fall landscape.
Looking west into Lake Creek Canyon at sunrise.
An aspen grove at the bottom of the canyon.
After one night up in the Steens, the desert sun of the Southwest started sounding better and we decided to head towards Nevada en route to Utah. A few hours into the drive, Joelle startled me when she noticed a mirage of cattle seemingly stampeding toward the car. This turned out to be our favorite moment of the day, and the cows were not stampeding, but were being driven to a new pasture down the highway! We did pull off the road in time, however, and gave our regards to the cowboys as they passed. Pretty crazy for a state-highway!
