Friday, September 16, 2016

Two Days on the River

On Wednesday Gracie and I headed up the Columbia River Gorge for lunch at Big T's and then on to swim in the hot springs pool.  After lunch we drove down for a quick view of the river from the boat launch park at Stevenson.  Such a calming view.


I love looking across the river to the massive craggy cliffs of Oregon.


Then on to Bob's Beach to watch the windsurfers and kite surfers - and to look for black acorns.  :-)  They've recently installed a lovely bench in the park where you can watch the river flow by and the surfers fly by.  I loved seeing the sun pennies on the water.. a favorite thing of mine.


This guy was coming in to shore.. 


A kite surfer.. 


The park, the oak trees, the river and surfers having fun.


A few more acorns for my collection.


I love the colorful sails.



Then heading on to the pool.. the maple leaves are turning.. fall is coming.. 


I love the long wall at the hot springs where water flows over.. 


It was pretty crowded when we got there but slowly we got more of the pool to ourselves.. :-)  A good hour of lap swimming.. then home to fresh-caught salmon dinner with homegrown zucchini.  :-P


Yesterday after the boys got home from school we all hopped in the truck and hauled our C-Dory to Cascade Locks to launch for an afternoon/evening cruise.  The boy's friend Ayden joined us and spent the night at the farm.  Here we are cruising along under the Bridge of the Gods.


Dayle and I got to sit in the open cockpit of the boat on folding chairs and the fresh air, sunshine and the scenery was wonderful.  


We tied up at the same boat launch I pictured at the top of this post at Stevenson for the boys to swim, they had fun jumping off the dock.


They'd jump off the dock, swim to shore, walk up to the ramp and back to the dock and jump in again.. :-)


Boys.  



Kristi packed us a picnic dinner of sub sandwiches, potato salad, chips, grapes and drinks - and chocolate bars for dessert.  They dried the boys, put them in dry clothes and we all had dinner on the dock.  Then we cast off and headed back to Cascade Locks.. the golden sun was shining on the mountains as we zoomed by.



Wind Mountain and behind it Dog Mountain.


Something told me to stand up and look at the scenery and boom.. there was the Sternwheeler Columbia Gorge!  



How fun to see the sternwheeler!


Wave wave!


We are now packing up to take the boys to Kahneeta Hot Springs for an afternoon swim.  There's an old saying.. "make hay while the sun shines" and summer is leaving us rapidly.  I hope you're grabbing the sun while it's still here.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)  


17 comments:

  1. Much of your week is going swimmingly! It is fun to see through your lens what we saw on Wednesday, and then what you saw on your cruise yesterday...so much beauty! I'm glad you and yours are soaking in the sunshine while you can. Thanks for posting, Teresa. xx

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  2. What a beautiful corner of the world you live in. All that gorgeous water and stunning scenery. It sounds as if you've been having a fantastic time. And I bet the boys had an absolute blast. Wishing you a good weekend Teresa. CJ xx

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  3. What a fun late summer you are enjoying Teresa...definately time to make hay! Hugs xx

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  4. What fun you're having in and around the water this week Teresa! We are having some gorgeous days this week too but it's supposed to change tomorrow. That's okay, the rain is needed. Loved all of the adventures.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  5. You certainly seem to be having a fun filled week, before the weather turns. Unfortunately the temperatures have dropped here and we had a storm through the night and more rain. Autumn is definitely on the way. Take care.

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  6. I love the pictures of the boys, they look like they are having g such a fun time! Enjoy the end of your summer,
    Jillxo

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  7. You got some lovely pictures Teresa. The black acorn collection is growing - do you have any plans for them? I'm sure you're going to come up with something very creative and can't wait to hear/see what you do with them. That pool you go to looks very inviting. Do you actually swim for an hour or do you walk? I'd be exhausted after a few minutes of swimming. Mind you, I haven't been in a pool for a few years now. Don't the boys look as if they're having a ball with their friend Ayden. That mid-air pic you took of them jumping off the dock in amazing. Enjoy your sunshine - today its been sunny and warm here - really looking forward to warmer weather. I seem to be feeling the cold a lot nowadays and it will be nice to not have to 'hug the heater'. Also will be nice to not have a huge gas bill for the central heating. xox

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    1. I don't have much of a plan for my little collection of black acorns.. other than to add them to my table display for autumn.. which I need to do as the rain and clouds have brought fall to our farm over this weekend.

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    2. Oh.. and we swim at the pool, not walk. I do one length backstroke and then breast stroke the next.. back and forth for the whole hour without stopping. :-)

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  8. Catching up with your blog starting with this post, it's a lovely one too. Hope you have a lovely weekend.

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  9. Hello Teresa. Such beauty where you live. I long more and more to visit the area. what fun the boys had. I know my grandsons would be in seventh heaven doing that. We got to spend some lovely visits with them, took them swimming and such joy watching them have such fun together. The picnic sounded 'right up my street' lol.
    Thank you for your visit to my blog - you are a loyal supporter. You asked how far away mum was. It is 150 miles- down an extremely busy motorway that is often plagued by accidents/ roadworks and so on. We usually make a short stop at services. If there are no hold ups it takes two and a half hours. But on one visit last year ( when she was in hospital and I needed to get there quickly) it took five hours!!! It is notorious. she lives south of me in Somerset. The M5 is the main route down to the West Country - so Devon and Cornwall as well. We are hoping she will move near to us but has to sell her home. x

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  10. Sounds like Wednesday was such a wonderful day ♥

    summerdaisycottage.blogspot.com

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  11. I so enjoy seeing the Stevenson area and Cascade Locks as I've travelled that route so many times over the years... driving from The Dalles to Washougal was a weekly thing! How fun to be out on the water with the sunshine and fresh air! Take advantage while you can! I'm amazed at how you find the "non-windy" days to get out on the water. It's usually so windy and so many white caps! Take care.. you have an awesome family and awesome DIL! who packs you a dinner for your little cruise.... sigh.

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  12. Love your photos teresa. The boys look like tons of fun and joy. The shining water and the pines are beautiful. That tree is a bit ahead of ours. Still mostly green here. I too am loving the weather. SItting on my screened porch catching up on blogs. The temp is perfect, the sky is blue. Im a bit blue too after seeing Al off....

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  13. Hello Teresa . . . Your blog is a joy to visit. What I like best and what stands out in each and every one of your posts, is that you dear sweet sister, enjoy life to the fullest measure. I absolutely love that about you and I think that anyone following your blog is able to be inspired and encouraged by your great enthusiasm for living. There's no moss growing under your pretty little feet:)
    Have a fun week (oh, of course you will)!
    Connie :)

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  14. Two glorious days spent with a dear friend and family. The boat ride looks like so much fun, I am a bit jealous that you are having such great times in such a beautiful area. Have a wonderful week,
    Meredith

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  15. What a perfectly perfect time! Those acorns...I have a thing about acorns. I'm eyeing some wallpapers with acorn motifs. I've never seen them in those colors.

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