THE LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

Summer, a time for enjoying the rewards of gardening, hauling water to keep it all alive...

car shows...

and warm summer evenings playing cards on the front porch. Moses loves to keep us company and tries different positions to stay as cool as possible. This one is the most original!

HIKE AROUND CLEAR LAKE

Since Sundays are the only day we all of have off, we played hooky from our duties at church to get away and do something fun before summer comes to an end. Because of weather conditions around the state, we chose Clear Lake in the Cascades, forcasted to be in the mid 80's with a nice breeze. We headed up through Lebanon and Sweet Home arriving in time for a picnic lunch before starting out on the 5 mile plus hike around the lake.

Our first glimpse of the gorgeous turquoise water.

The colors are absolutely awesome, the turquoise and Sapphire blues sparkling like jewels!

You can see why they call it "Clear Lake"!

No motorized boats are allowed on the lake, so it's very peaceful and quiet as we walk around. You see a lot of row boats and canoes though especially as you get closer to the boat house. Next time that's how I'm going around!

BUENA VISTAS

There's that gorgeous turquoise water again!

The hottest part of the hike was when we reached the opposite side of the lake and the lava fields, but still gorgeous views.
Josiah showing off again!

Jeremiah trying to hide from the camera again!
Well, we must be about half way around, because there's the boat house on the other side, which is where we're headed.

After our hike through the hot lava rock, cooling off in this little inlet was welcome indeed, even if you could only leave your feet in for a minute before frostbite set in!

ARE WE THERE YET?

We were very warm and tired by this point, but we didn't think Josiah would take the suggestion to "go soak your head" literally! There's the boat house again. We must be getting close! Right? Wrong!
We finally walked out 3 hours, 5 minutes, and more than 5 miles later. I made it, which is a miracle considering how my knees have been since the cartilage injections that were supposed to make them feel better? Not!! The last one was in March. This is August!! Jesus is still the healer! Then it was on to Sahalie Falls.

Jessi will remember how hard we had to look for our covered bridges in Vermont. Well, as we're driving towards Eugene...walla, there's the Goodpasture covered bridge built in 1938.

Last stop, Mazzi's, for some calazone before heading home. We love Mazzi's calazone so much that we drive clear to Eugene for the treat since they're no longer in Salem, or even Portland anymore. So since we were already in Eugene, of course we couldn't pass up the opportunity. Of course Josiah had to have Fettuccine Alfredo and Jeremiah his pizza, but Rissa, Dennis, and I were savoring each bite of sausage, mushrooms, and gooey cheeses folded into that tender crust and smothered in an awesome marinara sauce. I'm salivating just thinking about it!!