Smoke On The Water

By the end of July, 2015, a good portion of the Pacific Northwest was on fire. The summer was even hotter and drier than usual and the seasonal fires reared their ugly heads, hazing out the sun and driving people into their homes or out of the valleys altogether.

Though my section the Rogue Valley (yes, it was mine by now) was not affected by the fires themselves, the smoke settled quickly into the bowl of the mountains. We cancelled hiking plans and anything outside really, due to the intense dry heat and air quality issues and hunkered down for some corny movies, video games, and card-playing.

By the third day of that, however, knowing my visit was coming to an end, we decided on one more river day mission and headed out of town a bit to Griffin County Park for a little outdoor relaxation time.

 

Despite the smoke, it was exactly what we needed.

 

This guy rocks "chilling out" like no one else I know. ;)

Life is so HARD!!!

 

We did a bit of swimming, made brief friends with some rafters, and I, of course, spent much of the time trying to capture the serenity and peace of the calm water under the smoky sky.

 

 

Never one to be left behind, there was also some time with this beautiful lady:

 

 

 

Eventually the sun did burn through most of the smoke. The boys had set up a canopy in the edge of the water and taken out their respective materials for a little 'R and R'.

Relaxation and reading, that is!

 

 

And I did my darndest to capture for posterity that feeling that I now knew I would never be able to find anywhere else.

 

 

McCloud River Falls

"We're going camping this weekend. I found this spot..."

If you know me at all, you know those words like gospel to my ears. When "this spot" happens to be in California, the lure gets downright hypnotic.

Just south of the Oregon/California border is... well... THIS:

 

 

...and that imposing sight over there on the horizon?

That's Mount Shasta.

How about a closer look:

 

 

I was quite taken with the mountain.

But this isn't even what we came for.

 

We settled into a nearby campground for the weekend. There were campfires and s'mores, permission for our chainsaw-wielding firefighter to chop our own firewood, Cards Against Humanity with some new friends from the lot next door, a tiny tent, and nights of sleeping outside under the stars. It was absolutely perfect, and a weekend worthy of it's own cover shot:

 

But that still wasn't what we were here for.

 

Behold, the pièce de résistance!

McCloud River Falls, near the city of Mount Shasta, California in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

 

 

There are actually three waterfalls.

The easy-to-access hiking trail winds along the river, past the first, smaller falls where, on this day, a large number of people were splashing and jumping in the water. We made our way past the crowd along the trail with two quick stops to remove a fishing hook from my shorts *cough* I told you so! *cough* and repair an injured toe with crazy-glue from the first-aid kit.

 

 

We didn't even make it to the third falls.

Once you see the second one, you really feel like you don't need to go anywhere else.

Ever.

 

 

The water was absolutely FREEZING, but the day was hot and once we got past the shock, there was no keeping us out.

 

At one point, there was a woman climbing a path along the side of the cliff to the  side of the falls itself and jumping off. Not ones to miss out on any way of potentially paralyzing themselves for a thrill, the boys made their way to the jump point as well.

 

You can see them here off to the left of the top of the falls.

 

Can't see them? There they are waving. What a bunch of hams!

 

Yeah, they jumped.

A few times.

I did not.

There are pictures and a video.

And now, at the bottom of what we've since been told is about 35 feet of water just under where they were sitting, after a few failed rescue missions, is a brand new GoPro camera.

DOH!

 

 

She wanted to be a mermaid on the rocks. :)

 

 

Supervising the GoPro rescue attempts:

 

 

and soaking up the rays:

I felt like I was in a truly tropical wonderland, like somehow I had hiked onto the set of Fern Gully or something from Lord of the Rings. There is nothing I enjoy more than being introduced to new corners of the world by people who love to explore and soak up life for all it's worth.

 

And I've found them.

I may truly be the luckiest girl in the world. 

 

Theory of a Deadman

On July 23rd, the crew and I headed to the Jackson County Fair to take in an outdoor concert featuring a band I had only recently become enthralled with: Theory of a Deadman. These guys are Canadian, so it was extra neat that they were playing so close by in Oregon while I was there. We waited until the last minute to buy tickets and I was pretty disappointed that the $40 'at the stage' spots were unavailable. It turns out, it was quite a stroke of luck! For $12 (the regular admission to the fairgrounds), you could have access to the entire fair and a 'grass view' of the concert. The 'grass view' didn't sound all that appealing, but hey, it was $12, and I'd get to see the show. As it turns out, what they call 'grass view' is stadium-style seating all around the stage, and we had an ideal little spot to watch, dance, and enjoy a beer or two! Best seats in the house!

 

Let the show begin!

 

 

"Wait, is his microphone-stand a SHOTGUN???"

Yup, sure is.

Didn't realize I got eye contact until I was looking at the shots afterward. Win!

Also a win: one crazy-awesome drum solo!

 

 

These guys put on a hell of a show. They had just enough fan interaction, a light show that was spectacular but not over the top, and they sound great! They covered all their best crowd-pleasers: All Or Nothing, The Bitch Came Back, Angel, Nothing Could Come Between Us, I Hate My Life, and more,  and then encored with my favourite, Bad Girlfriend, at which point I promptly lost my mind.

 

On our way out, a quick shot of the lights of the fairgrounds. It kind of felt like fireworks, closing off a fantastic show with our ears still ringing and our hearts still pounding.

 

 

I should probably apologize to the guys sitting a few feet behind us for my enthusiastic refusal to sit down the entire time the band was on stage. Sorry... not sorry. :)

 

"It doesn't make her wrong to have the time of her life...."
-Theory of a Deadman, 'Bad Girlfriend'

Grizzly Peak

On July 22, there were five of us piled into the truck, ready to spend the day hiking on Grizzly Peak near Ashland, Oregon. Before we even got to the trail, of course, there was this:

The "start" of the trail is actually just over a mile hike from where you park. From the parking lot alone, the views are awesome (if you're tall enough to get above the trees: truck bed ftw!) We left the truck in the lot and headed up, switching back over and over, winding up the side of the mountain. Just as we were starting to think the websites were wrong and that we had actually been on the main trail the whole time, we came to the loop.

Alright then.  Water and protein break, regroup, and here we go... for real.

This area is called the burn viewpoint, named after a fire in 2002 that destroyed so much of the mountainside.

 

This area is the Ashland viewpoint. One of those mountains over there is Mount Shasta, in California. More on that later. ;)

 

 

 

 The day was hot, but there was a nice breeze when we came out on the top. The views were magnificent, and the destruction left in the wake of the fire makes the area stand out all the more. All in all, another 'best day ever' in Oregon.