Going Losting XV-Quilomene 2011

This was our third year joining friends in the Quilomene area for a camping trip. It was so much fun!

The kids in particular were quite fond of one of the dog's kennel. They begged to be allowed to sleep in it. Kids are weird. :-) It was a beautiful weekend. It got down to 39 degrees the first night up in the higher elevation campsite we were at the first night. We were at (I think!) 4200 feet. That would be why I never leave for a camping trip without my thermal underwear, fleece, and coat and gloves. :-) I was toasty.
When we're camping is the only time I actively LIKE mornings. Heckling from Frank as I attempted to get this photo did not even begin to damper my good mood. :-)
Who could be blue, with this view every time one leans their head back in their camp chair?
I've done posts on this area three times now... probably more, actually, as we spend a lot of time up here. It's our go-to offroading place. So, I attempted this time to get pictures that were more than just landscapes, pine trees, sage brush, etc. So, you're getting a picture of the floor of my Land Rover. A few weeks ago, Debris announced to someone that Daddy's car was our clean car, and Rovey was always dirty, because we never wash him. The fact of the matter is, we DO wash him... he usually just gets so dirty so quickly that he's usually dirty. Also, his dirt goes deep... I'm pretty sure he'll never be fully clean again. So, in this floormat I have indeed scrubbed out, I can guarantee you that there is still dirt from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.
Debris watching Daddy air down the tires... and asking 342 questions about the whole process. When you're driving on super rocky terrain this makes SUCH a huge world of difference in the comfort.
Special THANK YOU to this lovely woman, who always makes it a point to take the kiddos on at least one hike so their parents can get a break. :-)

I'm pretty sure this is my very favorite photo from the weekend. I mean, really, how could it not be?! Setting up for the gratuitous landscape shot, and a kid runs into the frame with arms and legs flailing all about. Perfection. I love how kids can run with their arms and legs flailing, and nobody thinks anything of it. Someday, I'm going to try that.

Ok, not really. Pretty sure I couldn't ever pull it off. :-)



Gratuitous Landscape Shot.

The second day we headed out and did a few trails.

There's a couple great spots with views of Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams. This here is Rainier. The child who can sleep while offroading. Considering the size of the rocks on this road, it's purely amazing.
These trails are pretty easy. Mostly just really rocky, so you have to pick your line and stick to it. A lot of fun.

And, the Moon Dust. Boy howdy, is there moon dust. Wanapum Lake Area on the Columbia River--our campspot for the second night.

And, this my friends, is a picture of a man who loves his wife very much. (Chances are good that in reality it's actually a picture of a man who realized that is uber-focused wife would obsess about the steer head for at least the next six months if she didn't get it, and therefore he took care of it to shut her up.) That being said, the whole "love" option appeals a whole lot more to me, so I'm going to go with that one.

Because I've done a TON of searching and checking and looking for a bleached bovine head for literally years now... it would look SO cool in my living room, which is currently taking shape. But, I haven't been able to find one I could afford... they're super spendy-especially with the horns on! So, I spotted this apparently rotting wonder on the way in, and obsessed about it until it was time to head back out. Then, I didn't realize we were so close to the end of the trail, so hadn't started looking for it in time, and we popped back out on the highway without it. So, we went back in for it. (Not that far.)

Turns out it's already past rotting stage, and headed towards drying out with the skin on. (Thankfully, because that would have been a smelly trip home.) So, he hatcheted it off for me, and I now have a hideously grinning head in my backyard. It set down on the floor in front of me the whole way home, and I watched it carefully for escaping beetles to crunch the whole way home. Now I'm researching the best way to get it to look how I want it.

Not gonna lie, the whole bovine head thing totally made my weekend. I grinned the whole way home. Hopefully not as hideously as the dead beast at my feet.

Thanks to all our friends for such a great time!