Goodbye

Within a week and a half of traveling to Louisiana for a vacation and chance to visit my Granny one more time, I got the phone call this morning that I've been dreading.  My brother called me this morning to tell me that our Granny died this morning.  I knew before I pressed the button to answer what he was going to say, but it still felt like a sucker punch to hear it.  I've got a lot of jumbled feelings right now.  I'm glad she isn't suffering anymore, but I'm sad that I couldn't see her one more time.  I also feel guilty that I've not called her enough over the last few months and I've lived so far away at a time when I might have been able to help keep her company in her very old age and through the trials of Alzheimer's disease. I feel...very, very blue.  And a little empty.  She was such a sweet lady.  I wish I could have held her hand and listened to her stories one more time.

Explanation

I've recently had to change my blog settings and other information in order to protect my privacy, so it is harder to find my blog now.  I wanted to make sure you who have come here and commented, could still come, so I've set things up so that you will be notified when I post, and you will be able to read my blog, even though I've changed the URL and some other things, to make it much harder to find.

If you would like me to take you off this list, please let me know. 

Love you all!

Andrea

Springtime Pilgrimage

Well, I made it out to Smith Rock afterall, and I'm so glad I rolled myself out of bed before dawn to get there early.  The drive was perfect, even through the snow on Mt. Hood.  And the light was still pretty when I arrived at Smith Rock.  One of the fun things about this trip was all the wildlife I saw:  lots of geese (must be mating season - they were very vocal!), a coyote, a little cotton tail bunny, which Molly wanted to go after soooo badly.  I also saw some eagles and one falcon.  I'm too tired to write much, but the pictures say it all, anyway.  It's kind of hard to take a bad picture in a place like this...

(click to see larger)

Mt. Jefferson through the gap.  Taken near the bivouac area.

The morning light brought out the reds quite well.

The Crooked River winding around the Rocks

Deep Shadows

Like a cathedral!  I love this place.

This lone goose looked kind of funny playing "King of the Hill" :o)

Prettier from this angle.

Stunning colors - I love the green wash in some areas.

Molly, wet from fetching sticks I threw in the Crooked River.

A coyote!  (severely cropped - my lense couldn't quite reach him.)

Molly heard the climbers talking waaaay up there!

Good ol' Monkey Face!

I'm calling this "Skull Rock" - but it kind of looks like Edvard Munch's "The Scream"

Even prettier with the vapor trail in the sky.

Nature's artwork.

Other side of Monkey Face.

Monkey Face with Mt. Jefferson in background.

Mt. Jefferson from atop Smith Rock.

My heart went into my throat when Molly walked into this shot, so close to the edge!

Dead wood and flowers - two of my favorite things!

The Desert Sage is very pungent and freshly green this time of year.

A big juniper.

On the way back...

Lots of climbers out today.  Wish I'd caught up with Connor, but I just hiked and didn't ring him up to rendevous.

Spider Woman.

UPDATE:  This is Connor's girlfriend, Allysa in the pic above!  Looks like I ran into them afterall - sort of!  She looked like her from a distance, and I wondered if it was her when I shot this. I was too far away to see if Connor was in the party and I considered just asking, but I was on my way out and would have had to hike up to where they were, so I took the photos and moved on.  Turns out they left shortly after, because the winds were really picking up.

Amazing!

Bottom's Up!

Such a lovely place in the late afternoon light, too.

Happy Hiker! (taken with cell phone camera)