The van was finally packed and I was past my nap time so it was perfect timing to head out of town and work our way South/East to the old Cascades for some camping, hiking, mountain biking (dad) and hanging out with friends. Until Thursday night we weren't sure of our location this Memorial day weekend...where to go that's not too far a way, very scenic, hiking trails near by, rivers or lake water, somewhere that wouldn't be too crowded (national forest campground or camping only) and warm weather. Luckily for us Oregonians we had nice weather in our favor wherever you were traveling so that part easy. After extensive searching for the best camp site we landed on side of the Santiam River, next to the 2nd largest Doug fir tree in Oregon. The campsite ended up being on private property - owned by the timber company but it was ignored and we made the most of it with the scenery surrounding us.
We hiked one day and dad went mountain bike riding the next day while I napped and mom hung out and flipped through magazines and had fun with the girls.
We headed out late Sunday night which worked out nicely to have Monday to unpack and for dad to work at the new house.
The photo of the lamp embedded into the van grill was a bit surprising after the first night of camping...John and Catherine had it sitting a little too close to their van. We got a good laugh out of it though!