Monday, July 7, 2008

Paradise

"Happy Birthday!!!!"

This weekend was Casey's birthday and we celebrated it all weekend. We also met each other on his 25th birthday and we pretty much were instantly a couple after that day, so it has always been a little like a dual holiday! Every birthday since that first one together we have always gone camping to our favorite spot together.
It was so lovely this time, but it always is. We joke that our spot is our vacation home. It truly is like paradise, every shade of green glowing and vibrant with beautiful ferns,wildflowers, and succulents everywhere.
We sleep in a hammock with Nigel and Simon sleeps underneath us.
Our campsite is a about a 10 mile hike from our car(we had a subaru zipcar this weekend, along beautiful mossy trails, with beautiful babbling springs. Our site is along the edge of a stream, which is Mt. Hood runoff water, it is ice cold, but feels good to splash your face with in the morning.
That is the magic of camping here. Everything is bursting with beauty, it doesn't seem real. You half expect Totoro or Bambi to frolic out of nowhere. The dogs really needed this trip more than anyone, they love camping and turn into different dogs. Simon is obsessed with sticks and rocks, and will swim lap after lap in the ice cold water for them, then violently chew on them.

Nigel hops rocks that make me scared for life! But mostly they relax and scope out nature.
We drank sake and for food we used our Jetboil, which we love so much! Casey got two for his birthday a few years ago from his family and the cooking system is so lightweight and durable. Here is our breakfast,

which is a skillet meal of bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns, cooked in bacon fat, something I only eat when camping, but so good and fills you up for plenty of hiking.
We came home feeling like a million bucks after hiking and enjoying nature for the weekend. It was so nice to get away from clocks, phones, computers, and just listen to the beautiful sounds of birds chirping and the stream flowing for the weekend. We are going to try to come here every other weekend this summer to take full advantage of our summer, we will see what happens, but that is close to what we did last summer. We sort of live in fear of losing this spot to developments someday, but that is something I just don't want want to dwell on.

There is just so much to talk about when it comes to camping, I guess I will save the rest for future trips, I also uploaded a ton of photos on flickr of our trip.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yay, I'm glad you guys had fun! What a beautiful camping spot. I love those lush places with all the ferns and greenery - Dustin and I usually camp near the coast when we camp. It's a lot like that there. Hope you have a good week - tell Casey happy belated birthday for me!

Dchao said...

Awwwhhhhh so cuteee <33

ling239 said...

happy belated birthday to Casey ~ ^_^

Milkberry said...

Wow camping! That sounds so romantic! And yes, happy belated birthday to Casey :)

Unknown said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASEY :D

Hello H
This is the 3rd time I am commenting, the other 2 went missing..dont know why. So..IN CASE you see them being repeated her whatever reason, do delete them so I wont look like a silly fool hehehe:)

I have never camped in my life!! Oh..i wish i could do it too, so much fun!! Love all the photos to the MAX!! I'll hop over to flickr soon..I have a flickr account too but not updated ..yet!

It is so refreshing to be able to go somewhere..away from the buzz in work and town, just to have fresh air, and love that stream !! Was it cold? Is it safe too? Was it a day trip or overnight? Sorry, I wanted to know all this..dont have to answer if you dont want to :D

I loved that wrapper..all those japanese pictures, there were only 2 and both sent out. I couldnt find anything close to that now and glad you like it.

so...please spill out the beans..the waiting and tension is killing me :D

lots of love and hugs always...cant wait for the next post

mushroommeadows said...

what a happy celebration indeed! for some reason, food ALWAYS tasted so much better after hiking! actually, I think eating is the best part of camping. :D

Hey Harriet said...

What a magical place! It sure looks like the perfect getaway spot. Glad you guys have such a wonderful place to escape the hustle & bustle of everday life. Those photos are sublime!

Ku said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASEY! XD We're only a day apart... depending upon how you count it. ^^;

Also, hello Simon! I've not seen you yet, only Nigel. ^^ You're a nice big duggy.

Betty said...

The 1st photo of Casey is a great shot. He looks like it is his birthday.