Maximus Weekendi

A dog and her boy.  Maize often stands sentinel to Milo whether he be crying or not.

It is just beautiful here in the spring - as it is everywhere, I believe - and it's hard to stay inside.  Thus, Randal and I have left town about half of the past few weekends, which might mean that weekend chores have suffered, but we have had a wonderful time exploring some new places within a 5 hour radius of Klamath.

We started out with a surprise trip for my first Mother's Day.  I, rather petulantly, requested a "big deal" for my first Mother's Day and Randal certainly did not disappoint.  He planned a weekend at the Coast, packed all of my favorite snacks, and mapped out a beautiful hike in the Redwoods.  It was perfect.  I made him put Milo in the ocean, despite how freezing it was.  And we realized that beautiful beach commercials with babies are a myth.  There is sand everywhere.  EVERYWHERE.  It is not as charming as it seems.  

Playing on the beach. 

The dogs were in heaven.  Juneau ran and ran, chasing seagulls.  Maizie tried to keep up, but eventually just stayed with us to protect us from sea monsters.  

Randal found a beautiful hike for us on Mother's Day in a redwood-filled State Park in northern California.  It was awe-inspiring and the perfect way to spend a day.  I felt so fortunate to be a part of my little family with a husband who spoils me.

The next weekend, we took off again to meet Kristi and Andrew in another part of northern California.  Andrew had scouted out a hike for us and a beautiful campground: Blue Lake campground.  Randal and I had a new, heavy-duty, two room tent that we were ready to use and I checked the weather before we went, packing accordingly for the 50 degree low and 60 degree high that Google told me.

The hike was beautiful, but about 3 miles shorter than we expected due to so much snow pack.  So, we set up camp - enjoying our sturdy new tent during a hail storm - and made fantastic hobo dinners.  Kristi had packed much of the food and again, I felt quite spoiled!

Andrew pointed out when the temperature continued to drop that I might have checked the weather at Blue Lake Campground in Virginia, which was a touch (re: around 20 degrees) warmer than that in California.  Rain and 30 degree temperatures ensured that we were pretty chilly and extremely underdressed.  So, after a cold (and fairly sleepless) night sharing a sleeping bag with Milo, we said farewell and looked for someplace warmer.

Milo loves his friends, the Wissels.  And Haley the dog too.

Beautiful and cold campsite.

Morning coffee and clapping.

On the way back, Randal and I stopped at the Lava Beds to check out Petroglyph Point, which we had never visited.  The petroglyph were amazing - made sometime between 4000 and 6000 years ago.  They will not last forever due to climate change and human vandalism, so I felt very lucky to be able to see them now.

After that, we stopped at the National Wildlife Refuge to spy on Klamath's favorite bird, the pelican, and some ibis (I think).  We went on a little hike and so while we missed spending the day with the Wissels, we found some great new finds in the Klamath Basin.

Our next adventure was a visit from the Dickens!  We felt so lucky that they took their summer vacation in Oregon and enjoyed having them in Klamath for four days.  We maximized our time: taking in Crater Lake, the Lava Beds, visiting a Japanese internment camp, and wine-tasting.  They were fantastic guests and I've missed them since they left.

A crystal clear day on the Lake.  

Alicia wiped out in the snow, which gave a great opportunity for a family photo.  

Lia reads to Milo.  He's entranced.  

Visiting the Lava Beds.  Slightly different climate than Crater Lake!

Preparing to enter our first big cave.  

This was cold.  Below us is ice that stays frozen year round.

Lia and Milo definitely shared a special relationship.  She couldn't get enough!

Wine-tasting for adults.

Sugary-sweetened beverage tasting for kids.

Wooldridge Winery never disappoints.

Milo just went down for a nap, so I'm going to take this opportunity to go on a hike.  Work continues to truck along and the weekends are wonderful.  I can certainly see the benefits of working part-time as I don't feel particularly thrilled to head back to the office tomorrow.

Fortunately, Randal's first Father's Day is coming up, so we have a wonderful reason to celebrate again.  As you can see, it doesn't take much to convince us to escape and play!