Hiking to Ponytail Falls

I really wanted to go out and take pictures yesterday, so I looked around on the internet and chose to go to Ponytail Falls in The Columbia River Gorge near Multnomah Falls. (I really needed the practice of shooting waterfalls and by the pictures you'll see that I need even more. I was very disappointed by how they turned out.)

We took the Historic Hwy past Multnomah Falls, past Horsetail Falls, and past Oneonta Gorge. The drive was so unbelievably beautiful. Right off the Hwy was Multnomah Falls then a little ways down the road, again right off the Hwy is Horsetail Falls. These are huge waterfalls. It was just amazing. So we kept driving past these beautiful falls and discovered we went too far and had to turn around. The directions I got from the internet apparently sucked, so we decided to pull over at The Oneonta Gorge and sight see. The trail was crappy and there was a log jam preventing us from going any further, but I took a few pictures of the area.

Then we drove down the Hwy past Horsetail Falls, to the Oneonta Falls Trails thinking that is where we would find Ponytail Falls. So we hike to what I later find out is Oneonta Middle Falls.

By the time Anson and I reach it, the 3 boys are nowhere in site. There are lots of trails leading to different waterfalls on this hike and we didn't even know which way the boys went. It was so frustrating. We ALWAYS tell them to stay where we can see them....but they never listen. So once Anson and I get to Oneonta Middle Falls, he tells me to go ahead and find the falls I came looking for and he'll take the other trail and see if the boys went that way. I proceed up the trail and a couple of minutes later I see all three boys heading back down the trail to where I am. I try to call Anson to let him know but I didn't have cell service. Anyway, I told the boys what happened and they start making their way in the opposite direction of me to "go find" their dad. They wanted to separate from me again to go get lost again. Sorry, that doesn't work for me. I let Anson Jr. go and made Ammon and Ashton go with me. They weren't happy, but neither was I. We walk, and walk and walk and this trail seems never ending! The internet told me it was only going to be .8 of a mile from the trail head and I swear that we have been walking for 4 miles. That's not very far, but when you do it mostly up hill on a crappy, rocky trail that winds and curves...it seems like forever!

So finally, we reach Ponytail Tails Falls and it was so beautiful and LOUD. It's really cool because the trail actually goes under the falls.

Ammon and Ashton sitting under the falls.

Panoramic of Ponytail Falls.

I wanted to stay there and enjoy it more then I did, but the Anson's had band practice that night and it was getting late. I asked somebody at the falls if the trail circled back around because there was NO WAY I was going back the way I came. He said there was a parking lot not too far from the falls and pointed me in the right direction. Sure enough .8 of a mile it brought us down to the parking lot in front of Horsetail Falls.

But it wasn't the parking lot where we parked. I finally get cell service and tell Anson where we were, so he drove down and picked us up. By that time it was 5PM and we headed home.


So, moral of the story is: if you ever want to visit Ponytail Falls, park at Horsetail Falls!

Anson and I both had a great time even though we were separated and the kids complained about being outside walking when they would rather sit in the basement playing video games on their day off. Other moral of the story: When one wants to spend some time photographing beautiful places - leave the family home.

Tick, tick, tick....

If you asked me a couple of months ago how I felt about moving to North Carolina, I would have smiled and said, "I can't wait"! Since then, North Carolina and many other states across the south were hit with a tornado outbreak. North Carolina averages 19 tornadoes a year, a lot if you ask me, but more than 60 hit over one weekend last month! 60!!! And they weren't in some remote part of N.C. either, they touched down and killed people in Fayetteville...the same city that we'll be calling home in just a few months. That's pretty scary.

I didn't have any fears about moving there until this all happened. I'm still excited about traveling across the U.S. and seeing cool places along the way and the adventure it will be for our family, but it's not going to be all fun and worry free like I have dreamt it to be.

We're still talking about what to do with our dog Lucy. We don't want to take her with us because it sucks traveling with a dog. We won't be able to stay in hotels along the way unless we pay a huge fee, and once we get to N.C. we want to spend our weekends traveling. If there was somebody who would watch her for a year and then give her back to us - that would be the best option. We haven't approached anybody with that idea yet but time is ticking...

Update for the last couple of months.

Ammon had a birthday on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day and he turned 12 years old. He didn't want a party so we just celebrated at home. He's such a good kid, very responsible, very funny and gets straight A's. He goes to school with a lot of Russian kids and does a Russian accent VERY well. He gets shy when I ask him to do it around other people but when he does it's hilarious. He got braces on the day before his birthday and within a couple of days his front teeth were already straightening out. He hasn't allowed me to take a picture of him yet, but I'll get it.

A couple weekends ago, we took the boys and drove down the gorge to Beacon Rock and climbed up a rock. I had never been before and wanted to take pictures so I carried my tripod along with my huge camera bag with extra lens up a 848 foot rock. BAD IDEA! I wasn't in a bad mood when I started, but once I got going I realized I made a huge mistake by bringing the tripod and bag. Anson and the kids took off without me because I was slower...duh...and I enjoyed my time taking in the view and taking pictures along the way. Once I got to the top it was so disappointing. It was only a small area where only a handful of people could fit and then the view of the gorge was blocked by a couple of trees. I didn't even take pictures up there. We went back down and my shoulders were aching and let me tell you - I was sore for a week and a half because of that camera bag. Not fun.

We also had a garage sale last weekend to just get rid of the small stuff and Anson's music/lighting/sound equipment. We didn't even have our dressers, tables, beds, sofas and everything else and we did very well. We had non-stop traffic and at times we had so many people it was overwhelming! Anson couldn't believe that nobody bought this mask...I think he was happy about it and will keep it, unless it find it's way into the donation pile....shhhh.

What else, what else. Oh, Anson Jr. got his learning permit and started driver's ed. I'm not going to lie, it is stressful to be in the passenger seat while a 15 year old boy is behind the wheel and just learning to drive. At least his has until January of next year to practice, practice, practice.

I'm sure there's more but I'm tired, so that's it for now.

I am going CRAZY!!!

I just want to sell, donate, organize, and clean already! I am going crazy because it's so overwhelming to go through everything we've accumulated over the past 16+ years! I just want to get rid of everything now! We have to keep the big items, like couches, tables and beds until July, but I feel like I'm at a stand still! Anson wants to garage sell EVERYTHING, so nothing has left this house yet! I feel that if we don't get at least $5-10 per item then it should be donated. I think that's pretty reasonable and we'll just end up taking it to the D.I. anyway. I'm just trying to save some time! AAHhhh, it's frustrating!!!

Blessings

Anson Jr. came to me over a year ago wanting his patriarchal blessing but I told him to wait until he was a little older. In December he made an appointment with the bishop and then on Sunday we met with the Patriarch.

As soon as I walked in and sat down and before the Patriarch even spoke I felt the spirit so strongly that it was almost hard to breathe. We talked for a little bit, he got to know Anson Jr. a bit and then preceded with the blessing.

I felt the spirit even stronger then before and tears immediately began streaming down my face as the patriarch began speaking. Anson Jr. is an amazing young man and has a great future ahead of him. I feel honored to be his mother. I thought there were a lot of similarities between Anson Sr.'s and Jr.'s blessing and on the way home Anson Sr. expressed the same thing. It was such a great experience. Anson Jr. has been really cute checking the mail for the last couple of days hoping to get his blessing, but I told him it might be a little while. :)

Update: He got it in the mail this afternoon! That was fast!

We're moving....

to Fayetteville, North Carolina y'all!

Anson will be doing his internship there for a year and then we'll move back here. I have done a lot of reading about NC the last couple of days and I'm REALLY excited to move there! There's an island where wild horses run free, lots of shipwrecks underwater and on the beach, Blackbeard's hideout and much more! I cannot wait to get a change of scenery and take some pictures - not to mention visiting New York, Washington DC, Florida and everywhere in between!

We have a Service family reunion at the end of July in Idaho and from there we plan to go to NC. Nothing's set in stone, but that's the plan for now...which means that I will miss my Corier family reunion in August. I think it's more important to get the kids settled and a little familiar with the area before they start school.

I will use this blog to update friends and family while we're gone for that year - so I'm sure that I'll get back to posting regularly again.

Oh, I need to brag about Anson for a second. Last years doctoral students from Ansons school all waited a year to turn in their internship applications and only 4 from this years class including Anson. Many of them had interviews but Anson was the ONLY one from the two classes to get matched! Pretty awesome! He amazes me everyday. I can't wait for this new chapter in our lives! It is going to be a great adventure!

The Oregon Zoo

I went to the zoo yesterday to take some pictures and invited my sister Sarah along and her two kids Kenzie and Chase. We weren't prepared how cold it was and I think we all could have used a heavier coat, a hat, and gloves. We were there for 3 hours walking around and saw most every exhibit. I was a little bummed that there were no zebras or giraffes this time around because I love giraffes. Here are some animals we did see. (Click on the picture to enlarge it).

Watching the elephants feed was the highlight of the whole zoo experience for me. They are so massive, but seem so gentle. Some zookeeper's went into there area, to clean up after them and the elephants got in a line, grabbed the tail of the elephant in front of them with their trunk and walked around their habitat. It was the cutest thing. When the zookeepers finished cleaning, they fed the elephants who would take the grass and bring it to the water, soak it, wring the water out with their trunks, then eat it. It was so amazing to watch them. They are magnificent creatures. It kind of sounds weird, but I felt honored to be in their presence.

And here are some pictures of Sarah, Kenzie and Chase. I LOVED the underwater aquariums!