A day on the mountain...

...Mt. Hood, that is. We made our annual pilgrimage to Wildwood in the Mt. Hood National Forest yesterday (Sunday) and a great time was had by all. PB and I, Jen and Kate, Sam and her 'new' hubby, her brother Nate, my niece's oldest son Kris and Kate's Chocolate Lab, J.D. We did the whole picnic thing, fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, deviled eggs, veggies, chips, sodas and watermelon. YUM! For some odd reason, ALL of those things taste better when eaten at a picnic table out in the fresh air.
Here's a few shots of the day:

Paved paths, with picnic sites on both sides

Our picnic site, looking toward the path

Our site, view toward the river

J.D., Kate, Sam, Nate and Kris in the water-Dietrich on a rock

Jen, J.D. in his life jacket, kids in the river

Viewpoint sign over the water

J.D. resting, and babysitting the watermelon

Salmon River, SO cold...snow melt from higher up the mountain

View down the path

View of river from the path

Moss 'beards' on the trees

Nathan, wearing J.D.s life jacket...don't ask...

We were ALL exhausted by the time we got home...especially J.D., LOL! He is seriously a "water dog" and swam himself silly chasing sticks, leaves and whatever else he could find...and we had to DRAG him out when the time came! He really didn't want to leave even though he was worn out.

Wildwood is probably my favorite place in all of Oregon...the coast/beach does nothing for me, and I really don't care for snow...don't ski, don't like the cold...but running water/waterfalls will make me happy any time. My kids already know that the Salmon River in Wildwood is where I want my ashes to go when the time comes... Their Dad and Grandfather both went into Fogarty Creek at the coast, but I'd rather be up on the mountain...

So, we all had a good time...and got worn out...and J.D. got his first 'family outing' with all of us, and had a VERY good time...he's such a sweetheart. Today is just gonna be a 'rest' day...my legs and hips are sore from walking all over...Jen's still worn out, and PB has to go back to work tomorrow, the new school year at Univ. of Portland has started and they have their biggest freshman class EVER.
Something like 2,000 mouths to feed at every meal there this year...

Have a great week...