A Nice Drive Today

We did a spur of the moment drive today just to relax and get a little perspective on things.  We drove from Eugene, OR, up Highway 58 towards the Willamette Pass.  We only wanted to drive as far as Oakridge, about 40 miles from home.

It’s a beautiful drive, much of it along the Willamette River and past a couple of scenic lakes.  We stopped in Oakridge for a Subway and went to Green Waters Park to eat.  We were lucky – there was a covered group area and no one was there.  We had it all to ourselves and it was right on the banks of the river.  We sat and ate our lunch, talked, and let the sounds of the river soothe our souls.


What is it about water that is so healing and magical?  I think for one thing it blocks out most other sounds.  There were children on a playground not too far away but the only sounds we heard were those made by the river and the birds.  Well, we did hear a couple of boat loads of rafters go by but that was fun.  Although the summer heat has browned all the grass, it was still a wonderful sight.

These guys looked like they were getting just a bit too close to shore.


While this fella seemed to have matters well in hand.


The weather was perfect and it was a great day to be out.  Our actual destination was Casey’s Riverside RV Park in Westfir, just a few miles from Oakridge.  This is where we were supposed to attend a Lazy Daze Rally last year and had to cancel at the last minute because yours truly was sicker than the proverbial dog.  We are thinking that we will take a couple of SHORT, CLOSE trips and see how we feel about things.  Yup, have to admit we are gun-shy right now but want to give ourselves a chance to succeed.  If we have a couple of small successes, we may feel more inclined to keep the motor home, at least for vacation trips.  I didn’t take any pictures of the sites – saving that for when/if we stay there- but I couldn’t resist a photo of these magnificent hanging baskets.  There are baskets like this hanging all over the park and at least every other site has a beautiful pot of flowers at the site.  Sure adds a bit of color to the place.



Casey’s is right on the river and they have some great spots.  If we don’t go there, we will go to the coast for a few days.  That’s close too, although it is harder to find anything right on the water.  Baby steps!!

We came home in a circuitous route and stopped at Lowell State Recreation Area on the opposite side of Dexter Lake from Highway 58.  I honestly can’t remember being here before and that’s a shame.  It's SO close to home.  Again, the grass has all turned brown with summer's heat, but it was still a great park.

The sky had gathered some fluffy white clouds by now and a little breeze was ruffling the surface of the lake.


The late afternoon sun added sparkles and shine.  One lone boat was still speeding along, enjoying being out on the water.


This is not a campground, just a marina and picnic area.  I found one old guy relaxing at a table and just enjoying the view with his dog.  Isn’t this a wonderful place for a picnic?



Here’s that old guy walking through the picnic area.  No camping, but I think you might call this dispersed picnicking!!  The tables are all scattered and hidden amongst the trees.  Most have fire rings.  I bet this place is sure pretty in the spring when the grass is all green.


We took pretty much the entire day and just drove and walked and enjoyed the wonderful world of out doors.  It is easy, when one is feeling sad, to stay in the house and pull the covers up over the head.  But that only makes things worse.  A big dose of sunshine and open sky always makes me feel better and helps clear my thoughts.  Still some decisions to be made on how our continued Therapy will evolve, but we are thinking, talking, and trusting that we will reach the correct conclusion.

A long phone call from Kate today reminded me that we have had some trauma in our lives this year aside from the ill-fated trips in the motor home. Perhaps I have tried too hard to buck up and be strong when I really still have some grieving to work through. Thanks Kate for all the words of wisdom and encouragement and thanks to all of you who have taken the time to write and help us sort through our feelings. I sure appreciate all the different thoughts and ideas that you all shared. We feel so blessed to have a group of supportive friends, even though we have not met most of you in person. Thank you.  It’s going to be okay!