I have some catching up to do.

This was the first summer in awhile that ended without me wishing I had done more. It was full of friends and family and adventures. Fall brought more of the same, and a new roomie.

I keep telling myself I’m going to do more short posts instead of constantly thinking I need to write a novel every time. Still working on making that happen.

Copper Creek (Lincoln)

Lily and I ran over to Copper Creek (the one near Lincoln, not the one by Georgetown Lake.) We were hunting huckleberries, and that seemed like a good area to explore. The truck camping setup works perfectly–Lily and Diego in the cab of the truck, me in the roof top tent. Not needing to drag the camper around makes it easy to just take off for a night or two and stay wherever we end up.

We managed to find around three pounds of huckleberries. Some were just off the road, others required a fairly sketchy scramble up the side of a mountain. Nobody broke anything, so I’m calling it a win.

Georgetown Lake

Jer’s family invited me to join them for a weekend at Georgetown Lake, so I drove over to meet them. They’re some of the best people I know, and the weekend was full of laughs and stories and side-by-side rides. I found a few dispersed sites I’d like to camp at next year–looking forward to exploring that area even more.

Portland

The bi-annual trip to Portland includes 12 hours of driving. I usually just get in the truck and gun it, only stopping a few times for gas and bathroom breaks. This time Lily rode with me so she could visit her brother. We took the scenic route. Palouse Falls is one of my favorite spots, so we stopped there for lunch and did some exploring. The Stonehenge replica in Maryhill is oddly interesting, so we stopped there, too. We even took turns driving. It’s been so long since I’ve been a passenger on a trip that I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. It was a welcome change.

The Portland visit itself was full of mini adventures. From paddle boarding the Tualatin river to scrambling through Upper Ape Cave to showing Lily Abiqua Falls. I spent four days in Seattle for my buddy’s kid’s wedding, and finally got to check out Hopscotch in Portland.

Ashlee and I had a chance to squeeze in a quick afternoon photo shoot, and I got to catch up with an old friend I haven’t seen in 7 or 8 years (but forgot to take a picture.)

I was sufficiently worn out by the time my three week stay was up. I still love visiting Portland, but I’m glad I’m not living there anymore.

Owls

For some reason, owls were prevalent at the end of the summer. I saw one on my way to try to shoot the auroras one night, and ended up buying an owl painting at the end of this year’s ArtsFest. The painting (both the one I bought and the one on the wall downtown,) was done by Rilie Tané. She’s an awesome Montana artist–go check out her Instagram.

The Eagle and the Fox

There’s a little fox that lives nearby. He/she pops up in the security camera now and then, especially when I’m out of town. One day in October, the fox was joined by two bald eagles. I’m not sure if they were chasing after the same snack, or if they were just messing with each other for kicks, but the interaction was amazing to watch. I had just enough time to grab the camera and throw the big lens on before they went their separate ways. Lily managed to get some video of the interaction, too.

Roomies

I’m planning a dedicated post about having a roommate in your 40s, but the short version is that Lily moved into the guest room. Over the past two years, she’s become one of my best friends, so it just made sense. It’s strange cohabitating with someone after 15 years of living alone, but it’s a good kind of strange. So far it’s resulted in more impromptu photo shoots, and a lot of sunset-chasing.

The Rest

Lots of opportunities for photos since last August, so I’ll just post them below.

Summer is over now, we’ve had our first snow, and ski season starts later this month. Can’t wait to see what winter has in store.