Saturday Hiking ~ in Pictures

I haven't been feeling too well, which is why I have been rather quiet as of late. Saturday I did have an exciting day, however! Biker Boy was visiting for the weekend. After taking my pets to the vet in the morning we decided to go for  a road trip along the North Umpqua River. It is a lovely, green, curvy drive with great views of the river, places to stop and hike, campgrounds, waterfalls and Diamond Lake! 

Biker Boy has never been to that part of Oregon before, so Lady (my beautiful daughter) and I were excited to be tour guides. It was nearly 90º, so it was fabulous for being outside .... in the shade!  First up, Watson Falls. We would end up taking the trail as high as we could go ... which was about half way up to the top!

Watson Falls

I don't know why, I just thought this sign was cool.

Along the way we had many beautiful views of small parts of the falls. I just love all the greenery and moss growing on the rocks!

It was important to stay hydrated!

Eventually we made it up to the top of the trail. It was so cool! The mist from the falls was hitting us and considering the temperature, it was a very welcome feeling. The view was amazing. We could see the water crashing into the rocks at the bottom, and huge trees everywhere we looked!

Lady enjoyed the walk. She was a little tired from her shots at the vet, but on the way down she was excited to be the group activity leader!

I have a tradition where I always get my picture taken laying on a bench (perhaps this will be a story for another blog). You may remember a bench photo from my half marathon race report last week actually. We found a bench on the way down and I just couldn't resist. Apparently, neither could Lady! This is officially my favorite bench photo (and I've been taking these for 5 years!)

After the waterfall hike we continued east until we got to Diamond Lake. The resort was pretty busy! It is very retro -- If you stay for any length of time you feel like you are actually IN Dirty Dancing. People were swimming, biking, boating, walking, eating, etc.... We found a nice paved path around the lake and walked for a while, taking in the view of Mount Bailey in the background. It was a perfect day (minus the mosquitoes)!