On Friday night Jeff and I went to bed early. We were heading out early the next morning to visit my Dad and Dorrie in Grants Pass, Oregon. On Saturday, we got up, gave all the animals extra food (because we usually feed them twice a day), ate breakfast, packed up the car… and headed out. Jeff drove a little past Eugene and then we switched and I started driving.
The drive on I-5 South is gorgeous!! Wow! I looked around me in awe. It was a sunny day and each turn opened up a whole new gorgeous view of mountains and valleys. Jeff softly snored next to me. I was so happy he was getting a little sleep (the dogs had been barking the previous nights and he’s not as deep of a sleeper as I am.) It’s about a 3 and a half hour drive to my Dad and Dorrie’s place from our house (with stopping for gas and such.) (They probably get to our place faster because my Dad is a speedy gonzalez on the road…. haha just kidding Dad!) We were so happy our old farm truck was driving well, even if it did require a ridiculous amount of gas, we were so happy it got us there so we weren’t going to be too picky about how it did it. I wanted to pat it and say “Good truck, good truck.”
Finally, we arrived! We were greeted with hugs and Dorrie had lunch already prepared in the crock pot (hallelujah! we were starving!) I immediately loved the place they were renting. We sat down for lunch and admired the house they are living in: all wood on the outside, wood floors, wood ceilings! The ceilings were really tall which made the space feel so spacious. There were lots of windows and so much sunshine pouring in, making it so bright! It was nice to see so much of their familiar furniture. They had been travelling and had all their stuff packed up for a long time. Now I got to smile as I looked around at all the things that brought memories. Of course it made me think of Rachelle, Leah and Samantha, my sisters. Because the memories all included them.
After lunch, Dorrie and Dad took us on a hike down to the creek. The cats, Misa Moon and Zia Sun, came along and they were so adorable and entertaining. We had to be mindful to avoid the poison oak and I crossed my fingers no ticks would crawl on me (I am a total baby about ticks….bad childhood memories…)
The creek was so alive with glistening sunshine and I loved the soothing sound it made pouring over the rocks. The creek’s name is Jumpoff Joe Creek, which is just so fun to say. They took us through the forest, which had similarities to the forests around us and a lot of differences too. There were lots of Madrone trees there, which we don’t have around our place. I love the color of the Madrone trees, there is something so compelling about them. Jeff was on the lookout for fallen limbs, he so wanted to get his hands on some of that wood and carve it!
I could see why my Dad and Dorrie love going on the hike around their place so much. It’s beautiful and completely private. It feels like you have the whole world to yourself. They also showed us the spot where they want to plant a garden this year. And I must say, they have plenty of sun!
After our hike, we headed into town to see Grants Pass. We went to three places. First we went to see where my Dad works. He works at a Dental Lab as a Dental Technician. He is so good at what he does. I have a hard time even wrapping my head around how he does what he does, but I appreciate the fact that he is very gifted at it. My Dad knows it’s an artistic skill, is he finally admitting that he is indeed an Artist? Well, he definitely is. I liked to see where my Dad works so I can visualize it whenever I talk to him now. Jeff especially liked seeing it because he was fascinated with all the tools and how my Dad does his work.
Second we went to their favorite bookstore, Aquarius Books. My Dad immediately went over to the gigantic crystal singing bowls (the biggest I’d ever seen) and started making them sing. I stood close and I could feel the resonance coming off it in waves. He makes those bowls sing like no one I’ve ever seen before. He handed the wood piece to me and I started circling the crystal bowl. Since he already had it going, it made it easier for me to keep it going, but I didn’t have the knack for it that he did. I felt like bragging to all the people in the store about my Dad and his amazing Crystal Bowl Singing Skills… but I didn’t want to embarass him, now did I?
After the bookstore, we went to our final destination before heading home- Wildlife Images. Dorrie volunteers at Wildlife Images. It’s a place where they rehabilitate wild animals that have been injured etc. before returning them to the wild. What a cool place. And we were mighty lucky that day because they allowed Dorrie to give us a tour, which we weren’t expecting. We thought we would just see the gift shop and get an idea for where it was, but we got to experience so much more! A lot of the facility is off limits because the animals need limited amount of contact with human beings because they are being rehabilitated to go back to the wild. We got to see part of it, which was enough to cause our jaws to drop.
As soon as we headed over to the animals, Dorrie lit up! It was was obvious that this place was perfect for her. She absolutely loves animals and it shows when she’s around them. We got to see Eagles, Spotted Owls, Barn Owls, a Golden Eagle, a Raven, a Crow, Bobcats, Wolves, Grizzly Bears and Cougars. The Eagles were so much bigger than I’d ever imagined since I had always seen them from far away. The Spotted Owls were so beautiful I felt speechless. The Golden Eagle just glowed. Dorrie loved the Raven, who absolutely amazes her every Friday when she goes to volunteer. Looking into the Wolves’ eyes gave me goosebumps. Something about their eyes. I wanted to run wild with them. The male Grizzly Bear was huge! I never knew they got so big. The male Cougar was also much larger than I’d thought they’d be. We were amazed to say the least. Later I aked which animals were people’s favorites to see. Mine were the Spotted Owls, the Wolves, and the Bears.
We had a nice evening at their house and ate dinner. Dorrie always puts so much time and energy into making delicious and healthy meals, which I feel so grateful for. It blesses your guests when you serve food you’ve prepared with love and care.
We listened to music and talked. Nice night.
And then it was time for bed. Jeff is a really light sleeper so he didn’t sleep too much. I awoke in the night to an adorable cat looking me in the eyes and thought ‘Misa you could not possibly be any cuter, but please move just a little bit farther from my face or I am going to get ah- (too late, sneeze!) allergic to you…’ and ‘am I really that interesting to watch while I sleep?’
We woke up early, got ready, ate breakfast, and talked. I realized that I had been so busy doing fun things on Saturday, that I hadn’t taken any pictures. So the picture above was taken Sunday morning before we left- of the trees in the morning mountain fog.
Dad let me take a picture of him before we left, I assured him that his “bed head” was fine (and I must say he has very cute & endearing bed head that I truly adore.) Here he is standing in front of their place.
Jeff and I were anxious to get back to the animals. This was the very first time that we’d both stayed the night away from our place. Usually one of us always stays. So one night away felt like a vacation indeed. I laughed thinking that we were leaving all the “kids” at home and leaving the most responsible one in charge (our dog Satcha.) I knew she’d have her hands full with our wild bunch. We hugged Dad and Dorrie goodbye and thanked them for having us.
Then… we headed home.
Thinking it was great to spend time with family
My Dad The Artist
and Dorrie The Animal Whisperer
Getting to see a new beautiful part of the world and how well their life and dreams are falling into place. We’d been hearing about it, but now we got to see it with our own eyes.
And being away, even for a short time, makes coming home just so sweet!
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