Ramos-Ferber Wedding

Last weekend, Jeff and I went out to Oregon for the wedding of an old friend of Jeff's. It was so much fun...and oh, so beautiful! The wedding was held at a secluded ranch on the Umpqua River in southern Oregon.

Big K Ranch Lodge

In addition to the Lodge and Guest Cabins, it was a working ranch with cattle and everything.

Grazing Cattle

In addition to the cattle, they had a bird preserve. Hunters can come and hunt for pheasants and other game birds. We walked around the grounds a bit Friday evening and saw a few pheasants.

There is a glimpse of a pheasant in the center of this photo.
Sorry for the poor quality; our camera was not cooperating very well most of the weekend.

Jeff must have just missed the pheasant in this photo, but it's such a nice crisp photo that I had to include it.

 The lodge was located in a beautiful valley. Any direction you looked there were mountains directly in your view.

Gorgeous mountains surrounding the lodge!

Miles of the Umpqua River made the border of the ranch from the neighboring ranch. There was a very cool alluvial fan of rocks where the trail from the lodge met up with the river.

Me standing on the alluvial fan, looking out at the river

Saturday was the wedding. The bride was stunning!

The ceremony was lovely! The view was breathtaking!

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Ferber

The best man was the bride's 11 year-old son. Awww!

Best man's toast

Apparently they practiced a lot for their first dance and wouldn't let anyone know what they were dancing to or see them dance before the reception. It was fun to hear all the anticipation that created; the mother of the bride was particularly excited to see what they'd been practicing.

First Dance

During the reception, Jeff and I popped outside for a bit.

We found this jacked up van to be pretty hilarious and thought of it as a marker of being at a wedding in the Pacific NW.

There were many other vehicles jacked up as well - mostly big, huge trucks.

Of course to even it out, there was one Porsche Spyder in the lot as well.

We were a little concerned about the weather when we were leaving MN. The forecast was for rain the entire weekend. Luckily, the rain didn't really start until everyone was comfortably in the lodge enjoying the wedding and reception.

The evening and nighttime showers gave us a beautiful treat the next morning. I love it when it rains in Oregon. Everything is so green!

The fog coming over the mountains was spectacular!

It was such a wonderful, beautiful, relaxing weekend! We're so grateful we had the opportunity to attend this wedding.

Family Vacation 2010: Big Lake

We just got back from our 3rd annual family vacation up north. As usual it was so absolutely gorgeous up there.

Day 1

We picked up the rental car in the morning and then drove to pick up Trevor and his girls. I sat in the back seat with them. It was a little squishy but not too bad. We met up with the family near Hinckley (about half-way) for a late lunch.

Shortly after that, we realized that Chelsea (my brother's girlfriend) was driving all by herself since she wasn't staying the entire week. I offered to ride with her, so she wouldn't be as bored. ☺ It was very fun to talk and get to know her better.

We arrived late in the afternoon, after driving the 4-5 hour drive. We didn't do much that day. Just settled into our cabins. Relaxed.

Day 2

Trevor, Dan, Chelsea, Jeff and I decided to tackle the BWCAW via canoe. This is something we'd been saying we'd do every year! There is an access point at the other side of the lake from the lodge. We didn't make it very far into the Boundary Waters, but it was a lot of fun.

There were SO many water lilies and lily pads. I really wanted a picture.
Unfortunately, this was the best I was able to get.

Trevor kayaking into the BWCAW

Dan & Chelsea

Day 3
We drove to Bass Lake and hiked the trail to Dry Falls. It's not a very long hike, but it is quite rugged! Most everyone went on this outing. Most of those who went jumped into the lake, too. It was COLD, but the water coming off the falls was so very warm. Delightfully warm. It was so fun to go swimming in that big beautiful lake. And lounge in the warmth of the waterfall. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera on this outing (or just didn't take any pics).

Day 4
Another day for hiking. We tried a new trail. I can't remember which one. I think we  probably walked in about a mile or so. Rested for awhile, and then returned back to our cars and the lodge.

Grandpa pointing something out to the girls.

We didn't bring any water bowls for the dogs, so they got to drink right out of Dad's hands.

We had to cross a little foot bridge on our hike, so I made everyone stop on our way back to get a picture of all the hikers.

If you look real close up the trail, you'll see a speck of black. That's my sister. I wasn't really feeling the brisk pace they set, so I lagged behind with Sallie.
Soaking in the beauty of my surroundings.
 Also helping to prevent Sallie from getting tangled in everyone's heels.

Day 5
We mostly hung out on the pontoon this day. We had the pontoon all week, but Jeff and I hadn't spent much time on it prior to this day.

I love the look of the sunlight on Big Lake.

I found The Lovely Bones in the little lending library at the lodge. I was quite glued to it for most of the trip. I wasn't sure I'd like it but was quickly sucked in. I would definitely recommend this book!

Sallie lounging on the pontoon.

Day 6
Bass Lake was so awesome back on Day 3 that we decided to go back again. It was a very small group this time - just Jeff, me, Trevor, and Tatiana. This time we brought (and used) the camera.

View of Bass Lake from up on the hiking trail

Jeff the Conqueror ☺
Bass Lake near Dry Falls

Rushing torrent of Dry Falls (taken while out in Bass Lake. We ♥ our tough camera)
The Falls were COLD and flowing at what seemed a mere trickle compared to just two days before.
It was a little disappointing.

Tatiana swimming

Clarinda swimming.
I don't know what it was but both times we went, I loved swimming so much that I just didn't want to get out.
(I think I swam more in Bass Lake in those two days than in Big Lake all the other days combined.)

Until I saw this guy. Then I was pretty much DONE with swimming (at least that day. in Bass Lake).

While we were swimming, Trevor was exploring.
He found the reason why the falls had shriveled.
A beaver dam. ☺

Day 7
On our last day, the entire family took the pontoon out to an island for lunch. It was fun to hike around the island. The lodge has a camping site on this particular island, so there was an easy place to dock the pontoon. (The camping site was very nice as well: a mess tent for cooking and a couple sleeping tents with cots.)

Sallie rolling around

Mmm...there's the scent!

Guess I should roll around on it again. ☺

Treva looking out at the lake

What perfect form!

Shortly after our lunch on the island, Jeff, Trevor and his girls, and I loaded up the rental car and headed back to the cities. Everyone else returned the next afternoon.

Until next time...we ♥ you Big Lake Wilderness Lodge!

Big Lake Wilderness Lodge

Last weekend, we took a trip up north to spend some time at the lake. The lake we chose was Big Lake near Ely, MN.

We went with my Dad,

Marna,

Emillio,

AJ,

and Selena.

We had so much fun, and we took a lot of pictures. Check out the slideshow on the right for a quick view. I hope to put some into scrapbook pages and post them in a future post. Right now, it's past my bedtime, and my mouse it almost dead, so I need to call it a night.

Hopefully this is enough to whet your palette.

Come back soon!

Day at the Beach

Before life got too crazy for Jeff with classes, we decided to take a drive to the Oregon coast. It's only about a 1 hour drive. I had never been to the coast before, so it was exciting for me.

It was peaceful to watch the waves come crashing in.

It seemed weird to me that something so fierce and strong could actually exude a feeling a peace and calm. I was definitely enjoying it.

We walked along the beach together--hand in hand.

Jeff pointed out all the dead crabs on the shore.

I hope we get to go back again sometime soon.

Check out the mountains in the background!
And the crashing waves were so beautiful!

Shadows in the Night...wait it's midday!

Jeff named his Henry (for the day).

We have a short video clip of our beach experience as well. It's about 1 1/2 minutes. If you'd like to see it, let me know and I'll attach it to an e-mail.

Downtown Portland

On March 30th, we took a drive through Downtown Portland. There were some interesting statues, so we went exploring.

Jeff and Larry analyzing some roman numerals on a momument.

Now you give it a try...

Vista House

On March 28, we also stopped to check out the Vista House.

The Vista House is located at the top of Crown Point and overlooks the Columbia River. Originally built as a resting point for Highway 30, during World War II it was converted to a gun battery. To the locals, it is referred to as the "Million Dollar Outhouse" because all the soldiers did was eat, sleep, and well... you know...

It turns out the Columbia River just wasn't as much of a target for the Japanese as the US military first thought.

Below are some pictures from our stop at the Vista House:

The Vista House

Clarinda and Heidi at the Vista House

View from the top of Crown Point

Looking down the Columbia River

What's out there?

Contemplation