This is Joe again. I'm just a bloggin' fool. We are just finally getting our blog life caught up with our real life. I guess that is a good thing. Means we are still having adventures.
Curtis Diller is my Bud. A Bud with a capital B. What does that mean? Well, he and his wife Amanda are in one of the most difficult years of their life, with tremendous challenges and demands upon their lives. In the midst of this, Curtis (and Amanda) saw no other option but to make it to Eugene to be a part of supporting me as I finished up my career. Afterward, we had a few days to burn before heading back to CA, so we headed up to Crater Lake Oregon. Curtis and Amanda camped out in the forest while Laura Rowan and I took refuge in a little motor inn.
We made our way around the lake by veggie truck for a few hours taking in the scenery. Stopped at a few outlooks and Curtis and I made fools of ourselves doing silly jumping photos while tourists whispered amongst one another as to which asylum we might have escaped from. Our wives took it all in stride, as many years of marriage has worn away their aversion and ability to be embarrassed (although I did hear them discussing who had the better life insurance policy on their husband).
It soon became obvious that we would have to blaze our own trail. After a bit of searching we identified a peak at the rim of the lake that seemed like a nice place for lunch. Only four feet of snowpack and a few thousand feet of elevation stood in our way. Convincing Rowan was easy. She’s such a cool girl and sees life so clearly. Laura and Amanda were a bit harder sell. Amanda recently had knee surgery and Laura was worried that she might need hospitalization if the trip
was not successful. Nevertheless, we made it to the top and did in fact enjoy a nice lunch with a fantastic view. Now the trip back down to the truck was a different story. The image is seared into my memory (thankfully the funny side of my brain). Picture Amanda barreling down the 40 deg slope on her backside with a crescendo of "whao...WHao...WHAO's!!" emanating dopplar effect style as she flies by all of us. Curtis was at least 50 ft away when Amanda began hurtling toward the grove of pine trees. In a heroic display of matrimonial love and death wish tendencies, Curtis began to sprint down the slope after her. My original thought was that I would now lose two good friends in the next 20 seconds...but instead Curtis caught up with her, spun 180 deg in front while digging his heels in and somehow brought both of them to a stop. We all then joined Rowan (who the entire time thought it was hilarious) in uncontrollable laughter. What fun.
That evening we had a wonderful dinner together at the Lodge right on the lake. Good conversation and fellowship. Curtis and
Amanda are deep thinkers with good questions. Followed that up witha campfire back at the woods and S'Mores for everyone. What a great way to end a couple of days with good friends and beautiful scenery. As always...more pics here! Oh, and the photographer of the pic above is Rowan. She loves taking pics and has to use all her strength to get our big SLR up to her eye, but she focuses, frames, and shoots away. She ends each shot by looking at the LCD and saying "That's just beautiful!"
Curtis Diller is my Bud. A Bud with a capital B. What does that mean? Well, he and his wife Amanda are in one of the most difficult years of their life, with tremendous challenges and demands upon their lives. In the midst of this, Curtis (and Amanda) saw no other option but to make it to Eugene to be a part of supporting me as I finished up my career. Afterward, we had a few days to burn before heading back to CA, so we headed up to Crater Lake Oregon. Curtis and Amanda camped out in the forest while Laura Rowan and I took refuge in a little motor inn.
We made our way around the lake by veggie truck for a few hours taking in the scenery. Stopped at a few outlooks and Curtis and I made fools of ourselves doing silly jumping photos while tourists whispered amongst one another as to which asylum we might have escaped from. Our wives took it all in stride, as many years of marriage has worn away their aversion and ability to be embarrassed (although I did hear them discussing who had the better life insurance policy on their husband).
It soon became obvious that we would have to blaze our own trail. After a bit of searching we identified a peak at the rim of the lake that seemed like a nice place for lunch. Only four feet of snowpack and a few thousand feet of elevation stood in our way. Convincing Rowan was easy. She’s such a cool girl and sees life so clearly. Laura and Amanda were a bit harder sell. Amanda recently had knee surgery and Laura was worried that she might need hospitalization if the trip
was not successful. Nevertheless, we made it to the top and did in fact enjoy a nice lunch with a fantastic view. Now the trip back down to the truck was a different story. The image is seared into my memory (thankfully the funny side of my brain). Picture Amanda barreling down the 40 deg slope on her backside with a crescendo of "whao...WHao...WHAO's!!" emanating dopplar effect style as she flies by all of us. Curtis was at least 50 ft away when Amanda began hurtling toward the grove of pine trees. In a heroic display of matrimonial love and death wish tendencies, Curtis began to sprint down the slope after her. My original thought was that I would now lose two good friends in the next 20 seconds...but instead Curtis caught up with her, spun 180 deg in front while digging his heels in and somehow brought both of them to a stop. We all then joined Rowan (who the entire time thought it was hilarious) in uncontrollable laughter. What fun.That evening we had a wonderful dinner together at the Lodge right on the lake. Good conversation and fellowship. Curtis and
Amanda are deep thinkers with good questions. Followed that up witha campfire back at the woods and S'Mores for everyone. What a great way to end a couple of days with good friends and beautiful scenery. As always...more pics here! Oh, and the photographer of the pic above is Rowan. She loves taking pics and has to use all her strength to get our big SLR up to her eye, but she focuses, frames, and shoots away. She ends each shot by looking at the LCD and saying "That's just beautiful!"
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