Another weekend, another adventure!  Yesterday I escaped east of La Grande, again to the Wallowa Whitman National Forest.  I just love living completely surrounded by National Forest.

This time I went after a geocache at Cougar Rock.  I was out alone again, and I tried not to think too hard about why someone gave this pile of rocks that name.  I'm all for being cautious and aware of your surroundings, but you can't be paralyzed by fear.

The rocks were very cool.  I had a grand time scrambling around and climbing up to the tippity top.  Here's the view as I was walking up the hill.  Can you see the face?



Hint:  She's looking to the left.  The Wallowa Mountains' own moai.

The view from the top was amazing.  I could see the towns of North Powder, Union, and La Grande, as well as the Blue Mountains from Mt. Emily to the Elkhorn Range.



The trip was well worth the rough road and steep-ish climb at the end.  I spent about two hours at Cougar Rock- watching birds and listening to the forest.  It was lovely.

Not only was the goal rewarding, the trip getting there and back was beautiful.  There's a lot of water coming down the mountains this time of year, and the creeks are running.



The butterflies were out in full force, too; I counted 13 species and I'm sure I missed some.  They love the mud puddles beside the road.  Ah, tasty, mineral-rich mud!



We're also in the midst of wildflower season, and they are beautiful.  I especially liked these Blue Mountain buttercups (Ranunculus populago) that were growing along the course of a seasonal stream.  There wasn't one single clearly defined channel, just a torrent of water splashing down the rocky hillside on many paths of least resistance.



My greatest disappointment with the state of the world is being unable to drink directly from streams.  They just look so inviting and delicious and cold.



However, I have no desire to experience giardia or something equally nasty, so I (reluctantly) don't partake directly from the stream.  I do have a filter that I use when camping and hiking, but it's not the same.


Water is wonderful.

Gettin' stuff done:

Shaun off my cell phone account -- check
Me off the formerly-joint car insurance and onto my own policy -- check
Shaun off my car title -- check
Me on my own heath insurance through my work -- check

Make an appointment for a massage - CHECK CHECK CHECK!

Well... it is final.  No more ring.

I took off into the woods on my own today, geocaching of course.  I ended up on top of Gorham Butte,  20 miles south of La Grande in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

The elevation at the top is 6125 feet, and while I was able to park fairly close, I climbed the last 700 feet in 0.68 mile (approximately 20% gradient).  The distance as the crow flies from my car to the top was only 0.3 mile, but there's no way I was going hike straight up a 45% gradient.  I zigzagged, and it was hard enough!

The view from the top, though...



Wow.  So completely worth it.  A full 360-degree view of the Elkhorn and Eagle Cap ranges.

I was a happy hiker.



Tired and sweaty, but completely happy.  Being out in nature revitalizes me.

I was hiking alone today, and while that's not without risks, it gives me an incredible sense of peace.  I don't have to talk to anyone, I can go at my own pace, I can watch the birds, and listen to the beautiful nature-silence. 

I enjoy the feeling of self-reliance that I get by being out in the middle of nowhere and knowing that I can take care of myself.  There was no trail to the top, I had to bushwhack it.  While I did have the aid of my GPS unit, I also had a compass and a map, and I know how to use them. I found the cache at the top of the mountain, and most importantly, I found my way back down the mountain to my car.  I did let a neighbor know where I was going before I left, in case something went horribly wrong.

It took me over an hour to climb up, but only 20 minutes to get back down!



I love geocaching.

Today I'm wearing my recently-ish short-cut hair in a low ponytail secured by a single large barette. It's my shortest haircut and first wearing of a single-large-barette-ponytail since...hmm...freshman year of college?

(TWENTY FOUR YEARS AGO?  Gack.)

The ponytail, it is a-ticklin' my neck unmercifully. Might have to go shorter. 

Affirmation. From Emma. I am bemused and proud and astonished and almost a little weepy. 

Yesterday, after I finished resetting the latch plate on the loom room door, I turned around to see Emma looking at me oddly. Wondering what was up, I asked if everything was ok. 

She looked at me and said "Mom, you're good at fixing things. You're a strong, independent woman, and I'm learning to be one too."

I didn't really know what to say. I wasn't even sure if she was just quoting a book or something. I was afraid I was going to burst into tears.

I settled for an arms-waving-in-the-air shout of YAY US!!! and a big hug. 

I seem to be on a roll with the house repairs this week.

In addition to the unclogged sink triumph of last weekend,



I also completely disassembled the front end of my vacuum cleaner and extracted the Lego that was rendering it inoperable,



I discovered a second breaker box on the outside back corner of my house and was successful in restoring electrical power to the outlets in my bathrooms, which have never worked since I've lived here,



and last but not least, I used a chisel to enlarge the recess and reset the latch plate that has never allowed the door to the loom room to close completely and latch.  It does now.



The discovery of the second breaker box completely floored me.  I have lived in this house for almost five years, and thought the breaker box in the garage was the only one.  Apparently not.