Back to the Ranch...

As you may remember, in past years we have taken a trip down to central California to check out a wonderful ranch, the Work Ranch.  They offer trail rides, they raise cattle, they have the cutest cat in the world, they raise barley and just so happens that my parents are helping as ranch hands right now, so I get an awesome excuse to go see this wonderful place.

It was soooo wonderful there.  I helped each morning feed the horses, calves, goats and pig.  The weather, while chilly, was sunny and clear.  And having time to sit and look out at the rolling hills and slow down from my crazy life, well, let's just say that it was pretty tough to come back to my daily grind.

The view from our bunk house....

Visiting the calving area....

Look at the calves!

Love the old architecture on the farms...

An old farmstead...

Sweet animals to feed...

An evening by the campfire...

A fallen old farmhouse...

The ranch is very close to the fault...

And, they also have an area where you can dig for fossils...we found this awesome old sand dollar in the middle of California's rolling hills.  Pretty awesome to think about.

They have some of the best pets I have met, too.  This guy is Miles, but their cats and other dogs were pretty darn fun, too.  Including Charlie the cat (no pic...boo...), who likes to ride on the Kubota with us when feeding the animals.

Hope you can take a little time this year to explore (or re-explore) some special places.  Which reminds me, I need to share the 2013 Manifesto with you soon! 

Ash

Much needed holiday

Yup...I missed the last Feature Friday.  BUT....I think I have a good excuse!  I was on the road for a much needed holiday.  It was an awesome, yet crazy, road trip with friends to San Fran then Reno and back.

It was kind of one of those trips where you are going non-stop.  But man, did we pack in the fun!

Gotta love the San Fran architecture.  Took lots of fun pics of cute houses!

And look at my fun new ring! hehehehe

We made our way to the Ferry Building...which is seriously awesome.  Great food, fun atmosphere.  If you go to San Fran, go there!  

Then the next day we made our way to Pier 39.  What a fun place!  I think I had been there when I was younger, but so fun as an adult!

And probably THE highlight of the trip was when my hubby got pulled onto the little stage to be the 'ventriloquist dummy'!  Oh....we about died from laughter!

Hubby also got some really cool shots of Alcatraz from the pay-to-view contraptions.

We did not make it on the tour this time, but we all decided we'd figure it out next time for sure!

Then we had to go see the sea lions.  This guys was hanging all alone.

And then we went to the....

Yup, I got a pic with Obama and Clinton. Look at them pose to be in a pic with me.

I love Cleopatra.  I was pretty amazed at how good these wax sculptures are!

My friend and I saw Nixon, too. 

The boy pharaoh.

After a trip to SF filled to the brim with activities, we bid the city goodbye and hit the road again, this time to go check out Reno, NV.

We decided to stay on the cheap at the Sands, which was awesomely retro!  Check out Mel's, where we had our first meal in Reno.

Apparently, I did not get as many pics in Reno, though.  I was kind of surprised at how many places have closed down since we last visited, about 7 or 8 years ago.  It is a fun 'little' city, but has def seen better days.

Saturday, we went to see my parents in Clio.  You may remember the cute little tiny town with this funny little sign from an earlier trip...so cute!  And pretty relaxing with yummy, homemade food!

Finally, we hit the pool for a few hours to get our sun fix, and we packed up and started for home.  I have to say, that I really do kind of miss the desert.  Growing up in AZ made me appreciate the warmth, sun, and the sparse, yet impressive scenery.

We made it home safe and sound at about 1am.  Whew!  Next time, we add a day or two of down time before going back to work, though!  Today was a little rough!

Hope you have had a chance to go adventure this summer!

Ash 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  Can you believe it?  It is 2012.  I have big plans for this year.

But more on that soon.  But I will tell you that one of my many goals this year is to do more blogging. :)

We had a wonderful holiday season!  I just had to share a few photos of our holiday travels.  I made tons of gifts for family and friends, many of which I forgot to take photos of, but in a near future post I will share some of the fun things I made.

First...the trip to and around Klamath...

Upper left and lower right - Hwy 97 hills between Klamath Falls and Chiloquin, lower left - Klamath Lake, upper right - roadside snow, center - sunset in Klamath.

 Next was the trip to the ranch in central CA where we stayed for 2 very nice, 70degree days (but too short).....

Upper right and center left, rolling hills at the ranch, lower left, Mt. Shasta, lower right, night view of drive through Vacaville, center bottom, Lake Shastina, upper center and left, view of the ranch.

 And on that ranch they had a....

We rode horses, petted the goats, fed Gloria, the pig, played with the ranch kitties and doggies, talked to the young bulls, and watched a filly sniff the kitty...too fun!

Then we had to return to our life back in Eugene.  Nice to be home, but my, does time fly when you are having fun!

Happy New Year! 

Ash

Vegas adventure

I know I have been MIA, but recently for good reason, as I just returned from a week and a half long adventure to Vegas and back.  I wanted to share a bit of my trip with you!  (And in a later post I'll share what I came home to in Eugene.)

First....the trip to Vegas! It was a grand adventure, including a super creepy campsite with Child of the Earth bugs at Walker Lake, neat rest stops, chipmunks, a crazy cemetery in Tonapah and more!

Then our 4 days in Vegas!  Nightlife, slides at a pool, art (like the Claes Oldenburg sculpture...he is one of my favorite artists), grandiose hotels and casinos, monuments, and more!  It was overwhelming and exciting at the same time! 

Finally, our time in Vegas came to an end.  On our last day, we went into the old strip area of Fremont Street, which we loved.  I had a dollar deep fried Twinkie, enjoyed the retro feel.  Then we headed over to the Neon Sign Boneyard to see the signs that were retired, before we saw the Vegas sign on our way back toward Oregon.

On the road home, we stopped in a tiny town called Clio, California to see my family.  It was such a great way to ease back into life from Vegas.  My hubby and I played in the water, had a wonderful breakfast in Quincy, got a great new ball of souvenir yarn and took one last picture....

How cute is that??

Hope you enjoyed your summer!  

Ash