Wednesday, August 20, 2014

A Klamath Weekend on $20

I nearly always feel that I'm a terrible mom because I can't afford big elaborate vacations. Silly right? I mean, if you as a friend were telling me that, I'd tell you that you were silly and that your kids were lucky. But yet, that's what I do....worry it over and over and over.

This year, I planned to do the Grand Canyon. Well,  it didn't happen. I've worried it over and over. And then I accepted it. My son helped.

About a month ago, I woke Marc up on a Sunday and said let's go hike. So we grabbed his girlfriend, packed some water and a few snacks and headed to Crater Lake.

Crater Lake is about 50 miles from where I live. It's in our county and is Oregon's only national park. Millions visit from around the world each year. I've gone in the winter, fall, and summer and it doesn't matter what season, it's breath-taking.

It was a gorgeous day. The lake as usual was the most brilliant blue. The skies were clear. It was very warm but not too bad. We drove around the lake, pulling over to the viewpoints and gazing down at the water.


We decided to hike to one of the waterfalls. It was beautiful and I had never been to it before.

It was there that I heard Marc telling his girlfriend how I always took him to do stuff and how awesome it was. He wasn't complaining that I don't take him on elaborate vacations...he was bragging because we go do so many cool things together. I heard him telling her that I take him to places he's never even heard of.

Hm, maybe I'm doing something right.

It helps that we live in an amazing place with lots of natural beauty as well as other things to do. Things like Crater Lake.



It helps that I work for the Chamber and so get to know some cool little things and know some pretty cool people. So when my niece and nephew came for a visit, I was able to do some pretty cool things on a very small budget.
Paige holds a 3day old ostrich

The kids hold ostrich eggs that weigh
between 3 and 4 lbs each
For example, through the Chamber, I met a woman who runs an ostrich farm. She invited us out to see the babies.

Really, how many people can say they've done that? (By the way, if you're ever in Klamath, you can do this too. Just check with the Chamber and they'll tell you all the cool stuff).

They're a funny looking bird


Then we spent a fair amount of time swimming. Our local pool is the Ella Redkey Pool. It's geothermally heated and is an outdoor pool open year round. It's gorgeous with gorgeous grounds and beautiful blue water, and a big blue slide.

The kids swimming at the Ella Redkey



We got to see a baby ostrich hatch



Then we went out to Malin to the city park. It's nestled in trees, it's a huge park, and has a great play structure. We drove out there on a Sunday and were thrilled to find they also have a pool and that it was open.
The kids at the Malin pool

Nate dives

playing in the park

 The pool was nearly empty so they kids almost had it all to themselves which they loved. The skies were dark and it rained a bit but still, they swam.

Anyway, long story short. I live in an amazing place filled with fun things to do for a small amount of money. The kids had a great time, we created some memories, and I got to see lots of smiles on their faces.

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