The Refuge

After a conversation with my book group on Friday, I decided that our family needs to be better and getting out and enjoying some of the beautiful sites we have in Oregon.  We've been in Oregon for nearly six years now and there are still so many places we've never been.  We started small on Saturday with a trip to the Tualatin River Wildlife Refuge just a five-minute drive from our house.  As the name suggests, the Refuge is a sanctuary for birds and other small wildlife.  They have several miles of walking trails and we picked a 1.5 mile loop.  It was a gorgeous evening without rain, but with clouds that were thinking about it.

 Alan was tired from a race he had run in the morning, but Spencer wanted to race the whole way.  (I am still exempt from racing due to my knee.  A few months ago I wouldn't have even been able to walk it though.)  On your marks...

 This is how Spencer insisted on "walking" when they weren't racing.  We heard and saw hundreds of birds, frogs, snakes and mosquitoes.  It was neat.  I just wish I could identify more birds by their calls.  Something to learn.

And this was my view when Spencer decided he had to use the bathroom about a 1/3 of the way through.  Alan wound up running with Spencer on his shoulders to get to the bathroom in time.

I finished with tired feet, but feeling refreshed from nature.  Successful first outing!