Rooders Angels

This weekend I got to be part of something truly great, the Long Beach Relay for Life. This was my first Relay and didn't know what to expect.  The team was called "Rooders Angels" in honor of my "sis" Ruth Gove, who passed way from cancer earlier this year. I got to be part of this team with my beautiful niece Devann and her friends and relatives. 

At the beginning of the relay there was a military salute and the coast guard helicopter did a fly over very low to the stadium, it was awesome!!  The picture below of Devann with her mom Ruth is about a year and half old from when Ruth was going through the cancer fight.  Ruth always believed she would beat this cancer, even towards the end when she was in the hospital.  Last year during the relay for life Devann walked the "survivor lap" with her mom.  This year since her mom was not there we all walked arm and arm around the track in memory of her.  That lap was very emotional and we all cried and talked about how much Rooder loved the songs they were playing and how proud she was of walking the "survivor lap" last year.  Rooder was very strong and was a fighter clear up to the end.  She will be in our memories and hearts forever.  I am forever grateful that she accepted me as her "sis" and gave me such a great niece and great nephew.   Devann is an incredible girl that has endured a lot of challenges in her young life and has come through them with great strength and love.  Also at the relay they had a kids tent that kept my great nephew Peyton very entertained.  Later in the evening we setup all of the memory bags and at 10:00 pm we lit them all up.  It was a very emotional time and beautiful to see all of the people represented.

The relay was very small and it rained most of the time, but the experience was still great.  It brought up a bunch of emotions and memories of my sis.  If I get asked to do the Relay again in the future, I will for sure do it. 

Who Knew???

I have lived in the same 20 mile radius my whole life and although I have heard about the Potholes and Lower Falls, I had actually never really been there. Recently I started hiking around Lacamas Lake and Round Lake but did not venture off the main path.  I have always wanted to check them out but I am too chicken to go by myself so yesterday my friend Laina and I decided we would head on down the trail to Lower Falls.  All I can say is "WOW" what a beautiful stream and waterfalls that are right in the middle of town.....Who Knew????  Well probably lots of people but not me.  Definitely this is a true testement that you have to get off the main path to see the sights.  The trail is steep in some areas and you have to walk on rocks and of course good old fashioned NW mud, but it is worth the hike.

Along the paths I am always looking for birds and wildlife.  Yesterday we saw a momma duck with her babies swimming in the lake, and three beaver playing in the water.  This area is close to home and has given me a lot of excitiment to see what new things I can find.  At the end of this hike I could definitley feel the muscle burn but it was so worth it.

This is my first post and so in this first post I want to tell you about a place that I walk often. As many nights a week as I can I walk on the Heritage trail in Camas, WA. It goes along Lacamas Lake and is a very pretty walk. I normally walk this trail 5-6 days a week. At one end of the trail it goes to another trail called the Round Lake Trail. Up on top of Round Lake is the Lily fields. The lilies bloom only in April and May so it is a short window to see them but they are very pretty. Here are a few pictures of the lakes and the lily fields.