meet deanna

i am so psyched to be going to this next weekend. this is one of those very cool things that keep serendipitously popping up on this trip. (yesterday, mike's granny asked me "what is your itinerary?" and i answered honestly " i haven't got a clue" !)

anyhow, mike found this on tara's blog, and asked if i wanted to go to it. i think i was in oregon at the time, headed for 10k ways. i had had vague thoughts of going to eugene and portland after the campout, but hadn't planned on going to washington. but this "knitting thingy" , as mike calls it, was too interesting to pass up. mike then offered his driveway as a layover until the 30th, and that sealed the deal. i was on my way north.

and i am so glad i did. original plans had mike and i meeting "face to face" for the first time at the 10k ways gathering in southern oregon (although we knew each other already from the yahoo group "vandwellers"). heavy smoke from the california fires that were concentrated over jacksonville, oregon put an end to that.

heidi from vandwellers had been teasing mike about learning to knit. now, real men are up to any challenge, and since the only thing mike doesn't know how to do, apparently, is knit....well, there you have a recipe for a new direction for my roadtrip. i am blessed to by here at mike's surrounded by his warm and wonderful family, and getting to know him so much better.

so back to deanna, and her "knitting thingy". turns out deanna knew me through my blog, and was excited to have mike and mutt and i there. i am so excited and honored! she gets it that knitting needles are just one more sharp thing in my arsenal, and i wanna learn how to fight off cougars! i have been wondering, though, if i should switch some of my bamboo circulars in for some sturdier heavy metal ones :-) i will let you know what she says after next weekend.....

here is the link to her very cool blog:
http://www.whoaphotos.com/blog/2008/07/26/knit-n-nature/

or click on the blog title "meet deanna" above....

mendocino and points north

mutt at camp outside crescent city ca.
the rondyvan in the redwoods
camp in the mountains of southern oregon. what a treat to spread out and have running water and a hot meal. i am going to try to do this more often.
i emptied out the van and gave it a good scrubbing. note the lazy dog napping on the furthest right side of the photo. he was off-leash for two days and never left camp.
camped in the redwood forest for 2 nights. this was my view out the van window from the cot when i woke up one morning.......first thing you see.......
mutt's new friend at the fort bragg dog park.the funny part of the shot i missed was when mutt looked upwards to try to make eye contact. then he just did the sniffing thing.
mutt on the pomo bluffs. i love it there, and do alot of knitting there.
mutt running from a wave at noyo beach in fort bragg.
mutt hiding from the waves at pt. reyes national seashore. he has since actually let a wave touch him.
sunset on the trinidad bay.
couldn't decide which i liked best, so you got both. i tend to travel rather impulsively. trinidad is where i landed one evening after pushing up the coast til it "felt right". ended up sleeping at a casino parking lot. i miss the more vandweller friendly mendocino coast.
elk....... bruce and keith and mike z......eat your hearts out!
this past week we have been moving north up the california coast headed towards the 10kways gathering in southern oregon. the redwood forests are just amazing. here is mutt inside a tree.
my dear sweet jonna wanted to see redwoods. well, here ya go sweety!
a path through the forest. it is so silent and peaceful here. didn't hike far because dogs aren't allowed on the trail.
this is mutt with his new hairdo on the humbolt co. coast. his whole life is about sniffing.
i love this sign. haven't seen any horses anywhere in the city limits. but on my next trip out here i am doing the horseback thing on the beach north of fort bragg. way up on the list!