Home from the mountains...

I got to go camping this year, for nearly two weeks!  (Nearly missed out entirely last year--I think I only got a couple of weekends, and that's never nearly enough time!)  The weather was beautiful, and I hiked up to the waterfall again (hard to believe it was two years ago that I went there the first time!)--Heather was with me again, and this time Kaila and my niece Angela came along.  Heather and Angela had a great time playing on the rocks near the fall, and I managed to get drenched by the spray from it--which felt fantastic after hiking in the sun! lol

We saw some momma sage grouse with babies a few times--it was really fun to watch the moms slowly step out to the road, watching for traffic, and then watching the babies start dashing out around her.  They'd start crossing, and the mom would take her time, making sure they got across safely.  Most of the time, people driving on the road would stop and wait for them, but yesterday we found one grouse that had been hit.  :(  I went and looked around the area for babies, but didn't find any, so either they were being VERY quiet, or the dead one was a male or a female without babies.  (I'm kind of hoping for either of the latter, actually.)

Heather and I spent some time playing in the water, but I guess I've gotten to be kind of chicken lately, because the water is just too cold for me to go in past my waist, and even that's pushing it! lol  Heather, on the other hand, must be part trout, because she has no problem getting soaked from head to tailfin...er, toe, rather. ;-)

I truly think that I enjoy camping so much because I can get away from so much of the stress and drama of everyday life.  I go to the mountains, and the only things I really have to worry about are making sure there's firewood and water.  Dave does most of the cooking, I try to keep camp looking semi-neat at least, and the rest of the time, I just relax and enjoy the sounds of the forest.  The creek is a constant rush in the background, and there are always birds (grouse, robins, meadowlarks, and sandhill cranes--this year was the first time we've ever seen those!), squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, deer, and even the occasional bear.  Sunrises and sunsets are always beautiful, and at night the sky is alive with more stars than I ever see at home.  It's just amazing to see!

Okay, enough about camping (for now, anyway--I still have pictures to share! lol)--I have other good news!  I got my financial aid approved for school!  Huzzah!  So, since I'm registered already, I think all I have to do now is find out which books I need so that I can start looking for them on sale somewhere.  I've never figured out why college textbooks are so ridiculously expensive!

School starts September 8--that's just under two months away!  I can't believe I'm going back to school after so long.  I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.  Part of getting the financial aid was the condition that I pass all of my classes, and get my GPA up to at least a C average.  I know I can do that, but I'm nervous all the same.  I hope that an English major isn't a stupid way to go, or that editing isn't a stupid profession to go into.  I worry too much, I'm sure...lol

Okay, I think that's about enough of my rambling.  I'll do a photo post tomorrow after I've downloaded the pictures from the camera.  :-)