One Month of Summer Left

We did a hike to Opal Falls over Memorial Day Weekend. It was packed. To put it mildly. The cars were parked along the side of the road starting at about 5 miles before the trail head. We were running later than we had wanted for a starting time, which worked in our favor. We were able to grab an empty early bird's spot just a few hundred feet from the entrance. 

Grandma Graff and my whole family, minus Dorian, came and it was so pleasant. There was lots to see and take pictures of. It used to be the location of a mining shaft and a lot of the necessary things were still there. The things that were too heavy to take out. Like a few rail cars and some other stuff. We took the stroller and Talmage and the girls took turns riding in it, riding on shoulders and walking. It was a huge amount of walking - 6.5, although the distance gets longer each time I tell the story. I'll keep it at 6.5, which is what we bargained for when we first started out. 

It was beautiful, just the whole thing, but especially getting to the top and seeing the pool. There was a particularly perfectly placed log that a person could sit on, their legs dangling as they enjoyed the scene while taking a sip of water or eating a snack.

This experience was the brainchild for my goal of 10 hikes this summer. I don't want to leave Oregon without knowing it. I know my area well enough, but I want to see and know more. So off we go. Right now we will be doing 5:10 tomorrow and we only have a month of summer left. It has got me in a tizzy. My heart hurts and my stomach twists up and does knots. It's so pitiful. I can never fit enough summer into our usual one good month of summer. August. And I get so anxious about how to fill my time and how to use it wisely that it just makes me unravel and I end up taking an afternoon wallowing and sleeping. Which is an utter waste of time but it was so overwhelming to find the perfect way to spend that time that I throw it away on purpose. As if that makes it better. To have control.