My day started with listening to the Declaration of Independence being read aloud on NPR. Listening to the language and tone of the document, I couldn’t help thinking about the difference between the small set of remote colonies that the document represented compared to the behemoth that America is now.
I love the July 4th holiday (well I would, wouldn’t I, I celebrate my birthday the next day). I love the fact that it’s the start of summer in the Pacific Northwest and I love the fact that this is largely a holiday for just getting together with and enjoying the company of friends and family.
For this Photo Friday I wanted to share some places where I’ve enjoyed July 4th. The photo above is of Downieville Mountain in the California Sierras. It was our first camping and hiking trip in the U.S. – the start of a passionate love of the outdoors that I didn’t even know I had!
It should be no surprise then that with a toddler in tow, a couple of years later we chose to spend our July 4th camping at Crater Lake in Oregon.
2002 found us in Bandon, Oregon. We didn’t camp, but there were many, many long walks on the beach and hunts for “friends anemones” in the rock-pools with an eager six-year-old and a sturdy toddler who wanted to do everything his older brother was doing and then some.
But we’ve spent most of our Fourth Of July holidays at home here, in Seattle, willing the clouds to stay away and the rain to hold off so that we can see the fireworks over the lake. And knowing that the next day, or the day after, the sun will finally come out and then we’ll remember how beautiful it is here in the summer and how lucky we are to be here.
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Photo credit (Bandon): litandmore
I have fond memories of going to Crater Lake with my family when I was a kid! Thanks for reminding me of it.
Love those pics! Crater Lake is unforgettable. I found a 1940s-era oil painting of Crater Lake in a vintage mall and couldn’t help but buy it, even though it was a bit dinged up (as 70-year-old items tend to be).
I really like that picture of Bandon.
Nice recap! I wonder if I have as many photos from previous forth (I know, it’s hard to imagine I wouldn’t, but sometimes I don’t bring a camera!).
And looks like you have to go to Oregon for the good weather!