It's 0745, and we are at the Lane County Vet Services office. We were told we'd be first in line for a walk-in appointment if we did so - the only kind Veteran Service Organizations (VSO) seem to give. We weren't told that though we'd be first in line, appointments wouldn't BEGIN until 0900. ::snort::
Whitney was worth the wait. We received clarity on our unusual situation, advice for moving forward and encouragement from knowing someone in the system CARED about our claim and would work with us until it is settled.
We had planned to be in Springfield by 1000 ready to begin today's adventure. It was 1030 when we left the office. Arielle wasn't able to come up with us - she had to work. Go figure.
The rest of us packed a lunch and headed up Hwy 126 for the Willamette National Forest - Sahalie Falls to be exact. I kept having to correct myself as I thought of them as "Sahady's Falls" and though Father Mark would love these falls, I doubt they were named for him. ::wink:: We also drew a complete blank on locating the falls on either our fancy GPS or on my smart phone. Hmmm, we will need to start adding these sort of points of interest and sending them into Rand McNally.
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| JaRissa |
Our first sight of the falls
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| Dad, Mom, Larissa, Jared |
BreZaak and their neighbors, the K's met us at the falls
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| Will and girls - cute girls but I won't post face shots as I forgot to get permission |
My man and I at the falls
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| Mom, Michael, Me, Dad |
Some of the gang
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| Stacia, me, Michale, Alex, Nolan, Jared, Larissa |
Bella's first hike
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| Izaak, Bella, Bre |
Stacia loved her new-found height
From above - needed a wider lens
THIS is a moment sure to live in family stories. Nolan is calling Mom's phone - her phone is somewhere in the falls... Apparently, it "accidentally" was dropped over the edge.
Somewhere down here - no luck finding it
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| Odd hikers one meets |
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| Michael and Jared |
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| JaRissa - such a sweet young couple |
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| Michael and Mom |
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| Nolan |
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| Snack stop - for the love of God - lighten my back pack! LOL |
Belknap Covered Bridge
Goodpasture Island Bridge
JaRissa and Lassie catch a few zzzzs on the way back to town
We may have stopped at a traditional DQ spot on main street with Mom, Dad and Lorri - ah the memories. We came back to our new campsite and settled in for a bit of Bocce. Nolan won.
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| Perhaps not a very inspiring view, but the game was a lot of fun. |
Stacia had been asking for "Mafia" since Saturday. We humored her and made some fun memories in The Caboose.
