Oregon Family Visit

Custom Red Cedar Home Built by Radeen's Brother

Destination Southern Oregon for a visit with Radeen's family. Lee, Radeen's brother, hand built this beautiful red cedar, post and beam home, over the last 4 years! Beginning with a set of plans and two other men to help when needed, he set out clearing the 5 acres of brush and sagebrush while preserving every tree as his property borders the National Forest of south central Oregon. The rest of the family drove in from California and Washington states sharing stories, photos, gifts, and fantastic meals ranging from venison to antelope to fresh caught salmon, with delicious desserts, including home made ice cream and wine/berry sorbets.

We toured Crater Lake, one of the most beautiful places on earth! Another day, we rode on a jet boat 36 miles into the Hellgate Canyon. Further highlights were shopping the beautiful towns of Ashland, home of the Shakespeare Festival, and Jacksonville, a gold rush town. We were constantly interrupted by the many wine tastings these towns offer!

Oregon is such a beautiful state, with only 3.8 million residents which is less than half the population of New York City! The peaceful vistas, massive mountains, and lush valleys make exploring the countryside breathtaking and very enjoyable. Such a contrast to exploring by boat and on the ocean. Thank you, Lee and Judith, for a dream visit and a wonderful family reunion. We look forward to many more!

Photo Essay of our Oregon Family Visit 

Radeen arrives in Oregon

Lee and Radeen on the interior balcony, overlooking the living room
Notice the beautiful red cedar interior walls!

Hayden and Lee in the front driveway

The back, SW view, where the upper deck and patio overlook the valley and off to the mountains

Lee is one of 3,000 licensed Falconers in the United States!
This is his trained Harris Hawk named Gaff.

Lee feeding his Harris Hawk with the bird on his leather glove.
Look at the tallons on these birds.

The bird will fly out for a loop, then return to his raised hand.
This bird is flown out into the wild to catch rabbits and wild prey!

Our jet boat ride into the Hellgate Canyon where there are rapids and waterfalls

Lee and Hayden at the outdoor lodge in the canyon

Lee, Judith, Radeen and Hayden...front row on the jet boat ride...very cool....very fast, 40 knots!

Lee and Judith have every bird imaginable, here is their pet hummingbird at a hanging basket

Radeen and Judith overlooking the valley near Crater Lake

A common valley scene with towering pines, a river and waterfall below

Crater Lake National Park....beautiful!

Wizard Island in the side / center of the lake

Crater Lake is 1,990 feet deep, the deepest lake in the USA!

Hayden and Radeen, at Crater Lake, Oregon

Crater Lake was caused 7,700 years ago when the volcano erupted.
The ash volume would cover all of Oregon  8" deep if spread out evenly over the state!

No photo of Crater Lake does it justice....it is far more beautiful than these photos show.

Crater Lake and Wizard Island
That far peak is the upward slope of the original mountain

Back home, this is the interior balcony of Lee and Judith's home.
Beautiful! Notice the beams, steel brackets, and red cedar walls.

Darren and Jeanette, Radeen's nephew and his wonderful wife

Hayden and Lee set up "FORT FRANKIE" for Lee's Granddaughter, Frankie.
She read us a fireside story and we toasted s'mores.....fun!

"Willie" the famous pack rat and chipmunk hunter. He is also used to flush rabbits for the hawk

"Pip" the bloodhound who is really great at chasing down  coyotes and rabbits.
These dogs work in tandem with the Harris Hawk.

Radeen, Tanya, and Judith, a great "girls" photo

Frankie Lee and Darren..."PaPa loves Frankie"
Frankie is a fantastic reader and did a great job with our fire pit stories....Thank you, Frankie Lee!

Hayden, Tanya, Jeanette and Lee after another wonderful meal and delicious wine.

Frankie Lee and "Willie" the great hunter

Frankie Lee, Darren, and Jeanette...beautiful...smart...positive...happy family!

The "BEAST" ... a diesel tractor that is used for all the heavy lifting, snow plowing, sagebrush cutting, and more

S'mores anyone?

S'mores at "FORT FRANKIE" and story time by the expert reader herself.
Thank you for a wonderful visit.....WE LOVE YOU ALL....