More Firsts at an Old Favorite - Diamond Lake, OR

 

Mt. Bailey across Diamond Lake.

If you’ve followed the blog for long you know that Diamond Lake, OR has been a family favorite for over 30 years. We first started camping here with Rog’s parents and grandparents when our oldest daughter Randi was a toddler. Fast forward many years and many happy memories and we keep coming back. We never tire of the views of Mt. Bailey and Mt. Thielsen, we love the 11-mile paved trail around the lake, a couple of lovely beach areas, and the lake is beautiful with great fishing and kayaking. The campground is set among tall pines for shade and the night skies are simply spectacular. Yep, definitely one of our happy places.

Loved introducing Raney to one of our favorite places.

We have 11 days scheduled here and, since it was a short drive from Lemolo Lake, we arrived early in the afternoon on Sunday, 7/17 (Happy Birthday, Randi!). It’s nice to be stationary for a while and not feel rushed to see and do everything in just a few days. Although, in truth, since we’ve been on puppy time this trip there really hasn’t been that much rushing (or seeing or doing for that matter, Lol.).

Riley and Raney hanging out with Dad on the patio.

This year we are camping with my brother Tim and his mastiff Brody, Mike and his cousin Erin. Our friends Mikey and Glen were also scheduled to come, but their pupper, Prince, had a medical emergency and while he’s on the mend, they opted to cancel and stay home. (Miss you guys and sending Prince love and hopes for a speedy recovery!)

Tim's coach (which I still affectionately dub the Deathstar - 45 ft)
and our Short Bus (a petite 33 ft). 

Prince is on the mend, but will be staying home with his Daddies. 😞

Uncle Tim gets to meet his new niece, Raney!

How could you not love that face??

I’d originally planned on just doing one post to cover our stay at Diamond Lake, but given the number of pictures and fun Raney firsts we have to share, thought maybe a two-fer was in order. Besides, this way you get to watch Raney grow and man, is she ever! Puppy sister weighed in at 12 weeks at 42.1 pounds. Needless to say, carrying her was swiftly becoming a nonstarter. Teaching her how to go down the steps moved up the priority list. She picked it up quickly enough and now we only have to do the deadlift if we’re in a hurry or she is sleepy or being stubborn… a mastiff stubborn? Noooo, say it’s not true. Lol. Raney is also picking up some camping skills, she has learned how to drink out of the faucet and now insists on getting a drink every time we walk past one. And then there's the no dogs on the bed rule...how's that working out? 

I  had to learn to go down the stairs.
Mom says I weigh too much! Lol.

Learning new camping skills.
Drinking out of the faucet. 

I don't see any dogs on the bed, just a little princess. Lol.

On Tuesday, 7/19, Rog went out in the kayak for some morning fishing. He got skunked and didn’t see many other folks having much luck either. It’s getting so hot that the trout are staying deep so fishing the lake may not be the way to go this year. Luckily he has options. More on that in the next post.

 

Morning light on Mt. Bailey.

Rog heads out for some lake fishing.

I spent the morning puppysitting. Raney loves to explore the open meadow areas full of wildflowers and tall grass. She walks the fallen logs like an Olympic gymnast on the balance beam. Pretty impressive until she does the clumsy puppy somersault. Lol.

 

Working on her balance beam act.

Our gorgeous girl.

She loves to explore!

In the afternoon we took both of the puppers to “Riley’s beach” at the north end of the lake. It’s a great sandy beach area with shallow water quite a ways out, so it’s perfect for play time. They both had a great time. 

She's getting braver!

Both of the pupper's enjoyed Riley's Beach.

There were swarms of these electric blue dragonflies. 
Finally got one in focus!

After dinner we were at Tim’s coach for a campfire. We were sitting there conversing and enjoying the sunset and a nice breeze off the lake when Raney stood up and led Rog back to our RV, guess she decided it was bedtime!

Evening fire at Tim's coach.

Lovely sunset at Diamond Lake.

Rog and Riley doing some serious contemplation. 😏

Brody enjoys the evening gatherings.

Raney says, "Bedtime!"

On Wednesday, Tim, Mike and I rode around the lake. It's one of the highlights of our stay and we did it a couple times. It’s such a beautiful ride and the views just never get old. We always stop at the bridge over Silent Creek for photos and I keep my eyes peeled in the places where we’ve spotted wildlife in years past – deer, a bear, and a family of otters. Alas, nothing more exciting than kamikaze chipmunks on this trip. Lol.

 

Tim and Mike on the trail around Diamond Lake.

Me and my baby bother. 😁

Silent Creek.

No wildlife besides kamikaze chipmunks and sassy ground squirrels.

Mike is outstanding in his field. Snark, snark. 😄

Mt. Thielsen from the trail.

Got both the mountains in a pano. Lovely!

After we made the loop, we stopped back at the RV to pick up Rog and Raney for the 3-mile roundtrip ride to the South Beach store. You’ve seen pictures of the stroller princess, so we decided to give it a try as a bike trailer. She was a little fussy at times, but then would settle down and enjoy the ride. She did great for her first time behind the bike! I promised her ice cream at the store, but they were closed on Wednesday. ☹ Rog opted to ride around the lake, while Raney and I went back to the RV. We made a return trip the next day so Momma could deliver on her promise.

Sister is riding in style!

 

Momma delivers on her promise!

Thursday, Tim, Mike and Erin drove to Crater Lake. It’s a gorgeous national park but, like many, not very dog friendly. Rog and I opted to stay home with the puppers, but I will share Mike’s awesome pano. Thanks Mike!

 

Mike took this spectacular pano of Crater Lake.
Thanks for letting me share!

We strategically planned our kayaking on Friday morning for puppy naptime. It felt a little like sneaking out to have some adult time without the kids. Lol. We’d usually take Riley with us in the kayak, but there’s no shade on the lake and with temps in the 80’s – 90’s, he would broil. He much prefers to sack out in the heat of the day.

Woohoo. Sneaking out without the kids. Lol. 

Tim and Mike with Mt. Thielsen in the background.

Mike enjoys a paddle on Diamond Lake.

Momma duck and her ducklings.

The puppers are happy to chill in the shade.

Well, I think we’ll pause here and cover the rest in our next post. Stay tuned for our next episode of Diamond Lake! We'll have a visit from Rian (with her new truck!), fun fishing adventures, more puppy pics - all the good, the bad, and the indifferent. Lol.  And as a tease, I’ve been in contact with two of the families that have littermates of Raney’s and we’re trying to set up some play dates on the way home. Stand by for lots more fun and an overdose of adorableness!