Fun in the sun...

:: View pictures from the trip here ::
(For best results, we recommend viewing the slideshow)

We hope you've been able to take in some great trips and outings over the course of the summer. We can't believe it's all coming to a close. Connor starts 4th grade September 3!

We took a trip out to Eastern Washington to enjoy some much-needed sunshine and what we like to call "flat-lining." This is mom and dad's time to think about nothing. No timelines to manage, no stress, just chillaxing the days away.


Some crazy weather—
When we arrived the weather was HOT. We're talking 108° F in some instances on the drive there. We thought we'd be in for a scorcher the whole time, but the weather changed the next day. We had clouds and cooler temperatures than what we're used to, and we even had two days where we didn't get out because of rain. The winds were really rough on the water as well, so we entertained ourselves by going on hikes and taking a drive to a nearby marina for the day.

A party takes place—
One night (Friday) we had returned from a drive we took and noticed some new neighbors in the camp across from us. Two guys sitting at a picnic table with a bunch of empty beer bottles sitting among them. A little while later, one car full of college kids show up and the campsite just grew and grew. They partied all night up until the wee hours of oh, 5AM! The next morning in total, there were 7 cars that had showed up and all of them were full of students there for the last blowout before school begins. They didn't look as good as they did when they arrived the night before. (c;

Harvey the owl is seen again!—
We've been coming to Lake Roosevelt now for 3 years and we've seen an owl fly near us in past trips near camp. This time, I was able to get some pictures of him and it was so cool. I had never seen an owl in the wild like this before. He's a great horned owl that we named Harvey. Click on the link above to view pictures of him.

Hope you were able to fit some fun into your summer!

—Brett, Jodi & Connor

Californians come for a visit...

:: View the slideshow of their visit ::

Brett's cousin, Chuck, his wife Becky, and their son Seth came out for dinner during their visit from California. Patty and Dave came out too and it was good to get together again. The Cornmans have been living in Orange County for a little over a year now and we hadn't seen each other since 2001 I'd guess.

This slideshow includes photos of this visit and some shots of our birds in the backyard.

A complete weekend...

:: View the slideshow here ::

Our past weekend was a real delight, sunny weather and all. We visited my mom and helped her around the house and yard. I managed to fit in some pictures of her flowers there. While there we also took in the airshow that was going on. Next, we headed over to the Morgans, where Patty's sisters, Sherry & Karen, from Iowa and Arizona were here for a visit. Dave had tickets for a Tacoma Rainiers ballgame that he treated Brett, Connor and I to later that evening.

A day in paradise...

:: View the slideshow from this spectacular day ::

Brett, Connor and I went out in the wilderness on Sunday, and I must say, what a spectacular day. Just awe-inspiring... gorgeous! Perfect conditions for photography, so I went to town and then some.

We hope you enjoy this!

Went to the movies today: Hancock

We don't recommend it. It's rated PG-13, but they dropped the F-bomb and had a lot of other cussing in it. We felt a little bad that we brought Connor to it. The special effects weren't that special either. Definitely a Netflix one you should consider. )c:

Should have gone to see WALL-E instead. Oh well!

Connor catches a big one

Connor has really learned the hang of things on the boat, and if you've ever fished in the fashion we have (it's dangerous), you can understand the importance of this.

He caught a 16 lbs. Chinook all on his own! Grandpa helped net it for him and had to pay him $5 for a bet he made: whoever catches the biggest salmon that day would get the dough!

The fishing this year was really poor—the Chinooks (and Coho) just were not in yet. Fishing numbers for everyone was low and on most days there, there weren't any fish counters from the state even. Furthermore, this had to be the lowest turnout we've ever seen. Normally the marina would be packed and as you may have seen in previous pictures, the marina isn't full. We suspect it's due to the inflated cost of fuel.

With the difficulty in catching salmon, we did manage to catch some bottomfish, like sea bass, lingcod, and cabezon. Connor loved it! All in all we had a good time and will look forward to going there again.

Take a look at more pictures we have>>

Hiking the Ozette Trail

:: View the slideshow from this adventure ::

Well, what I had been waiting for in anticipation arrived—the Ozette Trail hike. We gathered up our lunch and snacks for the trip and headed out. It was a gorgeous day—we couldn't have picked a better day to do this.

The trail is a boardwalk that meanders through a lush forest for 3.1 miles where you wind up at the beach.

As we neared the beach, we discovered a few deer snacking on some nearby trees. It was a real treat to be able to get pictures of them as I am used to most deer getting spooked and taking off.

While on the beach, Connor busied himself searching for rock crabs and sea life under the rocks. It was pretty cool for him to explore about.

The drive up...

Not much to say other than we headed out early with Brett, Connor and I in the truck with the camper and Dave with his truck to tow our boat. We normally would do this ourselves, but this did lighten the load for us and in these days with the cost of fuel (diesel being the highest), it was especially helpful!

Along the way, we stopped in at Gwennie's, a local restaurant in Sequim, WA to fill up. On the road again, I was able to get some shots of Crescent Lake.

:: Here are some pics from the drive up ::

The birth of The Morgan Chronicles begins with our annual journey to Neah Bay...

Me and the boys will be heading off for Neah Bay first thing in the morning tomorrow!

This is one of those trips we all look forward to every year. We appreciate it for the ocean air, the picturesque views, the spectacular sunrises—as well as the physical toll it takes on us if that doesn't crazy enough! All this makes the salmon fishing there as one of our cherished traditions.

Our journey will begin with a 5-hour drive. Brett, Connor and I with the camper and Dave with our boat in tow.

Our agenda will include a hike on the Ozette Trail, where we'll walk through a lush forest to the beach.