I have a confession to make. Brandon and I are terrible at relaxing. We were planning to stay home. Sure, we usually went camping Memorial Day Weekend, but it was the weekend after our wedding. Who goes camping the weekend after their wedding? As the weekend approached, we began to joke about how crazy it would be to do anything the weekend after our beautiful, wonderful, exhausting wedding just a few days before. Jokes quickly progressed to what ifs and before we knew it we were making plans to go camping. Camping. A week after throwing the biggest, most emotional party of our lives.

Of course, "making plans" might be a generous description of what we did. We haphazardly reviewed our camping supplies, replaced what we absolutely needed to replace, loaded the car, and set out on a Saturday morning with fingers crossed that we would find a campsite. It was, after all, the kick off of camping season in Oregon. We had no specific destination in mind, but drove toward the Middle Fork of the Willamette River east of Eugene.

A couple hours later, we pulled into the Blue Pool Campground, one of the many campgrounds in the Willamette National Forest. We easily found a lovely and private walk-in site right next to Salt Creek.

By this time, we make a precise and efficient team when it comes to setting up a campsite, so it was not long before we were settled in and setting out for our first adventure at Salt Creek Falls. As the second highest waterfall in Oregon and one that is easy to get to, it was both beautiful and crowded.

To escape the crowds, we found a quiet spot for a picnic before beginning our hike.

Fancy picnics and newly purchased plastic wine glasses for the win.

Toasting to a week of marriage. And to Brandon giving me his fleece because I packed entirely inappropriate clothing and was freezing. True love right there.

Near the picnic area is a great loop trail - Diamond Creek Falls Loop Trail. It's a little over 3 miles with the option to continue hiking along the Vivian Lake Trail rather than looping back to Salt Creek Falls.

The day was cloudy and cool and delightfully mysterious.

A steep and muddy trail with a log staircase that led to a waterfall

Upper Diamond Creek Falls was worth the detour

After the hike, nothing sounded better than soaking our aching feet in a hot springs. We decided to check out the nearby McCredie Hot Springs.

The very hot hot springs are right next to the very cold Salt Creek. Yes, the same creek with the plunging waterfall and that runs behind Blue Pool Campground.

It's an undeveloped hot springs where, as at most Oregon hot springs, clothing is optional. Thankfully, everyone was appropriately dressed. Some of the springs were really hot, but we finally found a tolerable spot to relax.

Gorgeous hike? Check. A bit of relaxation? Check. Next up was obviously some delicious food. We revisited Stewart's 58 Drive-In, a favorite from a previous trip.

The burgers and fries were just as delicious as we remembered. If you find yourself in, near, or passing through Oakridge, Oregon, definitely stop here!

After a full day of exploring, all of us, including Sydney, were ready to relax back at the campground.

The following day, we wanted to fit in one more hike before heading home. I consulted my trusty "100 Oregon Hikes" book, this one devoted to the Central Oregon Cascades, and settled on the Patterson Mountain hike. I honestly do not think we would have found the trailhead without the clear directions in the book. The trailhead is miles up (and by up, I mean up) unpaved roads. The tradeoff for the questionable drive is that one doesn't have to hike those miles to get to the top of the mountain and its clifftop view.

It was everything I love in a hike - a bit challenging but not enough to make me regret my life choices, pretty scenery along the way, and an incredible view at the top.

Brandon loves a green meadow. This one happened to be covered in hellebore and wild irises.

The trail was consistently ascending, but the switchbacks were relatively gentle for most of the hike.

And the payoff? This view. Even better, we had it all to ourselves for much of our time there. We picnicked, we napped, we appreciated the stunning beauty of Oregon.

We drove home, tired but feeling grateful for the time together and the time away, grateful to be husband and wife and for the perfect weekend of our wedding a mere week before, grateful for our adventures, even when they are perhaps ill advised or poorly timed. We were recently discussing yet again having a weekend full of the best things - friends and food and floating the river. I contrasted that to the preceding weekdays when we had been unable to spend time with a friend visiting from out of state because of other commitments. I realized that this is just how we approach life: During the week we work hard at our jobs and to keep our home running smoothly. And we play just as hard on the weekends, camping and hiking, making plans with friends, exploring and adventuring. We live life to the fullest. We make a great team, but I know that to have a great marriage, we must apply the intention and effort to our marriage that we do to our work and to our adventures. This, my first camping trip with my husband, was a pretty great start.

This is How We Summer

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