Innehållsförteckning för August/September 2020 från Country

A FRIEND AND I have started going on jaunts we call Adventure Days. The purpose is to take a daytrip to any location and enjoy the little things along the way. The best part is that there is no itinerary. We just go and explore the sites on a whim. On our last trip, we went to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Strong City, Kansas. On the drive home, we saw the prettiest sunset I’ve ever seen. I love these days with my friend. They remind me that life is an adventure and that there is beauty everywhere you look. JASMINE HADDOCK Derby, Kansas BICYCLING WITH BIGFOOT I took up bicycling as a way to continue exercising into my later years. It gave me the chance to check a…

We know you’ve taken photos of your trips across America. Did you visit unique attractions? Discover out-of-the-way places? Delight in small-town charm and scenic beauty? Enter your gorgeous snapshots in any of these four categories—destinations, scenery, people and wildlife—and you could win! One grand prize winner will receive $1,000. We’ll also award $200 for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place. ENTER TODAY! Go to country-magazine.com/contests for official rules. SUBMIT YOUR ENTRIES ONLINE BY NOV. 13, 2020.…

The first time my then-10-year-old daughter saw Crater Lake National Park, her jaw just dropped. Before her were the deep blue waters of a lake surrounded by jagged peaks—the remains of a mighty mountain known as Mazama. “You told me this was a beautiful lake, but I had no idea it was this incredible,” Nicki said at the time. That is the Crater Lake effect. This magical and majestic place is the only national park in Oregon and the deepest lake in the United States. Though Crater Lake isn’t among the most visited national parks, it should be. It is an awe-inspiring weekend getaway. Here are the things that I love to do in this scenic wonder. DRIVE THE RIM Crater Lake’s rim tops out at 8,000 feet, allowing snow…

Memories of running through fields on my grandparents’ farm as a child well up and embrace me like a soft blanket of comfort on days when the world at large can seem overwhelming. I remember the old barns with haylofts to explore and jumping down from above into mounds of hay. I wandered the fields and found strange rocks to treasure, picked wildflowers and chased busy butterflies, and lay down and watched clouds roll across the blue sky. After plucking berries, I would eat a few and deliver the rest to Mamaw so she could make her delicious homemade cobbler. I waded in the creek to catch minnows or tadpoles and skipped rocks—one, two or three times if you held your mouth just right. In the evening darkness, I found…

EXPLORING THE WATERFALLS of Iron County, Wisconsin, is the perfect weekend getaway. Located on the northern edge of the state, Iron County borders Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the mighty Gitche Gumee, also known as Lake Superior. I left my home in Minneapolis early Saturday morning and drove about four hours to my first trip destination, scenic Copper Falls State Park. Along the way I drove past the huge majestic pine trees of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The trees, the deep blue sky, the incandescent sun and the cool air of Wisconsin’s North Woods invigorated my spirit as I stepped out of the car. That day I explored the marvels of Copper Falls and its neighbor, Brownstone Falls. The 1.7-mile Doughboys Trail winds around both waterfalls, offering lovely views of them.…

Far from the hustle and bustle of crowded city streets, my husband, Albert, and I live in a place we call Whisky. Tucked into the foothills of Montana’s Judith Mountains, Whisky is just over the ridge off the old Gilt Edge Stage Road, stretching up Whisky Gulch to the west. As the crow flies, it is a dozen or so miles from Lewistown, the geographic center of Montana. Our roots go back to the state’s homesteading days. Albert and I have lived all our lives in Montana. We built our home, which sits on the lower end of the northern ridge, in 2014. We have spent the past years completing the house, building some of the outbuildings, clearing brush, putting up fencing and taking care of the land. Our two…

In early spring 2013, my husband, Paul, and I learned our adopted 9-year-old Rottweiler, Hans Michael, had cancer. Our hearts were broken to say the least. It was a long, grueling summer as we watched our cherished dog slowly slip away from us. We took him on short rides that he loved and looked forward to, but he soon became too weak to get into our SUV and could no longer ride. We then spent time with him each afternoon close to our pond in our backyard, but sadly his activities became limited as the cancer took its toll. In the early morning hours of Aug. 13, we called our veterinarian after a difficult night with Hans Michael. We agreed that it was time to let him go. Late that…

Looking around the room of people selling crafts, jellies and baked goods at the arts and craft sale, I couldn’t help smiling. I had been looking for something like this ever since we moved to our small town in northern Texas. I hoped that somewhere in this mix of people there was a new friend for my daughter Katie and for me. After visiting numerous booths, we met Mrs. Cates, an older woman selling her artwork. She and Katie hit it off right away. I asked if she would teach my child to draw, and she said, “Sure, and you both need to come visit me.” We took her up on her offer and began a delightful friendship that continues to be a blessing to our family 10 years later.…

Blissful Backdrop In our neck of the woods, my family loves to be outdoors. The longer days filled with sunshine are exciting, because in the Pacific Northwest they’re gone so quickly. We feel fortunate to live near the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest here in Washington state close to British Columbia. One day my husband, Garrell, was fishing for trout at East Bank Baker Lake when some nearby campers rode up to see what was biting. Nothing says summer like biking to your favorite clear blue lake to fish the day away under snowcapped mountains. Mukilteo, Washington…

Stark. That’s how some would describe the beauty of the land between Idaho’s Lost River Range and the Lemhi Mountain Range. Funny, but that word never crossed my mind. With the tallest mountains in Idaho, the Lost River Range is home to seven peaks topping 12,000 feet, including the state’s tallest, Mount Borah. In the summer hikers, climbers, outdoor lovers and other adventurers arrive to conquer these summits. I’ve spent much of my career as a landscape photographer climbing these rocks, looking for the perfect shot. The best way to explore this area of east-central Idaho is to take what I call the Idaho adventure loop, which follows two historic highways—93 and 28—to scenic wonders. Exploration of this route requires an adventurous frame of mind and four-wheel drive. The wandering…

That Saturday was a bright and clear morning in the Grande Ronde Valley. Puffy clouds floated in the cobalt sky above Mount Emily—a perfect summer day in northeast Oregon. My son John, my brother Eldon and my wife, Joyce, drove with me down a lane bordered by lush, green waist-high barley into the yard of what had been the turn-of-the-century homestead of my grandfather, John Alden Chandler. My cousin Dale Chandler owns the farm now and has built a new house and shop. Only the old root cellar, where potatoes, onions and the like were kept, still exists. As we drove into the yard, Dale looked up from where he was working on the old steam traction engine he had restored (“traction engine” was later shortened to “tractor”). He beamed…

Every Saturday morning, just outside the town of Centre, Alabama, people from hundreds of miles around meet at one of the biggest flea markets in the United States. Here they congregate to sell everything under the sun—from bootleg movies to farm animals. One day when I was just a kid, Mama and Daddy loaded us all into her little Honda and headed there for a fun family outing. “Now remember,” Dad told me on the drive over, “people will try to get as much money from you as they can. They’ll try to sell you something that has flaws. But if you know what to look for, you can always spot them.” “Well, what would I look for, Daddy?” I asked innocently. “Oh, it’s easy. They always act real uninterested…