Klamath "Falls" first impressions

Hey member my first ever blog post? NO? you have a life and don't recall anything from my blog, good for you.

It was my first impressions of Eugene. For this reason, I feel it only appropriate to try and recall my first impressions of Klamath falls (which was almost 6 months ago) Yay me.

Klamath Falls is the smallest town that I have ever lived it. It has no mall, no costco and no target.

It has exactly one Indian restaurant (which are always my favorite) that also sells french fries and therefore I feel morally obligated to never go. It is also named "Hurry Curry," which I have questions about.

The name Klamath Falls is actually pretty misleading as there are no "Falls." Apparently this refers to the rapids that once formed as water left Upper Klamath Lake BUT because there is now a dam... you guessed it... no rapids. 

So... If you want to come to a place that has no target, Costco, questionably named Indian restaurants and doesn't know the definition of "Falls," I have the PERFECT place for you and,

I love it.

Let me just tell you that when we moved form Eugene I cried like a baby. Eugene is were I learned how to be a mother. Where we stretched ourselves to learn new things. We befriended the most wonderful people from all over the world and had many great experiences. Eugene taught us how to be better, less judgmental and more open to new ideas. Eugene changed us for the better.

Having said all that, it seems strange to feel at home so quickly in Klamath Falls, but we have been pleasantly surprised over and over with our fake falls city.

Matt and I have been most impressed with the people that live here. Within the first few weeks of arriving we were invited by many to come and have dinner at their home. We met friends instantly and so did our children. People seem to get together more often and support one another. I'm so happy to have met the people we have and for how quickly they made us feel at home and welcome.

Even when I make a total fool of myself...

The following is a REAL story. 

Shortly after moving here, I attended a baby shower for someone I didn't know terribly well. Lots of other moms and their children where there celebrating and enjoying a summer afternoon at the park. William instantly began playing with children and Paul was fussing in the baby Ergo about ready to pass out. I was introducing myself and meeting new people. 

"So is this your only little guy? how old is he." 

"This is Paul, he's almost 6 months and I have an almost-three-year-old, William, over..." --I turned my head and extended my hand to point at William and found him with his pants down, exposed (albeit adorable) bottom in central view, peeing on the grass while other children look disgusted at him.  If I wasn't going to be seeing these women again and again, I probably wouldn't have claimed him as my own, but the face I must have made would surely have given me away regardless. 

"excuse me."

 I ran (but not really ran because remember a baby is sleeping on me) over to William and bent down (but not really because, sleeping baby) to explain the situation of public urination to my confused potty training little boy. By this time he had finished his business and was walking around with his pull-ups and shorts at his ankles. 

I laughed with the other ladies and a few sweet souls even said that they experienced the same thing with their boys. I desperately wanted to believe them. 

Five minutes later I get a tap on my shoulder and again I look at William, HORRIFIED as I watch him standing/squatting and this time pooping in front for his peers. 

It was then that I vowed I would somehow get him back...

Add that experience to a long list of others entitled  "Did not see that coming when I signed up to be a mother."

When William wasn't using the parks system as a personal bathroom we spent a lot of time walking and exploring. 

The town is surrounded my so much natural beauty and there is so much to explore so close to us. 

Probably the greatest perk of living here is having Matt on a "normal" schedule and getting to spend weekends and evenings with us instead of law-journaling away his soul.

We are about half an hour from the California border and when some friends told us about the Lava Bed National Park we jumped at the chance to go. I'm so glad we did because it's probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

You drive into the middle of nowhere and walk around in what looks like just flat earth, then all of a sudden you stumble across a massive cave. 

There are caves of all difficulty levels but with kids in tow we stuck to the larger caves that don't involve crawling on all fours.

Plus that scares me.

William was quite the explorer. We thought he might get nervous but he was too in love with the flashlight on his head to care. 

Even though lava and volcanos are legitimately my greatest fear (thank you very much "Dante's Peak") I couldn't get over how cool these caves were and how they had been formed.

Because it's pitch black until you take a photo, we ended up with some prime photos of us awkwardly standing in blackness 

No fear

This was the opening to an "ice cave."

This is my favorite picture of the whole day. Matt looked at it after and said, "I've had my sunglasses on the WHOLE time!? Man, no wonder it was so dark in there."

hahaha I love him

And here we are posing with the owner of Hurry Curry in the background... just kidding guys, there were no french fries in sight. 

This cave was literally a fridge, used by Native's of the land for their marbled or spiced meats, I assume. The deeper we went the cooler it got. These metal hand rails were freezing and so William had to hold on to my hands instead.

We made it to the bottom but the actual ice floor was difficult to see. They had blocked it off so you couldn't walk on it.

Will got tuckered out after about 20 stairs up  

Even without a Target, we truly feel like this is exactly were we need to be right now. 

Matt is loving his job and we have acclimated so well. 

So come visit us! I won't take you out for Indian, we'll get Thai instead.