We were totally
pumped to end our trip with a stop in Bend, OR. One of these days we really
need to plan for a couple of weeks there – two days is just a tease. We arrived
at Tumalo State Park, just four miles outside of Bend, on Memorial Day. The day
use area of Tumalo is right on the Deschutes River and the combination of holiday
and hot, sunny weather brought out the crowds. Happily, there are miles of River
Trail to explore and we found plenty of little side trails that led to the water
so Riley got in his aquatic play time.
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| Deschutes River. |
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| Riley in the river. |
One of the things Rog
loves about Bend is the extensive system of first-rate mountain bike trails.
Another is the equally impressive array of superb breweries. Crux is one of our
favorites, and we enjoyed their Sundowner Hour Monday evening. Crux has a great
dog-friendly outdoor area set up with games, food trucks, and the most amazing
fire pit. Even with all the kids and chaos, Riley did great and was a total charmer
and magnet for attention and pets. We returned on Tuesday evening, but it was
decidedly cooler and Riley stayed home so we could sit inside.
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| Riley oversees the Crux Sundowner. |
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| Daddy will share his snacks, but not his beer. |
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| Mommy prefers a spot by the fire. |
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| Isn't this the coolest fire pit? |
On Tuesday, Rog rode
18 miles on the trails (up the Ben and down the Phil Trail – me, I prefer Ben
& Jerry’s 😊).
He had a blast. On the up side he totally enjoyed the well designed and maintained
single track with lots of fast swoopy curves under the trees. On the down side
he did not take a single picture! Since it’s more fun to ride than dig out the
camera, he agreed to take pictures whenever he stopped (either to rest or after
a crash). No Neosporin needed on this ride and since it was a relatively easy
climb uphill and lots of fast, fun curves on the downhill we have no pictures
to share. Sorry. Although we have no photographic evidence, I promise we did
more than just hang out at Crux! Honest! Lol.
We were in no hurry
to leave on Wednesday and took time for another walk along the Deschutes River.
We had the trail all to ourselves and Riley got some off-leash river time. We
pulled out just before the 1pm check out time and overnighted at the French
Prairie rest stop in Aurora, OR.
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| Look, it's an Otter Pup. :) |
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| Riley's water park. :) |
We made it home Thursday
afternoon on May 31st. Our daughter Rian was housesitting and had
spent two days cleaning before we arrived. The house was spotless, and I really
thought hard about not letting anyone through the front door. 😊
Sigh. It didn’t take long before the floor was drool spotted, dog hair was
drifting in the air, and ten loads of laundry were piled in the hall. Ahhhhh.
Home sweet home.
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| Home is where you park it (in more ways than one). |
So, what where the
stats for this trip? We were gone 78 days and traveled 3212 miles. We visited
two National Parks (Pinnacles and Death Valley) and one National Monument (John
Day Fossil Beds). We moochdocked with family for 12 nights and boondocked for 15
nights. The remainder of our time was spent in state parks, BLM and Forest
Service campgrounds, county and private parks. It’s impossible to pick a favorite
place because each one had its appeal and they were all different. We loved the
national parks for the scenery and hiking (Death Valley is just incredible!), for
relaxation the hot springs were amazing, and for camp time boondocking is a top
contender.
We did have a few
hiccups on the road – Riley’s emergency vet visit, my dead computer, the trashed
RV tire, and my much-loved and well-used camera finally bit the dust. Luckily, all
it took was time, liverwurst, and lots of cash to get everything back on track.
😊
Our next trip is
already planned for July, back to Diamond Lake in Oregon for biking, kayaking,
and campfires with family and friends. In the meantime, we have lots of yard
work and home maintenance to catch up on. We want to spend time with Rian
before she returns to Sacramento and we have Riley’s first birthday to
celebrate! We’ll keep you posted!
