Floating thru Bend, Oregon

Daddy wanted to go to Bend. I knew nothing about the city. We ended up staying for a week at La Pine State Park, 30 minutes south of downtown Bend. The park was peacefully nestled along the Deschutes River. A fun place to play.

Asher "read" the sign to us. I had to chuckle when he said "no crackles" for the "no fireworks" photo.

Our favorite experience here was floating the Deschutes River thru Bend. We had walked around the Old Mill District

 one night and ate dinner at Red Robin while watching people float past us on the river. We just had to try it.

Outdoor dining at Red Robin on the left. Asher loves the Statue of Liberty and points it out every time he sees it. You'd be surprised how often we see one. He wanted his photo taken with this one. I'm excited to take him to the one in Vegas this winter and the actual one sometime in the future!

A bison sculpture made of old parts on display in the Old Mill District.

Running thru Drake Park

 On our way to the Sunriver Nature Center, we were impressed with the biking trails that run thru the town and around

 the village center. The kids enjoyed looking at the egg collection, the live reptiles and petting the snake. 

They examined different specimens under a microscope.

When they held these animal photos up to the light, it would reveal their bone structure. 

Asher was impressed.

We took a tour at the Oregon Spirits Distillery where they make bourbon and whiskey for 10 months of the year, and a few other specialties in the off months. They use a mix of locally grown corn, wheat and barley to make their bourbon. We watched the mash bubbling in the large blue tank as it ferments. After it settles, it goes into the still and what comes out is separated into what's called the head, heart and tail. The head is the first batch that comes out with a super high proof, too potent to use as anything other than a cleaner. The heart is the bulk of the batch, the desired result. The tail is the last bit that has nothing wrong with it, but it's just not as quite desirable as the heart. It goes back into the still with the next batch.

The heart batch comes out of the still at 160 proof, it's then blended with water to bring the proof down before going into the barrel. They use new medium char barrels then age for three years to achieve their rich color and distinctive taste. Finally it's bottled for sale at 80 proof.

They have an "adopt-a-barrel" program, with multiple benefits. One is that when the three year aging is up, you get all the bourbon in your barrel and you get to keep the barrel. We saw one barrel that the owner had set aside, designed to mature for his daughter's 21st birthday.

After our tour, we tasted some of their products. Of course we tried their CW Irwin bourbon, Wild Card Absinthe and Blackberry Cordial, but then Daddy tried the Scorpion Peppered Vodka, made with scorpion peppers, the hottest in the world! Twice as potent as ghost peppers! She diluted it with some water so Daddy's tongue wouldn't catch fire. Seriously though, Daddy said it would be delicious in a margarita which reminded me of our San Diego neighbor, Larry, who made his own jalapeño infused drinks.

Crater Lake, Oregon

For years I have admired photos of Crater Lake, so it was very exciting to finally see it in person. First we stopped at the Visitor Center to get Junior Ranger books for the kids to fill out. I have to say, they were the best booklets we've done yet, very age appropriate and educational. One of the activities asked the kids to draw their own national park that they would create.  They both drew trees, lakes but Journey's included a banana peel, and an "apple man" whatever that means.

We spent two days here. The first day we spent driving the rim road, stopping to admire the views at many points along the 30 mile route. It is larger than I expected at 5 miles across by 6 miles wide. It was created when Mount Mazama erupted 7700 years ago leaving a crater that slowly filled up over the next several hundred years.

The island in the photo is called "Wizard Island". It's a volcanic cinder cone created from 

subsequent eruptions. We decided to return the next day so we could take a boat over and explore it.

At its deepest point, Crater Lake is 1,943 ft deep, making it the deepest lake in the United States and the seventh deepest in the world! Unlike other lakes, Crater Lake's water comes solely from the sky- snow and rain. The absence of dirt and pollutants from other water sources, gives it the deep blue color and incredible clarity, which has been measured at 140ft!

The fire lookout is at the top of this mountain. We considered hiking it, 

but decided to rest our legs for the following day's hikes, thank goodness!

My sweet little boy. He's getting so big, I have a hard time carrying him for long distances these days.

Asher wanted to take a photo of me. This is only the second time I've placed my treasured 

camera in his little hands. I think he may be the one who follows me into the photography field.

(Asher's photo)

Phantom Ship, named for its shape, is a fun little island that sticks out of the water. 

 Asher found his own spot to sit back and admire it.

They earned Junior Ranger badges and also patches for watching a demonstration by the ranger on how Crater Lake was formed.

The next morning we arrived bright and early, real early. We had to set an alarm for 545! Once we parked, we began the Cleetwood Cove Trail's 1.1mile, 700 ft hike down from the rim to the water to catch a boat to Wizard Island. How about this lovely view from the top of the trail? I could sit here all day.

Once on the island, our feet landed on the lava rocks with a crunch. I had overdressed all of us since it was 40-something degrees at the rim, but now it was more like 70, so we stripped off our long layers and stashed them on the dock with the life jackets. Now it was time to hike to the peak of Wizard Island and check out its crater. The trail here is nearly identical in length and elevation gain as the Cleetwood Cove trail that we just finished (the down portion of). 

We took in beautiful views while hiking the switchbacks, lava rocks crunching under foot.

Finally we reached the peak where we ate our MRE lunch. Having hot food on top of a mountain still amazes me. You just add water to a bag, put the food pouch in there and a couple minutes later it's steaming hot.

Sitting on the rim with the lake behind us (and all around) and the crater in front of us.

Asher fed Journey, so sweet!

Then it was time to head back down. Our three hours on the island were almost over.

Journey and I soaking our tired feet in the crystal clear lake. 

OK, my feet are in the water, Journey had to sit all the way on the edge to reach the water.

Our boat- (Picture taken after they initially dropped us off.)

You can't drive all the way to Crater Lake and then hike down to the lake and not get in, so that's what we did next. Of course we didn't bring bathing suits so we took off the kids' pants and let them swim in their unders. I sometimes wish I could get away with that.

The water quality is so clean that we had to try it for ourselves. Here's Asher drinking directly from the lake (thru a filter straw, just to be safe).

We walked a bit further and found people jumping off the cliffs into the water, about 20 feet down. The kids loved watching.

Beautiful, beautiful water!

Now it was time for the last hike for the day, 700ft back up to the rim.

We stopped one last time for a photo of the lake because with the sun's placement, suddenly the underwater cones became visible. So cool! With 4.5 miles of hiking under our belt for the day, it was time to head home for some much needed rest.