Vacation Day #6

This is how Mallory and Sarah started their morning off on Thursday!!  Lying in the sun, watching cartoons in the great room!!!

Shortly thereafter it was time to say goodbye to the Blocks, who had to head back to Canby for a soccer tournament!!!!  We are thankful you chose to spend your vacation with us!!!!

We decided to spend the day driving the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway down Century Drive.  We left our cabin and the first view 11 miles down the road was Mt. Bachelor.   There wasn't much snow left on the mountain, especially when we are used to seeing Mt. Hood on a regular basis.

Next was the South Sister and Broken Top mountains

The view of South Sister from Soda Creek Campground

Tyler and Ryan in Spark Lake, with South Sister and Broken Top in the background

Tori, Ryan and Tyler in Devil's Lake  (which was FREEZING COLD)

Tyler, Tori, Sarah and Ryan in Elk Lake

We stopped for a history lesson at Elk Lake Guard Station which was built in 1929 and has been refurbished back to its original state.  We took a tour of the station, and learned about what it was like in the 1930s in the cabin.  A woman's life was HARD work, and the childrens weren't much easier.

In front of the refurbished Guard Station.

The forest rangers told us that HUNDREDS of tadpoles had recently hatched and if we walked a short distance down the trail from the guard station we would see a bunch of frogs along the creek.  Sure enough, as we headed down, it looked as if the earth was bubbling....HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS of frogs were along the shore.  Tyler above with one he caught.

Ryan with his catch of the day

Tori with her catch of the day

Ryley, Sarah, Brandon, Tori, Matt, Ryan and Tyler at Little Lava Lake

This stop was voted one of our worst parts of our vacation.  We saw a sign that read "Osprey Observation Point", and pulled into the parking lot...kind of...there really wasn't much of a sparking spot, but a dirt circle that lead to a trail head that said it was 1/4 mile to the point.  Always up for an adventure, we headed down the trail, which was definitely much further than 1/4 mile, and in the end found NOTHING.  Tall grass, lots of old pilings....not a single bird of any kind.  

We will from now on refer to this as "NO OSPREY POINT"

Our last stop along the scenic byway was South Twin Lake!!!  What a GREAT final destination (thanks for the suggestion Mechelle!!!).  In this picture you can see way out in the center of the lake some little dots....that would be the heads of all of our family (accept me of course....someone has to take photos ....and in truth, I'm more of a sit on the shore and read a book kind of gal, than a swim in the COLD mountain water gal)

Ryley and Tyler heading out on the lake for a paddle boat adventure

On the left, Ryan and Tori.............On the right, Sarah and Brandon...........Front and center, some random snorkel dude

Brandon and Sarah paddle boating on the lake

Ryley and Sarah coming to shore

One of the highlights from the day (which probably says something really bad about my character...but I love free entertainment) which Ryan titled "It is all fun and games until the floating trampoline gets popped by the kayak".   Now, lets see if I can give you a visual of the event, since the only photo I took was of the aftermath, and then I was too busy watching the looks on the parent's faces to shoot any more photos....

See, the yellow and blue object...that is a huge floating trampoline, that you can rent for $60 per day from the South Twin Lake Resort.  On top of that trampoline, originally, were 6 or 7 kinds having a great time, when along came their friend "Peter" (yes, that is his real name as I learned later, and I'll let you know how at the end of this little story), in that bright orange kayak.  Note that he was rowing straight toward the above mentioned floating trampoline when the pointed nose of the kayak imbedded itself into the trampoline and then the kayak was quickly ejected when the large WHOOSH of air came barreling out blowing a spray of water with it.  Next came the panic shouts of the kids on top "JUMP OFF!!! JUMP OFF!!!  IT IS POPPED!!!  JUMP!!!  JUMP!!!"  Then came the shout "someone's got to tell our parents" as one brave (or who knows, he could be the troublemaker of the bunch" yells "I'LL DO IT"  swims quickly ashore, headed to a group of adults who weren't witness to the event, because they were having a picnic among the trees and not on the beach for the show.  Next came the solemn faced woman, walking towards the resort...and the solemn faced man who went out to inspect and then the finale` to the whole debacle....From one of the trampolinists than had to jump off, to the kayak er "You know Peter, you are probably going to have to pay for this!"

So, you know how karma works.  You sit at a lake during the day, enjoying the free entertainment (knowing that I'm probably going to go to hell for being so amused by someone else's misfortune) and within the same day, karma strikes back and we have our own misfortune to deal with.

You see, after the lake, we headed home, had dinner, we made dessert and then, just when we were headed downstairs to what we deemed the "man cave" to watch the movie "Coach Carter" (which we HIGHLY RECOMMEND) Matt and I hear the kids shouting "MOM, DAD, COME QUICK,  THERE IS A BAT IN THE HOUSE!!!"  We come running up the stairs to find a bat flying around the great room and kitchen (did I ever mention that the bat exhibit is my FAVORITE at the zoo????).  So, the only thoughts I had was #1 -- How cool is this adventure....then #2  How on earth do you catch a bat when there are such high ceilings???  There was no need to worry....the log cabin's high ceilings have bat defense built in.  Apparently while flying between the great room and into the dining room, the bat hit one of the log posts and knocked himself out.  I'm not sure if that is exactly what happened, but ..........

The next thing we knew, there was no longer a bat flying around and the last place he'd gone was the dining room.  Matt pulled out the hutch, and sure enough, there in the corner was the bat.....

Lying flat on his back and not moving.....

So, we came up with the idea to take a large plastic cup....and the pancake spatula that has holes in it and scoop him up.  That seemed to work, and it became obvious the bat wasn't dead when it started moving around in the cup.  Matt with his MAD bat catching skills had saved the day, and above, Tori, Ryley and Ryan are trying to sneak a peak through the holes in the spatula at the bat.

When Matt turned the cup over, the bat decided to use the holes to hang from.  Of course, that is when I asked him to lift the spatula up because I HAD  to have a photo for the scrapbook!!!

Then it was out onto the deck, to send the bat on his way.  Unfortunately, the bat decided he enjoyed hanging from the spatula and was in absolutely NO hurry to leave.  This is when the pancake spatula became a bat launcher  (MacGyver would be SO proud!!!)...and the bat was sent flying.

Vacation Day #5

Wednesday started off with a new discovery...... BIG BUGS!!!!  Now, we KNEW there were bugs....lots of bugs.....as a matter of fact....because in the evening, on the adult patio, we would sit out and watch the bats fly around and any light on an outdoor window was COVERED with little gnat like bugs.  However, when we were getting ready to leave the log cabin Wednesday morning, we found this guy.

Now, by looking at the picture, he doesn't appear to be anything special, because I have nothing next to him to compare his actual size to....but see the vertical board next to him....that is a 2 by 4, and he is longer than the 4 inches.  If you were to set him on a deck of cards...he is the same size as the deck.  BIG OL' YUCK!!!!!

We decided to stay local for the day and check out the sights.  Pam and Justin recommended a canoe ride they had taken the day before, so Matt, Sarah, and the boys rented canoes from the Sunriver Marina and took a Canoe ride down the Deschutes River.

  In the photo above matt, Sarah and Ryley are in the first canoe, Brandon, Tyler and Ryan are in the second.

Once again the non-perfect parenting skills show up when we put our 3 sons in a canoe (which they have never been in before) and do not give them any instructions on how steering with oars work.  The boys made it across the river and discovered the bushes on the other side quite quickly....Good thing they are smart and figured it out quickly on their own!

View from Matt's spot in the canoe!!!

A beautiful day to be on the Deschutes River

The boy's canoe gliding along

Super Sailor Sarah!!!

The ducks are obviously used to being fed along the way.  They aren't shy about coming to the canoes and asking for a handout.

While the rest of our crew was on the water, Tori and I headed in the opposite direction and spotted a dear along the way!!!

Where we had reservations at the Stables to go on a trail ride!!!!!  Above is Tori ready to go riding!!!  This was her first time on a horse!!!

They wouldn't allow photos while on the trail ride, so this is the only other photo I took while at the stables.  Tori on her horse for the hour "Julio"!!!  

My horse's name was George.  Now, during the lecture about safety on the horses, the Marlboro Man said not to allow our horses to graze.  It makes for an ill behaved horse. So, we were to YANK straight up on our horse if he decided to take a nibble along the trail ride.

I don't have a picture of George -- Tori may have one on her phone that I can upload at a later time, but George was one of the two TALLEST horses in our group of about 20 riders.  George also, decided that the trail was one long buffet line.  So, my experience went something like this....George has to follow at a snails pace, therefore decides to take his first nibble.  I grab the reigns and lift straight up and NOTHING HAPPENS.  Thick necked buffet belly George is not affected whatsoever by my yanking.  Tori behind me is giggling as I resort to verbal commands "No George...YANK....George stop being naughty....Yank......George you need to knock it off.....Yank..... Eventually I gave up and decided to let him dine intermittently as long as he didn't come to a complete stop...(note here:  Horse ownership is not for me....)

After our canoe and horseback riding adventure we decided to head into Bend and take a tour of Deschutes Brewery.  Above are the kids with their pre-tour beverage!!!

Matt and I at the bar sampling the different options.  What I learned....Black Butte Porter is okay,  The IPA option was BITTER and so that sample I immediately gave to Matt to finish.  Black Butte XXII was my absolute favorite....Good news!!!  Found one I liked (must have been all of the chocolate!!), BAD NEWS it cannot be purchased.  Something to do with putting in 100  pounds too much chocolate and during bottling it caused the neck of the bottle to clog.  So....we have to wait until at least next year for the brew to be available.  Sigh........ 

On the tour of the brewery.

We found out the vessels that hold the beer are made within walking distance of our home in Canby, Oregon at JV Northwest!!!

That evening we spent hanging out after dinner, made a GREAT dessert pizza, took a dip in the hot tub, and then played some late night Scattergories (this photo was taken close to midnight!!!)  It was an evening of vacation bliss....hanging out with family and friends and enjoying life!!!

Vacation Day #4

Tuesday morning we headed to Madras Oregon and our first photo of the day.... A fire along the way!!!

Our mission of the morning....to do some mining......Thunderegg/Geode mining.....at Richardson Rock Ranch

Pink Alabaster they had on the ranch

Petrified Wood from the ranch

Brazilian Agates

HUGE Geode from South America....Can be yours for $4000!!!!

So, how does this mining work???  Well, you sign in, and listen to a safety lecture, are given a 5 gallon bucket, a pick-axe, and told to drive 8 miles, down a dirt road towards Pony Butte (easiest for kids) where you will mine straight down, into the ground for Geodes.   This was the sight at the beginning of our journey...which Mechelle aptly names "Thunder Road" due to all the washboards throughout the 8 miles....

Brandon starting his mining...He found a HUGE Geode in the ground

Ryan and Roman in the background

Tori and Matt mining......notice the brilliance of my daughter.  She hands the pick axe to Matt and then contributes verbally (must be genetics.....)

Morgan, Tyler and Ryan

Matt mining, Tori drinking water (did I mention it was 100 degrees????) and I think somewhere at this point Bret shouted "Oh DOGGONE IT....and found that mining causes MULTIPLE blisters)

The mining crew hard at work

Morgan and Sarah!!!

Our greeters when leaving the mining road

Peacock on the ranch

Ostrich on the ranch

The end result....we had 13 pounds of Geodes....all of which I forgot to take a photo of, however, look for upcoming photos in a future blog, because we received the name and number of a man in Portland to bring them to, so he can split and polish them!!!  This could have been done at the ranch, but we weren't up for waiting for the job to be completed.

After a long day of mining, or next stop was ABBY'S PIZZA!!!!  This is our favorite Pacific Northwest Pizza Parlor and I think it surprised the lady at the counter when our family walked in, ordered 2 pizzas, spuds, a sandwich and salads and then continued to eat every last morsel!!!

Our next stop was an impromptu pit stop at Ogden State Park!!!

Absolutely Gorgeous, with the Crooked River running through it.

Our family photo...taken by my auto photo setting on my camera sitting on the bridge ledge!!!

Another photo into the gorge from a different angle

Our next stop was Smith Rock State Park  just as a Thunderstorm was coming in

There are hiking trails that go all the way down along the Crooked River and many places for rock climbers to climb up the face of the rocks.  There weren't any rock climbers when we were there, most likely due to the impending storm.

Another photo, this one looking North

The Thunderstorm coming quickly and the winds picking up a bit.

So, pretty...I asked Matt to come back on a blue sky day.....

We took a quick family photo just as the first round of thunder came, and then we watched as the dry dust became a huge dust storm with the winds that arrived, prior to the rain and lightening.

After dinner, we had Matt's brother Justin and his wife Pam and my nephews (they were also vacationing in Sunriver for the week!!!) over for dessert and adult beverages.  Photo above is my nephew Noah and Ryley!!!