The Sunriver Gang.
Eric and I joined three other couples (and a few very cool young ladies) for a weekend trip to Sunriver, Oregon. The purpose....snowshoeing (well, and eating, drinking, playing cards and hot tubbing...sounds good, doesn't it) Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), Mother Nature had other plans because there was no snow to be found. We checked into our rooms at The Pines Resort...which was gorgeous....huge rooms, giant bathrooms, rustic/western furniture and a big stone fireplace made with local lava rock. After settling in, we decided since there was no snow, we'd move onto Plan B....hiking.
Saturday we bundled up and headed to Lava Lands in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument Park. The volcanic cinder butte erupted over 7,000 years ago covering 10 square miles with molten lava. It was a surreal experience, such a bizzare landscape, like being on the moon. In fact the astronauts trained here for the first lunar landing.
Lava Lands "lunaresque" landsacpe. Check out the beginnnings of a rainbow in the sky.
Love this sky shot!
After Lava Lands we headed over to Smith Rock. This place was breathtaking. It's an amazing canyon created by the Crooked River. Smith Rock is a rock climbers paradise, and it ain't too shabby for hikers. Our group hiked down to the bottom of the canyon and then split from there. Us more genteel (ok...lazy) hikers took the river trail, while the more athletic took the steep (and I mean steep) hike up the side of the butte to the top of Smith Rock.
Smith Rock and the Crooked River canyon.
Can you believe people actually do this for fun?!
Eric actually hiked to the top of Smith Rock (behind him) in 25 minutes...and he's still smiling.
We awoke Sunday to gloomy skies and persistent rain. But, being the hearty souls we are, we laced up our hiking boots, put on our hats, and set off for Benham Falls, which is the largest falls on the Deschutes River...and also a Class 6 rapids. Personally, I don't know how anyone could survive a run down this thing.
A rainy hike to Benham Falls.
Class 6 rapids at Benham Falls.
After hiking through Benham Falls we were a bit wet and chilled....so we decided we'd had enough outdoor fun and headed into Bend for lunch at the Deschutes River Brewery. Six pints of beer (collectively) and some burgers later, we were fat and happy...until, the waitress told us about a gelato place (housed in a candy store) down the street. Since we'd all been to Italy earlier this year, well, we just had to try it. Powell's Sweet Shoppewas unbelievable! Besides having a killer gelato selection, they had every kind of candy imaginable in this place, including some of my favorites from when I was a kid....U-No bars, Sixlets, Laffy Taffy, candy cigarettes, Zotts...the list goes on and on. And, in the back...a big screen TV showing, what else, but Willy Wonka (the orginal). The screen is surrounded with Willy memorabilia, and vintage theatre seats are the perfect spot to sit and watch while you munch on your movie-sized Mike n' Ike's. Sweet!
Kids in a candy store, Bill and Eric order gelato.
Eric and I at Smith Rock.
We're still hoping to go snowshoeing sometime this winter, but the weekend was so much fun with incredible natural scenery, challenging hikes, amazing food, and good company, I don't feel like I missed a thing.