Pausing under a towering old juniper, I watched as birds floated along the slow moving Crooked River. A breeze rippled through the tall grass around me, and I found myself wishing I had the time to spend hours in this peaceful spot, perhaps with a picnic blanket and a good book. Not exactly the rugged athletic experience nearly everyone else in this small park is here for, but Andy and I had found our own little haven. After hearing about Smith Rock State Park from multiple friends, I'd been itching to visit, and staying only an hour away in Sunriver for a family vacation, I finally had the perfect opportunity. I'd had a cold since the day before we left home for a our week-long vacation, so we decided to avoid the popular Misery Ridge trail and instead opted for an easier loop hike along the river. As we watching the crowds across the river snaking up the Misery Ridge trail, for a while we were the only hikers on our stretch of trail.
Read moreLife: Week 26
On vacation in Oregon, Andy and I decided to start the week off with a hike, so we headed an hour north for Smith Rock State Park, which came highly recommended by several of my friends. After a lovely hike through what felt like a tiny piece of Utah transplanted to Oregon (I'll be writing more about it soon!), we stopped in Bend for beer and lunch. Sadly, since I'd left my wallet back at the rental house I had to make do with iced tea, but according to Andy I wasn't missing much. While their food was smoky and delicious, Goodlife turned out to be his least favorite brewery of the trip. On our last day in Sunriver, we decided to make a trip to the nearby High Desert Museum which turned out to be much larger than we'd expected - almost like a hybrid museum and zoo. Their wildlife exhibits were everyone's favorite, and I was especially excited to see an adorable burrowing owl and an stunning golden eagle. Soon it was time to pack up the car and head home, and after a short work week, Andy and I were signed up for a full weekend of trailwork. After our lovely day spent working with Alpine Trails Book Club (read about that here!), we returned for a second day of trail maintenance in considerably wetter weather. As usual, even with the rain we still had a fantastic time!
Read moreLife: Week 25
Woah, I have so much catching up to do around here! I went off on vacation and seriously fell behind, but worry not - someday I'll get caught up! This week, after another quiet week at work, we took off a little early for our family trip to Sunriver. We got an early start Friday morning for the drive south to Central Oregon. After a long day in the car, we made it to Sunriver just in time for dinner and a short walk before bedtime. Over the next several days, we biked, we hiked, we drove in to Bend to spend a day drinking coffee and beer, and we spent many nights staying up late playing my favorite board game - Camel Up - which I'd highly recommend to anyone looking to entertain a group of 3-5 people. With the kids around, there were plenty of books to read and games to play. Our year-and-a-half old nephew turned out to be a great fan of both ping pong and foosball, especially after we swapped the traditional ball for the foosball table with a beach ball. I've never been much of a foosball player, but I have to admit, even I found it amusing with an oversized beach ball bouncing around unpredictably!
Read moreRoad Trip: Newport
I spent many summer weeks of my childhood on the Oregon coast. My family went on nearly annual trips to the coast, usually renting a vacation house in the Yachats area and spending a week or two exploring the beaches, tidepools, and lighthouses of the central coast. Since adulthood, I hadn't been further south than Canon Beach - another city that I love and must return to soon! We had planned this trip to Newport for my 30th birthday last year, but an emergency led us to cancel at the last minute. This year, nothing was going to stop us from finally making the trip!
Read moreLife: Week 17
This week was all over the place. Monday, we had an early breakfast in Newport, snuck in one last rocky Oregon beach fix in at Yaquina Head lighthouse, then headed for home under blue skies. Just after crossing back into Washington, we stopped for a leisurely lunch on the Columbia River. Eating lunch and drinking beer in the sunshine while boat traffic drifted by was made even more enjoyable knowing that normally I'd be at work. Tuesday, back to real life, work hit me like a sack of bricks to the face. I spent most of the week trying to catch up from the two days I'd been away, leaving little time or energy for anything else. I've also been suffering from insomnia again, getting only a few hours of sleep a night. The combination left me feeling more zombie than human by the weekend. Thankfully, it was a leisurely weekend. While I was disappointed to cancel plans for a hike on Sunday due to my exhaustion, spending a couple days relaxing with family was exactly what I needed. Hopefully I'll get past this insomnia soon so I survive this busy month!
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