Summer Road Trip Adventure Part V: Bend, Volcanic Stuff, & Camping

We were so excited to return to Bend, both to visit with my friend Crystal and her family and to explore it's surrounding nature. We arrived midday while they were at work so we went straight to Crux Brewery to relax in its outdoor space.  After recharging with tacos, shave ice, and a beer tasting, we went to Farewell Bend Park to relax in the river. Unfortunately there were no photos because our kids were being so naughty we didn't stay long.  

The next day we explored the nearby Newberry Volacnic Monument. We hiked the base of a caldera that offered fantastic views of the Cascade Mountain range. Walking amongst the destruction of eruptions that occurred many thousands of years ago, looking closer we saw so much beauty in the small plants  and butterflies that make the volcano home.

A short drive away, the Lava River Cave offered a respite from the bright summer sun.  Mattias, the family vampire, thought the cold darkness of an empty lava tube was his idea of a perfect hike.  Thanks to our host family's pro-tips we came prepared with headlamps and thick jackets.

The entire hike was a little over 2 miles round trip, with average temperatures at 42F. This tube is the longest lava tube in Oregon, and Anders made sure to whine its entire length.

Upon exiting the cold, cold, cave we head southeast to meet up with Crystal and family in the  Umpqua National Forest.  On the way down we spotted plumes of smotk coming from a wildfire near Crater Lake. We didn't know at the time, but this was the first of many wildfires to plague the Pacific Northwest.

Aside from Anders getting stung by a wasp inside our car, we made it to the campsite in one piece. The primitive sites were close to the North Umpqua River where we saw huge salmon jumping out of the water! I caught one big fish out of the corner of my eye, but Mattias reminded me "If you didn't foveate, you didn't see it!"

The campsite was relatively small with very little traffic, and the boys were free to run around semi-supervised.  There was rock skipping and other tests of athletic aptitude, and at the end of each night we ate together and caught up around the campfire.  In spending this uncomplicated time together, it's easy for me to see who my close friends really are.

After a few nights it was time to start making our journey south towards home. We had a lot of fun and it showed in the accumulation of dirt on our feet.

Just as we left the campsite we made a very last minute decision to make a pit stop at Crater Lake.  Anders didn't remember it from our visit 3 years ago, and we figured we may not be back for a few years.

We finally made it back to I5, passing by the Shasta area and through Weed.  Since I have a limit of how much I can be trapped in a car with my family, I planned a stop in Redding.  We ended our vacation at a Hampton Inn with a pool and dinner sushi delivery.  Tired and ready for home, we all crammed into a king size bed and watched a movie until most of us were falling asleep.  Even after 2 weeks and over 2,000 miles together, there we were again, choosing closeness over comfort.

Summer Road Trip Adventure Part IV: Columbia River Gorge & Fossil Hunting

While we felt no rush to leave Washington coast, keeping up with our itinerary meant we had to get back on the road.  On our way back into Oregon we stopped in Winlock, WA,  a major center of the egg laying industry in the 1920s.  I can't resist obscure attractions, so I included the World's Largest Egg in the route.  

The drive along the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Byway was some of the nicest driving I've done in all my road tripping years. We headed eastward for a stop in Hood River, where we splurged on a swank-ish hotel with a riverside heated pool.

After camping we seriously crave cold beer and hot food (we didn't have to make ourselves) and we were pleased to be close to a craft brewery that served Neapolitan style pizza.  While our kids behave relatively well in restaurants, it's near impossible to have a decent conversation (definition: a convo that doesn't include references to farts, butts, or wieners), so Mattias and I eventually sent them to the outside picnic tables to watch Swedish TV on my phone.  According to a posted sign, we broke the  policy on child and dog banishment.

We ended up swimming in the pool and jacuzzi until 10PM then rolling lazily out of bed for our free riverfront breakfast. It was a perfect start to the day, before heading eastward towards the Oregon fossil beds.  It was also THE DAY that I was going to receive my board exam results. Sometime after buying supplies in The Dalles and arriving in Fossil, OR I got the glorious news that I passed.  After hooting and hollering, calling around and shedding tears of relief, we continued on our way.

Fossil, Oregon is a tiny town near the John Day Fossil Beds where you can hack away at a shale cliff to find fossils of your own.  We made this area a trip priority since Magnus announced he wanted to be a paleontologist when he grew up.  The drive down was also incredibly scenic, but we weren't prepared for the 100+ degree dry heat.  

Tools in hand, we chiseled away at the rock looking for fossilized leaves.  We all took turns running through the lawn sprinklers watering the adjacent high school baseball field to prevent heat stroke in heat-sensitive Anders and Mattias. But once we got to work, and it was hard work, we were all very focused on finding specimens hidden in the rock.

An hour of excavating was all we could stand, and we pushed out to the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center to learn about the fossil history of the area. Expecting dinosaur fossils, we were pleasantly surprised to learn about the evolution of mammals and plants.  We even identified our very own excavated fossils as Metasequoia, a third type of redwood tree that now only exists in China!

Fossiled out, we crashed in Mitchell, OR at the historic Oregon Hotel.  As small and isolated as the town was, we had been in Oregon long enough to not be surprised to find it had its own craft brewery. We revelled in my boards victory with a few rounds of beer and ice cream at the town store.  Another reason to celebrate-- Linus beat Mattias at chess for the first time.

On the way out we visited the Painted Hills, whose stripes reveal the dramatic history of climate change in the region. The overlook trail was brief but spectacular, and the perfect final stop in our exploration of eastern Oregon.