Sunriver or Bust!

The forecast for the Pacific Northwest this weekend was bad. Or good, depending on how you look at it.  We really needed the snow…but why did it all have to come at once?  After one of the driest winters in recent memory (drought is not a word you hear often in the rainy PNW), the snow just kept coming down. Followed by a little freezing rain, and you get some really interesting driving conditions. With all this snow, how can you resist a winter  mountain escape…why get stuck in Portland on the best ski weekend all year???

After a failed attempt to leave Thursday afternoon (all roads out of Portland=clogged!), we set out Friday. The four and half hour drive more or less looked like this the whole time.

Driving over Mt. Hood.

Not to worry though.  Four wheel drive plus studded tires equals smooth driving in the winter storm.

We made it before dark to Sunriver to a beautiful winter wonderland. And Cracker was quite happy to be here.

Cozy home in Sunriver, Oregon

Beagle gone crazy for the snow.

On Saturday, due to the insane amounts of snow piling up and blizzard like conditions, we choose to skip the ski slopes and check out the local Sunriver Chill Out events around Sunriver Village and local snowshoeing.  Digging out the car alone was a struggle.

The K-9 Keg Pull was so much fun…despite the 14 degree temps and snow coming down hard.  All the competitors were great, but my personal favorite was this cute little lab puppy that ended up pulling a lot of weight.

But there were some other cute dogs competing.

Sunriver Chillout K-9 Keg Pull

Sunriver Chillout K-9 Keg Pull

The dogs were cute, but we needed to warm up.  After lunch at Sunriver Brewing, we snowshoed to Fort Rock Park along the many bike paths in Sunriver.  It isn’t very far, but in 2.5 feet of fresh snow, still kind of difficult.

Snowshoeing to Fort Rock Park in Sunriver

Since we were exhausted early from all this activity, I was happy to plant myself in front of the fire and the TV to watch the winter Olympics. If you can believe it, the next morning it was 20 degrees warmer and sunny…and we lost a about 2 feet of snow. As quickly as it dumped down, it melted away. Luckily we snuck in one last snowshoe journey and finished with a lunch at the Owls Nest, part of the Sunriver Resort.

Sunriver Snowshoeing

Overall, it was a great weekend! Until next time, Sunriver!

Sunriver Styling

After a short absence…

I know, I know. I disappeared.  So much of this blog turned into a journal of my dog Tucker’s illness and fulfilling his bucket list, that I didn’t have it in me to keep posting after his death. I’ve still been traveling and adventuring, although not nearly as much since Tucker moved on and I got a normal 9-5 job.  But that is changing starting today.

After a year plus in planning and saving up vacation time, I’m off to France, Italy Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia.  YEAH! But first I got finish figuring out what to pack….more updates after I arrive!

Tucker MacSchweitzer, 2000-2012

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Tucker lost his battle with lymphoma this morning.  I know everyone thinks their dog is the best, but those who knew him would agree that Tucker was definitely special.  He preferred the company of humans over dogs and greeted new guests by gently climbing into their laps.  His favorite activity was lying in the sun, followed by tadpole hunting and  guarding the barbecue when it was in use.  He had a love for plastic–be it a Frisbee or a two-litter soda bottle, he found joy in tearing the material to shreds. He loved the beach and hiking in the mountains, but definitely got a little down during Portland’s long, rainy winters.

He was my first dog as an adult–I adopted him from the Oregon Human Society shortly after I bought my first house–a very grown-up thing to do, on both parts. He was my sidekick  for 12 years–hiking, camping, and travel all over the Pacific Northwest.  Looking back at his pictures, I realized he probably traveled more then most humans do. Obviously I love him so much and will miss him tremendously.

His last seven months (since his diagnosis and spleen removal) were  joyful and fulfilling. I knew every moment could be his last and lived accordingly. Up until late October, we were still traveling and hiking across Oregon and Washington together.

Here are way too many pictures of him.  I love you forever Tucker.

Summer’s Last Hurrah (in October)

The sunshine in Oregon usually lasts until September, but NEVER October.  With week after week of crisp, fall sunshine in the forecast, we decided we had to get to the beach PRONTO. The rain will come eventually. We needed to feel the sand between our toes one last time before the rubber boots go on for the rainy season. Also, on the sadder note, Tucker’s lymphoma is progressing so we need to seize every moment of doggy fun.

Apparently everyone else in Oregon was thinking the same thing, because finding an available dog friendly hotel room at the beach three days before the weekend proved to be a challenge. Luckily, we found a room at the Looking Glass Inn in the Taft District of Lincoln City, a motel with modern updates in a great location across the street from the beach.  And they are ridiculously dog friendly: a pet care basket is provided upon check-in and there is fire-hydrant sprinkler in their pet area.

The sun was glorious. The beach was wonderful.  The dogs? You can be the judge, but I think they had a pretty good time.

MacSchweitzer Family Portrait

Tucker, happy puppy

Shifty eyed puppy

Roooooooo!

Sunset over Siletz Bay

Sunset at Lincon City

So Pretty

Last remaining light over Oregen

No Cats allowed on the beach!

Dusk over Siletz Bay

Morning Fishing on Siletz Bay

Crabby!

Ahh, Tucker loves the beach

Day 12: Lake Billy Chinook

Adventure number twelve was all about boats.  Anyone who knows me for more than, say 3 months, figures out pretty quickly I go ga-ga for boats.  I can’t help it…it is in my DNA. Some of my earliest memories are of sailing to the Channel Islands, off the coast of Southern California. When I was 11, I was put to work at the Santa Barbara Sailing Center, my dad’s business, because I was too young to stay home by myself (but not too young to run an old-school Visa card swipe machine and administer sailing tests to would-be renters!).  At 14, we went through a water ski phase, heading up to Lake Nacimiento every week for camping, waterskiing, and knee-boarding. Not to mention the year I lived on a boat in the Caribbean.  Yes, it is indeed in my blood.

I’m also someone with a lot of practical sense and a bit on the frugal side. Unfortunately, these traits and boat ownership don’t go hand-in-hand. I often threaten Andy with the idea of boat ownership, but the realities of owning machinery that spends most of its time in the water just goes against my better judgement (and wallet). So, once a year, we pretend we are boat owners and rent a ski boat from Cove Palisades Marina on Lake Billy Chinook.

Formed by the damming of three rivers (Deschutes, Crooked, and Metolius), the lake is more reminiscent of the Southwest then the Pacific Northwest, with its steep, red rock canyon walls and green waters.  Typically 10-15 degrees hotter then Sunriver, the weather is perfect in the summer for jumping in the lake.  Or water sports. But no water skiing this day, unfortunately…we need a third person for that.  So instead, we just spent the day on the water exploring all the coves and outlets.

Maybe someday my lust for boats will overcome me, but for now, I’m happy I can spend the day on the water and have someone else deal with maintenance part.

Our Sweet Boat (for the day)

Waterfalls into Lake Billy Chinook

Cove Palisades Marina

Lake Billy Chinook, from the rim

Natural Behind the Helm

Andy, Taking Pics of Me Taking Pics

Day 11: Deschutes River Rafting

Two factors played into the development of my white water rafting fear: a backpack full of beer and no life jacket.  Fifteen years ago, naive to the powers of fast rushing water, I attempted to float down a river with a rinky-dink raft while wearing by 1o pounds of beer on my back and no life jacket in sight, let alone on my body.  To my credit, this was just a creek outside of Davis.  It wasn’t class I-II-II or IV, it was just a creek. So a Fourth of July float down the creek with college friends seemed like a good idea.  Until the boat hit a snag, popped, and ejected me down the river with said backpack dragging me down. And the water temperature? Since it came out from the bottom of a reservoir damn, it was FREEZING.  I don’t think I was in any real danger, as I quickly got myself up on a rock (ditching the damn backpack) and warmed myself like a lizard.  However, it was enough to give me a  new appreciation of the power of water.

With this new, deeply seeded fear of what freezing cold white water can do, I gave up river rafting at age 22.  My first raft trip ever, at age 14, was a class IV.  So you get that this experience really shook me up.  I’ve turned town numerous offers to go rafting in Oregon. I’ve even called to book a trip and hung up when the phone started ringing. Apparently it was too soon.

But not now. I knew I had to get over this fear, so I booked us a trip.

There are a ton of river raft companies in Central Oregon, so options are plentiful. I picked Sun Country Tours because of the great reviews on Trip Advisor and also they leave directly from Sunriver on a short, 3 mile trip called “Big Eddy Thrill Ride.”  What a perfect way to get back in the saddle–a short one hour commitment to  class III rapids.  If I had a panic attack, it would be short lived, right? And if I really hated it, I could even walk back to Bend, thanks to the Deschutes River trail.

For a Wedensday after Labor Day, it was surprisingly popular. About 20 people were on this trip, filling 3 boats. We completely lucked out and had awesome boat-mates from Canby, Oregon.  Not that we had that much time to get to know them, but one hour on a boat with annoying people could be quite painful. We also lucked out by having an awesome guide named Scotty. As it turned out, this was his last commercial trip he was going to run ever.  So he had extra incentive to keep us all in the boat.

Regarding the trip, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. I don’t look too freaked out, right?  All smiles.

In the bus headed back home, Andy and I both agreed we’d look into a longer float next year. A day? Two days?  I don’t know. Baby steps, baby steps…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Day 10: Lava Lake by Bike

With a name like “Lava Lake,” I should have put two and two together before our mountain bike ride.  Rated as “difficult” on my map, I thought if we just rode the last few miles paralleling the lake shore, it would be easy and flat. No problem for beginners like us.  Elevation gain, however, had nothing to do with this ride.   The predicament we found ourselves in, you see, is that lava rock and mountain biking don’t really go well together.  And this trail was covered in all sorts of lava, way beyond our skill level.  About five minutes into the ride, I thought, “Lava Lake…has…lots…of…lava rock.” Duh.

This is what the trail looked like. Seriously.

I picked Lava Lake because it is one of the few Cascades Lakes I haven’t visited.  For those who are not familiar with this area, there are about thirteen lakes easily accessible from the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway, all encompassing their own unique personalities. The highway is only open in the snow-free months, narrowing my exploration time and therefor the number of lakes I have visited. Currently I have been to somewhere around seven lake.. Which is great, because there are always new places to go.

See the Lava Peninsula in Lava Lake?

Andy got a way ahead of me on the trail, partly because I took longer to portage my bike around the razor-sharp rocks and partly because I stopped to take a few photos.  Unlike hiking, you can’t do both at the same time. Also not a good idea to take a good camera with you, because, well, I have been known to fly over the handle bars occasionally. When I finally caught up with him (he actually backtracked, with visions of me lying in the middle of the trail, my head cut open by the vicious stones), we had a conversation that went something like this:

Me: “Are you having fun?”

Andy: “Ah, not really.”

Me: “Then want to turn around?”

Andy: “Kind of.”

And so we gave up on Lava Lake, not more than 20 minutes into our ride.  But turning around was actually a blessing.  The trailhead forked in many different directions, so we headed east towards Little Lava Lake.  And while there were some of those cursed rocks on this trail, the frequency was less often (every 10 minutes to say, every 2 minutes). Little Lava Lake is beautiful and I learned on this ride, the headwaters of the  Deschutes (if you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know I’ve been on or around the Deschutes for days now). That trail started to head away from the lake, uphill, so  we turned back and found yet another trail, this time headed south. Not a single rock on the trail. Yippee!!!

View from Little Lava Lake

Little Lava Lake Marker

All in all, we rode for a few hours.  Lesson learned today?  If you don’t like your situation, change it. There might be better options forking off in all different directions that lead to equally beautiful and rewarding places.

Day 9: Lazy Day at Twin Lakes

Day 9 of our adventure-a-thon and we are a little tired. What I’m not posting about are the daily dog walks,  bike rides through Sunriver, and pool trips–those are just part of any normal trip here. So, we took a day of rest, which meant packing a cooler and inflating the inner-tubes for some serious float time.  My favorite place to swim in the Cascades is Twin Lakes, a pair of two circular lakes tucked into a forest of ponderosa pines. We usually hit the north lake since it tends to be a little less busy then its twin to the south, but both have nice beaches to spread out from people (and if you have a canoe or kayak, you go find your own beach across the lake).  The north lake has usually warmed up for swimming by July or August–that is,  if you are used to swimming alpine lakes.  A trail circumnavigates both lakes and a short trail through the trees connects them together.

But today we just floated. And read.  It was nice…

Tubing Twin Lakes

 

Day 8: Float Down the Deschutes

“What time is the last shuttle?”

“How many miles is this float?”

These are good questions to ask at the start of a 3pm float trip down the Deschutes in Sunriver.  There is a current, but it actually took a surprising amount of work to make that last 5:45 shuttle at the pull out.  Luckily, we had help on this adventure–our friends who own a beautiful hand-crafted canoe pulled our little rinky-dink inflatable raft downriver. Or paddled us. Whatever.

Family Float Time

Captain Brian guiding us down the Deschutes.

Our time concerns only appeared towards the end of the trip, however. The first part was peaceful and relaxing.  The trip started at the Sunriver Marina, where you can rent canoes and kayaks.  But since we are cheap (gotta make the adventure budget last!), we opted to use our 12 year old inflatable toy raft. At the end of the trip, a bus will pick you up for $10 per boat–an awesome price considering you don’t have to worry about arranging your own car shuttle.

Back to the trip. Most of the float takes place inside Sunriver, where the Deschutes River unhurriedly meanders and is flanked  by marshy grasses.  Lots of ducks, a few osprey, and even trout–our friend in the canoe caught a decent sized fish. Riverfront houses and bike paths are seen from an unique, water-based perspective, which in my book makes everything better.

Riverview Horse Gazing

After the last house, the river’s edges transform from open meadows to tall rocky cliffs and pine trees.  This is my favorite part of the river…but unfortunately not well savored this trip.

“What time is it?”

“Just one more bend, and we’ll be at the pull-out…I hope.”

Fortunately, we made that last shuttle. Barely. They actually stopped running at 5:30, so our 5:45 arrival time might have peeved the employees a little.  But a little conversation and an addition to their tip jar made us all good.

Day 7: Moutain Bike to Benham Falls

Did you know you can ride a bike all the way from Sunriver to Bend? I mean, not on roads….on a real single track trail that skirts the Deschutes, passing several waterfalls, many rapids, ospreys hunting for fish, and a gigantic lava flow that shaped the river.  Not that we did that, but it is an option (and a fun one if someone wants to shuttle me back home afterwards–I’m not riding back uphill!). That is what makes Bend such an awesome mountain biking town. There are trails like this all over the landscape, linking hundreds of miles of trails.

We rode the start of this fabulous trail from the north end of Sunriver to the first waterfall, Benham Falls.  The fact we could ride out of our driveway to the trailhead gives this route a huge advantage. Who wants to drive an hour just to reach a place to bike?  The path is pretty easy, minus a few lava rocks and roots that you have to negotiate (or snow in late spring–we’ve done that too).

Biking to Benham Falls

 

Deschutes River, Mt. Bachelor in Distance

The falls themselves are actually less waterfall-like and more treacherous rapids-ish. Formed by a series of steps in a narrow gorge of the river, the volume of water flowing through is more impressive then the vertical drop. Follow the paths down to the river (walking or leaving your bike behind–this area gets crowded) for excellent photo ops of the falls (note: we didn’t go down to the falls this time, so the pics below are from May 2012).

Top of Benham Falls(from Spring 2012)

 

 

Benham Falls View Point, from spring 2012. That solid white in the background is water.

Did I also mention you can drive here and hike just half a mile to the falls? Perfect for kids or those with mobility issues.

The photos are from my phone, so sorry about the quality!