Around Our House

Just wanted to include a few pictures of the sights just outside our door. Here is a deer that was in our yard - I saw a baby deer too but was too slow to catch it on film. This bridge and river is 2 blocks away!

Uncle Doug and Aunt Bonny Visit - Lava Caves

After a few days without Andy (he went home on Father's Day - not everyone can take a month off work), Diane's brother Doug and sister-in-law Bonny came for a visit. It was wonderful to have some more adults in the house as Diane was feeling pretty outnumbered! Our first stop was the lava river cave. It is a huge 1 mile long cave formed by hot lava flow. We had to carry propane lanterns for light and it was cold - about 42 degrees the entire time.

The Rodeo

On the 14th we went to the rodeo in Sisters, OR. I thought it was fun. The boys seemed to enjoy the kettle corn as much as the events!

So...where in the world are we?

...just south of Bend, Oregon...Sunriver, to be exact.

We made the trip out here last week and have seen some of the coldest weather we have ever experienced in June. So cold, in fact, it snowed here this past Tuesday (well flurried anyway). What does that say for the family that packed one pair of jeans and a handful of long-sleeved shirts? It likely says we didn't check the weather very well before we left Atlanta. It's warmed up since, but you'd be amazed at how often you rationalize the fact that the day's high of 50 degrees "doesn't seem so bad...(it's a DRY cold)" after you've flown a family of five across the country to stay for a month. We've done a lot despite the cold, so I will try to recount it all here to get everyone up to speed.

So what is Sunriver exactly?
For starters Sunriver and Bend are in a climate called a high desert. It's part of the Great Basin and is at an altitude of about 4,000 ft. There is a large presence of what once was volcanic activity nearby (lots of lava rocks) and all around you will see juniper, wildflowers and sagebrush.

The best way to describe Sunriver itself is comparing it to a cross between the plantations in Hilton Head and...summer camp. It is located alongside the Deschutes River and contains over 30 miles of bike paths with easy access to hiking, kayaking and other outdoor activities. Bend itself is a neat little town experiencing explosive growth. The Old Mill District is the center of this growth and contains plenty of upscale shopping and connects to miles of walking paths connecting all parts of the city.

So what have you been doing in the freezing cold?
Connecting with the locals mostly.
...only kidding. Here's the list of sites we've seen and treks we've made.

Bend Balloon Festival
On our first day here, we decided to take it easy and slept in, read books, etc. - no wait - the kids woke up at the crack of dawn (about 5:00am) and tortured us until we took them out. The was a hot air balloon festival in nearby Bend with jumping houses, sidewalk art and other arts and crafts so we thought we'd try to wear them out there. Afterwards, we got settled into who was riding what bike and went on our first bike ride in our new neighborhood.


High Desert Museum
Tuesday was a very cold day so we decided to check out the High Desert Museum. This was a great kid-friendly place. Tons of actual desert animals and interesting exhibits about the history of this area from Native Americans to Settlers and Miners. There's also an outside "living history" area that we will come back for later this month.

Newberry volcanic national monument / Lava Butte
So it's hard to describe how much evidence there is around here of the volcanic activity that once was. Lava Butte is within 10 minutes of our house and even from the road, it's an amazing site. Walking through it feels like a walk on the moon - in fact Apollo astronauts trained here to get a sense for the landscape they would soon see. We hiked a good ways along the butte outcrop and then drove to the top.

Biking around Sunriver
So the bike trails are really amazing in Sunriver. They pass through an incredible amount of scenery. We are less than a block from the Deschutes River and along the path you can see Mt. Bachelor. The house has enough bikes to fit everyone so we can always hit the trails as a family. Deer are easily spotted along the ride and we can ride to the shopping area for dinner. We've been able to go to the Sunriver Nature Center which even has its own observatory on site. On Monday, we went on a long bike ride to attempt to reach Benham Falls. Yes, this is a repeat of last year when Diane spends a vast amount of time trying to make it to a waterfall (any waterfall) with a multitude of children with varying hiking and biking abilities. We didn't make it, but we will keep trying!

Drive to the coast and visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium
So this past Thursday we made the drive from Sunriver to the Oregon coast. We drove through Bend, a cute little town called Sisters, Oregon (named after the Sisters Mountains), over the Cascades, through Corvallis (home of the fightin' OSU Beavers) and down to the coast. We made a stop at the Oregon Coast Aquarium for the kids and they had some pretty amazing exhibits on deep sea life and the unique aviary and coastal fish and wildlife including sea lions that performed for the crowd and cute sea otters.

The highlight was camping out at Beverly Beach State park. We stayed in a "yurt" overnight (sort of a cross between a cabin and a tent - see below) and we all cooked hot dogs and s'mores over the campfire. Everyone had their own technique although Drew's seemed to involve setting his stuff on fire frequently. Friday morning was a particular treat as breakfast consisted of Pop Tarts and Lucky Charms. With regard to Beverly Beach itself, beach access was a quick walk from the campsite, and brother if you thought our first week in Sunriver was cold, ain't nothin' like 55 degrees and a constant, blustery 20 mile per hour wind to make summer in Sunriver seem balmy. The wind was so strong that when Molly wanted to make a sand castle the wind kept blowing her sand away so she had to make a rock castle - then the wind blew that down so we settled for a rock road ... We persevered though and found some very interesting fossils and a rock with crystals inside - the boys were very excited.

As we headed back to Bend and Sunriver, we stopped off at Yaquina Head to visit the pebbly coast and the still functional lighthouse. We saw an actual starfish in the tide pools that was about 10" wide and the kids saw their first sea lions in the wild. The wind seemed to have eased up to 19 miles per hour, but it was quite an adventure. Despite being windy the beaches here were amazing - the wind and wave activity is so rough that the lava rocks, shells and even bits of trash (glass or plastic) were worn smooth by the constant pounding. You can't really tell from this picture but the entire beach is made up of really smooth stones and very little sand. They were beautiful and among them were also stones like agates and jade formed by the "recent" volcanic activity that formed this coast.