We recently visited Bend, OR and the Bend McClellands and enjoyed the great outdoors as well as some quality time with 4 of our grandchildren.
After arriving at the Redmond, OR airport at around 10 p.m. on a Monday, we had a whirlwind tour of the delights of this part of Oregon. Tuesday morning found us at the great playground just down the hill from Matt and Emily's place. The kids had fun sliding down the slides and riding the airplane on a big spring. Ellie (2) thinks she is as big as anyone else.
Later that day, we picked up son Dan at the Redmond airport and continued on to Smith Rock, a very popular rock climbing destination that also has some good hiking trails. The Bend McClellands had been to Smith Rock before but had not done much hiking there previously.
Matt loaded Ellie into the backpack and we headed up the Misery Ridge trail (the name should have tipped us off). The trail was fairly steep with switchbacks, loose rocks, and very steep dropoffs, a little crazy for our entourage. We kept debating about whether to continue but ended up at the top, wondering about getting down again. After checking out Monkey face and the crazy rock climber near the top, we decided to go down that way, probably as bad as the way we had come, with a long hike once we were down.
Wednesday morning we drove up Pilot Butte for a great view of Bend, then went to the Library and Drake Park, where the kids fed a some of their lunch to the ducks, geese, and swans.
That afternoon, we floated the Deschutes River from Riverbend Park to Drake Park. The only pictures were from Emily's cell phone, unfortunately.
Thursday we hiked up Tumalo Mountain near Mt. Batchelor, a nice hike mostly in the shade, with great views of the surrounding area. Matt again hauled his 30 lb. youngest to the top and Grandma worried about the kids falling off the mountain. It was a bad hair day for most of us.
Racing to the bottom produced some very dirty kids.
After the hike, we headed to Elk Lake, for a swim in some really cold, clear water.
Friday dawned cloudy, so we enjoyed some indoor diversions--Bouncing Off the Walls, a fun place with lots of Moon Bounce type attractions including a fun obstacle course, and the movie, "Up." We saw the movie at the McMenamins Old St. Francis School theater, a really neat place.
Saturday, we drove to the top of Lava Butte and learned about the volcanic history of central Oregon.
The kids were oblivious to the fabulous view.
Then, we descended to the depths of Lava River Cave, a mile long lava tube that is very cold (constant 42 degrees) and totally dark.
Sunday morning, Dan headed home and the rest of us recovered from the week's activities after Stake Conference.
Monday, since most of us had not been there before and Grandpa Charles had a National Park pass, we headed to Crater Lake.
This is an amazing site, the deepest lake in the US that is an otherworldly blue color. Of course, the highlight of the day for the kids was crossing a small stream on a log at a picnic site.
What an incredibly beautiful place this is.
Tuesday was another recovery day, especially for Matt and Em who got a short break from the kids. Wednesday we left Bend for our next stop--Utah.
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