Donaldson Crew Adventures

The weather was expected to hit 70 so we decided to try and find another somewhat obscure Oregon landmark in the Ochoco mountains about an hour east of Bend past Prineville called Stein’s Pillar.  

However since we are all in lockdown there were about 10 other cars also at the trailhead today. Oh well it was still an amazing hike through ponderosa pines with a great view at the end.

Here’s a shot of the pillar from the road below. Very impressive rock feature that rivals Smith Rock’s monkey face pillar.  

This week the temps were expected to pop up close to 70 mid week. In addition it’s the end of the school quarter so the kids were off Wednesday and Thursday with Good Friday a holiday.  Since last year I have wanted to go see the Alvord Desert but spring and fall are best for temperatures.  

This week seemed like the ideal time to go!  The Alvord is in the far south eastern section or Oregon. Very remote. Here is a picture of the start of the route off of East Steens Road and Highway 78.  

We got to the Alvord Playa and it didn’t disappoint. What a wild experience. You can drive over the cracked ground that when dry is extremely hard. You will see pictures of water but it’s only about an inch deep. As it’s clay though - not something you want to drive through and get stuck. 

Another week in lockdown. Back to school this week so a little more routine which was good for the kids. 

Kelly found a favorite hike in the trails around our neighborhood. It’s about 6 miles door to door. She does it most days.  

In classic high desert fashion we had more snow falling a couple times this week along with sun typically the same day.  We also rock climbed on the cliffs outside the neighborhood and got out the badminton set.  

Noah’s friend Blake turned 12. No party so they did social distancing drive by’s for his friends.  They brought donuts. We made them cupcakes accompanied with some ‘elbow bumps’.

Kelly cut about 4 inches off Abbie’s hair

Kevin went to the store and then organized the pantry - Kelly was excited!

More spring cleaning including Hunter washing and vacuumed Kelly’s car! (Might be a first)

As with most spring breaks the weather this week has been just so-so. Typical early spring in the high desert but atypical in that there is a stay home order. The kids have been out biking on the trails outside our neighborhood so that’s been nice.  We get out for walks but still a decent amount of lounging.  Holly is clearly oblivious to the stresses of the world right now.

Kelly and I had a couple quick trips to town.  One was to pick up rubber bands for Noah’s braces.  Of course they were closed and told us they would leave them taped on the door.  It seems that we weren’t the only ones.

Abbie baked some cupcakes with homemade icing and we had an afternoon cupcake break one day!

With nothing to do many people have been outdoor recreating.  The trailheads are packed. That came to an end as of today. All national forests in the area are now closed - trailheads, snow parks, and day use areas, so unless it’s outside your backyard it’s off limits starting tomorrow March 28. We are grateful that e back up to so many trails right out our door. 

Today, in the afternoon we did a trip to a couple of close local caves. The last time we were here was March 2011 and it was just Hunter, Noah and me.

With the CV19 lockdown changing everything, this will be a series of check-ins during this time so we can look back on this time on reflect on it. 

Our school was very on top of things. After the announcement was made Friday, March 13, the kids had a brief check-in on Monday, the 16 and daily classes started Tuesday, March 17.  

I know this picture is nothing new to anyone reading this.  It’s more for our own ability to look back when the COVID-19 is over. 

We actually had some fresh snow, so we took advantage of that to do some social distancing