Small dirt ramps in the field beside the elementary school.
Kelly is gone on a girls weekend in Boise, so I took Friday off and we went up to Newberry Crater for the day. We rented a small motor boat at Paulina Lake Resort for 2 hours. A good deal at only $30. We traveled across the lake to the north side where the Paulina hot springs are located on the shore. We had the area to ourselves. The hot springs bubble out of the beach.
After the lake I wanted to take the kids from the water level to the top of Paulina Peak at just under 8000 ft which is accessible by road. The kids enjoyed seeing where we had just boated across. Notice the 'big obsidian flow' a massive lava flow in the greater crater area.
We ended the day off with a bbq in the back yard.
With the thunderstorms this week we have been treated to some great sunsets. Crux has one of the best views in town coupled with great beer.
Kelly wasn't feeling well, so I wanted to get the kids out of the house this afternoon. I decided to try Tumalo State Park. We have never been there before, and I was pleasantly surprised. Its a nice shallow river and its only about a 15 min drive from our house. We hung out for a while in the late afternoon and then headed over for some dinner at Taco Del Mar.
Hunters friend Jack Lovejoy turned 10 and for his birthday party his dad Mark rafted a few of them down a stretch of the Deschutes just south of Bend - how cool is that! Here are a few shots from the afternoon fun. There wasn't quite enough room in the boat so I sat this one out but got some great video of them going through a section of class 3 rapids near lava island!
Today I wanted to take the boys up on a mountain hike for some views without a lot of steep uphill mileage. I selected Triangulation peak. While it was about 1:45 drive from bend to the trailhead, it looked to be a hike with some great views of the massive Mt. Jefferson Volcano and a fun hidden cave. The hike was about 4.5 miles round trip with only some minor elevation gain to get to the summer with the amazing views you see in the photos. Also some great wildflowers along the trail
We also hunted and found Boca cave as well that allows for a very unique shot of Mt. Jeff framed in the cave entrance. The cave has been used for centuries by Indian hunting parties to get out of bad weather.
