Boys fall camping Trip 2024

2nd half of October and weather looking like it might pop into the 70’s in town we decided to head out for a short fall getaway to one of our favorite family spots - little crater campground at Paulina Lake. It’s the latest we have been there in the year and the campground was almost empty with only a few locals there. The hot springs were almost empty on a sunny Saturday afternoon!

Dinner, smores, fire and a sunset made for a good evening and we also got to see the comet again after dark. 

Sunday morning was cool and windy but warmed up nicely and we went to the obsidian flow for a quick hike. 

Lava Cast Forest

The weather in November continues to be nice so we went up to the lava cast Forest just south of town. The last time I was here it was with Hunter and Noah october 29, 2011 the day after PJ was born - probably to get them out of the house. This time we all went as a family.

The lava cast Forest is an area where lava flowed through trees slow enough to surround the trees but not to nock them over. When the trees died and rotted away they left these circular holes and tubes in the lava.

It’s a nice walk that is actually a paved path and flat most of the way for wheelchair accessibility. The kids of course took off all over the place.

5th Annual Fall boys camping Trip - Big Lake OR (2018)

We just got back from our 5th annual fall boys camping trip in 2018.  This year we went with some friends that the kids go to school with and the location was Big Lake near Hoodoo ski area West of Sisters.  Dad Patrick with boys Severin and Ben.  Big lake is actually a bit of a misnomer, as the lake isn't that big but it was super 'blue'.    

Previous years:

This year we went the 3rd week of September so we didn't have to worry about deer hunting season (rifle).  I think the 3rd week of September will likely become our defacto standard going forward.   This year the weather was colder and rainy, but we were up at 5000 ft so that could have been part of the reason.  Due to soccer games we got a late start Saturday afternoon so the trip felt shorter than usual.  Going forward we agreed that even if their is soccer games, we might just skip them and even make it a 2-night deal Friday and Saturday.  As with previous years the requirement for this trip is that it cannot be car camping, and must have some sort of 'remote' aspect to it even if just a little.  

J2M Weekend with Hunter

Being Hunters 12th year this is a transitional year for him as he enters his teens, so we are trying to plan some memorable events for him.  This weekend he and I went down to the Steens mountain area of southeastern Oregon.  This is cowboy country so I thought it would be fun to go horse back riding while there.  We went with Steens Mountain Guest Ranch.  This is a working ranch where they heard 600 head of cattle.  Tim and Susan (owners) do week long trail rides during the summer as they move cattle around.  For us, it was just a 2 hour trail ride  up to the Kiger Ridge area. 

Being October the weather is starting to be more unsettled and in this wide open country it made for some great photos and lighting with storms and rain around.  


Here are some pictures as we got ready to go on our trail ride at Steens Mountain Guest Ranch.

Pictures from the trail ride:

Short Video:
Couple other shots of where we stayed.


Great fun in late October!

Old fashion Cider Press Party

Complete with an original cider press from the late 1800's. A great event put on by our friends Jeff and Nikki.  Makes you appreciate the work that used to go into food production. I went with Hunter and PJ. Kelly had other birthday parties to attend with Abbie and Noah so we split up.