Sunriver Resort

We drive alongside the Clackamas River, so beautiful we run out of adjectives as we point out to each other the views we want to share. Driving up towards the Cascades we see Mt. Hood in the distance, alone and majestic. At 4800 feet we drive through Santiam Pass and start the long road down, final destination Bend. We set up camp in Tumalo State Park. It is the weekend, there are so many people in the state parks we pass, we decide to stay two nights right here.

... town) we saw a very old man pitch forking hay into a trailer by the side of the road. We laughed at an advertisement for "Lock & Load Towing", and just outside Shaniko we saw a shoe tree--it was a tree that had been decorated with hundreds of old shoes!

The 2-lane road was slow, but scenic, with what we assumed was Mt. Ranier in the distance. There was a scenic viewpoint for the Crooked River Canyon ...

We stopped in La Pine and walked.

We stopped in the Volcanic Monument.

We walked on the Lava Fields.

We drove through Bend, Redmond & Madras.

Past Warm Springs, the car overheated and we pulled over.

We waited for the car to cool down.

We, slowly, drove up the mountain to Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood.

We drove to Bend.

We drove up Pilot Butte.

We walked around Drake Park and Bend downtown.

We went to a comic shop.

We had tea at Townshend's.

We met my old friends and walked to Old Mill district.

We ate American Chinese food.

We watched a cinema.

We drove back to Prineville.

As we crossed over the mountains moving East from Eugene we hit lots of snow, which cleared once we made it over the pass. This would become a common theme in our many trips back and forth over the rocky (and associated) mountain ranges. We luckily had picked up a new set of tires and some snow chains in Eugene, which we were forced to employ only an hour after we ...

Pffff... Another long drive, this time accompanied by dull, grey weather and less-than-inspiring scenery along much of the stretch of road. The picknick spot and rest stop that we had picked out on the map was the John Day Fossil Beds where a remarkable complete fossil record of plants and mammal species that inhabited the area since just after the dinosaurs became extinct can be found in layer upon layer of rock and volcanic ash ...

Since Bryan had cooked chicken for us the night before, we took him for breakfast the next morning. I know I don't have to do that, but one can never have to much good karma. Driving from Boise to Bend took us about 7 hours. Nothing going on in between, only the perspective of arriving in Bend that evening. I read somewhere in Book that Bend was one of the most friendly, nicest places in the States ...

... for most of the afternoon... the Columbia on one side and Mt. Hood on the other. Joy! We picked up the smaller but equally beautiful Deschutes River which lead us into Bend, Oregon, our stop for the night. We have visited Bend before and liked it very much, though we don't know much about it, so we planned to stop again on this trip. We were gifted with amazing overnight accommodations and dinner at our favorite restaurant by two friends and every ...

... that. That's another thing I learned--the importance of family--of my own, their precious uniqueness and their sacrifice for allowing me to come to Russia--and the beauty of finding family abroad, that that bond of love can grow among complete strangers. I've also learned humility and to accept dependence. We had a research paper due at the end of the semester dealing with a current issue in Russia. My research evolved to the social problem of street ...

... It pays to be a veggie I can tell you!) - phew as we were a bit concerned about declaring our lunch I can tell you - you do not mess with the happy-smiley people in Customs!!! Whilst on the coach we were amazed to see an old woman driving down the interstate whilst knitting at the same time! Multi-tasking at it's most dangerous!!! It seemed to us that all that was being advertised on this route were Food, Pawnbrokers and Guns - so welcome to America!!!! Actually once you get past the ...