So fellow travelers, Oregon has surprised me with its diversity of habitats and terrains. Within half a day’s drive from the quirky urban landscape of Portland we have explored

wild and deserted stretches of the Pacific Coast

 

dense forest covered hills

 

snow capped (even in summer) mountains

 

hidden waterfalls

and on this year’s trip  we spent three amazing, glorious days with the kids, exploring the natural wonders near Bend, including

 

breath taking Crater Lake a volcano with a caldera lake, the deepest in the United States

 

 

a mile long, lave tube cave at Newberry National Volcanic Monument, which we discovered also has a huge lava field where NASA astronauts trained for their moon mission

 

 

the mysterious Painted Hills desert where temps hit 103 keeping photo treks short and close to the relief of our air conditioned rental car

 

and Smith Rock State, a mecca for outdoor rock climbing which draws climbers from all over the world. It has the benefit of year round access to over 1,500 routes.

On the way back to Portland, we stopped for a refreshing swim in Lake Billy Chinook

 

and as spectacular as it is to swim in the basin of a massive and ancient canyon

 

 

it was this view of my three adventurers on the trail ahead of me which I count as my favorite vista of the trip

Walk gently on the path my friends and may adventure find you ready.