Snowball Fight in June

Mile 1107. LaPine State Park on the Deschutes River in La Pine, OR (south of Bend). MPG 11.4. Oregon gas is $1.00 less per gallon than California.

We’re still in familiar territory with decades full of memories of fun family vacations in Sunriver, Bend, and neighboring areas. I didn’t think there was much to write about here as a result, but we’re here several days to visit Mark’s niece and she’s taken us to places we didn’t know existed, such as Newberry National Volcanic Monument. We hiked the Big Obsidian Flow, the youngest lava flow in Oregon at a mere 1300 years, for scenic views of Paulina Lake, Mt. Bachelor, and the Three Sisters mountains. The trail meandered through mounds of pumice and obsidian and despite the 75 degree weather, patches of snow. We’re told that two weeks ago the place was covered in snow, the viewpoint inaccessible.

Obsidian is a high luster naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock (I have no idea what that means). Fractured obsidian has very sharp edges. In the 1970s, doctors performed open heart surgery using both steel and obsidian scalpels. Incisions from obsidian blades healed without a trace whereas the steel blades left huge scars. Today thin blades of obsidian are placed in scalpels used for high precision surgery. Needless to say removing obsidian from the park is illegal and comes with a hefty fine.

Afterwards we lunched at the other lake in the caldera, East Lake. Burgers and beer on the outdoor patio while watching a man reel in a trout with a fly rod and a dog joyfully retrieve a buoy repeatedly thrown in the lake by its owner. With only a few other visitors it felt like we had the entire lake to ourselves. No cell service. Peaceful. We were so content neither of us thought to take a photo of this picturesque setting.

On the way out we stopped at Paulina Falls and walked off a bit of our lunch, viewing both the top and the bottom of the falls. Mark felt like a kid again climbing boulders and crossing the stream on logs. The setting very much reminded me of time I spent in Junior High exploring a stream in Arrowbear with my best friend.

Showers have been a bit of a challenge (for me). I took one in the trailer the other day and halfway through, the shower stopped draining, the sign of a full gray water tank. The gauges in this old trailer are unreliable and we’re still trying to figure out the number of days it takes to the fill the holding tanks. This morning I showered in the campground shower. Water was lukewarm when I got wet. Then, drought-minded, I turned off the water to suds up. When I turned the water back on it was icy cold. Unbeknownst to me, electricity at the campground had gone out. Not long after, the water went out. So really, I was lucky. Icy water or no water at all.

Tomorrow will be one week on the road. We’re a quarter of the way to the halfway point. Mark casually asked me over dinner tonight, “so, you think you’re going to make it?”

Yes, I’m going to make it.