We just got back from our vacation yesterday and my husband started his new job today. Our vacation began last Wednesday evening. We stopped to look at Detroit Dam. We drove over 5 hours to our rented vacation home in Sunriver. It was supposed to be only about 4 hours. Well, we blamed our voice navigation in our van. It led us into a muddy camping area in the Deschutes National Forest. It was dark and scary! The Lord saved us from getting stuck there. We're so thankful we have an all-wheel drive vehicle. We found out later that the voice navigation tried to take us through a shortcut to the backyard of the vacation home (which backs up to the Deschutes National Forest). The house was very lovely, surrounded by Ponderosa pine trees. It also has a nice hot tub which my husband and I took advantage of :).
On Thursday, we went cross-country skiiing at Dutchman Flat Sno-Park in the morning and at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park in the afternoon. We really enjoyed our new sport. The kids learned fast and did so well. We had a yummy lunch at Toomies Thai Restaurant in Bend. Their lunch menu was neat; each dish was served with rice, salad with peanut sauce, and Pad Thai. I like their style :). In the evening, we had fun playing Jenga before the kids went to bed.
On Friday, we went to the famous High Desert Museum. We got to experience the wonder of "America's Outback" (the nickname given to the High Desert that ranges from southern British Columbia through Nevada's Great Basin and from the Rockies to the Cascades and Sierra). Lots to explore indoors and outdoors! We visited the 1890s Lazinka Sawmill, 1880s Homestead Ranch (we went inside a log cabin and saw how pioneers lived), Changing Forest Exhibit, Native American Camp (displaying the real tipis like the ones used by Plateau Indians), Spirit of the West (Hall of Exploration and Settlement), Hall of Plateau Indians, DeMoss Stagecoach (the stagecoach that carried Mark Twain, Horace Greeley, and the DeMoss Lyric Bards, who performed throughout the West), and Desertarium (where we saw snakes, scorpions, desert collared lizards, owls, a black widow spider, etc.) The kids climbed a giant spider web (made of rope). We particularly enjoyed watching live animals. We saw a fox, porcupine, and Canadian lynx up close. We had a great time watching a playful river otter swim, sunbathe, run around, eat a pine cone, and act silly :). It's so cute! At the Birds of Prey Center, we saw different kinds of owls, Ferriguous Hawk (the largest North American hawk) stretching his wings, and a golden eagle eating a little bird for a snack. We also saw rainbow trout in a stream eating a bug in action. This is a great place for a field trip, especially for those interested in the natural and cultural history and resources of the High Desert. At night we played Junior Labyrinth and Visual Brain Storms. Cool thinking games!
On Saturday, we went up to Mt. Bachelor to do snow-tubing. It has 6 different tube runs and a lift that tows tubes (with riders sitting in them) up to the top. We all had a blast! We tried all 6 lanes (the 3rd one was our favorite). We snow-tubed down individually; we also did altogether (by holding hands). After lunch, we did more cross-country skiing at Virginia Meissner Sno-Park. We loved it there because the trails were groomed and there was no one around. At night, there were many rounds of "Rich Man-Poor Man" (our boys' favorite card game originated in Japan).
On Sunday (yesterday), we packed up and then stopped by Village Mall in Sunriver before heading home. We bought leather waistbags, hazelnut toffees, and thundereggs (we had fun & difficulty cracking them today; they're hard as a rock...oh yeah, they are rocks!). We took a lunch break in Sisters (a cowboy/western town). Very interesting!
The Lord blessed us with gorgeous weather during our vacation. We all had a fun and relaxing time. Hmmm...where should we go for our next vacation? Never too early to plan, right? :) |
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Wednesday, March 21, 2007 - Untitled Comment