Week Two

 Week Two

Monday May 8th 2023

Woke up feeling pretty sore after the golf and hiking that we've done recently. The coolest thing we've discovered about the Garden/Sisters RV Resort is that they have an off leash "dog park" that encompasses the entirety of the rodeo grounds next to the RV Resort. For the first time ever, Finnegan has been let completely off of the leash and allowed to explore open fields without restriction. Karilyn is working diligently to ensure that the opportunity doesn't go without training. Weather has taken kind of a turn and isn't allowing for much of the activities that we would like to do but we have found Deschutes brewery and 10 barrels brewing as well. The Bend area is really beautiful surrounded by the mountains and rivers but yet again I've just struggled to understand how anyone can live in these places with them costing well over the median cost of living. 

Tuesday May 9th 2023

The weather might just finally allow for an adventure day as it's our last full day in Bend. Karilyn of course had to finish a ton of work but once done, it was time to take in the views of the area and enjoy a hike to Tumalo Falls. Of course a stop in the itty bitty town of Tumalo provided us with great food out of food trucks. The skies were still not looking as promising as we had hoped but we decided to risk it regardless and make the trek to the falls without worrying about the weather. Upon arrival, the gate entering into the park was closed which meant adding a 2.5 mile hike each way to the equation. I looked at Reef curious about how he'd feel by the end of it knowing that his back legs just aren't quite what they used to be. The hike was flat most of the way, with exquisite views of crags and rocks with beautiful creeks flowing down from them. From a distance, the sound of the falls was triumphant and even though we couldn't see them, we knew we were close. From the viewpoint platform, the view is mediocre with much to be desired so I decided for the sake of a good photograph, it would be worth the treacherous climb down the steep hill in front to capture the falls. Majestic. It's the only way to describe the Tumalo Falls. With our time at Tumalo done, we slowly (old dog speed) worked our way back towards the parking lot at the gate. Our next stop ended up being at Crux Fermentation Project, a brewery, winery, and distillery that combines all of the aforementioned and makes incredible beverages. In fact, it might be safe to say that was without a doubt the best beer I've had on the trip. So good that I'm saving a bottle for certain connoisseurs back east to enjoy with me.

Wednesday May 10th 2023

With the city of Bend in our rearview mirror and the memories of good beer and even better waterfalls - it was time to head on into the Portland/Salem area of the trip. The drive was beautiful with the terrain changing multiple times from desert lands to snowpack in the mountains with the last leg of the trip being through the vineyards of south Portland. We landed at our destination, Silver Spur RV Park which was a densely packed RV park with very little greenery and a lot of campers. Not our favorite, to say the least. Dinner was riverside at a cute little place called The Noble Fox in Silverton. A short night after a long day meant it was time for bed early since Karilyn was still waking up at 5am for the purpose of beginning her day of work on east coast time.

Thursday May 11th 2023

With Karilyn busy at work, I decided to take an opportunity to enjoy a round of golf at a local course. I haven't struck out much on the trip but this course, the Oregon Golf Association course proved to unfortunately be a strike out. With 6 more holes to play, I looked down at my watch and realized we were working our way onto the fifth hour of play and decided to call it right then and there. I thanked my two playing partners and assured them I could have finished with them but I promised K to be home for wine and dinner after she was finished with work. Karilyn was ready to get out oyf the camper when I got home and we headed on over to Willamette Valley Vineyards to enjoy the views and wine. The wine was average but the views were incredible despite all of the haze from the humidity. We left the vineyard to head out to meet Uncle Dave and Aunt Tammy in Salem at a cute little Spanish inspired restaurant called The Cozy Taberna. The food was great and the company was fun. We always enjoy seeing them and know that they've been a huge inspiration for us for a long time. 

Friday May 12th 2023

Due to checkout of the campground, Karilyn and I began chores early so she could finish work and be ready to head over to the next round of waterfalls, Silver Falls State Park. The entrance to the state park was a twisty road that meandered down a canyon and provided very little space for an RV to be parked. We ended up parking on the far side of the parking lot designated to what seemed like a lot of cars and soon we would see why, this place was packed. There were people everywhere looking for the falls and the trails that led to them. Reef and his ability to go a distance being a big concern meant we were going to be conservative about the distance we were willing to hike. After a bit of wandering, we ended up heading up the rim trail which was one of the few pet approved trails in the area. After a mile, it became clear that Reef wasn't going to be up for much longer of a hike so I decided to just simply run back to the truck and camper to bring it to him. Running for the first time in a long time felt really good, especially when doing a trail run through big beautiful cedars and dense forest. Next stop would be the longest stay yet at the Barton Park Campground just outside of Boring, OR. Upon entering the more primitive style campground, we both knew this would be a much better stay since it was surrounded by trees and a short walk from the Clackmas River. The next adventure was onto McNinmens at Edgewater which was an eclectic place with food, drinks, and a mini golf course. This would be where we finally got to meet the beautiful Selah Grace, daughter of David and Lauren Piper. Little Selah was indeed a beautiful baby and despite all of the craziness around her, just seemed at complete peace. After food and a couple drinks, the race back to the campground was on in order that we might get through before the gates closed at 8pm. We quickly learned that the gates don't close til 10pm and are grateful for just sitting by a fire and taking in the previous weeks.

Saturday May 13th 2023

Waking up and feeling the lack of a morning chill was a first on the trip. In fact, waking up in the middle of the night scrambling to the A/C unit was quite a surprise this early in the season. With a few phone calls and an agreement, it became apparent that after breakfast, everyone would be sitting by the cool shade trees next to the river at the campground. The Pipers showed up and David seemed stoked to make today his first day "swimming". No actual swimming happened because the water was 55 degrees of snow melt and fast moving water. However, the dipping of toes sufficed as a way to cool down from the 90 degree sweltering heat. For dinner, Karilyn marinated Salmon and cooked what might be the best meal we've had on trip yet. Hopefully at some point it will be fish that I've caught but this time, it was simply really good market fish.

Sunday May 14th 2023 

I got up early, dropped Karilyn off at the Piper's temporary residence, and headed a couple hours north towards Olympia, WA. The purpose of the trip was to meet for the first time a long time Xbox gaming buddy, Jace for golf. Jace and I have known each other since 2020 prior to COVID and been gaming together on everything from PGA2K21 to COD. To say meeting him for the first time was long overdue and man we had a blast. We played terrible golf but we laughed hard enough to make up for all the bad hits and lost balls. We picked up an aspiring pro for the last 9 and played a lot better to finish the round. While it may not have been the best "golf", it certainly was an awesome time with a beautiful course.