Bend/Sunriver, OR-Bend/Sunriver RV Resort

July 10-July 21, 2019

Once again, we have made our way to Bend, Oregon. This is such a great area with so much to do in and around. This year, we only spent a week and a half in this location and didn't get to do all of the things we wanted, but we did a few regular things and checked out a couple of new activities as well. 

The kids have always enjoyed this campground as well.  Each year, they find something new to do.  Jordan asked to go do some schoolwork at this little school desk a couple times (btw, it is summer break!) 

And it's always fun when you make new friends...

(New friend, Zoe)

Here are the rest of the activities:

Tubing in the Little Deschutes River-this can be done right in the campground. We just took our tubes down to the river and hopped in. It snakes around for a while and then you hop out and walk the short distance back to the beginning and do it again! So awesome that it is so easily accessible.

Mountain Bike Riding at Mt.Bachelor-This was a new one for us, actually just the kids. Because we have always struggled with finding the right solution to bring all the bikes along, we decided that on this trip we would just bring the kids' bikes. We could have rented bikes but at $90 each, it was just too expensive.

Both kids were a little nervous about it, especially since we sent them up the mountain alone but they quickly learned how to load their bikes up on the lift and they successfully made it down. 

Jacob loved it. Jordan HATED it. She hasn't really spent too much time on her new bike and so slipping around on gravel and riding over rocks was just too much for her. And she probably needed and easier warm-up.

But Jacob kept going and enjoyed quite a few runs.

On Friday nights, Jacob went to play Magic the Gathering tournaments at Main Phase Gaming and Jordan spent time at open gym at OOA gymnastics center where she went to summer camp a few years ago.

While the kids did those things, Greg and I walked the river path, which is so beautifully adorned with flowers, and checked out the downtown area. 

We also hung out around the campfire with a few families we have met before and met five more families!

And the highlight of our trip was white water rafting with Seventh Mountain River Company. We have done rafting years ago when we were in Canada but I don't think we have done this level before. These were level 3 rapids. Greg, Jacob and I were paddlers along with three other people. Jordan just had to enjoy the ride.

The trip took about an hour and our guide was great at instructing us. It was very fun but the water was VERY COLD as it came pouring down over the top of us! Greg chose to ride the front of the raft through one of the lesser rapids. It was pretty comical as he didn't last long and came tumbling back into the raft! I think we were all a little sad that it ended so soon. It's something that we will look forward to doing in the future.

That's it for Bend!  I'm sure we will be back!

NV, Great Basin National Park-Baker Creek Campground

July 7-9, 2019

Great Basin National Park is not well known and one of the least visited National Parks but it is certainly beautiful. I wish I could have captured the view driving into this place. We entered a very flat land area that went on forever to the right and left but ahead you could see the beautiful mountains stretching up to the sky.  I don't think I have ever experienced anything quite like it.

There is not much around the park. I thought it would be the perfect place for bears so I was surprised to learn that there aren't any and weren't ever any that we know of. Well, the ranger said IF there ever were any they would have been a prehistoric short faced bear. But in any case, the kids breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing there would be no bear encounters.

We camped at Baker Creek Campground which is dry camping. Only a couple of the campgrounds are suitable for RVs our size and even at that, it was a SUPER tight squeeze. In some areas the brush extended out so far that our truck barely fit through. So our RV definitely rubbed it.  And all along the campground road Greg was dodging tree limbs. We were keeping our fingers crossed that we would not meet another RV heading in the opposite direction!

Then was the attempt to park the RV. We tried 3 different spots a total of 4 times. They call them pull thru sites but they are curved and lined by boulders which made it so difficult to maneuver our 37 feet into. We tried driving through them and backing into them to no avail. The last spot we tried was actually THE last spot available in that campground. We lucked out on that one.

(There we are on the right!)

We only had one full day in the park. We started the morning with a drive up to the Wheeler Peak area to do a hike. The drive itself was pretty and had a couple of areas to pull off and take in the view.

The hike to Wheeler Peak was closed due to dangerous trail conditions so we opted to do the loop hike to Stella and Teresa lakes. Even though it was July, there was still so much snow and mud on the trail. We were able to avoid most of it on the way up and past the lakes but on the way back down, there was no way but directly through it. Not the best when you don't have waterproof shoes, but no one complained of cold feet. And surprisingly, we all did very well considering the hike began at 9,800 feet elevation!

(The meadow areas were so pretty)

(Stella Lake)

(There's no place better for a snack break!)

(Teresa Lake)

In the afternoon, we took a tour of Lehman Caves. I was a little hesitant since we have done several cave tours and I doubted anything could be as good as Karchner in AZ but it was a very pretty cave! It was VERY decorated and even included shields and helictites, which are not very common!

(a shield)

We later tried to check out Pole Canyon but dusk was too near and so we turned back.  Our short stay was over...

Page, AZ-Page Lake Powell Campground

June 30-July 7, 2019

Everyone asked me before we left, “Why are you going to Arizona? It's so hot this time of year!” Well they were very right and we knew it would be, but since we can only travel on weekends and we can only get so far, it was a great place to stop that we had never been before.

(At the local convenience store)

It was probably the same temperature in Texas (A.K.A HOT), but that temp is tough to get outside and hike in.  Also, our RV's single A/C couldn't keep up because we were sitting in the direct sun all the while the power was cycling due to low voltage. But we survived and were able to visit some of the best known sites.

Our first outing was to just go check out Lake Powell. The kids (who are still reluctant to go anywhere) had a fabulous time. They liked that they could crawl all over the rocks and there was so much to explore. We even had to go back the next evening so that they could do it again.

The next evening, was a short hike to the Hanging Gardens.

(the view along our hike)

Then we visited Horseshoe Bend (twice actually). The first time, we went in the evening after Greg was done working but when we got to the lookout, we realized that we couldn't see anything. The sun was shining directly in our faces! So the next day, we rushed out during Greg's lunch break to see it once again.

Most people hike Antelope Canyon when they come and everyone told us to hike the lower canyon but since we failed to plan ahead during a holiday week (and it was actually July 4th), all of the guided hikes were sold out. So instead, we hiked Antelope Canyon X, a less known canyon. I really don't know how it compares to the others but it was very pretty. Our group was fairly small and I'm so glad because that gave us plenty of time to look around and get the pictures we wanted.

(the "X" in Antelope Canyon X)

The guide did an awesome demonstration of how the canyons were formed using just some sand from the Navajo Sandstone and a bottle of water. It was so cool!

He also played a couple of songs for us which sounded great in the canyon.

(skip ahead to 0:20)

So weird to think all this beauty lies below a crack that looks like this from the surface:

(This is Antelope Canyon actually but you get the idea)

That evening we watched the sunset from Wahweap Point and later climbed up the rocks on the land adjacent to our campground to watch the fireworks.

(the view from above on the rocks adjacent to the campground)

The next day, we stopped at the Glen Canyon Dam Visitor Center. We did not get there early enough for a tour, so we just looked around at some of the displays.

Then, we took off on another hike to the Toadstool Hoodoos. I love seeing these and find them so interesting. Canyons are an obvious display of water erosion but the effects of wind and water to create hoodoos just really help it sink in for me.

(The kids and Greg tried to climb up here.  No one made it)

Our last day began with a swim in Lake Powell. We found a great little spot while out exploring one day, so we gathered our gear and headed back. The kids enjoyed it so much. They jumped from the rocks and snorkeled around to see what they could find.

And last but certainly not least, was a hike through the Cathedral Wash in Marble Canyon. It was so fun, well except for the fact that we started out a little late and that had us climbing up out of the canyon as it turned slap dark! That made Greg and Jordan really nervous.

But it was so pretty to see the way the water had shaped it and to see all the different layers and compositions of the walls.

There were also some fun little “holes” that Jordan and I imagined that she could use for a dollhouse.

The hike had some mud pits that we had to navigate around and required changing levels and that made it even more fun. We reached the river in 1 hour and 2 minutes and because dark was quickly approaching we booked it back, around all of the obstacles, under the flight of many bats, in 38 minutes! Such a fun way to end our time in Page!

(the river is just below the center.  We had to view it from afar race back)