The Honeymooners, Day Three

I admit it: by our third morning in Bend, we were getting a little tired.  In our defense, between last-minute planning, driving to Ohio, the wedding, the reception, the flight, the hiking, and the skiing, we'd been going non-stop for over a week by then, and a lot of that was pretty big-deal stuff.

So we had a slow morning.

This bugs me. Because I don't have a garden where I can do stuff like this.

I took a few pictures of our rental, and wandered up Awbrey Butte a little way, looking at houses and watching the mule deer grazing in yards.

I also want to get a bunch of busted spigots so I can put these flowers somewhere.  There were a LOT of them in this yard.

People have great yard art in Bend, and there are certain themes to the architecture that I really like.  I even took pictures of houses, collecting ideas in case I can ever afford to build a place exactly as I want.  You know... on that mountain I want to buy.

shhh... there's a bear!

I had to kill a little time, because we had made plans to meet my dad's cousin again, this time for lunch at a little cafe on the north side of town called McKay's Cottage.  Somehow, I'd never visited it when I lived in Bend.  The Girl got a Smith Rock Benedict, because we were heading to Smith that afternoon, and she loves hollandaise sauce.  She also loves avocado, and they were nice enough to add some for her.  I got... I don't remember what they called it, but there were layers of pulled chicken, spicy sauce/salsa,eggs, hollandaise, crispy corn tortillas that somehow stayed crispy despite all the eggs and sauces, and it was permeated throughout with deliciousness.  I don't remember anything we talked about over breakfast.  I just remember wanting to find a room where my breakfast and I could spend some very special Alone Time.  It was outstanding.

There's a party in my mouth, and NOBODY ELSE IS INVITED!!

We took another little tour of downtown (I love Bend's downtown), mainly because we were trying to find gifts for people.  We never did, but we had a good time anyway.

Solid marketing.

It's not just yard art; there's lots of art on public walls in Bend, too.  More even than when I lived there.  We saw brand-new murals in alleys, new sculptures, and a few new businesses.  My town is doing really well, and it made me happy to see all the improvements.

"Ghost town Richmond, Smith Rock"

Words to live by.

Looking across Mirror Pond.

That afternoon, we drove to Terrebonne and Smith Rock.  Smith is one of our favorite places in Oregon.  That means even more coming from The Girl, who often doesn't consider a hike worthwhile unless there are waterfalls.  She was really excited to go back to Smith.  We both fell into a familiar pattern: see something amazing, take a picture, take two steps, take a nearly-identical picture.  I ended up making a conscious effort to take fewer pictures, and just try to enjoy the visit directly.  I still took a lot of pictures.  It's a beautiful place.

Asterisk Pass

Looking toward Gray Butte (left side, horizon) and the Burma Road (right side) from the Misery Ridge Trail.  Don't let the name fool you.  Misery Ridge is a hoot.

On one of my earliest visits to Smith Rock, The Girl called me from Virginia and asked me what it was like.  I remember giving her a very heartfelt speech about how amazing it was; that it looked like barren, rocky desert if you glanced at it, but if you took even a moment longer to study the surroundings, you saw that you were surrounded with color and life.  The rocks had rich, warm hues, and cooler shades of blue.  The grayish scrub concealed colorful blooms, and the cracks in the rocks were packed with tiny, struggling life and vibrant flowers.  I loved it.  I still do.

A climber uses aiders to ascend Monkey Face, a tower of tuff (rock made of compressed volcanic ash).

Cascades panorama, from Broken Top to Black Butte.

Monkey Face (and The Girl) from inside a hollow boulder along the trail.  Uncountable visitors have worn the inside of the boulder so smooth that it's hard to sit still inside.

Me, in the boulder (photo credit: The Girl)

Coming down from the top, in the shadow of Monkey Face.

I love flora in harsh climates, like deserts and alpine areas.  I know they're fragile, but I can't help but marvel at how tough they must be to survive at all in such conditions.

Monkey Face.  The name makes more sense from this angle.

Another effort in my continuing search for the perfect action shot of a bee.

Yellowbell

budding sagebrush

Smith was formed by the same volcanic system that later subducted under another plate, moved east, and formed Yellowstone.  The formations that remain near Terrebonne are all that remains of the caldera of a supervolcano.  Later eruptions from Newberry Crater, south of Bend, send enormous lava flows north.  These flows formed the basalt cliffs along the Deschutes and Crooked Rivers.  Smith's parking lot is at the top of these cliffs.  The same flows redirected the Crooked River itself, pushing it toward Smith Rock, where it eroded the existing tuff before settling into its current path.  The geology of the area fascinates me.

Crooked River.  My brother, Dad, and I once saw a group of otters playing very near this spot.

That night we met Nahid for dinner at Deschutes Brewery.  The Girl ordered a taster flight (we were careful to select beers we couldn't get back east) to go with dinner.  I got a burger with bleu cheese, and thus concluded that every burger should have bleu cheese on it.

There oughta be a law.

Libation!

That was our last full day in Bend.  The next morning, we got up early, grabbed a quick breakfast (and a sandwich for later) at La Magie, and drove back to Portland.  We both agreed that the only disappointment of our trip was that we didn't get to eat all the things we wanted to eat while in town.  We also agreed that if La Magie was our only option for food on that trip, we still would have been very happy.