Peterson Ridge & the Old Mill District

The hike up Smith Rock left us a bit tired and sore, so yesterday was a recovery ride up Peterson Ridge.  HAH!  DOUBLE HAH HAH!  It's really interesting how every trail around here goes up.  We didn't ride that far, but it was a good ride.  I did more of the rocks than last year, and we did some climbing.
Much of today was spent waiting for the guys that wash RVs.  Washing this RV is like washing the Great White Whale, only it's green.  Anyway, it's an excellent opportunity for out sourcing.
We went down to the Mill District and walked.  Here we have kayakers on the river.  The Mill District is an up scale shopping district built on the site of an old saw mill.  It's a very pleasant walking trail.

 

Ducks on the river.

 

It's warming up, happy we are.

Smith Rock

Today was sunny, cold and windy.  We decided that a steep hike would be just the thing.  This is Smith Rock.  Wikipedia says it's where sport climbing got its start.  The rock formations are from the volcanoes.  Ash piled up, was compressed, became a rock known as tuff, eroded over the years and now is this.  It's sort of like Zion, only not as red.

 

We did this hike in 2010, but we didn't have the hiking poles with us.  I spent most of the climb and descent looking at the trail because the height and exposure were freaking me out.  Two years of side hill mountain bike riding have improved my tolerance of heights significantly.

 

This is the view of the Misery Trail below.

 

A view from the top.

 

That is Monkey Face, which is a 400 foot tall spire.  Notice the notch on the left side, right where the blue of the mountains intersects the rock.

 

The notch referenced above is this notch.  There is not enough of any resource on the planet to get me to do this type of climbing.

 

There were people of various skill levels all over the rock today.  I like that the Forest Service has crutches and a litter standing by at the ready.

 

View from the trail after it drops down to the river.

 

It's a strenuous hike.  First there is a half mile straight up, with stairs and switch backs and steep bits, and then there is a half mile down the other side.  After that, it's a pleasant walk along the river.  Of course, there is the steep pitch back up to the parking lot.

In other news, we found a frozen pizza we don't hate.  So many of the pizzas are too full of salt, chemicals and fat to be enjoyable.  This was actually good.  We'll buy it again.

 

It may warm up tomorrow.  It can not be too soon!

More Riding at Phil's

Undaunted by spitting skies and arctic temperatures we headed back out to Phil's today.  It was chilly!  We saw this guy and a friend on the pump track on the way out.  They were both really good.  One of them was doing 360s off the tall hills.  I think it helps to start riding BMX when you're a little kid.

 

We did the same loop as we did Wednesday.  Coming down the hill my ears were numb from being cold.  Life will be better when it warms up a little.

Another Cold Day in Bend

Yep, that's me again in the mirror.  Today's picture will serve as a reminder for next year about how stinky the weather in early June can be.  I am wearing a waffle weave long sleeved shirt and a flannel shirt.  This is just sad.

 

We went out to a RV dealer today while we were killing time waiting for it to stop raining and warm up.  This is a Beaver Patriot Thunder, it's 44 feet long, has a tag axle, and a 525 hp engine. There are 20,000 miles on it, it's barely used.

 

This is the interior.  The floor is marble tile, and the wood work is just exquisite.

 

Look at the grain, all of it is just perfectly matched.  Just spectacular.

 

Later it was off to the Newport Market.  It's an upscale grocery store in the north end of Bend.  It's really lovely.  These are the fuchsias out side, they look like little paper lanterns.

 

There are many upscale food items available.

 

There is very expensive balsamic vinegar.  That box has a lock on it.

 

This is my favorite - look at how cute the produce display is.

 

I love that!

 

More duck parts.

 

The weather continues to be wretched.  Hopefully by this weekend it will be better.

First Mountain Bike Ride in Bend

Beautiful day today.  The mountains were out.  We took the mountain bikes out and rode from Phil's trailhead.  The trails are pretty good shape.  This is what we saw on the way out to the ride.

 

It was about 55 degrees when we started riding.  Note to self, that's vest and arm warmer (max) weather.  We did a 6.5 mile climb, and then a 7 mile descent.  Early down hill I was tentative through the rocks and corners, but towards the end was doing much better.  My climbing was better than I thought it would be, given the time off the bike.
There are no riding pictures because my camera battery died right after taking the photo above.
People are so interesting.  There's a Class A across the way from us.  There's a man and a woman, their toddler daughter, an infant of indeterminate gender, and a Bernese Mountain Dog.   Every morning, Dad takes off with his mountain bike and the car and goes riding for about 4 hours.  Mom stays in the RV with the kids and the dog.  I can not conceive of traveling with that much dog hair.  I have to wonder how she feels about the division of labor.  But, we don't ask these questions.
Other than that, I have not much to report.

Mt. Shasta to Bend

We're in Bend - where it's winter.  We may have gotten here a little early in June.  It was a gruesome drive today, cold and windy and wet.
This is Weed, California.  I think.  It was somewhere, but it gives you the flavor of the day.
 

 

This is me - wearing long pants and a sweatshirt.  Sad, very sad.  Next I'm going to have put shoes on.  I still have my sunglasses tan line, that will probably be gone soon.

 

So, we're here for June.