They say you cannot imagine just how blue the water is in Crater Lake until you see it for 
yourself, and it is indeed breathtaking coming up the final rise in the road and looking over the rim for the first time at the deep intense blue. The scenery was picturesque so we did a few dayhikes before heading on to mountain bike the Umpqua river trail. Eileen got the idea from the itinerary of a guided mountain biking company. The trail was beautifully cut thru the forest, giving that perfect slope and twist for a thrilling ride - until the next long climb. Camping along the trail, we decided to take the kayak out on the nearby lake, but rather than drive there, we decided to try a little white water with our SEA kayak on the the feeding river as it ran by our camp. The rapids were small, but the adventure came from not knowing what is around the next bend. At least we knew it couldn't be a waterfall because the lake was not far and the terrain gentle. Navigating the tandem required surprisingly strong and synchronized paddling - our kayak is 18' long and doesn't turn on a dime. We entered the lake with a rush of adrenalin - whoo hoo!
yourself, and it is indeed breathtaking coming up the final rise in the road and looking over the rim for the first time at the deep intense blue. The scenery was picturesque so we did a few dayhikes before heading on to mountain bike the Umpqua river trail. Eileen got the idea from the itinerary of a guided mountain biking company. The trail was beautifully cut thru the forest, giving that perfect slope and twist for a thrilling ride - until the next long climb. Camping along the trail, we decided to take the kayak out on the nearby lake, but rather than drive there, we decided to try a little white water with our SEA kayak on the the feeding river as it ran by our camp. The rapids were small, but the adventure came from not knowing what is around the next bend. At least we knew it couldn't be a waterfall because the lake was not far and the terrain gentle. Navigating the tandem required surprisingly strong and synchronized paddling - our kayak is 18' long and doesn't turn on a dime. We entered the lake with a rush of adrenalin - whoo hoo! Next we spent a couple of days in Bend - a very cool town we'd like to come back to again - 
maybe for a month or so to explore the area more fully. Everything and everyone is very outdoors oriented, and there are lots of great restaurants. We enjoyed exploring the local lava fields, including a mile-deep lava tube cave, crawling to reach the very end. It seems like the whole town (seriously 1000s of people) floats down the river on inner tubes, inflatable mattresses, or whatever. There's even a city shuttle specifically to return you to the start. But the highlight in Bend is my new favorite mountain biking trail: Woops - in the Phil's trail area. The riding was perfect - gentle single track climbs followed by curvaceous descents through the open forest floor. Woops in particular has been modified with banked turns and whoop bumps (jumps). Eileen commented how trance-like the riding became - left, right, left, right thru the trees down the perfect slope that required only occassional braking whenever courage failed. If there is such a thing as "flow," this is where you find it.
maybe for a month or so to explore the area more fully. Everything and everyone is very outdoors oriented, and there are lots of great restaurants. We enjoyed exploring the local lava fields, including a mile-deep lava tube cave, crawling to reach the very end. It seems like the whole town (seriously 1000s of people) floats down the river on inner tubes, inflatable mattresses, or whatever. There's even a city shuttle specifically to return you to the start. But the highlight in Bend is my new favorite mountain biking trail: Woops - in the Phil's trail area. The riding was perfect - gentle single track climbs followed by curvaceous descents through the open forest floor. Woops in particular has been modified with banked turns and whoop bumps (jumps). Eileen commented how trance-like the riding became - left, right, left, right thru the trees down the perfect slope that required only occassional braking whenever courage failed. If there is such a thing as "flow," this is where you find it.A nice but brief visit with Eileen's family was followed with two nights with her Dad at a lodge in
the Columbia River Gorge. It turned out to be a quite nice change of pace from living in a van. We spread out in the room, enjoyed long hot showers, and generally enjoyed a relaxed pace dayhiking to some of the many falls in the area with Dan. On our way out, we hiked up Beacon Rock, the largest monolith rock in North America - very tall tight switchbacks.
the Columbia River Gorge. It turned out to be a quite nice change of pace from living in a van. We spread out in the room, enjoyed long hot showers, and generally enjoyed a relaxed pace dayhiking to some of the many falls in the area with Dan. On our way out, we hiked up Beacon Rock, the largest monolith rock in North America - very tall tight switchbacks.
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