Central Oregon Road Trippin' - Part 3: Paulina Lake! Hot Springs, Waterfalls, Trails, Obsidian!

 

Nikko ready for the ride to the waterslide...

"waterslide"... not for sensitive butts...

When we got there it was empty!

And 15 min later...

sweet sunset

Strava

• Aug 10 - Water slides - I ran while the fam rode bikes.
• Aug 11 - Paulina Lake to Peak run - good 16 mi run
• Aug 11 - Hot Springs family hike
• Aug 11 - Grom shuttle ride - 8 mi ride
• Aug 11 - Canoe to the hot springs - this was magical
• Aug 12 - Paulina Crater Rim Mtn Biking - solo, saw a badger! - 20 mi ride
• Aug 12 - Paulina Peak mtn biking descent with the boys - 7 mi descent

Central Oregon Road Trippin' - Part 2: Bend with Mooreheads/Dixons

After Waldo Lake, the boys and I checked out the bike park at Bachelor.  Just the kiddie zone.  That was fun for a few hrs.  

The Bridges came up and met up with us for the next few days.

I believe this is Tumalo Falls... that Shasta and I ran to, while the fam biked.  

Floating down the Deschutes...

Aaron had this crazy contraption...

We stayed with Lou Doo, Joel, & Mary pretty close to downtown.  We had some great walks into town to check out the sights.  

And some great morning runs.  Shasta at the tippy top of Pilot Butte with the Sisters in the background.

Then we went up to Smith Rock area and found some camping behind it.  This was during a morning run.  

Top of Grey Butte

Nikko enjoying the water at Smith

And we cruised over to Steelhead Falls which was a nice swimming hole.  

Grabbing food & brews at Sisters

Lots of snacks on this trip...

A quick visit to Sparks Lake... which was really really low... 

And there were leeches... 

I love the "canyoneering" at Sparks Lake.

Found a mtn bike feature in one of the neighborhoods in Bend.

More treats

And more... 

Joel got some too

Strava links

• Aug 5 - Bachelor
• Aug 6 - Shevlin Run/Tumalo Falls
• Aug 7 - Pine Ridge/Grey Butte run from camp
• Aug 8 - Pilot Butte Run
• Aug 9 - Sparks lake canyoneering; Gelato Run

Next time

• Ride Bachelor more... season pass next year?
• Three Sisters Marathon link up
• Find more swim holes.  
• Lots of day trips from Bend... 

Pano: Twin Bridges Swimming Hole

We stopped by Twin Bridges swimming hole outside of Placeville after Anthea and Alex's wedding celebration at Camp Nauvoo.  Had a great time chillaxing at the swimming hole to cap off a great weekend celebrating a Alex and Anthea's unity with friends.   Here's some pics from the wedding.

Cull Canyon

Check out this small gem.  Located down by Hayward, it's a 20 min drive away with no traffic.  We had a beautiful day out there on a warm day.  Definitely go check it out.  Like a beachy Lake Temescal with no algae.  

Check out the Coulter Pine... the heaviest pine cones in the world...

They can weigh up to 10lbs!  And you can eat these pine nuts as well...

There are some trails around here... and this tunnel is part of it... 

The kids loved it.  

The swimming lagoon is open!  Kai rushing down on his uni to the lagoon...

We had the lagoon to ourselves for a bit... Nikko loved it.  

What a stinker.  We found a lovely place to eat nearby.  A successful weekend outing... 

Here's some running routes I'd like to do starting out there...
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/5127010
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/5126987