7/10/08 Currently we are located at the property of Ed & Jolene Northup at Terrebonne, OR, just north of Bend. What a fantastic place they have built here on their 5+ acres! Ed has a huge and well-equipped shop where he can build just about anything, they have a big garage and living space where they park their Airstream trailer, and upstairs there is a huge and splendid craft and living room where Jolene has at least 3 looms, a sewing machine, and assorted other equipment. Just a short hike away is a dramatic drop into the canyon where the Crooked River winds far below. (see picture below) There are the snow-capped mountains of the Cascade Range towering in the distance, with high desert vegetation such as sage, grasses, junipers, etc in the nearby fields. Several quail visit daily with at least 20 babies, and today we saw 7 of the male deer who roam around here in a pack. Today we four went for a beautiful hike in the area where they live, along the Deschutes River. We turned around just past the Steehead Falls. It was very scenic and the temperature was perfect. Tomorrow is supposed to get into the 90's, however. They are helping us with a few repairs and projects in our rig, and we are having enjoyable social times in the evenings.
Prior to this we parked in Bend at the Moose Lodge. Little did we know that the main events over the 4th of July would be in La Pine, about 25 miles south where Ron & Barb Bonham, and George and Judy Hilke, RoVing Rod friends were staying. So we drove down there in our car 2 days straight to join them for such diverse activities as breakfast at a local diner, garage sales, lawnmower races, a car show of restored old vehicles, a rodeo, and a BBQ at the La Pine Moose Lodge. We all also did a day trip to Prineville, to drive along the beautiful Crooked River area where there were many recreation sites for camping right on the river, and on up to the Prineville Reservoir. There is a chance that we all will be camping there at a later date in the BLM area and doing some fishing.
This area has so many attractions and recreational opportunities that we didn't know about before arriving here! Hopefully, in the next few weeks, we can see more of them. Below are a few pictures from the past few days. In prior posts, don't miss seeing some of our Africa pictures.