Gerrit and I didn’t actually walk to Oregon when we visited Bend, Oregon last month, but there was plenty of perambulating once we got there. The occasion was a family reunion full of adventure, food and mosquito bites in addition to the lots of walking. Cathy has already published many of the details of the reunion, so I thought I’d just share some personal highlights.
Mt. Hood from the Plane
June 15, 2006
Our first adventure was at Smith Rock State Park, which is famous for people there doing things the hard way. Legend has it that the area was named after Pvt. Voke Smith of the U.S. Cavalry, who fell to his death there. I think he was going to, on a dare from his buddies, do a Zorro-style mount of his horse by jumping from the summit and alighting on its back. Unfortunately for him, the horse moved at the last second.
OK, I actually made some of that up. It may be that Pvt. Smith bravely scaled the sheer cliffs of Picnic Lunch Wall, defying death by clinging to tiny ledges, cracks and footholds so small that the current moon phase had impact on their usability, only to discover his buddies — and their horses — lounging around at the top, having walked up the gentler slope on the side. In a moment of frustrated bravado he declared, “Oh yeah? Well I bet I can beat you down!” And he did.
Smith Rock
June 16, 2006
Rock climbing hasn’t ever appealed much to me, and the goofy though gruesome movie Vertical Limit didn’t exactly bring to life any hidden desire to hang from the polished surface of death’s 2000 foot doorway. I notice on the park map that there is a helipad. Why would you need a helipad at a state park? Can you say Life Flight?
Alan Demonstrates His Lack of Acrophobia
June 16, 2006
The hiking, though, was fantastic. It was a challenge to go over the craggy terrain, but every look around was a reward. Towering cliffs, glimpses of wildlife and the flowing Crooked River were throughout the park. We even stopped occasionally to admire some of the braver folks scaling the walls, and wonder at apparently smooth rock that showed the tale-tell trail of chalk marks indicating that people had actually gone up that thing.
Smith Rock
June 16, 2006
Another highlight of the trip was rafting down the Deschutes River around Maupin, Oregon. Shortly after getting underway on the raft, our guide, hoping for the satisfaction of introducing a neophyte to the sport, said, “So, Gerrit… This your first time rafting?” The guide was a bit surprised when the youngest member of the group said, “No, I went last year.”
This run was a bit more exciting than our float last year, though. It not only included a class IV rapid, but also oatmeal, raisin and ant cookies for dessert after lunch. I’m not sure which was actually more exciting.
The weather, while generally sunny, was not as calorific as one might hope. The facial expressions in the picture below might make it look like we’re excited about the thrill of hitting the class IV, but we’re really thinking, “I was just starting to get dry!”
Into the Breach
June 19, 2006
We even managed to make it up to Portland and Vancouver for a little visit with Grandpa Smith. While there, we stopped by the Oregon Zoo, and Gerrit and I got to be a part of the bird show. Our job was to come up to the stage and verify that a barn owl flying over our heads was completely silent in its passage. For this amazing feat of non-hearing, we were rewarded with applause from the crowd and a nice button with a picture of the owl on it.
Gerrit & Grandpa Smith On a Walk
June 20, 2006
The final highlight of the reunion was just being able to spend time with the family — to hear what my parents and siblings are up to and to be reacquainted with my nieces and nephews. And also to be a bit chagrined as I limped on aching knees over the last miles of yet another hike, while my nearly 70-year-old mother strolled along without difficulty.