Camping in Central Oregon

[stinkerbell]

This weekend, Friday-Monday, we took the kids camping for the first time. They absolutely loved it and now I feel guilty we haven't taken them before!

I'm not an outdoorsy person, so I wanted to wait until our youngest was old enough to be independent and have a good time without being too whiny. And I was worried I'd be whiny and ruin it for everyone.

We chose Tumalo State Park near Bend, OR, because we used to camp and raft along the Deschutes River and knew the area and the weather's predictable.

Passing through the Detroit Lake are:


On the way down, we stopped at one of the lava flows:







The soil is bright red in most of central Oregon. It's a high desert, about 4800 feet above sea level.




Near Mt. Hoodoo, this area burned a few years ago, and it looks like it's a black and white photo in person.:


We stopped in Sisters, OR, which is a cute tourist town near Black Butte. If you ever want a chandelier made from antlers, or furniture made from twigs, Sisters is the place to go:








We set up camp at about 4 p.m. on Friday, and by 5 p.m., I admit I was bored.


Kelly and the girls wandered to the Deschutes to go fishing, while I tried to read and had a glass of wine. Then I was even more bored, so I hopped on a bike and found them. It turned into a great evening and the kids got a kick out of seeing me on a bike.

Me without make up:


More in a few....

[Mouse princess]

Great pics!

Did you buy any antlers decor for the new place?

[cal4iri]

Isn't Stinkerbell just so cute?

What ya drinkin in the cup???


So are you now a camper?
Did this trip change you??

[MissChristine]

I'm looking forward to seeing these pictures!

[stinkerbell]

On Saturday, we went to the day-use area to drift on the Deschutes and eat lunch. We ended up staying all day, from about 10:30 to dinnertime.

Wish I'd taken more pics of the river, since it's the reason we stayed there!!










That area of the river is great--you can drift for about a mile downriver, then there's a nice trail to take you back up. We must have done it a dozen times in different combos. At first, I had Chloe ride with me, until she figured out how to steer away from rocks and trees. She ended up mastering it!

Saturday evening, the kids played with a group of cousins who were having a family reunion at the campground. We'd set up a badminton net and horseshoe stakes for everyone to play with. The kids rode bikes all night and we went for a few walks.

An older couple who'd seen Chloe master her bike early in the day, wandered over with ice cream for us! It was so nice.

On Sunday, we went for a hike in the morning, then headed out to drift the river some more at the day-use area. We had a picnic, then came back for dinner. The kids met some kids and rode their bikes all night.

Full moon on Sunday night:



The entire campground was filled with chipmunks and I took about 5 videos of them fighting and foraging and eating our leftovers.:


On Monday, the girls we packed up after lunch and because we had separate vehicles, my husband headed for home, while I headed for caffeine at my favorite place in Bend:


Then the girls and I took a few detours to Camp Sherman and headed into Deschutes National Forest to Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery, then to Detroit Lake:





Wizard Falls fish hatchery:












Metolius River:




A national forest campground that the girls fell in love with on the Metolius. There are only 8 tent sites, and they plan for us to be there next year for a few days....we'll see:




We also stopped at the ginormous campgrounds at Detroit Lake...the girls are determined to stay there next year too. I loved the Detroit Dam:











All in all, it was a great weekend, and though I'm not outdoorsy in the least, I had a really nice time connecting with my daughters and I'm proud that they like nature more than I do. Also, my oldest daughter NEVER rides her bike, and this weekend, we couldn't get her off of it. That was one of my favorite things about the trip.

Next weekend, we're driving to Southern Oregon to camp in Bandon for five days on the coast and on the way, we're stopping at the Wildlife Safari. http://www.wildlifesafari.org/ I can't wait!

[dsnylndmom]

Great pictures, even though you've crossed over to the green side I'm glad you had such a great time. Cassidy looks like she's really shot up!!

[Duck44]

I love those areas of Oregon. Used to camp and explore all those places while in college.

Thanks for the great pics.

[frecky]

Great pics and thanks for sharing. Your kids are getting so big!

[pratt55]

Great pictures and report. I still do not like to camp but looks like you guys had a blast so I am glad you shared your fun times.

[Melonballer]

Great photos, thanks for sharing.

[cal4iri]

Great report and photos.
It looks like you guys had a great time!

[disneybanks]

Thanks for sharing, Stinkerbell. We'll be on the coast too this weekend, only the other direction. We're going to stay at a campground in Seal Rock that we haven't been to before. Have fun, and don't forget to stop by the cheese factory. In addition to the cheese, they've got great ice cream!

[twinmom]

I'm so glad you had fun! I have to say you look gorgeous with or without makeup!

[IndianaJenn]

Wonderful pictures! I can't believe how grown up your girls are looking!

Thank you for taking pictures of the great outdoors so I don't have to go camping myself.

[MTNGIRL]

Great pics and oh so pretty!
I think you need to come visit me! We can go to a couple of great National Parks and camp. I'm an awesome cook over a campfire.

And you so do look great without makeup!