Bend is a very neat town! It's cool to be in a town where nature is still all around and people enjoy, protect and cherish it, instead of graffiti and litter it.
In Bend, there is so much to do outdoors in all seasons. There is no way we could do everything, so we tried to pick a variety. We went to the Old Mill District that is right along the river. There are all kids of shops and it was one of the oldest working mills in the nation. When it was a mill, they had a ton of shops back then also. Apparently not much has changed.
The river runs right along the Old Mill District so we enjoyed a river float. You get in, float for about an hour and a half, then take the shuttle back up to your car.
We took a bike ride and Craig was amazed at the clean bathrooms. They even smelled good!
Near Bend are the Lava Lands. The kids got an extra badge and stamp in their National Parks Passports. We drove to the top of the big lava caldron and walked around the top. We could see so far, All the mountains in the distance still have snow! It is so pretty. Mt. Batchlor is also a volcano and you can ski 365 degrees of it.
This is a lava cave. I thought it wouldn't be too cold because I've been in caves before and been fine with just a sweatshirt, so I was totally unprepared for the 42 degrees in this cave!
It was freezing! Can you see our breath?
L got so cold, I had to hold her for most of the two miles.
After the cave, we went to the Lava Cast Forest.
Years ago, the lava flowed through around all the trees. It killed the trees, but they stayed standing for a while. Eventually the decomposed and it made casts of the trees.
"The lava sucked them up." - C
On our last day, we got to enjoy a nice rainy day. It was very relaxing to listen to the pouring rain, hail and thunder! It's been a long time at home since we had any real weather.
Next stop, Crater Lake.
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