September 2011 - Camping Trip - #1

With summer slowly coming to end, Karen and I headed off to Central Oregon, and camped at Tumalo State Park for the first time. We stayed in Site - 66C, which came with plenty of room and Full-Hookups, and also included a nice fire-ring for evening campfires. It was a bit dusty however, which is expected in this drier area of Oregon. Unfortunately, I never got a picture of our campsite (we ended up having to leave early for home), as poor Abby ended up with a ruptured anal sac on this trip, and after visiting the emergency vets in Bend, we decided she would be better off at home. She's is doing much better now, and has been on antibiotic's and pain meds. Her swelling is slowly going down, and she'll be good as new in another week or so.

During our short stay, we did manage to fit in a lot of fun things and visited with friends that were either camping or lived the area. One evening found us eating at a wonderful Bend, OR Brew-Pub called 10 - Barrel. I "highly recommend eating here"... only get there early, or you may find yourself waiting a while.

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Karen and I at "10 Barrel" - Note the size of our Steak & Cheese sandwiches! Yum!!!

Of course... Dave & Sandy helped Karen to find all the Sale items at a local "Quilt Store".

At our camping site, we happen to have a very curious Stellers Jay, that loved looking into the back trailer window while standing on the back ladder.

Our noisy Jay

With plenty of lakes and rivers nearby, Abby and Maggie got the chance to play one of their favorite games. We throw the stick way out into the water, and Abby swims out to get it. When she gets close to the shore, she drops the stick, and lets Maggie bring it in the rest of the way. They're great friends and buddies.

Abby & Maggie playing "fetch" together

Central Oregon has a lot of beautiful areas to see and explore. The Cascade Mountains seem close enough to reach out and touch them. On one of our daily trips, we drove the Cascade Lakes Highway. We stopped at several of these high lakes, and I spent some time enjoying my hobby of photography. Karen even jumped in by taking my picture with my cell-phone, as I was taking a pictures at Sparks Lake. I happen to miss a great shot of a Bald Eagle that flew right over our heads, as I was in the middle of changing lenses on my camera, but I didn't miss some other wildlife that waded out to the Sparks Lake island.

Karen took this picture of me with our cell phone

And here is the picture I took

As we were returning back to the cars, I happen to catch some other wildlife enjoying the day and beautiful scenery. Note where the arrow is pointing.

There is something at the far edge of the island. What could it be?

A close up of Mom and her Baby

Even though we had to cut our camping trip short, the incredible sights we saw during our stay will be remembered for a long time. Great food, Great Friends, and Beautiful scenery! It can't get any better than that. Thanks for coming along with us on this adventure.

A 5-Picture Panoramic (5 pictures were used to make this picture)

Happy Trails...

Gary, Karen, and Abby Too!