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We got to Bend and I was happy to see my friends again.
Gina and Randy cooked mommy another delicious meal and we camped in their driveway.
Mommy was excited to show Gina Smith Rock State Park. It is only 18 miles from Gina’s new house and she had never been there!
Of course, mommy took us up the hardest trail. With a name iike “Misery Trail” you know it is a bit of a challenge.
But the views from the top were awesome!
The rocks here are so beautiful. They were formed by a volcano and the ash turned to rock.
Even though it is a State Park, dogs are allowed on the trails. I wish California would take some notes on this rule!
Mommy and I went down to the river so that I could take a little swim…
We had to head back to Gina’s so that she could go to work but we loved it there so much that mommy and I went back and hiked the river trail so that I could swim a little more. This trail was not rocky so it was easy on my sore feet.
It was much more crowded but we still had fun. There were lots of rock climbers. Can you see them?
There were a few access points to the water so that I could swim a little. It was such a beautiful day.
There were lots of cool birds there too.
We left there and stopped at the Alpaca farm.
I stayed in the RV while mommy fed the Alpacas. They are very gentle animals. They get sheared once a year and their coat is super soft.
There were a lot of little babies too.
The store had lots of super soft alpaca clothes, hats, gloves and even toys. Mommy bought some dryer balls for her essential oils. They work great to help your clothes smell better and get rid of the static.
On the way home we got a call from our friend, Tori. She moved from San Diego to Seattle and we weren’t able to see her when we were there so she followed us to Bend! She was right behind us! It was so crazy! We pulled over to say hi and to see her and Poppy. She was on her way to her sisters house!
The next day, we did a lot of stuff! The day started with a walk around Bend. We got there at 10 a.m. just as the stores opened so there were not a ton of people down there and we found 2 hours of free parking in the big lot by the beautiful park.
Of course, we had to check out the water and I went swimming!
This park would be so perfect for the Leash Your Fitness classes. I wish we could move here!
Mommy is NOT a shopper at all but she loved the stores in Bend. She wanted something in every single one of them. She bought so much stuff that they put me to work!
I don’t usually like shopping either but every store had treats for me. They were super dog friendly!
We left there and headed to Tumalo Falls. It was a 2-mile washboard road to get there. Mommy hates those kinds of roads. They are so bumpy! It was pretty crowded so we parked a far way away on the gravel road so I stayed in the RV while mommy checked out the falls.
They were really cool and still flowing pretty fast!
The walk to the top was only ¼ mile and worth the views cause the canyon was really pretty too!
We left there and wanted to camp on a lake so we headed to the perfect place! The Cascade Lakes Highway on route 46. Tons of lakes there!
We stopped at the ranger station and got a map and info on where we should camp. There is lots of free camping but mommy was over the washboard roads so she didn’t mind paying.
We passed Mt Bachelor. There wasn’t much snow left on it.
Then we headed to Elk Lake. There was camping off the main road and the lake was big enough for a good paddle. The sign at the entrance said the campground was full but we were the only ones there!
It was only 60 degrees and the water was cold but we went for it anyhow and it was a fun 4 mile paddle around the entire lake.
I got to swim a few times to the nice beaches…..
And when I was done, mommy dried me off with a towel to keep me warm….
We even found a fun teepee along the shoreline…..
And some lava rocks….
They were ready for the fires with hoses and pumps at every cabin that we saw. The fire was still going near Sisters which is not too far from here. As a matter of fact, there was even an ambulance set up in our campground for a little bit and the fire trucks kept coming in to load up on water. They were clearing out the area to prevent that one from spreading here.
It was a great paddle but we were getting cold so we had to go back to camp to get warm clothes on!
We saw a part of the sunset on the way…
It was a great stop and it was super quiet that night since we were the only ones in the campground! The next morning was only 43 degrees in the RV so we cuddled and mommy read her book. When we finally got up, I chased squirrels while mommy rolled her back out on the picnic table. Then we walked down to the beach and I swam while mommy did her yoga stretches overlooking the lake.
We are sad to leave Bend. We really love it here but it is supposed to start raining PLUS, we have a surprise coming up! Stay tuned for it!
Thanks so much for following our journey. We only have one week left so we are going to fill it up!
