Birthday Weekend Adventures
Friday Burns
My birthday adventure began in Burns, OR. Not a likely place for an adventure to begin, but it was just right for me! We arrived in Burns after bidding farewell and sharing a drink with Miss Mess and past co-workers. Our goal was to hit 100% of the Burns' bars, but after the shared drink with Boise pals coupled with the long drive, we were beat and ended up hitting the sack without going to any bars. Ah well, I guess that indicates that age is setting in ;-)
Saturday Smith
Saturday, we awoke in beautiful Burns and hit the Days Inn continental breakfast. Good eats at 0% the cost - that's my kind of meal! Set off on the long drive to Smith Rock, our final destination for the day. The drive was uneventful and I was looking forward to arriving in Smith. On the road to Smith, I saw the most amazing thing: the Oregon Sphinx! Thought to be a sight to behold in Egypt only, the Sphinx also makes its home down the road from Smith Rock!
We arrived at Smith Rock, set up camp, ate a quick bite, grabbed our climbing gear and hit the trails to find our climbs! On the hike over to our first climb, I became a bit apprehensive as I saw a snake slither its way into the bushes on the right-side of the trail. I DESPISE SNAKES!! I have nightmares about the damn things - heeby jeebies to the max! The Beau said not to worry since the snake was only a bit bigger than a garden snake - WHATEVER! Maybe a garden snake on steroids! Nevertheless, I kept walking - but my eyes were kept pealed for snakes!
We got to the first climb and there were lines. It was like Disneyland for the granola climbers. So we waited and got the harnesses & helmets on. When we FINALLY got a free route (Easy Reader), the Beau got ready and did a wonderful lead climb! As I belayed him back down, we both got a rude awakening of our weight/size differences! Instead of going straight down the rock, as I had anticipated him to do, he went down the right-side and the force of his weight and gravity caught me off guard/balance and I slid across the ground to a stop. Whew! My heart was pumping after that! My fear was two-fold: dropping him and scraping my body to shreds. Well, the legs got some more scrapes and bruises to add to the previous weekend's and the Beau was fine. After all that excitement, I had to climb. It took me a while to get used to the volcanic rock and I didn't think I'd make it to the top; but I did - Hooray! Now on to climb #2 - Lichen It.
Climb #2 was pretty awesome as well - definitely a LOT better than #1! Also, it was the FIRST route that I cleaned all by myself - that meant the Beau didn't have to re-climb the route!! Even though my muscles were shaking as I got to the top, I was still able to successfully clean - now I just need to work on the technique :-) After climb #2, we decided to hit another climb. On the way over, we saw another snake! This time, it was dead - so no worries :-)
Climb #3 - Bunny Face - was a nice one indeed! Although I was a bit worn from the other climbs, I was able to make it to the top. Sure the Beau said I was noisy on the way up, but sometimes it takes a lot of grunting and heavy breathing to make it to the top ;-) I got lazy on this climb and decided I was too tired to clean; so the Beau did a crack climb - Rabbit Stew - next to the route and made it back down. Beau = 5 climbs; Me = 3 climbs. All-in-all, a very successful climbing day!
Dinner consisted of popping some cold ones, lighting up the camping stove and heating water for our freeze-dried meals. I swear, I could've eaten ANYTHING and my freeze dried bbq chicken and rice was the best ever! We took our meals back to the tent and had a great time!
Sunday Deschutes
Sunday morning, we awoke to the sound of rain beating heavily on the tent roof above. Ah great! I guess that means we wouldn't be getting any morning climbs in :-( We slept in until it was light outside and then got up to take care of the camp and head out to breakfast in the nearby town. Good-bye Smith Rock!
Ended up having a nice breakfast and as we exited the restaurant, we were happy since the rain had stopped and things were clearing up! Our plans to ride down the Deschutes River Trail were going to happen whether it would be on mountain bike or foot :-)
The challenge of the Deschutes River Trail, was driving through Bend and trying to find the highway leading to the road that would lead to a trailhead! After FINALLY getting on the right path [thanks Schuck's man], we were on our way to riding fun!!
The Deschutes River Trail is what it is: a beautiful trail that runs alongside the Deschutes River :-) The trail was windy and at times challenging, especially when we got off course due to inadequate signage. But once we got back on trail things were happy, hunky dory. We ended up at a beautiful falls before turning back around.
We finished the wonderful ride with, what else, but a beer by Deschutes Brewery! Cheers :-)
After the ride and beer, we hit the other brewpub in town: Cascade Lakes. Had some SERIOUS hot wings and a nice IPA before heading back to Bend and checking into St. Francis School. If you ever head to Bend, my top recommendation for places to lodge would be this McMenamins! Not only is the building and room spectacular, but they have an awesome theater, a couple of pubs AND a Turkish soaking pool! Very wonderful and relaxing after a weekend full of adventure ;-)
Monday Long Drive Home
It was sad to leave the weekend birthday adventures behind, but it was time to head home to reality. We had some cur-razy weather while traveling back! Storms galore with rain so heavy we couldn't see out the windshield! Here's a picture of the storm - it was taken before it overtook us - WOWZA ZOWZA!
All in all, I'd have to say that this birthday weekend was one of the best ever! Right up there with last year's when we went to Canada - good times, eh?
My birthday adventure began in Burns, OR. Not a likely place for an adventure to begin, but it was just right for me! We arrived in Burns after bidding farewell and sharing a drink with Miss Mess and past co-workers. Our goal was to hit 100% of the Burns' bars, but after the shared drink with Boise pals coupled with the long drive, we were beat and ended up hitting the sack without going to any bars. Ah well, I guess that indicates that age is setting in ;-)
Saturday Smith
Saturday, we awoke in beautiful Burns and hit the Days Inn continental breakfast. Good eats at 0% the cost - that's my kind of meal! Set off on the long drive to Smith Rock, our final destination for the day. The drive was uneventful and I was looking forward to arriving in Smith. On the road to Smith, I saw the most amazing thing: the Oregon Sphinx! Thought to be a sight to behold in Egypt only, the Sphinx also makes its home down the road from Smith Rock!
We arrived at Smith Rock, set up camp, ate a quick bite, grabbed our climbing gear and hit the trails to find our climbs! On the hike over to our first climb, I became a bit apprehensive as I saw a snake slither its way into the bushes on the right-side of the trail. I DESPISE SNAKES!! I have nightmares about the damn things - heeby jeebies to the max! The Beau said not to worry since the snake was only a bit bigger than a garden snake - WHATEVER! Maybe a garden snake on steroids! Nevertheless, I kept walking - but my eyes were kept pealed for snakes!
We got to the first climb and there were lines. It was like Disneyland for the granola climbers. So we waited and got the harnesses & helmets on. When we FINALLY got a free route (Easy Reader), the Beau got ready and did a wonderful lead climb! As I belayed him back down, we both got a rude awakening of our weight/size differences! Instead of going straight down the rock, as I had anticipated him to do, he went down the right-side and the force of his weight and gravity caught me off guard/balance and I slid across the ground to a stop. Whew! My heart was pumping after that! My fear was two-fold: dropping him and scraping my body to shreds. Well, the legs got some more scrapes and bruises to add to the previous weekend's and the Beau was fine. After all that excitement, I had to climb. It took me a while to get used to the volcanic rock and I didn't think I'd make it to the top; but I did - Hooray! Now on to climb #2 - Lichen It.
Climb #2 was pretty awesome as well - definitely a LOT better than #1! Also, it was the FIRST route that I cleaned all by myself - that meant the Beau didn't have to re-climb the route!! Even though my muscles were shaking as I got to the top, I was still able to successfully clean - now I just need to work on the technique :-) After climb #2, we decided to hit another climb. On the way over, we saw another snake! This time, it was dead - so no worries :-)Climb #3 - Bunny Face - was a nice one indeed! Although I was a bit worn from the other climbs, I was able to make it to the top. Sure the Beau said I was noisy on the way up, but sometimes it takes a lot of grunting and heavy breathing to make it to the top ;-) I got lazy on this climb and decided I was too tired to clean; so the Beau did a crack climb - Rabbit Stew - next to the route and made it back down. Beau = 5 climbs; Me = 3 climbs. All-in-all, a very successful climbing day!
Dinner consisted of popping some cold ones, lighting up the camping stove and heating water for our freeze-dried meals. I swear, I could've eaten ANYTHING and my freeze dried bbq chicken and rice was the best ever! We took our meals back to the tent and had a great time!
Sunday Deschutes
Sunday morning, we awoke to the sound of rain beating heavily on the tent roof above. Ah great! I guess that means we wouldn't be getting any morning climbs in :-( We slept in until it was light outside and then got up to take care of the camp and head out to breakfast in the nearby town. Good-bye Smith Rock! Ended up having a nice breakfast and as we exited the restaurant, we were happy since the rain had stopped and things were clearing up! Our plans to ride down the Deschutes River Trail were going to happen whether it would be on mountain bike or foot :-)
The challenge of the Deschutes River Trail, was driving through Bend and trying to find the highway leading to the road that would lead to a trailhead! After FINALLY getting on the right path [thanks Schuck's man], we were on our way to riding fun!!
The Deschutes River Trail is what it is: a beautiful trail that runs alongside the Deschutes River :-) The trail was windy and at times challenging, especially when we got off course due to inadequate signage. But once we got back on trail things were happy, hunky dory. We ended up at a beautiful falls before turning back around. We finished the wonderful ride with, what else, but a beer by Deschutes Brewery! Cheers :-)
After the ride and beer, we hit the other brewpub in town: Cascade Lakes. Had some SERIOUS hot wings and a nice IPA before heading back to Bend and checking into St. Francis School. If you ever head to Bend, my top recommendation for places to lodge would be this McMenamins! Not only is the building and room spectacular, but they have an awesome theater, a couple of pubs AND a Turkish soaking pool! Very wonderful and relaxing after a weekend full of adventure ;-)
Monday Long Drive HomeIt was sad to leave the weekend birthday adventures behind, but it was time to head home to reality. We had some cur-razy weather while traveling back! Storms galore with rain so heavy we couldn't see out the windshield! Here's a picture of the storm - it was taken before it overtook us - WOWZA ZOWZA!
All in all, I'd have to say that this birthday weekend was one of the best ever! Right up there with last year's when we went to Canada - good times, eh?
