August 15, 2015

Smith Rock State Park - Terrebonne, Oregon

"We cannot cooperate with the spirit of the universe until our true self 
becomes a pure observing consciousness of the whole"
Dick Rauscher


We left the Wiliamson River and headed for a brief visit with our dear friends, Dick and Melinda, in Redmond, Oregon. We were already scheduled to meet them in Washington, but with our change in plans to head to La Grande, an opportunity for a special visit arose. We were able to catch up and check out all the cool upgrades they had done to their beautiful home and try out one of their favorite micro breweries ...Wild Ride Brew.





One of their favorite places to hike is Smith Rock State Park, generally considered the birthplace of modern American sport climbing. It's sheer cliffs of tuff and basalt is ideal for rock climbing of all difficulty levels. We did encounter a few of these amazing athletes as they scaled the cliffs. The beautiful Crooked River has cut its way through the layers of rock to create this geographic wonder. A rock formation known as "Monkey Face" overlooks a bend in the river and proves to be a worthy sentinel for this park.







We took a short 5.3 mile river hike to provide us a more complete overview of the park and were rewarded with some magical snapshots of the local fauna, waterfalls and awesome climbing pinnacles. Trout swam lazily in and out of clear pools, families of river otters played in the shallows, while Great Blue Herons cast shadows over the rippling waters with their magnificent wingspan as they glided silently over the river. We highly recommend a visit to this wonderful park if you are ever near Terrebonne, Oregon.









Another super cool gadget and a must for the RVer, backpacker, tent camper, picnicker or home deck king, Dick and Melinda gifted me a Luci Inflatable Solar Lantern. How cool is this light? First, no batteries, solar and uses LED lighting. Second, it is portable and folds down flat. Third, it is lightweight (4 oz) and waterproof. It features 3 settings, bright, super bright and flashing and has a 10' lighting area lasting 12 hours. If this awesome light fits your needs...and budget, please be so kind and click the above link to make your purchase. Thanks in advance. 




At Waypoint 44.3693°N, -121.1384° W

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