Tuesday 13th July 2021
We rested up for a few days in a nice quiet campground in the high desert of Oregon after our busy time near Hood River.
It seems we have missed the wildflowers here too. Summer came early but the wild sagebrush sure smelled good.
We couldn’t figure out why this car was dumped in the middle nowhere. It had quite a few bullet holes.
We rode our nice comfy ebikes a few miles around Newberry Crater National Monument. It sure is great going up the hills with power assist. My croc knee thanks me every time. With the rear baskets we are able to haul chairs and cooler.
Little trees were hanging on for dear life to the exposed posts next to this bridge.
The temperatures started to soar into triple digits so an early morning hike around Smith Rock was in order. We love Smith Rock State Park and never get tired of hiking around it. Monkey face was getting a workout. Climbers were climbing and rappelling all over.
We saw several people sitting in his mouth.
This handy crutch station is about halfway up the trail. Thank goodness they were not being used.
The lads came for a quick visit and the river seemed the best place to be in the intense heat. I felt like a queen being paddled up and down the river. We only fell off once. Thanks Jay.
At least we stayed nice and cool.
A freak wind whipped through the campground. This trailer was just 2 spaces over from us. Bad things can happen when you take off for the day and leave your big awning out especially with a light weight camper.
Finally a nice elevation hike.
We even managed to snag some cherries before the season finished.
Back by Hood River for a raft trip.
We had a lovely afternoon paddling down the Lower White Salmon. Dax used to be a river guide back in the day so he was able to expertly aim the raft so we got maximum splash.
Jay had fun trying some water tricks.
The wind was blowing so hard we were getting blown back up river the last ¼ mile. Time to get Jay onboard and help paddle!
Dax was going to run a waterfall so we roped our way down to the river.
Yikes! It was a lot bigger than I thought.
We are now heading up to Washington for a few weeks. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a few wildflowers and no wild fires.
THE BUS STOPS HERE 
Love this stop over. You are in my country, just. A little farther to Prairie City
Amazing hike you two Smith rock is beyond me. Thanks for sharing!
We have camped and hiked at Anthony Lake and around Gunsight Mountain. So beautiful at the right time of year.
Great Pictures. Glad the boys joined you. Fun times. Please stop if you are in the area. I have room for you to camp!!
Thanks so much for the offer Peggy. It would be great to see you again. Gonna be in Phoenix Dec and Jan. Still working on Feb.
You sure can’t beat family togerness in nature! Good on you!!
Our mantra is stay away from the shops!!!
Looks like fun!
On Tue, Jul 13, 2021 at 9:30 AM THE BUS STOPS HERE wrote:
> Rose and Dean’s Travels posted: ” Tuesday 13th July 2021 We rested up for > a few days in a nice quiet campground in the high desert of Oregon after > our busy time near Hood River. It seems we have missed the wildflowers here > too. Summer came early but the wild sagebrush sure smel” >
Always fun when we latch up with the lads.
Spending time in nature with the family. How lucky you all are.
We love spending time with our lads.
This looks awesome! How fun and you saw some pretty cool things. A tipped over camper included! 😳
Love and miss you guys!
Tina
Sure hope we meet up one of these days. Miss you too.