Monday - Fire

Packed up the dogs, lunch, water and set off for Bend, Oregon.  We took route 126 north and joined route 20 through  Sisters and south into Bend.  It took about 1 1/2 hours and was a beautiful drive.

at times the road seemed to be a canyon of pines

can you say "volcano"?

Before we got to Sisters, we stopped at Suttle Lake to take a look at the Lodge there.  Its a lovely little spot on the shores of an impossibly blue lake.  The main lodge is all timber and glass and there are many small wooden cottages scattered around the  beautifully maintained grounds,  They all looked very attractive and, because of their  individual positions in the woods, private and peaceful.  We found the day use area and parked in the sun, facing the lake,  to enjoy our lunch.  It was quite chilly, but the sunshine felt wonderful. The only other people in sight were a couple launching tennis balls into the lake for their two dogs.    We couldn't help but think of Ruby and Donner Lake.

a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is elevated when consumed  lakeside... 

logs rolling on the beach

Mom, mom, are you coming back?

Mt. Washington with a cloud wreath 

stark white trees left standing after a huge fire in 2003

beautiful meadows between Sisters and Bend.  Pole Creek fire smoke cloud starting to  layer over the sisters

uncontained Pole Creek fire in the mountains

see the sprinkler in the mid ground?  we wondered if these people were starting to wet their properties in case the wind changed....

Bend is a great city.  Large enough to have everything you could want, small enough to be charming and well planned.  Lots of flowers, lots of people space and interesting small town architecture.  We had the dogs with us, otherwise we would have spent a bit more time exploring it on foot.  Another time.

I didn't take pictures of Bend because I was busy looking around.  A nice place to live, I think.

Lisa called while we were on the drive home.  We had a nice chat about her new house and all the complications she and Chris went through before they finally settled in.  We lost cell coverage in the mountains so our conversation was never finished..  I hope we can have some Facetime in the next few days so I can see the house firsthand.

I had a good, long talk with Tom this morning.  He said they were thinking of closing up their pool and it made me realize that fall is on our doorstep.  Being away from familiar surroundings, and familiar seasonal and weather cues tricks me into forgetting what season it is.   Season..... who am I kidding, I forget what MONTH it is if I don't look at my calendar!  It seems we're living in a different world than everyone else....Oooh, that sounds "twilight zone"....