Day 5

Man,we were tired last night! We slept 11 hours, rolling out of bed about 8am. We had a delicious egg scramble with bacon,cheese,onion and zuchini. I whipped up some pancakes, and we ate like kings! A good thing, too, because we burned it all off hiking along the Crooked River in Smith Rock State park. It was beautiful as I remembered, but I am getting ahead of myself. On the way to Smith Rock, we stopped to check out the Peter Ogden Memorial. The old bridge spanning the Crooked River couldn't handle the amount of traffic going over it, so they built a bigger bridge next to it. It was fun to walk out onto the old bridge and look down about a bazillionty feet to the water. It was also interesting to see the sign in the parking lot telling people to leave their dogs in the car because they have several deata a year due to doggies jumping off the cliff. Go figure.
After spending a while putzing on the bridge, we continued to our destination, stopping at the post office to mail a few postcards. We passed a sign for deer crossing on the way that had been defaced in a manner that made you understand why the dear was jumping (apparently for joy, and we will leave it at that). We passed another that had 'y' strategically placed so you would know that the specific part of the road you were on was patrolled for litter by The Mountainer Orgy. These things are good to know. It alerts you to the dangers of small town living. If we were to stay, we would know to avoid happy deer and mountainers. Just sayin'.
By the time we pulled into Smith Rock and determined that no parking spot would end up in the shade later, we hauled our cooler to a picnic area and downed some lunch. Luck for us, I had spied the a lady using one of the tables as a dirty diaper change station, with no sanitation barrier between Poopers but and the eating surface. I was able to direct us to the non-poop table for safe eatings. Food and water downed, we broke out the cameras and headed down the trail to the river. Our hike lasted about 3.25 hours, and was...fantabulously spectacerifous!!! Trust me, it's in the dictionary that all the cool people use! We saw butterflies, Canadian geese, fresh water clams, a falcon who entertained us by catching himself a fresh fish lunch, deer, wrens, magpies, and a few other birds we couldn't identify. We hiked down to the horse crossing, where you have to cross the river by wading through it. That was so nice and cool on the feet! We climbed up on rocks, hiked the smaller side trails, found a huge eagles nest on the face of one of the cliffs, and only saw 3 other hikers. It was like breathing in fragrent, warm serenity, and breathing out stale, cold stress. So relaxing.
We eventually wandered back to the car, and stopped in at the Terrebonne train depot for some pie. Except they didn't have pie. They had warm brownie sundays, though, so we suffered and split one. Washed it down iced tea, watched a train go by, and just enjoyed sitting on our tired little butts. Back at camp we made the dinner of champions; baked beans and wieners! Tonight, we stay away from open flame and leave the tent flap open. On the way to the dumpster, I was telling dad how I was going to slather myself with hand lotion after my shower, and pretend I was a big hand. That made me think of the Hamburger Helper hand, and so I told dad I could be hamburger helper! Apparently, only I think that would be a cool thing. Le sigh! Of course, I also told him that a good punch in the face makes you forget how cold your feet are. I know I am right, but he didn't want to find out the scientific way. I guess it is still a small dialog victory.
Now I am sitting here, smelling like soap, feeling like a big white hand, and getting ready to hit the sack. Last night was a vitual nightime zoo. Deer, quail, owls, a wild cat, and bats. Tonight I will sleep with a flashlight so I can investigate the awesome sounds of the wild on my way to the restroom. Might just save myself from a happy deer attack.