I have been watching the lady camper across the way, looking at all the full pockets on her cargo shorts. They remind me of my mom's jean jacket. She took it when we went camping, and it doubled as a back pack. However, it seemed to have all the things a backpack didn't. Gum, wet wipes, tissue, paper and pen, the kitchen sink, trail mix, nail clippers, etc. I am pretty sure my brother and I counted about 50 pockets on that thing, and that was just the ones on the outside. I was always impressed with how she knew exaclty what was in each pocket. It was amazing!
Dad and I have just finishesd a nutritional dinner of bacon, pasta, and beer. Burp! Dessert was a fruit cup, where everything tasted like pineapple. We made a postcard from the top of the pasta box, which we are sending to one luck person. See, you CAN craft anywhere! We are exhausted from our previous night of so-so sleep and our day of glorious back road exploring and caving. Originally, we were going to revisit the Lava Bed visitor center, but apparently it is closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Figures. We laughed, and consulted the oracle (which looks strangely like a Dechutes Forest map) and headed for the Lava caves. They were closed. We laughed again. We headed farther down the road to the Boyd caves. It was open. The entrance called to the bat in me, and I was down the ladder like a shot, looking for my fine flying friends and saying "Kewl!" about every three seconds. Unfortunately, it very quickly became a crawl space cave, and I don't do those without better equipment and at least 3 people. That way, when I am pinned under the cave in, or have snapped my ankle in 5 places and am unable to move, some one can go for help while someone else stays with me and tells me how great it has been knowing me.
After our short but awesome trek in caveland, we headed for the Skeleton caves. Not only were they closed, but they had been barred shut with bars that looked as if they could hold in King Kong. Feeling a bit glum because my caving desires were not being fullfilled, we got back in the car and kept going, keeping a keen traveler's eye out for the ice caves. Apparently, that is where Bend got all it's ice in the days before ice trays and freezers. It had been closed for the last 10 years because ice had blocked the entrance, but was once again open to the curious passer-by such as my Dad and I. After what seemed like to long a drive through dry, sunny, hot, beautiful high desert, we found a shadey little pull off, and had some lunch. This is when the two cute guys in the Forest Service truck came toodling down the road. They stopped to see if we were alright, and we took the opportunity to ask them if we had passed the ice caves. Actually, Dad asked, I made flirty eyes with the tastey one behind the wheel. Sure enough, we had past, back we went, this time armed with the knowledge to find the unmarked road needed. The caves were closed due to 10 years of ice blocking the entrance, thus causing a massive cave-in that crushed the stairs leading down. I think I might send the God of Spelunking a scathing letter about his slacking off on his godly caving duties. Why follow the leader if he's simply going to lead you to a bunch of unaccessable points of interest? Seriously!
So, after 5 hours of back road discoveries (including free range cows, chipmunks, and non accessable tourist stops) we headed back into Bend for gas, cool drinks and a snack. A quick consulting of our trusty oracle pointed up north toward Redmond and the Palasides. It was as beautiful as I remember, and we found a lovely spot with no little rain cloud, and no side kick wind. We have paid for two glorious nights, and tomorrow we will go to Smith Rock and hike the creek trail. This is one of my favorite spots in central Oregon. My last visit was disapointing because the company was bad. This time it will be great because the company is good, and the weather is amazing, and we have trail mix bars for snacks!
Oh, by the way, breakfast was pretty good. Fruitloops and waffles and orange juice! Yum!