East to the stars

A few days in Bend.







So nice to dry out for a bit.






















New local, Alyson, suggested a couple spots around town.  We found the Sparrow Bakery on Saturday.  Got there just before a big rush.  I love the way this space feels inside and out.  Definitely in a part of the NW that doesn't get as much rain.  The food was really great too.

We went east of the Cascades to spend the weekend with my parents and celebrate my Dad's birthday.  He wanted to be somewhere we could see the stars.  It was a good time for sky watching as the moon was just a sliver in the sky, and the desert night was dark dark dark.

(Since returning home, Calder has taken to drawing his own versions of the constellations.  Dot-dot-dot-dot, and then connecting them all into shapes and animals.  A brain primed to soak up any and all information, this one.)











































Sunriver is fun.  Old school vacation homes, all the wood, steep, vaulted celings, meandering roads with names like "Beaver" and "Raccoon".  The new waterpark and year-round tubing hill will be awfully fun when they're complete.  And while that, in particular, is a little contrary to appreciating this desert experience, it is a fun place to stay every now and then.  I love the miles of bike trails through dry, rocky pine and the meadows closer to the river full of birds.

On our way back home on Sunday, we stopped back in Bend for another of the recommended eats, Jackson's Corner.  Again, we got there just before the rush, and shared a big salad and pizza before heading home.  A perfect place for us, and what a great addition to the little neighborhood it's in.  Bend is becoming a lot more interesting.  I'd love to spend some time there this year.

I'm grateful for the weekend in the High Desert.  Happy Birthday, Dad!  The drive there and back was beautiful too, sunny skies along the Santiam River, over passes with snow covered hills (and none on the road.)  It was a drag that Jeff wasn't able to join us, but I was happy the boys and I had a good time.  We returned home with a little sun on our skin, and fortunately, the sun had also graced our homeground while we were gone.