Lava Lands

Ya know, I really love living in Bend. 

Our summer bucket list was almost crossed off. Only Lava Lands and a few others were left.  

I decided that if it was going to happen- we'd better do it TODAY! (which happened to be a Saturday) Otherwise, it would stay on my "Another Day" list. {That's a lengthy list of activities and/or places that I put off indefinitely.   I say, "We'll do that Another Day." And Nolan reminds me," Mom, tomorrow is another day."} Dang. He's right.

We'd been here before so I knew what to expect, but it was better than I remembered!

We had a perfect overcast day. Sometimes if you go when the sun is heating up all the black lava rocks it gets really hot. But our day was great! The kids had a blast and Beckam was happy to go for a ride!

And here we go....

 Below:  We drove to the top! 

 From the top of the butte you can see the trails that meander through the lava flow.  It's a great view and here we can see how the lava just spilled out and pooled into a valley. This is looking north. To the west is a larger flow.

 Of course we hiked the trail. We read the informative signs along the way.

 Below is at the top of the butte. We hiked the rim of the volcano- it only drop 150 feet or so to the middle.

 You can see Bend's Pilot Butte in the distance!

It was a great outing! We'd love to do it again- all it costs is the $5 entrance fee per vehicle.

Although, you might want to make sure the government isn't on Shutdown first so you can get in! haha

Switching gears.... literally!

Now that Carly is without training wheels she has been riding around any chance she gets.

Carly at 4 years old:

 She LOVED the track I drew. (So did the other kids of course!)  It only lasted a few days before the rain washed it away, but it hours of fun while it lasted! If you choose to do this too take note: Your legs will be sore from crouching and drawing simultaneously! 

And my baaaaaabbbyyyy! He's using a spoon here.  So cute.  Hopefully I can wean him soon. That too is on my "Another Day" list... :/

Beck at 13 months: