Spring break ... er. .. Christmas in Bend 2011

Juniper in the Badlands Wilderness

The holidays in Bend this year felt more like spring than winter, like much of North America so far this season.  Until the week after Christmas Bend had received zero precipitation for the entire month of December.  Mt Bachelor was still living off of a mid-November snow storm.  A couple of days of warm rain stopped that streak, but did not help the skiing at all.  We contented ourselves with hikes in the area and, frankly, got a little cabin fever by the time a storm did dump a foot and a half up on the mountain late in the week.  On Saturday we joined about 10,000 others in what became, for a day, the third largest city in central Oregon - Mt Bachelor.  I realized that, while I like skiing, its charms wear off quickly for me when I have to spend 30 or more minutes in a lift line between runs.  I think snow shoes might be a good thing to pack next time.

Dry River Canyon, Badlands Wilderness

Evidence of an ancient river in Dry River Canyon

Tumalo Creek, Shevlin Park, Bend