Long, Strange Trip: July 25

7/25

To my disappointment the comfortable sleeping environment did not mean we would be allowed to sleep in. Arielle had to attend work around 8:00 and wanted to spend more time with us before we parted. Breakfast was a delicious combination of bagels and scrambled eggs, luxury’s we had not enjoyed on our trip so far aside from hotels. Showers were taken and the Zechman family cleaned up but our stay was not done yet. In an effort to see more of Bend we took a five minute drive to a trailhead of the short yet steep Pilot Butte Trail. As we set off Duncan, Finn and I set the pace with Paul and Ellie racing each other as they followed close behind. It was comical to watch the cycle unfold as both young children would sprint as far as they could, then crouch down seemingly drop dead exhausted, only to be off and running less than a minute later. The trail offered wide views of the city and as you went higher the view broadened. At the top of the moderately strenuous hike was a circular platform holding signposts with pictures and stories about the history of the city and the butte. The site offered a wide variety of Mountain Ranges, urban landscape, hills and buttes. Both family’s crowded together for a group picture generously taken by another hiker with the beautiful Cascade Mountain Range with its towering peaks and glacier covered sides in the background. Arielle took one for the team and walked the half mile to work after the hike allowing us to follow Tommy home. We did not have much time at the house thereafter and once packing was completed we said our farewells and hit the road once again. We had gotten some advice on places to see and were interested in Dee “something” Observatory, a man made magma structure in the shape of an observatory. Once we made the turnoff we took the paved trail through the magma and headed up the steps. The black rock looking cooled lava had been hollowed and given windows and the room offered a beautiful outlook upon the rugged landscape. At the top, there was a compass plate identifying the mountains and landmarks visible from the observatory. We walked along the trail a bit further and read more information on the area, its early settlers and the landmarks surrounding it. It was a very cool experience and I will never get sick of seeing volcanoes and magma and the incredible yet dark and foreboding landscapes it creates. Lunch was at Steelhead Brew pub in Eugene, Oregon, a large, bustling city home to the University of Oregon. We had wonderful food again for the third straight meal and left for what Finn and I had been looking forward to for a long time. At our family reunion our cousin had told us of Niketown in Oregon which was a large Nike store that doubled as a museum filled with old, new and rare Nike shoes and other apparel. Eugene, Oregon was the birthplace of Nike and we expected big things from Niketown. Once we arrived at the Nike store, I instantly began second guessing the validity of my cousin’s claim. There was indeed a store but it was small in size and seemingly filled with track gear, even the name “Tracktown” was an indication we had misheard or just were in the wrong place. We did not stay for very long and headed off to our next campsite expecting to get our first taste of the Pacific Ocean. We set up camp in a very quiet, solitary and mostly uninhabited campground and instantly set off for the “beach” while we still had light. The short hike leading to the beach was covered in twigs and dirt but as we neared our destination the rough path gave way to soft sand. We halted at the edge of a sandbank looking expectantly at the skyline above the sand. The children, I included, were fully prepared to gaze upon the Pacific Ocean for the first time in our young lives. As the others paused, building the suspense for the moment, I sprinted ahead wanting to be the first to see the ocean. It was a false promise, our campsite was in the Oregon Sand Dunes National Monument and that was all we could see, rolling hills of fine sands with scattered shrubs and a smattering of green as far as the eye could see. After our initial shock we were definitely more excited by our current conditions than the ones we had envisioned. Our parents explained to us they did not remember how big the dunes had been and had not purposely misled us, likely story. After cresting a mountain like sand dune, we peered over the edge and caught a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean glimmering in the late afternoon. We quickly put any thought of the great ocean out of our mind as we spent the next hour and a half running, walking, crawling, falling, playing football and laying down covered by a blanket (Carol). All of the boys had a role in various football games and many spectacular catches were made, one was a pass play straight down one of the steepest dunes in which I tipped the ball and it was caught by Finn, whose momentum then carried him all the way down the dune. The catch is documented by Carol Zechman, whose brilliant photography captured the moment perfectly. After it seemed as though sand would be permanently ingrained in our skin and scalp and we had more sand than socks in our shoes we trudged back to the site. The rest of the night was a snack like dinner and a very early bedtime. My father and I were the last in the tent and that was at 9pm. We were clearly tired and needed the rest as even the notoriously disruptive Finn said very little as the family drifted off.