Mother's Day Mini-Vacation, No. 23 - Deschutes River at Old Mill District, Jackson's Corner for a really late lunch, and Dakine Grindz for shaved ice delights

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Old Mill District on the Deschutes River, Bend, Oregon.
 

Water-lovers on the Deschutes River at Old Mill District.
 

The view from our table at Jackson's Corner where we ate a very late lunch--hungry trio.
 

So hungry that I completely forgot to take a photo before we had all cleaned our plates! Trust me, Leland's plate is as empty as mine and Lamont's.
 

Jackson's Corner--took this photo on the way back to the Zipcar. I wanted you to see the building because I'm wondering if you get the same vibe from the exterior that I did when I walked towards the building. I immediately thought, "I believe I'm going to like this place a whole lot." And I did. Of course, it helped that both Leland and Lamont had eaten there in the past and knew the food to be good.
 

As we passed this school playground the first time, I exclaimed, "Did you see that? A bouldering wall!" Then I asked Leland to drive around the block so that I could take a few photos.
 

How cool! Plenty for kids to climb! And the entire playground is paved so that if it rained before recess, the ground won't become a muddy mess. Smart.
   

Next Leland and I knew right where we wanted to go--for a shaved ice at Dakine Grindz, just a block or so from Brother Jon's Public House, our favorite weekend breakfast place in Bend. Lamont's not interested in shaved ice, so he sat down on the grass to watch people, including these "cyclists" peddling away on The Cycle Pub. Serendipity that I got this photo just as they wheeled it by the No Parking, Bike Lane sign!
 

The young man carefully prepared my huge-sized treat--I think it was called the Big Beach.
 

She's finishing my three-flavored delight: strawberry, kiwi, and honeydew. Leland had told me on Friday when we rode by this place that we needed to come back at some point on the weekend because he knew how good these cool treats taste--was he ever right! And it stayed good from first bite to last.
 

We drove over the Deschutes one more time, passing through this pretty park and neighborhood on our way back to the Writer's Retreat for a well-deserved rest. Hours later we ate a mediocre supper, watched a bit of TV and went to bed. We had lots planned for Sunday before driving all the way back to Portland.

Mother's Day Mini-Vacation, No. 22 - Across the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway--the Deschutes River--an old dog knows all the tricks.

Little dog, six or seven months old. Big dog, 13 years old. Stick and man, ages unknown. Fun for old dog--ageless. Learning for young dog--ongoing. Photos of old dog having a blast--priceless!
 

Shower time!
 

Help an ol' dog get outta the river, please.
 

Throw it again. I'm just about ready.
 

I see it. Thanks!
 

I love to make these big splashes!
 

Stick, you belong to me!
 

Son, you've got a lot learn and the energy to do it!

Mother's Day Mini-Vacation, No. 5 - riding Highway 26 into and beyond Warm Springs, Oregon.

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Just before we arrived at the place where I took this photo, off in the distance a little bit, I could see a cut in the earth. A deep cut.
 

I said out loud, "Are we going down there?" "Yes," they replied. "Do we have to get up out of there to go to Bend?" I asked. "Yes," they replied. All I could think about was how much I hoped there wouldn't be too many curves, not too steep a drop into the cut and not too steep a rise out of it on the other side. And then we were in it.
 

Warm Springs sprawled before us as we continued downward on Highway 26.



Not too steep. Not too many curves. My fear of heights, not debilitating, just there. My acupressure motion sickness bracelets kept that under control. Down here at the bottom of this drop, on the left, is the Indian Head Casino. I had asked to make a pit stop and to play the penny machines for a few minutes when we arrived in Warm Springs. We left 20 minutes later, me $10 ahead. Yes! I hit a three-ball scatter jackpot on the Tiki Torch, a machine Mama and I liked to play at the Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi, back before we moved to Portland in June, 2006. I think I bet 40 cents, but I cannot remember for sure. All I know for sure is that was the shortest visit I've ever made to a casino. Well, until Sunday afternoon when all we did was make a pit stop, no penny machines for me that time. I'll tell you how I spent my winnings in an upcoming post.
 

We're about to go up and out of the cut. Isn't the countryside beautiful?
 

My first sighting of the Deschutes River. I read online that the Deschutes is a major tributary of the Columbia River, that it flows through a rugged and arid part of Oregon, that it provides irrigation for Central Oregon, that it provides a cultural heart for that area, that is is popular in summer for whitewater rafting and fishing. After if passes through Bend and Redmond, north though the Central Oregon desert, it carves a gorge, bordered by large basalt cliffs. At Madras, it is nearly 300 feet below the plateau. Warm Springs is 14.8 miles northwest of Madras, and the best I can tell from looking at terrain maps, Warm Springs itself it at some spots 700 feet below the edge of the plateau. Yep, that's a deep cut. I don't think I saw any basalt cliffs. Still and all, I enjoyed the Deschutes' gorge very much.