Neubauer News: Summer Vacation 2023

Day 1: The most beautiful landing with Mt Hood on one side and Mt Rainier on the other. It also included the Colubmia River Gorge and Mt St Helen.

Hike to ZigZag Canyon from Timberline Lodge 4.4m. Just ok.

Day 2: Hike to Ramona Falls 7.1m

The forest side of the loop was gorgeous.

Admiring the falls.

One of the best parts of this hike was crossing the river on a log. There used to be a proper bridge but it was washed out.

The other highlight was seeing the magnificant Mt Hood in the background.

Easily my favorite flower of the trip. Addy discovered it's called Fox Glove.

Lunch at ZigZag Cafe.

After lunch we hiked Top Spur and Timberline Trail 2.1m, basically a shortened version of the McNeil Point Trail we didn't have time to do.

WOWZA! An epic view of Mt Hood with wildflowers galore!

Way down below, we could see the river and canyon we hiked earlier in the day.

After hiking we drove to Bend, OR. Picked up a grocery order on the way and had a delicious dinner on the patio of our Airbnb.

Evening view from the window of the beautiful surrounding pine forest. LOVE it!

DAY 3: Smith Rock State Park - Misery Ridge 3.5m

We made it up the hot incline and headed back down with a view of Monkeyface Rock. Note the yellow rock climber for scale.

Down by the river the scenery was beautiful.

There were flowers and butterflies.

This place was such a unique mix of desert and lush beauty. Definately worth a visit!

On the way back to Bend, we had to stop by this huge alpaca farm.

It was one of several we saw during the trip.

In the afternoon we explored the amazing McKenzie River.

We hiked the Koosah and Sahalie Falls Trail 2.9m

The bottom of the loop followed the rode for a short time.

The water color and lush moss covered trees made this hike one of our favorites.

Aaron kept saying it reminded him of Endor from Star Wars.

Benny really wanted a pic close to the falls. He was wet afterwards. We ran out of daylight to visit the Tamolitch Blue Pool nearby. Maybe next time.

DAY 4: Umpqua National Forest - Toketee Falls from the overlook.

After much effort, we made it to the bottom of the falls. We had to exit the overlook by a tear in the fencing. Then make our way down a very steep dirt cliff.

It was 100% worth the effort.

We had the place to ourselves. Addy and Benny got in the freezing water for a quick dip. I really regret not swimming in this magical place.

This was my FAVORITE waterfall ever!!

The video zooms in on a guy climbing the rock colmns near the falls.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at the trailhead of our next hike, how convienient!

The perfect picnic. By the end of our trip, lunches were not this pretty.

Watson Falls .8m

Pretty falls for minimum effort.

The trees along the trail were huge pines!

Our 1st view of the deep blue water of Crater Lake National Park.

The hike down to the shore on the Cleetwood Cove Trail 2m.

The kids and I got in the water but Josh was not having it. He's not a fan of freezing cold water.

Jackson jumping in from the rock cliff. Benny wanted to but we didn't let him.

A place you must see at least once.

DAY 5: Deschutes National Forest - Green Lakes Trail 9.1m

We were blessed to be able to do this hike considering how difficult it was to get permits. I just barely got the last ones, 2 minutes after the hour they were released.