My Oregon Adventures (So Far)

Today marks two months of living in Oregon! I can’t believe we have already been here two months. If feels like we were just on our roadtrip yesterday!

In the two months we have been here we have been working hard and playing hard!

Wes has been working on promoting his book Hope In Every Raindrop that officially comes out on May 26th (but can be pre-ordered on Amazon and iTunes now)! We are both really excited! I got a chance to read it cover to cover a few weeks ago and I could not pull myself away from the couch all day!

I have been working on Fit Life Pursuits more these last few months and this little website has become my baby. It has been so fun connecting with you all, sharing my stories (and actually having people read them), and getting to host some more fitness challenges to help you reach your goals! I love hearing from you all so please don’t hesitate to contact me or give me suggestions on future challenges you’d like to see from me!

As far as fun goes…we have joined the Bend Rock Gym as members and have enjoyed getting back into climbing mode! We go to the gym about 3 times/week and are starting to see some improvement. So far we have been bouldering most of the time (Wes prefers bouldering so I tag along with him). For those of you who are climbing folks…I’ve worked myself up to climbing V3s and V4s, which I think is pretty good after only a few months! I’m happy about it.

Of course, climbing has come with some injuries, including a sore neck (after I fell pretty far from the finish of a boulder problem and gave myself whiplash), some blisters on my hands and feet, a pulled forearm muscle, and some callouses. But, I love it and it’s worth it!

March

When we first arrived in March, we saw our first snowfall in our new home! That was exciting for us, but I know our neighbors thought we were crazy when we went outside to “play” in the snow and snap pictures! Haha. Oh well.

We’ve also had some visitors in our neighborhood, which is always fun to see!

In March, we also enjoyed some spring skiing at Mt. Bachelor. Skiing is one of the reasons we moved out here so it was fun to be able to go a few times before this season ended. We are already looking forward to the next ski season, which should begin in late November!

April

Before moving to Oregon, I had no idea what a Butte was, but there are a lot of them around here! I have learned that a butte is “an isolated hill with steep sides and a flat top”. There is one in the center of Bend called the Pilot Butte, which is a popular spot for runners, hikers, and bikers. We decided to take a few hours and check it out.

The hike up to the top of the Butte was quick and easy. It was really cool to be able to see the entire town of Bend from the top. It’s definitely a great place to get some exercise in and enjoy the view!

Our next adventure was the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. My mom was the one who learned about this event and told me about it. When I told Wes I wanted to go to a tulip festival, he wasn’t very thrilled, but went with me anyways. Once we got there, I think he was glad we went. It was gorgeous! There were 40 acres of tulips in all colors.

You can see Mt. Hood in the background of this one:

The festival runs every year in Woodburn, OR from the end of March to the end of April. You can visit the tulip farm, walk through the rows and rows of tulips, take a ride on the train (mostly for the kids), and shop at the food and craft vendors.

I loved it so much. We spent most of the time walking through the tulips enjoying all the colors.

There was also a little area with rows of hazelnut trees. Again, the view was just unreal. I mean it literally doesn’t look real (this picture is not filtered or edited at all)!

On our way home from the tulip festival (which was about a 3-hour drive away), we stopped at Silver Falls State Park. This is the largest State Park in Oregon and is one of the most popular. People call it the “crown jewel” of the Oregon State Parks and it is known for it’s beautiful waterfalls.

I didn’t know it was going to be as beautiful as it was. We were able to hike to the South Falls where you can walk BEHIND the 177-foot waterfall and view it from behind. I don’t know if I have ever walked behind a waterfall before, and it was awesome. I would definitely recommend a trip here for anyone who is in the area!

May

Our most recent adventure was a trip to Smith Rock State Park. This park is only about 30 minutes North of where we live so we set off early Saturday morning to enjoy the day there. I had heard a lot of good things about Smith Rock State Park, especially for its climbing. I already can’t wait to go back and tackle some of the amazing sport-climbing routes I hear about.

For this first trip to Smith Rock, we took a hike along Misery Trail and the Canyon Trail. I have to say that misery trail was a tough hike. We started along that trail and weren’t really sure what to expect. On our way up we heard a boy say that “misery trail is named that because it’s a misery”. And, I have to say that the hike was steep, uphill, winding, and hard. It definitely tested my cardiovascular capacity and I was just glad that I’ve been doing Turbofire. But, the views that you see from the trail make it all worth it!

We also saw some people doing some pretty crazy things, including one guy walking on a slackline about 1,000 feet up in the air. I caught a picture of Wes and Story watching him wipe out. Hehe.

We hiked for about 3 hours and then headed back to town for lunch at Dandy’s Drive-in. This has become one of Wes’ favorite spots in town. He loves the burgers and milkshakes.

Speaking of food…we have tried a lot of restaurants in Bend in these past two months and we definitely have some favorites. McKay’s Cottage is definitely up there on the list. We went there for breakfast and I got the cinnamon toast with fresh fruit.

Some of my other Bend favorites so far have been Hardy’s for their burgers and milkshakes, Jacksons’ Corner for their delicious pizza, and Greg’s Grill for their steak and potatoes. Yummy! I am getting hungry just typing this!

Oh! And have you ever heard of fry sauce?!

Since we got to Oregon we have been asked at every restaurant whether we want fry sauce (Wes loves fries and gets them for almost every side). Of course we both wanted to see what this fry sauce was all about, and now we’re hooked!

We don’t have fry sauce in Florida and I think Floridians are definitely missing out! I’m not sure what it is but we have guessed a combination of mayonnaise, ranch, and ketchup. Whatever it is, it’s delicious! I’m not a big condiment person but now I can’t eat my fries without it!

So far living in Oregon has been everything I hoped for and more. There are Christmas trees and tulips in every yard. The weather is gorgeous (so far), there’s wildlife literally walking through our neighborhood, and the outdoor scenery is breathtaking. Two months in Oregon is not very long, but it’s been a great two months!

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Have you ever heard of or had fry sauce?