Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Camping, Goodwin Style

After our stint in Brownsville with the cubscouts, Annie and I headed over to the Cascades to join Stephanie and the Goodwins on their annual week-long campout.

I had never been to the Newberry Caldera, which is south of Bend. The Goodwins were camped at Paulina Lake.

We took a ranger-led tour of an obsidian flow. It is amazing that a technology like flint-napping is still used for specialized surgical blades.

We visited Paulina Falls which marks the edge of the caldera.

Can't have fun without being dirty!

Dave showed Annie how to fish. We could see some 6-inchers near the dock, but they would do more than nibble at the bait.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Brownsville Cubscout Campout

Our cubscouts have an annual family campout in the Brownsville Pioneer Park. It is a rather informal campground near the Calapoolia River with port-a-potties and no water.

Despite the limited facilities, it was a fun event. Reed Lacy set up a zip line, which was a hit. We did skits around the fire. I told the Scoop Shuvel story. After dark, I set up my telescope and talked astronomy until there was no one left. We saw Saturn and it's moon Titan, as well as Mars and the Moon.

Breakfast was the eggs in a bag affair, which turned out well. Annie and I and one other family stayed to visit the small farmer's market and visit the Linn County Historical Museum.

Saturday, July 7, 2012