Benham Falls

Our favorite hike is up Lava Butte but this year it was closed while they worked on the road so we had to find other places

Upstream

The beginning of the hike begins on a bridge where the water is calm and smooth

The Deschutes

Here's another shot of the upper river where it's calm

Water's Getting Rougher

As you hike along the river it starts to get rougher as you near the falls. Here's a shot of Christi's dad, Christi and me.

Whitewater

This is the falls area where it gets really rough.

Big Nest

There was a lot of opportunity to observe wildlife while we were down there. Here's a huge bird nest.

Downstream

After the falls the water starts to calm down again and the opposite side of the river is bordered by a huge lava field.

Flowers

There were some great wildflowers along the trail

Dragonfly

It took several tries, but I got this great shot of a Dragonfly

Osprey

Towards the end of our hike we came upon this huge nest with an Osprey perched next to it. I only had a small camera the first time, but I came back with my big lens and got some good shots

Closer

Here's a closer view of the Osprey and his nest. We saw other ospreys flying over the river while we were kayaking and diving for fish.

Close-up

Here's a much closer view. I didn't know what kind of bird he was until I searched the web and found an exact match on an Osprey site

By the River

A shot of Christi and I by the river

Dan & Tricia

Our friends Dan and Tricia doing their best Lewis and Clark impression.

Stump

This stump looked cool out in the middle of the river.

Mountain

Another hike we did was on Pilot Butte right in the middle of Bend Oregon. It was like Lava Butte, but not as cool since it was in the middle of the city.

Lizard

A lizard we saw while climbing Pilot Butte

Lava Butte from Pilot Butte

Here's a shot of Pilot Butte that was closed this year.

In the Pool

We went to the pool almost every day with Christi's nieces and nephews. This year I brought the underwater camera so we could get underwater portraits of the kids

Underwater

Here's a shot of me underwater

The Moon

The moon and clouds were particularily beautiful one evening while we had drinks at the lodge.

Close-up of the Moon

Here's a shot of the moon close up

Family Portrait

A portrait of us with Christi's family

Just Us

Christi and I on the bridge over the Deschutes

Coyote

We saw lots of critters while we were out golfing. Here's a coyote that walked right by us.

Deer Family

When I saw this deer family I didn't even bother to finish up the hole, I spent the rest of the hole taking shots of the deer.

Fawn

This guy is so adorable

Fawn Again

Here's another shot of the fawn

Final Hole

Dan and Tricia have a tradition of taking this shot on the final hole so we joined in. Dan's a Golf Pro so watching him play is an odd combination of admiration and depression : )

Vote for Pedro

A shot of me as we got ready to put the boats in at the bridge.

Kayaking

We brought all three of our kayaks down with us and went kayaking several times

Christi and Her Dad

Here's Christi and her Dad cruising down the Deschutes

Helicopter

We saw this helicopter flying overhead while kayaking

Cliffs

There's a great four mile route from the top of Sunriver to the bridge by the house we rented, then an additional four miles from the bridge to the start of the Benham falls hike.

Heron

There were tons of Herons along the river.

Heron Flight

Here's a heron heading down the river to perch on a log

Landing

He's coming in for a landing. I love how his feathers are catching the air.

Underwater

Partway down the river a tributary joins in that is crystal clear and freezing cold. I used the underwater housing to get this shot.

Dan on the River

A shot of Dan in one of our one-man kayaks

Tricia

Tricia in the other boat

Christi and I

Here's Christi and I in the two man boat.

The Bridge

This is the bridge that we pulled the boats out at when we did the top four miles.