Smith Rock State Park, Oregon
Day #6 was a great day. Spent most of the day out at Smith Rock State Park, about 45 minutes north of Bend. Smith Rock is absolutely gorgeous, as you can see from my nice photos! In fact, I think that my photos are so nice, that they look fake!
Smith Rock State Park, OR
Mark and Dax stop to take a photo @ Smith Rock State Park, OR
Smith Rock State Park, OR
Smith Rock State Park, OR
Smith Rock State Park, OR
Mark and Dax @ Smith Rock State Park, OR
Smith Rock State Park, OR
We love State Parks, because they’re usually dog friendly, which means Dax and Trixie can come hiking on the trails with us. They did really well, navigating the dirt and rock trails like pros. Trixie couldn’t resist having a good roll in the dirt…twice…turning her into a virtually all-brown dog. A nice touch. Did my best to brush her off when we got back to the space shuttle.
On the way out of Smith Rock State Park, caught some cows sittin’ down on the job.
The best thing to do, after an incredible day of hiking in the most beautiful of places, is to go visit old friends. As luck would have it, an old friend/business colleague from Santa Barbara, who now lives in Bend, OR, saw my pics on Facebook and discovered that we were in Bend. And so, we scored a coveted invite to Richard and Pamela Armstrong’s house!
A fantastic evening was had by all…me, Mark, Richard, Pamela, their daughter Kate, and a bunch of her friends. Kate and her wonderful group of friends made homemade pizzas for all of us. One of her friends, who works at Deschutes Brewery, brought over a case of beer.
Interesting fact: Employees at Deschutes Brewery get one free case of beer every month. After that, they can buy cases for 1/2 price. Nice job perk!! Nice way to make friends!
The young folks talked about their upcoming cycling adventure, while Richard and I talked about the demise of the photography industry.
After dinner, we got a tour of Richard’s work studio, where I spotted a cardboard cutout logo from his old photo lab leaning against the wall. Had a good laugh while Mark snapped a photo of Richard and I holding the logo.
Richard Armstrong and me, with his old photo lab logo.
And finally, back to our RV park for the night. The end of a really special day!
As a post-script, I have to tell you this….contrary to what you and I might have begun to believe….not all young people are idiots. Richard’s daughter and her friends were the nicest group of young people…friendly, smart, articulate, well-mannered, independent thinkers. Gives me hope for the future!!
Airstream Moho-A-Go-Go 