Sunshine at Last

In search of some real summer and sun we went to Kah-nee-ta for a few days. The weather report was ambiguous at best, telling us that our last day there might be the only one with some real summer temperatures. But, once again, the forecast was inaccurate, to sat the least.

Our very first afternoon there was wonderful and warm and the rest of our time followed suit. We could not have asked for a more perfect week. We read books, floated in the pool, swam when the mood struck us, hiked and I ran each morning. In general, we had a perfect vacation. We were both loath to end it on Friday morning. We took a hike that day up to Raven's Roost that almost cost us a late check-out. But, as our luck would have it, there was a shuttle waiting at the lodge to transport us back to the Village in time make our check out time. Even then, we packed and spent another 2 hours at the pool.

I have included photos here of some of our scenes. The pool, of course, is obvious. The pool is fed by 110 degree natural hot springs that flow in one end and out the other. As a result, there is a minimum of chlorine in the water and it is very warm. No problem just diving in or floating around. The water slide is a ton of fun, but for some reason I didn't get there this year. Next year for sure. Raven's Roost is the high point of the bluff you see in the photos and also where you see me sitting looking out over the valley below. If you look carefully you can see where we stay in the village as well as Broken Top mountain in the distance with snow still present. The hike up there is a good one and quite steep. We took a short-cut this year in order to accomplish it before we left. Of course, we missed the trail coming back down and ended up where we didn't want to be. But then, there was that magical shuttle awaiting us when we arrived. We do have the best luck! The scenes of the river are on the Warm Springs River along the road where I like run. The river was very full this year due to the frequent rains and more beautiful than ever beacuse of this. I took photos of the reflections one morning on my run and met a creature that I didn't indentify at first. Thanks to my description, Mike identified it as a Nutria. Apparently, I stepped on the entrance to his/her tunnel or disturbed it sleeping. At any rate, my feet and his/her body were entagled for a few moments. I'm not sure which of us were more startled, but the creature made it's way unharmed again toward the shore as I watched in utter amazement.

This is a place we love to come and will no doubt continue to visit through the years. Mike introduced this area to me several years ago and I just love it. It is only 4 hours from Portland and a totally different climate and world.