Date: 21 July 2001 (Saturday)

Start:

End: Cousin Luann’s house, Bend OR (0 miles)

The temperature was 57f when we arose after having been in the forties during the night; the skies were blue and stayed that way, except for one little shower that came by in late afternoon.

After breakfast, I replaced the furnace door/cover on the trailer and taped up the ripped fiberglass to minimize moisture getting into the wall. We called the Dodge dealer and made an appointment for Monday morning to get the axle seal replaced on the truck. We’ll probably stay till Tuesday now.

We went south of Bend to The High Desert Museum (THDM) for most of the day. The entry is beautiful. There are animal sculptures in natural places and there’s a small stream with rainbow trout. The building is low and brown and blends into the natural landscape.

The 1880’s sawmill was cutting logs into planks and beams (pine), so we watched that for a while. Then the river otter put on a performance in her environment while an interpreter told us of otter life and how the museum gets and maintains animals.

Then another interpreter gave a talk in the porcupine cage and fed them. He said that they have such a good defense that they’re pathetic in other ways – slow, poor eyesight, unintelligent, etc.

The raptor person (a volunteer this time) put out a peregrine falcon and a long-eared owl, then spoke to the characteristics of birds of prey. He pointed out that the talons are used for killing. The bald eagle has been found to be able to exert 2500 pounds per square inch of pressure with its talons, and thus can penetrate any small animal and kill it instantly.

The site has unobtrusive signs everywhere pointing out features of the land or the trees or the lava flows left over from 10,000 years ago. The trees there are Ponderosa pine, with sage brush under them. I can see why there are so many forest fires around here; the pine needles and sage brush must go up like mad.

We watched a snake talk – the volunteer brought out a gopher snake and talked, mainly to children, on snake characteristics.

Inside, we saw the volunteer band giving performances from time to time. They had a fiddle, two guitars, a mandolin, and bass. The lady fiddle player (about 70) whipped out the Westby Schottische in great style. Home on the Range was also done, and some cowboy stuff.

We had a quick lunch in their café, and toured the exhibit halls and the gift shop before leaving. THDM is a really must-do if in the area.

We went to town and found the Dodge dealer so I can get there easily Monday. Then we drove the truck up to the top of Pilot Butte, a cone-shaped mini-volcano that is located right behind Art & Helen’s neighborhood (we took pictures) and the business area. We drove down to the trailhead where people begin to climb it and found flowers for Dolores' picture-shooting.

Art & Helen were back from their bridge club, so we went there and had a beer, then a great dinner (Helen’s a great cook) of pork loin stuffed with prunes, in a sauce of apricots and other fruits.

Art & I beat the ladies at two games of cribbage, then we watched some of the British comedy shows.

On getting back to Luann’s, we found Luann. She and the girls were back from Portland. The girls team had been playing in a tournament one level above their skill level; they won one, tied one, and lost two. Luann felt they did very well and learned from the experience.

Luann will spend most of the day at the resort tomorrow greeting people as they come for their week’s stay or leave after it. Art & Helen have invited us to breakfast out and maybe then we’ll take a ride down to the resort to see it.

Long day. Good day.