Mini-Roadtrippin’ Adventures, Part I

2016 Summer Roadtrippin’ Adventures Part I – Crystal Crane Hotsprings: 

The day after school let out we hit the road in search of one of our family’s favorite things….hot springs!  (The abundance of hot springs in Oregon was a large factor in us choosing this as our new home state, and we intend to experience them all.)
To be honest, I was a bit nervous about this trip.  Crane is a 3 plus hour drive with not much along the way, so if the hot springs were a flop we’d have two days to kill & a long boring drive home looming over our heads….

To keep the journey interesting, we decided to check out all the towns along the way with a population of over 150, which turned out to be two. We had lunch in Prineville & visited the Bowman Museum, which has a great collection of local history and interactive displays.

Next we stopped at an obsidian festival just outside of Burns, because who doesn’t love pretty rocks? Besides, the playground there had GIANT metal slides that Vega and I needed to try out.
After a quick trip into the local grocery for our typical campground fare (lamb, potatoes, fresh salad, cheese, french bread & a bottle of wine), we headed down the last little leg of the road to find……(biting my nails here)….a beautiful clean campground with hot springs!  Whew.

Yep, we could easily enjoy a few days relaxing here, no worries!

Now to get set up.  We found our campsite, laid out our tent, got the poles in place & …. the sky opened up with serious fury. Not only was there rain, but dime-sized hailstones pelted us from all angles.  The kids and dog couldn’t get into the car fast enough & swimsuit clad people were screaming as they bolted from the hot pond looking for covered safety.  I was seriously afraid for our windshield.
So much for tenting it…the ground was a mess of mud and ice & the storm looked like it wanted to party all night. Thank the heavens that there was one room left.

But true to high desert nature, wait 10 minutes and the weather will change.  As soon as we settled into our room, the sun came out and pounded the earth with her rays for the rest of our trip.  (Murphy’s law, right?) Eh, what can you do?  Play bocca, that’s what!

The family verdict is that the destination was well worth the drive.  Crystal Crane Hot Springs is amazing. The water is a perfect temp for soaking and deep enough to swim around in, & the bottom isn’t slimy or muddy. Also, there are so many beautiful birds there. The accommodations are a little rustic, but great for a simple weekend get away. There is a nice little camp kitchen, a community room with games, wi-fi, TV, and free coffee (!!).
We had a lovely 2 days of lawn bowling, hot pond soaking, bird watching, book reading, camp kitchen cooking, & sun burning.  Yep, I forgot the sunscreen.
And as per usual, there is no photographic evidence of me ever having been there.

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Until the next post,
Happy Trails!
Holli P