Bend

I visited Paul and Karen Kissel in Bend, Oregon for the weekend of December 4th, 1998. Paul used to be a coworker of mine at Storm Technology, and moved to Bend to raise a family. Their child is currently being raised inside Karen's tummy. (Instead of in her "tummy", according to a book I read once, I should say, in "a special place inside" her; that avoids children getting the impression that mommies eat babies.)

Here are a few pictures I shot on the way to Bend.

Bend is a relatively small town, its downtown area being about six square blocks. It does, however, have beautiful scenery and a plethora of outdoor activities close by.

Mount Bachelor is less than an hour away (driving in the snow), which they say provides skiing for over half the year. Paul and I went snowboarding there, which was great fun for me and a learning experience for Paul. The weather was snowy and windy, which made it very cold, and the visibility was pretty poor, but the snow was great.

Also not too far away is the most excellent lava cave. We walked about a mile into the cave, which started at about thirty feet tall and had narrowed to about four feet tall by the time we turned around. This was an awesome experience; when you are in the cave, hundreds of feet below the ground, you are in complete darkness and disconnected from the outside world. Your eyes tell you they see light and colors where there are none. I would have liked to hear what it would sound like to play didgeridoo inside of it, but I didn't want to wake the resident "big-eared bat", or cause the Doom of the Collapsing Cave. And besides, I didn't have it with me.

This cave was created by a lava flow, where the outside cooled and hardened into solid rock. The hot lava inside continued flowing until it had flowed out entirely, leaving a hollow tube of volcanic rock. Thus, there are no offshoots, drop-offs, stalagtites, or stalagmites, like you might find in a limestone cave. This, along with some judiciously placed handrails and barriers, makes it a safe and exciting cave to walk through (with a good flashlight and warm clothes; it's cold and dark in there, just like a cave).

Aside from those activities, Karen cooked delicious meals, we had some great conversations, and I thank Paul and Karen for giving me a wonderful weekend.