Benham Falls, Central Oregon

Benham Falls are rapids of the Deschutes River, located just south of Bend, and are about an hour from my house.  They are rated an unpassable Class VI rapids for watercraft and are the largest falls on the Deschutes.

Getting there on the dusty early morning road was beautiful (cough, cough...)  But when I got there I was awestruck at the relentless, powerful, ever gushing, never ending flow of relentless and constant water.

And I was reminded again of God's relentless and powerful and never ending love that constantly flows over us.  Unstopping.  Never ending.  Peaceful, but always flowing in a direction that invites us to remember the constancy of God's love.

Beautiful stuff.  Incredible Central Oregon.  Gotta love it.

Stein's Pillar, Ochoco National Forest

Stein's Pillar is a 350 foot ancient basalt volcanic plug just east of Prineville, OR, and is about 45 minutes from my house.  Named after the 1860's explorer, Major Enoch Steen, it has been misspelled so many times that they finally called it Stein's Pillar.

Formed from volcanic activity 44 million years ago, it has been shaped and molded from weather and erosion to shape this strange monolith pillar.

It was a gorgeous hike.  Lots of serenity and quiet.  Very good time to listen to that "still small voice" that is only there when we get away from the busy chaos of our lives and spend some quiet time in God's creation.  If you haven't been getting away, there's still time...

Enjoy!  I know I did.  Stay tuned for next week's adventure!

Adventure with Laura!

Last weekend Laura came over and we had an absolute blast.  We went white water rafting on Saturday...

 And this is called "Riding the Bull."  Class 3 and 4 rapids.  Great time and boatloads of fun. 

That night we went to the Deschuttes County Fair, had great junk food (including an amazing corn dog, of course), and went to a rodeo.  It was Laura's first rodeo.  She decided she didn't want to date a cowboy.  Fine with me.  The next day we went to church, where she said people "treated her like a rock star" because they were so nice to her (Thanks, Zion Friends!), and in the afternoon we went to Smith Rock.  Pics below:

It was a wonderful with with my incredible daughter.  I'm such a very lucky dad!