and another hike we want to do next time is to get up in these areas  we did scope them out and think it is possible but will need to make sure we have better gear with us. it will require a little more effort than last time



I don't think you can take a bad picture here the landscape is gorgeous



and I leave you with the last picture of smith rock.  I hope it inspires you to see the place or discover another place near you.

respect

respect for the determination and guts these people have.  i don't have much upper body strength so this would be almost impossible for me.  but wow watching young and old climb was amazning there were a ton of people in the park climbing.



lets hope they never have to use this rescue gear

the big rock

this is one big rock.  check out the trail that goes to the right

this is the other side of it


it leads up to a rock face called monkey face.  next time we go hiking here that will be our destination but early and a cool day hopefully

what a view

this is the view from the teetering rock.  wow worth the hike up is what I say.

have you ever been to smith rock?  what other places do you like to hike at.

almost done with my posts from here hope you aren't to bored.  I just love this place

from point to point

remember the teetering rock a few days ago in this post.  and in the picture above?

well we made it


there she is in all her glory  took some doing and I only got as close as the base here but hubby got a little more daring and got a bit closer



it was a fun hike the weather cooperated for the first time on our trip and it was a great way to work out the kinks going up and down after the race the day before.

i spy with my tiny eye.....

can you see it?



can you see him now??



there were a ton of climbers out on smith rock this day.  I guess the days of rain everyone got a little antsy and needed to head for sunshine and some exercise.

I have no upper body strength I have tried this once on a climbing wall and couldn't make it.  of course once I started laughing it was all over there was no way I could muster even the smallest amount of strength to finish.

have you ever climbed??

smith rock

technology has come a long way.  which of these two photos do you like best

#1



or

#2


I like #1 best and guess what.  taken with the iphone.  pretty crazy huh?  and the second is with my nikon D90.  looks like I need lots of more practice thats what it is.

this is smith rock and I have a few more pictures to share but take special note of that rock teetering in the background between the two cliffs.

how to make a reflection

this past summer I went to Sister Oregon for a quilt show.  you might remember some of the posts from that such as the town full of quilts.   but we also went to Smith rock.  The above picture is one of the pictures. 

well I came across a tutorial on how to make a reflection in photoshop.  thought by Rick Sammon an amazing photographer and teacher. So I gave it a try i did have to adapt them a little since I was using photoshop elements 6 but it worked really easy and quick too.

First I cropped out some of the trees and landscape. 

the rest is in the tutorial but basically: 

 I had to increase my canvas size the height only. 

use the marquee tool to create a copy of my image

file open new and paste

transform and flip the the photo

then use the move tool and add it to the increased canvas area of my original.

then I added a filter of ripple to soften the bottom section.

easy peasy. 

of course this created a discussion on what is real and what is not.  I am really torn still on "creating" in photoshop.  I don't do it often but if I do I am open about it.  not trying to pass off something that isn't how it really was.  because really there is no lake at smith rock that would ever create this image. 

now your turn create something

smith rock fun

what does one do here besides enjoy the scenery??

well mostly this.  climbing, bouldering and rock wall climbing.  we didn't do this (ha I had my mom with me and there was no way I was talking her into that one)  these people were practicing on a small boulder.  And unfortunately we didn't see any climbers.  probably to hot of a day.

and also its a hike to get anywhere can you spot the trail.

and part of the trail.  Can you spot the people? 

zoomed in you can spot them. they have helmets on.  I believe they will be climbing after they reach the top.

there are many trails.

the cliffs are perfect for that. 

I think I will be going back at some point to at least do some climbing.

smith rock

this is Smith Rock.  located near bend, Oregon.  Its a great state park to visit with several trails.  And very famous.  Basically it is the remnants of a old volcano plug. 

i wouldn't recommend coming here in the heat of the summer if you plan on doing any of the trails.  Its awfully hot.  but I think the spring and fall it would be awesome.  Can you see mt hood in the picture??? I found it amusing to see a snow capped mountain right there in a desert scene.

spot that rock in the middle of the picture.  looks so small here but zoomed in. 

its not very small at all but still looks like it could fall at any moment.

so what does one do at Smith Rock??  stay toned tomorrow.