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

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 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.