Along the way we stopped at some little state park gems, Multinomah Falls and Smith Rock. The falls are just 30 minutes outside Portland, and are one of the state's top tourist destinations. Again, a picture is better than me yapping.
Smith Rock is, well, a rock. But a really cool, big rock. It's a popular climbing destination (in fact, we saw a few Peter Parkers doing their thing). Pic time:
Because of all the detours, we wouldn't have been able to make it all the way to Three Sisters. We decided to spend the night at Turmalo State park, 25 miles outside of Bend. As the sun set, the temperature dropped. Fast. By the time we were ready to hit the sleeping bags, it had fallen to about 30 degrees. It was in the twentys overnight (hence the post's title). Now, I've spent several posts detailing the experience of an overnight deep freeze, so I won't belabor you with details. But let me tell you, the pull out maneuver that every guy employs before he goes #1 takes on a whole new level of difficulty when your fingers are popsicles with knuckles. I decided to hold it. Every time I woke up last night (and there were lots), I pulled the drawsring on my sleeping bag tighter and tighter until I could barely suck in air. I seriously considered sealing it shut altogehter, wondering how long I could live on the air in my sleeping bag. It wasn't long.
We woke up the next day to find the site just as cold as we left it. Comment of the day: "It's frozen!" says my uncle about the plate that we washed the night before. Brrr. Second place: "Look at the Sisters," says my uncle, "there sure is a lot of fresh snow up there."
"Oh shit."
(But we went anyway.)
