Central Oregon High Lakes Vacation-East Lake
I love Central Oregon. The smells of juniper, pine and sagebrush put a smile on my face. The feel of the cool mornings on my often sun burnt skin while I enjoy my first cup of coffee. It’s a special place all on it’s own, but with a personal history, it’s much more.
I look forward to our time as a family to take off and enjoy God’s beauty, but also to just spend time together. Years go by and life just seems to get busier, so our annual trip to the Newberry Craters seems to feel more and more necessary.
If there’s a battle associated with getting away, it’s cleaning up all the loose ends, getting all the gear together and simply trying to get out of town. Once on the road however, the process of shedding the stress and concerns of our everyday life begins.
Our first morning I was scheduled to go hang out with my buddy Rick Arnold of TrophyTroutGuide.com. I’ve had Rick on the NW Outdoor Show now for a number of years. From Kootenay to Crescent, Rick is probably one of the top trophy trout guys in the West. We rolled out to a beautiful morning on East Lake. Rick had been fishing the better part of two weeks and said the Brown fishing was slow. I didn’t care. I was looking forward to hanging out with a friend, talking shop and catching up on life. A fish on would only interrupt us.
My mother in law Patricia decided to drive up from Klamath Falls to hang out with us for a day. She’s known for her very thoughtful and creative gifts. On this occassion, she brought a board game for us to enjoy. Quickly a game of Dogopoly broke out.
Hard to say you’re camping if you aren’t trying to at least occasionally make the “perfect” roasted marshmallow.
The following morning Rick and I headed out again. The Brown fishing was poor enough that we decided we’d catch some Kokanee. The Kokanee this year at East Lake were some of the largest I’ve seen. My boat was recently equipped with Canon Digi-Troll 10’s so the kokanee population was in deep trouble. Rick decided he wanted to drive. So, looking to want to relax and shoot photos, I obliged.
The girls love kayaking and this is a great place for it. The water is cool, but refreshing during the heat of the day.
My brother and his family showed up about half way through our stay. We did lots during their short stay, but one of the highlights was experiencing Paulina Peak during sunset.
Of course we were in the boat quite regularly, fishing and more often than not, swimming!
Yes we caught plenty of fish. About an hour at a time.
I love fishing, but as usual, I found more pleasure in watching others catch them.
This was a fabulous break for my family and I. We’re already talking about where in Central Oregon we will land during next year’s adventure.