My original plan had been to continue on down to the Pacific Coast, in order to visit
Redwood National Park in Northern California, and then to come back up the Oregon coast the following day before heading out to Glacier National Park in Montana.
@Steppesister had recommended the coast as an especially spectacular drive, and judging from the photos I looked up she was absolutely right.
But when I reviewed the itinerary, I had a distinct feeling that we were biting off more than we could chew. We'd already seen massive redwood trees at Muir Woods in San Francisco earlier in the year. If we continued on to Redwoods we’d basically have 6 straight days of hard driving with no break. That’s tough on anyone, even if you’re used to it. We’d had a similar stretch during our road trip in the Deep South, and it almost broke us then. So, having learned my lesson then (in your face, people who think this old dog can’t learn new tricks!), we made the reluctant decision to cut Redwoods and the Oregon Coast from the itinerary and instead return to Bend for an afternoon of R&R.
Once that decision was made, I needed to find something else for us to do.
Thankfully, Bend is a resort town, so there are plenty of offerings. Naturally, my thoughts first went to the number of high-end golf courses in the area. Through some internet wheeling and dealing and a few phone calls, I managed to get a discount tee time for me and junior rates for Dave and Scotty to play late in the day. I even found a
local guy who rented golf clubs out of his garage that was cheaper than renting them at the course. Perfect! Much better than a 5-hour drive.
But then Julie, Sarah and Andrew piped up: they needed something to do that afternoon, too.
Honestly. They’re so high-maintenance.
I did some more internet sleuthing, getting a good hearty laugh at the cost of some of the white-water rafting excursions (which Sarah would have loved, Julie would have hated, and Andrew would have laughed half the time and been terrified half the time). Eventually, I found that I could send them to a shark.
Sorry, the
SHARC—Sunrise Homeowners Aquatic Recreation Center. It’s an indoor/outdoor water park that was primarily built for guests/timeshare owners in the Sunrise Resort south of Bend, but is open to the public—and happens to reduce their rates after 5:00 p.m.
So, we planned to drive back from Crater Lake, eat a late lunch/early dinner in Bend, and then the boys and I would tee off at 4 while Julie dropped us off and then drove to the water park for the rest of the evening with Sarah and Drew.
I love it when a plan comes together.
We picked up our golf clubs and then ate lunch around 1:30 or 2:00 p.m. at the
10 Barrel Brewing Company, just a couple of miles from our hotel in North Bend. Being a brewpub, I figured I couldn’t go wrong with a burger, and I was proven correct when I got one piled high with bacon and onion strings. It was excellent. I had a nice porter to drink with it as well. This place got a thumbs-up from all of us.
We drove northwest of Bend to the
Pronghorn Resort, which is way out in the middle of nowhere and features a security guard at a gate when you finally reach the entrance. In other words, it’s a swanky place the likes of which my family normally doesn’t get to see. Every house, condo and resort building looked like a miniature version of the Wilderness Lodge. I felt like at any moment, someone would come to their senses and say, “I’m sorry, we don’t serve your kind here.”
In fact, when we drove up to the gate, the guard asked to see some identification. I decided to try my best Jedi Mind Trick and waved my hand and said, "You don't need to see our identification."
His eyes went glassy for a bit, and then he responded: "Actually, I do. We don't serve your kind here."
Crap. I guess my mind control powers are on the fritz. I'll have to practice some more. Right, honey?
"Whatever you say, babe."
Awesome, they're working again!
Ok, I may or may not have made all of that up, but what I know for certain is that the password to get into this place is, "We have a tee time."
It's the kind of place where you feel a little worried to step on the sidewalk or even the grass for fear you'll mess it up somehow. I'm not nearly rich enough to stay here but also wouldn't pass up the chance if someone offered it to me.
We got squared away with our golf carts and only had a few minutes to warm up on the putting green before it was time to tee off. There are two golf courses at the Pronghorn Resort, only one of which is open to the public. That one is designed by Jack Nicklaus, who even non-golfers have probably heard of considering he’s generally considered the greatest golfer of all time. It’s a beautiful course that weaves its way through the high desert and makes use of the desert and pines as a hazard on most holes.
As we played, my boys and I learned something about this famous golfer and architect.
Jack Nicklaus is a bit of a jerk.
This course was HARD. The fairways were generous enough so that you had a reasonable chance of reaching them from the tee, but if you got a ball in the desert, it was most likely lost. And if you weren’t in the correct part of the fairway, your chances of getting the ball close to the hole were almost as high as the Jamaican Bobsled Team’s odds at the Winter Olympics. I won’t describe every shot or hole as that would bore most of you to tears, but suffice it to say that we brought 24 golf balls with us on this trip and returned home with 11.
The course was beautiful, though. I got to spend four hours playing golf with my boys in 80-degree weather on a summer afternoon at a Jack Nicklaus resort course.
This was my favorite hole (the 13th). You had to play both shots over a lake to a green set in front of a natural rock wall. I’m proud to say I got a par here. Just don’t ask about the other holes. Except for the one birdie I made.
We mostly played lousy. Like we usually do. But we had fun. Like we usually do.
Meanwhile, the girls and Drew had a lot of fun swimming at the SHARC. From what they told me, the crowds were somewhat heavy but manageable, and it was a good place to relax and unwind for the evening. The highlight of their time was a part of the indoor pool that was arranged like a circle on the edge, not a hot tub but with the same shape. It was connected to the rest of the pool and there was a current flowing through. Drew was floating happily about with a life vest on in the main pool. The way the current flowed, it carried him into the circular area, and suddenly he was spinning around in an endless circle, completely out of control and giggling the whole time. Julie and Sarah said they couldn’t stop laughing while watching him.
The boys and I finished up under the last rays of sunlight. We had so much fun, I even broke my own rule and took a selfie, just because no one else was around to take a photo of us. There are few better things in life (ok, for a golfer) than playing in perfect weather with people whose company you enjoy—and no one else on the course. We had those conditions on the back nine, and it was wonderful.
So, yeah. I think we made the right call. Some day, we’ll see the redwoods and the Oregon Coast. Speaking of the Oregon Coast, there’s
another golf resort there I want to try someday…
Coming Up Next: The always-exciting Driving Day. Maybe I’ll combine a couple of days into one update to avoid losing too many readers.
Today's map:
That's awesome!
Glad I didn't commit to that one in hindsight, but who'd have known?!
Never underestimate teen appetites.
