The month of the winter solstice. The dark and cold descended on us. Thankfully we were house-sitting and enjoying a warm gas stove. Mavrik had his friend Seiko to play with in the snow and we enjoyed our first full winter in Bend in 12 years!

We started winding down the year in November, preparing the property for it’s winter rest. Since we aren’t leaving the area for most of the winter we have 2 rigs to winterize. Usually we pull the Bigfoot camper out and take it on the road for the winter, leaving the Terry Trailer under the carport. We needed another carport, one to cover each rig, so we bought another one. The weather held long enough for us to get it up and get the Bigfoot safe under it.

We took a break and went to The Dalles to visit friends. Robert got some fishing in and we enjoyed a great Jeff Dunham show for Robert’s birthday.

October brought cooler weather and beautiful fall colors, perfect time to think about the coming winter.

Preserving the bounty of the summer comes to mind. We acted on our thoughts and smoked the trout Robert had been catching  all summer and stocking up in the freezer, as well as salmon (which we bought at the store since it was pretty inexpensive!).

Around here you also think about what kind of transportation is necessary for the snow and ice that can occur in Central Oregon (just about anytime of the year!). The latter was weighing on our minds since we decided to stick around for the majority of the winter to house- and pet-sit for friends. So Robert did lots of research and he found a great 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee for us, which we took possession of in mid-October.

Friends and Family gathered to say goodbye to our friend Nic who passed away this month (September). He was a great friend to us and an accomplished fisherman, and we regret not having known him long enough to learn from him. He is missed and there is another hole in the fabric of our close knit community of friends.

September brought continued fine weather. Nice enough that we went out camping several more times in our ‘summer house’, the 1974 Terry Trailer we bought last year. We explored around the Little Cultus Lake area, including a long, winding, bumpy drive on the dirt track through the woods to Taylor and Irish Lakes.

We also found a great spot at Canyon Creek campground near Camp Sherman. We took long walks along the Metolius river to Wizard Falls Fish Hatchery. Watching the fast flowing ,clear, cold water of the Metolius river is mesmerizing.