Perfect

Carolyn had a good day today so we went out to play.  There was a partially cloudy sky and the temperature was in the low 60's.  We jumped into the Guzzler Deluxe and headed for one of our favorite spots in this area, Clines Falls. 

There was one other car in the parking lot and as we drove by a bearded guy standing beside it lifted his hand and waved.  He was feeding the pair of swans we saw there the last time we visited.  We continued along the road which makes a loop around the perimeter and started working our way back up the single road that is both the entry and exit.   On the way in I had noticed a little footpath, it obviously was not a government construction, that looked like it led to the edge of the Deschutes river.  I thought it might be nice to explore this part of the park.

We pulled off the road when we were near the footpath and got out, Muffy in the lead.  He's always in the lead even though he has no clue where we're going.  He'll look back every so often and correct his course if we've made a turn.  Sorta reminds me of humans - some of them just love to lead even if they don't know where to go.  But sadly,  the humans usually are not smart enough to look around and make changes.

We started down the path that had been created by several hundreds of people before us and made it to the bank of the river with no problem.  From there, the views were out of this world.  Before us were some rapids that sparkled in reflected sunlight and, for the first time, we could see the falls.  There were two falls, one about six feet in height and the other about four feet high.  We took in this view for several minutes and then headed for a large flat rock about forty feet further down the path. 

I helped Carolyn climb up the rock, joined her and then pulled a couple of Cran-Raspberry Oat Bars out from my pocket.  We sat on that rock for ten minutes or so eating the mostly healthy snack and listening to the sound of the water crashing over the rapids and the falls.  When we had finished, I asked Carolyn to remember the sights and the sounds of this place.  I wanted to be certain she remembers our day there for the rest of her life.  It's something I plan on reminding her of when she can no longer make her way down this path.  It was very difficult for her today, and will be even more so as time passes.

We walked back up to the road, again with Muffyleading the way but not having to look back this time.  He knew our perfect forty-five minutes were over and that we were headed back home.