Weekend Getaway....

A few months ago I had made reservations for a weekend getaway...27th anniversary. This all came about when in down-time-chatting mode at work someone had mentioned that Belknap Hotsprings was a nice place to go. How this came up in the conversation is that I was wanting to have several jaunts this year to places close to home....embrace what Oregon has to offer.

So...off we go....an hour down the road I realized I had forgotten my camera...DRAT!! Well...that's not exactly what I said but you get the picture..:) Oregon sunshine, better known as RAIN, was with us for the whole 3 hours of our drive....GREAT. We found our way there without a hitch, enjoying the scenery along the McKenzie River. The usual day-dreaming took place when we noticed how many properties were For Sale, even in the steady rain it was easy to see what a beautiful valley this was. (located 1 hour east of Eugene)

Belknap Hotsprings isn't a really large establishment, very quaint. They've been around since 1928 with a few minor changes here and there. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, other than the pictures I had seen from their website..... Poor Randy had a bit of a shock when he realized there was no telephone, no TV, no internet.....ha, ha....I was loving it!! So what's the first thing we did after eating and checking into our room....take a nap! The first evening was a glorious 2 hours of hanging out in the hotsprings, with a cool night mist and listening to the river rush by....very nice.

The next morning we ventured out for a quick breakfast and to take a nice little hike. Still drizzling a bit, but a few blue patches beginning to show. They've created some nice walking paths and hidden gardens which we took full advantage of. There were few people out and about so we had it all to ourselves, for the most part. This is where I was so disappointed to not have my digital camera with me....FLOWERS everywhere. Any pictures you see posted here are from Google Images...but the place looks exactly like this!

We decided to take a 45 minute drive into Sisters for a late lunch. Thoroughly enjoyed dining at one of the local mexican restuarants. Very tasty salsa...yum. Sisters is a quaint little vacation town...for all you Canadians it's like a miniture Banff. Great shops, quilting, art gallery, local arts...The Antler Shop...ha.., bookstores, some very good dining and a couple ice cream shops...which we of course sampled...:)

Back at the lodge it was a carbon copy of the evening before...nap....hotsprings....but the night was clear and star-filled. I really need to get me a hotsprings!! Maybe if I win the lottery?

Sunday was a GLORIOUS day....we were up early,breakfast and out the door....we could hear golf calling our names at the Tokatee. A more beautiful course there just couldn't be!! Snow capped mountains, birds, flowers and wildlife....and a halfway decent golf game for me! I haven't picked up a club in almost 2 years but you wouldn't have known it by the score...I did pretty good.

Sometimes it's a good thing to just get away for a couple days....kind of re-energizes the batteries.