Summer Fun
- pete
- Jul 27
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 1
After school ended, my flight home took me to my brother Paul's house in Bend, Oregon. We grew up about three hours north in Beaverton, so Bend still has a comfortable and familiar feel. There are plenty of trees, rivers, and lakes while the scent of juniper permeates the air. If you like being outside, this is the place to be.
But my summer didn't start with any paddleboarding or kayaking or mountain biking or hiking. I started working with my brothers to revamp Paul's backyard.
We hit it hard as soon as we arrived. Matt is a workhorse.
And when Sol arrived, she jumped to work immediately and started helping out.
She crushed it and I think we all had a little fun on those long days doing work in the sun.
But we did find some time to go enjoy ourselves. One afternoon we took some innertubes and paddleboards out on the Deschutes river.
We started the day off a bit late, but we thought it would be ok. Those rain clouds in the back teased us as we thought they might sneak by us on the wayside, but no.
It was a downpour. We bailed after 20 minutes of being on the water and had to hide under a bridge with other water enthusiasts as Paul sprinted back to get his truck. We piled in soaking wet with a bunch of floaties and gear and blasted the heater. It was hilarious and awesome. Mom got a kick out of it, as we all did.
But those storms usually come with nice sunsets, and this was no exception. With all the construction going on in the backyard, the ladder was handy and we climbed on the roof as the sun set.
It was nice to have a reunion like this. It isn't often all the brothers (Moriah is an honorary brother) are in the same place at the same time. But this was a special event! There was work to do, so we all met up.
Sol is delightful. In addition to using drills and chop saws, and climbing up roofs and paddleboarding, she made us all arepas for dinner!
Needless to say, they were delicious. And this was after Solanyel and I searched high and low looking for harina pan.
The hearty Venezuelan dish was appropriate as the next day we hiked up Smith Rock about 45 minutes north of Bend. Moriah hikes it about once a week so we decided to join her.
Now we're having fun! The summer isn't all work. Paul's backyard has a volleyball court, so we got in plenty of 3v3. Not too many photos of that, but maybe we can watch a couple slow motion shots of Tim and Matt spiking the ball? Sure. Give the people what they want...
Tim and Matt practiced for hours. They play constantly in Hawai'i, and it shows.
Unbelievable.
Anyway, there was always something going on in Bend. My homie from Saudi Arabia happened to have some free time and drove down from Washington to spend the weekend. It was great to catch up! He is a good dude and we talked well into the night.
And this happened to coincide with Moriah's book launch! After about two years of work, my little sister authored and illustrated a kid's book. Her book, Bend ABCs, is focused on the town of Bend and is wonderfully illustrated and written. It got rave reviews and her book launch party was a blast.
And with the author there, we lined up for autographs and inscriptions. And the book isn't all. She has a nice collection of cool stuff you could pick up.
Yet the summer winds on. Aside from a brief mid-summer highlight (which I'll post about later), we fast forward to a must-have trip of the summer: camping in Colorado. And not just Colorado, camping down at the land. And not just camping down at the land, camping down at the land with Nali.
I must admit, her excitement to see me pales in comparison to when Ben shows up. She is Ben's dog, essentially, and the land is where she feels most at home. Being there recharged all our batteries.
One thing that made this trip particularly special was that two of my Colorado friends joined us. Laurel is probably my oldest non-school friend. Her and I met when I was working in Alamosa back in 2012. We've stayed close since then and her and her son came down for a couple nights in conjunction with my buddy Cory and his 3 boys. I met Cory in 2019 while working in Buena Vista, Colorado and we've stayed close as well.
It was an exciting, chaotic, and fun trip for everyone. We went to hike the Sand Dunes (first website post!) the next day as well as Zapata Falls.
And back to home base for hot dogs and s'mores over the fire.
It's tough sometimes to remove yourself from the creature comforts of domesticated life, but after that first s'more, it's all worth it.
And my spot looking out at Mt. Blanca and the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. It never gets old.
But the summer doesn't slow down. As soon as we got back from Colorado I made my bi-yearly trek up to Beaverton to visit Parker's family and the Bowgrens. Unfortunately because time started to get tight, I couldn't make all my usual rounds.
And I'm ready to hang out with this delightful sonofagun!
I've been doing this for the last 10 years or so, and each time it is a different version of the same thing. It's great. We wake up a tad hungover, rally, then do a bunch of house projects. Fix this, fix that, install this, adjust that. A baseball game is playing in the background and we co-parent his two adorable little girls which basically means that if you want ice-cream, ask Uncle Pete because it is a guaranteed yes.
And, of course, we go look for bugs.
The reunion at the Bowgren's estate had one unexpected visitor! One of the best dudes in the world, Jake Bevans.
What a good time. I love those guys.
In the same vein of old friends, I'm going to go way back to some really old friends. During middle school and high school, our family would take a two week summer vacation camping at Susan Creek on the Umpqua river. During our first year, we camped near some wonderful people. The following year, they happened to show up at the same time. Our families became really close and seeing them was just as exciting as camping itself. It just wasn't the same without the Tunzis (and the 3rd family , the Arts!). I mention the Tunzis specifically here because Moriah, Sol, and myself had an opportunity to spend a night camping at Susan Creek and met with Mikhaila, Marcus, and Ashlee Tunzi.
Great job Moriah for pulling this off! Camping in the same campsite and visiting the same people from 20 years ago was incredible. The Tunzis are as kind and fun as ever. Just delightful. I can't wait to see them again in two years. Hopefully we will have a huge reunion with all the family.
The rock on the right was our literal jumping off point. The river feels so good.
The trees took a beating from a forest fire about six years ago, but thankfully Susan Creek was mostly spared.
The specialness of going back to our original camping spot was amplified by having it also be the site of Sol's first camping experience.
It was great catching up with Marcus. He was probably 8 or 9 when I saw him last. A little runt! Now he is an adult. So bizarre. Marcus turned out to be a great guy though, and I enjoyed our conversations.
On our way out the next day, we stopped by some pretty waterfalls.
I kept saying there was nothing better than Oregon in the summer. So green.
Last but not least, a quick drive by of Crater Lake.
Now time to back some bags and head to Mozambique! An exciting new chapter just days away.
