Saturday, July 11, 2009

Hammocking in Central Oregon

Bend has a bit of a reputation for its obnoxious quantity of 'elites' - elite bikers, elite skiers, elite climbers, elite kayakers, elitists... etc.

When we first moved here, we were really concerned about how to find our place. We didn't want to have to keep up with the seeming everyone who owns 27 bikes and 16 pairs of skis, and uses at least one (set) of each on any given day.

And really, what about all the other wondrous things available to us out here, beyond the well travelled roads and ski trails? Do we always have to be moving, and quickly, to enjoy Central Oregon?

At one time, I would have clamored to be part of that elite. Unfortunately or otherwise, the most persistent feature of my gluten intolerance has been fatigue, and so the psycho schedule I used to keep - rowing at 5 am 4 days a week, bike commuting back and forth to my massage office 4 or 5 days a week, doing 4 hours plus of massage a day, going for big rides at least once a week, and managing the rest of my life in my spare time - isn't currently an option.

(However, I have inadvertently become one of the best rowers in Central Oregon by virtue of being one of only about four rowers out here. Hello, Bethanne, Doug, and Doug's girlfriend!)

...Or otherwise, gluten intolerance has given me my life back. Yep, sometimes I'm tired, and more often than not I just don't have the endurance I used to. So I head out in my boat, perhaps, and spend a lot of time watching the breeze on the surface of the lake. Or we go to the river and float down it in cheap pink inflatables from Target (definitely not elitist gear). Or maybe we go nowhere at all, and hang out in our new hammock, under the whispering branches of a big juniper and within sighting distance of the Spotted Towhee on our bird feeder.


Wouldn't it be great if all of our humble backyards became destination vacation spots, because the hammocking is just so top notch? We can all be elite hammockers with just a lazy push...

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