Pomerleau Family Blog: Sun River 2020

We planned out our trip to Sun River last fall of 2019 and planned to stay at our same house that we had stayed at the past four years. We were excited and fearful that Sun River may close back down during the pandemic but cases were fairly low in Deschutes County. We learned that most of Sun River was open and all the restaurants in Bend and Sun River were open. The SHARC pool was also open but in a limited capacity for 2 hour segments and you had to wait in line about 45 minutes before to get in as they only allowed a set number of people in. Because of this and also a worry of catching the virus, we only went to the SHARC twice which Sean and I were not that sad about as we ended up doing more fun outdoor stuff that we hadn't done before as we were always at the SHARC pool.

We left for Sun River on a Sunday. I went shopping at Costco and Fred Meyer the day before and bought all our groceries. This was good and we ended up not needing to go to the store when we got to Bend but it sucked having to pack it all. We got to Sun River in the early evening and unpacked and made a yummy dinner which we ate outside on our deck. The dogs were excited to see the house and Teddy loved all the decks. It felt great to be at our home away from home!

Checking out the deck!

Dinner on the deck!

We planned on spending our first day in Sun River with attem epting to get into the SHARC to go swimming. We drove by and saw how busy the SHARC was during the first session and dropped the kids off early to stand in line so we could hopefully get in the next session. We were able to get in that session and had about 1 hour 45 minute swim session. It was perfect for me and it was nice and not super crowded. The lines to the water slides were not that bad and Olivia was now tall enough to use them much to her delight. After swimming we headed back to the house and got dressed. We went into Bend for dinner and ate at our favorite restaurant Worthy Brewery. It was very hot but we were able to find some shade outside. After dinner, we headed up Pilot Butte right in Bend. Pilot Butte looked like a large mound and you park at the bottom and then walk up all the way to the top where there are beautiful views of the City. I had been wanting to do the hike for a while and was happy I was able to convince the family to go. It was about a mile up to the top and we timed it well so we were able to see the sunset right when we were going down the hill.

Eating outside in Bend

Hiking up Pilot Butte

Family shot at the top

We made it down the hill safely!

It was sweltering hot and we thought it would be good to spend the next day near a lake. We were debating about which lake to visit and Olivia's friend's parent recommended South Twin Lake which not super far from Sun River. We packed a picnic and headed out there in the early afternoon. We all wore our swim suits and brought our floats. We started off with a fun hike around the lake. It was 2 miles and quite warm but we could go wading in the lake. The dogs had a blast going on the hike and running into the water. We scoped out a fun spot near the lake and set up our canopy and got our swimming gloats out. The kids even took Lulu and Teddy out on the float. It was a lot of fun and way more relaxing than spending the entire day at the SHARC. Plus we were seeing parts of Bend that we had never seen before.

Hiking along the lake

Olivia found a teepee near the lake

Fun hiking along the lake

Home canopy fort near the lake

Swimming out at the lake with Teddy on the float

Kisses from my water dog

So much fun at the South Twin Lake

Riding bikes and roller blading near our house

Prior to going to Sun River we planned to go on a white water rafting trip along the Deschutes River near Sun River. We found a very COVID safe company where only our family was on the raft with a guide and we were to wear the masks the whole time except for a 3 minute rapid photo session. It was nice as well because we were outside. Olivia was old enough to go and we thought everyone would have a lot of fun. We did a 2 hour rafting trip and we left out of Sun River and arrived at the boat ramp. The beginning of the trip was just learning how to steer and paddle and everyone getting comfortable. It was very relaxing! Then we did a few smaller rapids. The middle of the trip was 3 larger level 3 class rapids which were really fun. The kids had a blast on the trip and they even got to jump into the water and go swimming! It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip and we are already excited to try again next year. I paid for some fun photos to be taken during the rafting trip which was fun to cherish the memories. It is so fun now that the kids are getting older to be able to do these type of activities.

All ready for some rafting!

About to go down some rapids

All paddling hard!

Getting splashed!

We made it!

The next day we planned on spending the day near Sun River. I took the kids horse back riding on a one hour trail ride near Sun River as part of the Sun River stables and then in the afternoon we went to the SHARC pool. The kids had a lot of fun horse back riding. It had been a while since I had horse backed that long and it was the first time the kids actually got to ride a horse outside of a pony ride. Olivia had to be 7 to do the horse back riding so she was just barely old enough this year. We did a fun trial loop around Sun River stables and ended up near the Marina river. After horse back riding we went to the SHARC pool in the afternoon. The kids had a blast playing at the SHARC for the two hours we were allowed to. Then we changed and headed to Sun River brewery for a fun outdoor dinner.

These two had fun at the stables

Excited to be riding

Brandon enjoyed riding his horse

So much fun on the trail-Brandon's horse kept walking really slowly and my horse kept almost hitting it

Such a fun experience riding with my kids

Fun time at the SHARC so empty with the limited amount of people let in

Rope climbing

Yummy dinner at Sun River Brewery

The 2nd to last day of our trip we planned to go on another hike to a nearby lake. We normally go to Sparks Lake but wanted to try something a bit different this time so headed to Lucky Lake hoping to keep clear of crowds and to find a good spot to swim with the dogs and the kids. The hike to Lucky Lake was relatively easy about 1.5 miles each way. We hiked around to a nice area that a large family had just left. The dogs loved being off leash and swimming and the kids too! There were beautiful views of the Sisters mountains in the background. It was so fun exploring a new area and lake! We had a nice dinner at home that night.

Hiking to the lake

The dogs loved all the hiking

Beautiful Lucky Lake

Brandon took this picture!

Swimming in the lake

Family shot with my tripod

Taking a picture of Sean taking a picture with the kids

Love this picture of Sean and I by the lake

Family shot at Lucky lake with Lulu in the background

Beautiful Mt. Bachelor

Our last day in Sun River we spent the day packing up and hanging out around Sun River bike riding. We went into Bend for dinner and had some amazing Sushi and then had so much fun exploring Riverbend Park. We saw so many beautiful condos by the river. The next morning we had to leave and were sad to say goodbye to our Sun River house. We tried to stop for breakfast at our favorite place-McKay's Cottage but they were too busy so we went to the Cottonwood in Sisters which was quite good. It was such a fun trip and we were sad it was over but were excited that we got to go back to Bend in a month for a trip with the Larson clan at least.