central oregon

Last month my family and I road-tripped down to Bend, Oregon and stayed for a few days to explore. This particular spot we went to, Fort Rock, was definitely my favorite. The entire surrounding desert used to be a lake thousands of years ago, and this massive crater was a small island in the middle. I believe it was formed by volcanic activity, and over years and years of the wind pushing the waves against it, one side of the crater eroded. Native Americans once lived in the caves and walked on the island shore; ten thousand year old artifacts have been unearthed since and can be viewed in a ghost town/museum down the road. Something about the incredible history and raw beauty of this place left me speechless and made me fall in love with Jesus just a little bit more.

Another notable memory from this trip - on the way out of the mountains we stopped by a birch grove in nearly the middle of nowhere to take photos. The trees were unreal, but the ground was a bit more swampy than we had anticipated. We snapped some photos and swatted prolific mosquitoes to little avail - the next day I discovered that I had collected a total of one hundred and one bug bites on my legs alone. Remind me to wear mosquito repellent next time.

x Elle