Painted Hills National Monument

And on the final day of the weekend, we leisurely got up and around, packed, and had breakfast before heading down the road to Painted Hills National Monument.  It's been on my list of places to visit for quite some time, but I've never actually gone through with it because it's in the middle of nowhere.

The weather was overcast and chilly, but that just meant that there weren't too many other visitors.  I wasn't exactly sure what to expect since I figured most pictures of the place have all been brightened and had contrast and color saturation levels boosted, but it was still really neat to see and read about.  Confession: my pictures are also boosted!

After taking a handful of pictures, we headed west and into a light snow as we crossed the Ochoco Mountains.  We had lunch and a beer in Redmond at Wild Ride Brewing - another place I've long had on my list.  And after that, it was back over The Cascades to home!

Made a delicious gochujang shrimp and rice dish and snapped a quick pick of some sunshine streaming in through Emma's bedroom window which is now sadly vacant with her being at school.