Spring Break – Part 4 “High Desert Museum”

The last leg of our Spring Break Trip we headed home from Lakeview and stopped in Bend at the High Desert Museum for several hours!  I would definitely recommend this stop!  Ammon was really excited about taking Annie and Nathan to this museum and I have to say, the kids had a blast!  It was educational and even had many hands on exhibits that the kids loved.

The beautiful weather we had experienced our entire trip was changing and the dark clouds helped us to decide to view the outdoor exhibits first!  There were beautiful paved paths leading to fun viewing areas. Our first stop was the Otter den. The kids had a great time watching the very active otter swim from one end of the pool to the other…it was almost like he was playing games with the kids. Coming right up to the window and then back to the land on the other side. 

I sure wish I got better pictures of the amazing birds of prey they had at the museum! It’s amazing to me how enormous eagles are! There is something really majestic about these birds! They are amazing! My two kiddos decided to pose with silly faces in front of the exhibit.

Probably our family’s favorite part of the museum was the Old time settlement.  The cabin we are standing in front of was open. The kids got to see how people used to live in the 1800’s.

Nathan was especially concerned that the games they had to play were not electronic at all. No video games or TV in the 1800’s. “Jason” was a relative of the settlers that lived in this cabin and he showed the kids how to play a couple of old fashioned games that were common in the 1800’s for children their age. He was great and stayed in character the entire time. He answered all questions as if he were living in the late 1800’s. Very fun for the kids! 

Annie was eager to learn the first game (above).Nathan warmed up to the idea and tried the second game.  

Nathan loved watching the live bobcat (through the window of course).

The last part of our time at the High Desert Museum we went on a guided tour where our tour guide gave us lots of information and told stories of the pioneers that settled in Oregon. The tour guide was fabulous! Annie had fun showing off a little by answering some of his questions for the audience on the tour! Smarty pants!

Here is a picture of Annie in a Golden eagle dress up costume in the children’s climbing area! Rock climbing, slides in the rocks, puppets to play with, tunnels to climb through…the kids were in heaven!  It was perfect before they had to hop back in the van for the long drive home! Nathan found a spider under a sliding rock…as you can see…he wasn’t so sure about it! Ammon even had fun hiding from the kids!

Like I said at the beginning of Spring Break – Part 1…we had a great time! This vacation was a perfect mixture of visiting friends and having very fun and special family time!  I look forward to other fun trips like it in the future!