Golfing?!?

Yep, you read correctly!  Today we went golfing at "one of the best courses on the West Coast."  It was our recovery day, so after a easy morning run, breakfast, a walk around downtown Bend and a trip to Whole Foods Market, followed by lunch, we all piled into the cars and went...golfing!  A local Bend skier (and golfer) went out of his way to get us a free round of golf and rentals at the beautiful Prong Horn Club outside of Bend.  We started at 3pm and played "best ball" for 9 holes, finishing just after 6pm.  It was a warm, sunny day out on the green and a very nice course for me to try my hand at my first few swings.  I was in a group with Koos, Whitcomb, and Kuzzy and really appreciated the coaching and encouragement from each of them.  I'm happy to report that there was significant improvement- although that's perhaps to be expected when you've never swung a golf club.  I had no problem making contact with the ball; sending it in the right direction to a specific distance was another story.  My shots were pretty haphazard, but it made for some good laughs...I think there might have been a few instances of beginners lucky, and I avoided losing my ball to the pond, but there's still plenty of room for improvement next time!

After a long afternoon we were warmly welcomed to a BBQ/potluck hosted by one of the ski clubs in town.  It was great to put faces to the numerous Bend-skier names I've heard, but never met.  Vordenberg gave slide show full of artist and motivating ski photos, and we enjoyed some wonderful food.  These experiences are the reason the Bend ski community has made a lasting impression.  It's great to see so many people up skiing at Mt. Bachelor, and it's inspiring to see so many people involved and loving skiing.   Thanks to Bend for being such a good host!

More to come...(and maybe even some golf photos!)