Colors and Peaks

I love the colors here.   The views out the hospital windows at St. Charles in Bend are scrumptious.  Deep blue of the mountains, soon to be white, and reds and yellows of autumn trees scattered about town.  The muted green of the Ponderosa Pines sets off the other colors.  There are lovely watercolors and pastels with saturated colors throughout the hospital, often reflecting the views outside--I often stop to admire them, and they help keep me oriented in the hospital maze.  Across a roof covered in river rock, a fellow is painting a mural of the exact same mountain peaks you can see around the corner of the building.   There's a sign 20 feet in front of the mural labelling both the real and the mural mountain peaks.  I'll be glad when the construction sign comes off the door, so I can go check out my hunches for which peak is which.   I know the Three Sisters, having backpacked to Obsidian Falls there long ago with my sister Joanne (remembering her shock when the campstove when up in flames, and I, as big sister, had to act like I knew what I was doing).  One nurse told me they used to call these mountains, "Faith, Hope, and Charity".  I remember as a preschooler drawing the "Three Sisters" when my Dad went on a business trip to the town of Sisters.  There were just three of us sisters then, since Sandra hadn't been born yet.  I guess she would have to be Three Fingered Jack, or one of the other peaks.  Of course, I was the North Sister, Karen was the Middle Sister, and Joanne the South Sister in my crayon drawings.

You can also see Mt Bachelor, which is just a few miles up Century Drive, and usually has enough snow for skiing by Thanksgiving.  Bend itself is about 3600 feet above sea level, which maybe explains why I felt a little breathless my first few days here.  The air is dry too...I'm drinking two large bottles of low cal lemonade a day, just so I don't feel so parched.  But I do enjoy the energizing feeling the blue skies give me.   Don't think I'd want to live in S.A.D. country again, like the other side of the mountains.  Winter blues are a real problem there with the dark rainy days.

For now, I can only admire the views, since my 11 hour work days keep me indoors, then it's dark by the time I get home.  But during my upcoming time off, I hope to drive up Pilot Butte, an extinct cinder cone right in Bend, and just a few blocks from the hospital.   And downtown Bend with miles of trails along the Deschutes River beckons too.  Gotta go there before the snow starts.