Smith Rock

 

For me, Smith Rock represents childhood.  As a child, I lived on a cinder butte about 15 miles from this incredible rock formation.  I looked at it every day.  It encompassed everything thing I loved about the high desert.  My family spent lots of time exploring these trails.  This was back before Smith Rock was discovered by world class mountain climbers.  Often we would have the entire park to ourselves.  I'm glad we got the chance to spend a few hours here hiking and revisiting the area.  It was a perfect sunny day and lots of climbers were out. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I remember climbing up to this hanging rock as a child.  My dad took my sis and I up one evening and we straddled the ledge under the hanging rock.  We could see for miles in every direction.  It's one of my very favorite childhood memories.  Now I look at the trek up to this spot and I wonder how I ever did it.  It's kind of scary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A favorite family tradition was to stop at Juniper Junction for Huckleberry ice cream.  Sadly, they were closed when we visited.

 

Cascade Lakes Scenic Hwy - Lava Lake

 

We decided to check the other end of the Cascade Scenic Highway to see how far we could travel and hopefully get to see some lakes along the way.  We headed south and had a cheap hearty breakfast in La Pine.  We ended up visiting 4 lakes and 2 reservoirs before the road was closed just past Lava Lake.  It was a wonderful adventure and I always love checking out lakes.  They are my favorite body of water.  The mountains stayed hidden pretty much the entire day, but we still saw some beautiful sights on this trip.

 

 

North Twin Lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South Twin Lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wickiup Reservoir

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crane Prarie Reservoir

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cultus Lake

 

 

 

Lava Lake

 

 

 

 

Lava Lake was definitely my favorite.  It has lovely views of multiple mountains which would have been stunning without the stormy weather we experienced.  Still it was a beautiful day full of adventure.  

 

 

Cascade Lakes Scenic Hwy - Mt Bachelor

 

 

We set out on the Cascade Lakes Scenic Highway for a day drive in the country.  We wanted to check out Sparks Lakes and other sights along the way.  We were only able to make it to Mt. Bachelor where the road was closed due to snow.  In fact, there was so much snow, we had trouble making out where the highway past Mt. Bachelor was.  It was a beautiful drive and we climbed a huge berm of snow in an attempt to get better pictures of Mt. Bachelor and Broken Top.  Sadly, the gray overcast sky wasn't helping our photography any.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the return trip, we stopped at this viewpoint to check out the incredible landscape created by volcanoes.  I really love this part of the world.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tumalo Falls

 

 

Tumalo Falls is 10 miles west of Bend.  I don't remember ever going here as a child, but I'm sure I must have.  Waterfalls aren't all that common in Central Oregon.  The falls must have been at their fullest with the snow melting from the mountains.   I was blown away by how big and beautiful the falls are - definitely something to check out if you are in Bend.  The last couple of miles to the falls is a dirt road and there is a 5 dollar park fee.  It's definitely worth the price of admission because the 1/4 mile hike to the top of the falls provided stunning views of the area.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biking in Sunriver

 

One thing I like about Sunriver are the bike trails.  The terrain is mostly flat and it's a great way to see more of the country than on foot.  We went on two bike rides during our stay in Sunriver.  Both times we saw lots of deer and many birds of prey.  On the first trip, I stopped to feed this horse and to give him a bit of love.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ventured off the paved trails and went along this dirt road for quite aways.  We were using bikes that were owned by the condo.  My bike only had one working gear, so it made for an interesting, but still very fun bike ride.

Ogden State Park - Central Oregon

 

My husband and I stopped at the Ogden State Park on the way to Sunriver for a vacation.  I remember coming here as a kid.  The views of the gorge and the Crooked River are just breathtaking.  We could also see several of the Cascade Mountains, but my camera had a hard time picking them up.

 

 

It was really cool to walk across this bridge built back in 1926.  It is no longer open to traffic and a new bridge was built just to the east of it.  It allowed for stunning views of the Oregon Railroad Trunk Bridge built in 1911 and the first structure to cross this gorge.

 

 

When we arrived at the park, there were maybe 5 other people there.  Then a bus arrived and a huge crowd of people got off to check out the bridge.  All of a sudden, there was a murmur among the crowd that a train was coming.  Everyone became every excited and found their position to take a picture.  It turns out that the bus load of people were on a railroad sightseeing trip.  The organizers stated that they had never been here when a train actually crossed the gorge, so this was a really big deal.  It made their whole day and I thought it was pretty darn cool too.

 

 

The Trunk bridge is stunning and it was great to stand next to very old men as they talked about all they knew of this historical treasure.

 

 

 

Oregon Garden

Last Saturday, after visiting my newest nephew, my husband and I went walking in the Oregon Garden.  It's a shame that I haven't been there in about 6 years.  I went when it first opened and much  has changed since then.  It was a beautiful sunny day, the first really nice day this year in Portland, and it was wonderful to stroll along the garden and see how much it's grown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am quickly realizing that I need a new lens for  my camera.  I have the 18-55mm lens that the camera came with and works great, but I want a bigger lens that will let me zoom in much, much more.  I did a lot of cropping to this set of photos.  I won't need to do that as much once I get a different lens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An amazing feature just outside of the garden is the Gorden House, the only Frank Lloyd Wright house in Oregon.  It was going to be demolished, but luckily it was saved and moved to it's new home at the Oregon Garden.