Bend, Oregon

 I was feeling a bit better in the morning so we set off for the day's exploration.

Driving north out of Bend, the views outside the car were incredible.  Definitely in more arid climate.  This is the town of Prineville viewed from an overlook high above the city.

 

 

We spotted a pronghorn out in a field beside the road.

 

 First real activity of the day was to visit the Painted Hills area - just awe inspiring!

 

Driving on west the terrain was consistently beautiful.  The next stop was Smith Rock State Park.

 

The park is very popular and has dozens of interesting looking hiking trails.  And they do rock climbing as well.  No thanks!

 

We did a short hike down into the ravine.  

 But I was feeling a bit tuckered out by this point so we did not do any further exploring.  Best for me to get a bit of rest....we'll leave Bend tomorrow to go north a bit.

 

 

 

Bend, Oregon

 I'm still feeling pretty poorly!  I don't get sick much and this is rather irritating!  I have activities planned for every day and being under the weather is putting a damper on the plan!  (Duane is on the mend with just an occasional hacking cough - I think I got the worse end of this bug).

We set out driving north a bit - beautiful snow capped mountains - the Sisters, I believe.

 

The plan for the day was to take a few short hikes to see waterfalls and lakes....first up was Sahalie Falls.  It didn't come out in the photo, but there is a lovely rainbow showing thru the mist at the bottom of the waterfall.

 

The river feeding the two waterfalls was beautiful all by itself rushing thru the forest.

 

Not too far away was the lovely Koosah falls.  At this point I was pretty tuckered although I hated to admit it.  

Back to the rental car and a drive to see Clear Lake.  This was supposed to be a 5 mile hike around the lake but I opted for a couple of quick photos from the shoreline.

 

It was a really clear lake, haha!
 

  We drove in a 10 mile windy road (haha) to hike to Proxy falls.  We got about 1/2 mile into the hike on a very sunny up-slope....and I just decided I couldn't do it comfortably.  I was getting a bit nauseous so we turned around and head back to Bend where I slept the afternoon away.  Hope to be on the mend tomorrow!

Bend, Oregon

I meant to mention, we've both got a bit of a flu-bug.  Duane came down with it shortly after we arrived, taking DayQuil to keep the coughing under control.  I was fine until a few days ago when I started having the same symptoms.  Duane is on the mend but I'm hacking and not feeling too great.  Oh well, the show must go on!  We have places to see and waterfalls to find!

 Nearby our little cabin was Tokette Lake and falls.  The lake is part of a hydroelectric power plant.

Calm morning!

 

This is the 12' diameter pipeline feeding the power plant - it dates to the 1950's and is still in use although it maybe needs a bit of attention!

 

Pretty walk to the falls.

Lovely falls but it was early in the day and the sun angle wasn't the best.

Next up was Watson falls....misty and green.

 

We climbed up over the mossy rocks to the waterfall pool for a lovely view.

 

And a quick selfie.

 

 Along the drive was Diamond Lake.  Just another pretty mountain lake.

 

Views in the distance.

 

Getting closer to Bend, we stopped by the Newberry Volcanic National Monument.  We drove up the windy crazy road to the "caldera" with the twin lakes.

After a good while taking-in all the beauty at the top of the caldera, we drove down to the visitor center for some lava views.

 

The volcano last erupted about 7000 years ago.

 

Nice mile long walk thru the lava field.

 

View of the devastation.

Another long day and I was feeling a bit yucky.  A short drive to a rather nice AirBnB in residential Bend, Oregon for a few days this time.
 

Umpqua River, Oregon

 We're back in the land of cell service.....so yesterday....

First up was a scheduled NP Service tour of the Oregon Caves.  I think I'll stop saying "after a very, very curvy 10 mile road up the side of a mountain" before every thing we do....since it happens pretty much for everything we do!

 

We were met at the mouth of the Oregon Cave by our guide - Ranger John.  I'm sure he's done this tour hundreds of times and he does his best to make it enjoyable and funny.  

Normal cave tour - although this one was rather chilly at 44 degrees.  Some of the other caves we've toured like Mammoth and Carlsbad were a little warmer - like 55 degrees.  We were prepared and it was fine for the 90 minute tour.

Interesting formations, similar to other caves we've toured.  

I'll just let you page thru some of the shots.

It was actually a pretty long tour and required lots of bending and climbing stairs.

 Good job Ranger John!  He recommended we walk up another 1 mile side-trail for some spectacular views.  He was correct!

Next up was a long drive to Crater Lake NP.

The surroundings have turned very arid. 

 

 

 

We stopped at a random waterfall walk....I hate to admit I didn't write down the name....

 

 Crater Lake was spectacular!!!  

 

 

We were able to drive some of the rim road and get views from different angles.

 

 Views of nearby peaks with some snow still visible.

 

Just breathtaking!

After a busy day with a good bit of driving, we stopped at our next AirBnB at this cabin in a campground called "Last Resort".  Literally the only game in town....I failed a bit on this one....I didn't read the amenities well enough and immediately found that the cabin was basically just a bed....no indoor plumbing.   My fault.  There was a shared campground restroom/shower - but definitely not our style....we were able to manage but got up in the morning and left as soon as we could.

 We will have internet now and I'll catch up a day soon.