Deschutes National Forest, Oregon
June 17, 2023
We often have mixed emotions when leaving an exceptional campsite, and such was the case with our much-loved riverside site on the Rogue River. But, new adventures await, and we were blessed with a picture-perfect travel day on the way to our next destination in central Oregon.
Love the pine forests in this part of Oregon!
Abandoned mini-mart in rural Oregon
After stopping for some grocery shopping in Bend, we traveled another half hour to our campground just outside the town of Sisters.
The quaint town of Sisters
Not as awesome as our last campsite, but it will do nicely
Like our previous campsite which also was in a pine forest, we were a little solar-challenged and had to exercise more care with our electricity usage. We found that using propane instead of electricity for both the water heater and cooking was enough to ensure the batteries adequately charged with the relatively small amount of direct sunlight we got each day. Phew--no need to quit using the microwave and the dishwasher! 😉
We took care of mountains of laundry on Tuesday (hadn't been to a laundromat in 3 weeks), and then went into Sisters Wednesday morning for breakfast and to walk around the cute town.
The Cottonwood restaurant where we had breakfast
Walking around Sisters
Even the garbage cans were cute
There were lots of nice homes near town
We found it amusing that just across the street from this house...
...was this one
This is something you don't see every day
The landscape surrounding Sisters
On Thursday, we headed to Smith Rock State Park, about 45 minutes northeast of our campground. This area is just within the high desert region of Oregon. As with most of Oregon, the unique geological features in this park are courtesy of previous volcanic activity.
Gotta go down into the valley to get to the hiking trails
Nice trail down, but notice that first set of switchbacks on the other side of the river . . . Take a look around
We selected the "Misery Ridge" trail, despite the intimidating name
Misery Ridge took us on a 5 mile loop that started with a 700ft climb within 1/2 mile, followed afterwards with a similar steep descent back to the river. Our overall elevation gain was about 1200 feet.
After stopping many times for breaks along the steep trail, we finally reached the top (Nicely captured dragonfly in the upper left of the photo!)
Notice the nice switchbacks leading to the top! Look around at the view
Julie was glad Rick didn't go all the way out to the end of the precipice
A photosphere from the end of the precipice would have been better 😉 - look around
This odd looking rock formation is called Monkey Face. If you look closely you'll see rock climbers at the very top.
Not that there's anything dangerous here
We concluded that the trail was aptly named-- especially after our middle-aged knees complained all the way down
At last--back down to the bottom!
It was about at this point in the trail where Rick realized his wallet was missing. Terror gripped us as we shuddered at the implications of having to backtrack to find it. With knees burning, Julie helpfully offered that "maybe it got lost in the car someplace". That filled us with a bit of consolation as we tried to put the whole idea of the lost wallet out of our heads until we got to the car.
Almost at the end of the trail--but then we need to go back uphill again to the car!
Back at the car, we didn't find the wallet.
At least not right away. After a bit of a search, Julie found it wedged between the driver's seat and the center console. Relief!
We enjoyed all the scenery of Misery Ridge, but it had been a lot of steep ups and downs. First down to the river and the trailhead, then up to the top of the ridge, then down to the river and then back up to the parking lot. We were quite tired afterwards, but it was worth it. For the record, it would not have been worth it if we had to do the whole trail a second time, looking for a lost wallet.
The next day, we took another (much easier - only 7 miles out-and-back and somewhat flat) hike along the Metolius River, about a half hour west of our campground.
The trail followed the river and was very picturesque It was hard to filter down the photos - everything looked great on this sunny day! - Look around
Very picturesque springs gushing forth from the hillside
People were fly fishing all over the place which just made it look even more idyllic. These two walked up along the trail as I was taking the photo. Take a look around.
We were astounded at the beautiful color of the water near the springs
The fragrant wild roses were just beginning to bloom
The color of the river changed, depending upon its depth and the lighting
The water was so clear--but COLD!
Rick, risking life and limb (mostly just risking wet phone) for the photosphere
Rick didn't fall in - so it was worth it! Take a look around
Happened to catch this guy catching a fish
Couldn't resist taking more pictures of the springs on the return
The lighting was better this time around as well Take a look around
Final random musing:
While sitting on the deck one morning, Rick noticed this caterpillar walking around a post (and around, and around, and around - for at least an hour while we were sitting there). We thought to ourselves that this seemed like some sort of metaphor for something...maybe corporate America?
Later on it was gone. Don't know if it finally got fed up and found a new job, or if it got eaten by corporate raiders.
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