Tire Mountain hike

On the way back home the fog has broken

I went on a 12 mile day hike with a friend this past Saturday.  We had intended to do an overnight hike to the same general location, but Friday was a day as wet as I have seen here in quite a while.  Saturday was dry, though foggy in the morning.  We drove to the Cloverpatch trailhead from Eugene in about and hour and enjoyed complete solitude all day.  The fog gave way to sunshine at the top of Tire (4,300') and on the way down yielded beautiful views of sunbeams through trees and glowing yellow maples.  Spending a night on top of Tire Mountain will have to wait.

Sun River

 

Aspens at Sun River Nature Center

I was fortunate enough to have been able to attend a GIS conference in Sun River last week and then have family and friends join me for the following weekend.  Fresh snow on Mt Bachelor portends the coming winter (and ski season!)  We biked, walked, and enjoyed all that a Central Oregon autumn offers.  This included a star gazing event, a golden eagle talk at the Nature Center, a trip to the High Desert Museum, and a great bike ride along the Deschutes.  An excellent weekend indeed (and a pretty good conference as well).

Benham Falls on the Deschutes River