Lava Cast Forest

Three Sisters and Broken Top all jumbled together

For some reason I had never been to the Lava Cast Forest.  It is half an hour away from Bend, near Sun River, and I had passed it up for decades.  Time to change that, so on a free Friday Maria and I headed out for the interesting one mile interpretive trail that leads through a 7,000 year old lava flow on the flanks of Newberry Caldera.  It was definitely interesting, and beautiful, and a perfect day for it.  As a bonus we also hiked a nearby two mile out and back trail that actually revealed some better casts that the Lava Cast Trail.  Nice to fill in this little near by gap in my explorations.

Tree Cast

Noontime Walk in Bend

First Street Rapids, just downstream from downtown Bend

I am fortunate to work in downtown Bend.  On a beautiful November day like today I can head out in any direction and see great stuff.  Today I went downstream along First Street Rapids and took this shot on the pedestrian bridge located there.  Just a fine and pleasant day, that's all.

An Urban Weekend

Big Pink, Portland Skyline

Every November I get the chance to spend a weekend in Portland while attending the ONDA Board meeting.  This year we stayed in the Society Hotel in Old Town/Chinatown.  Great locations and, with a rooftop patio, a fun place to polish off a bottle of good wine and admire the scene around us.  It was good to walk around downtown and the Pearl District and observe the simple act of multitudes of people coexisting.  Oh, and have some really good food.

Springs in November

Head of Jack Creek

We decided to take advantage of freakishly warm November weather and take the camper out for a night.  Jack Creek Campground looked like a good option - nearby and low enough to be snow free.  It turned out to be a great spot.  The trailhead to the Head of Jack Creek is located in the campground.  We hiked the mile upstream to the springs and enjoyed the crystal clear waters emerging from below a lava flow.  Very impressive.  On the way home we decided to check out the head of the Metolius River.  Two streams emerging full fledged from the ground within a few miles of each other; pretty awesome!

Head of the Metolius

Bend has Larch

A Larch in full fall splendor

Many people, including those who live here, do not realize that Central Oregon has larch trees.  Right here in Bend, a few hundred feet from my office, in fact, can be found some beautiful specimens.  In early November they reach their peak.  Always a highlight.

November by the Calendar, June by the weather

Meadows on the way up Crescent Mountain

I had a free Saturday so Ken and I met up at a trail head.  This time it was the Crescent Mountain trail, which neither of us had ever hiked.  It is located in the Old Cascades area west of Santiam Pass, near the lava Lake Snow Park.  At less than an hour from Bend, it is a great option for a woodsier hike than we have on our side of the hills.  And there was nobody at the trail head at 8:30AM when I arrived.  It was cold at the start but quickly warmed as we ascended into the sun.  By the time we were on the summit at 5,760' it felt like 70 degrees.  Crazy warm.  We had enough time after descending that we hiked a bit of the Old Santiam Wagon Road trail and then hiked Echo Basin a little further west.  All were great.  A nice day to be out on the trails.  All told we saw one other group of four the whole day.  Hard to do that near Bend these days!

Mt Jefferson from Crescent Mountain

Echo Basin