Eastern Oregon Cascades

We hit firmly on the eastern side of the Cascades after Mt Hood. We could finally tell it was quite a bit drier. That feeling eventually turned to glum acceptance, but at first it was kind of nice. We drove down through the high desert, stopping for lunch along the very windy Deschutes River outside Warm Springs. We stopped at a park north of Bend, and for the first time got skunked on a site. Apparently this area is popular, even during the week. So we kept going south, stopping for a beer and snacks at Deschutes Brewing. The bar was very crowded and we honestly liked Full Sail better for the ambiance, food, and beer. We did make a pilgrimage to Mirror Pond, however, out of respect.

After we left Bend, we found a camp site at La Pine state park. In the park was the largest Ponderosa Pine ever recorded. Apparently we're a bit jaded on the big trees, as our comment was "huh, big tree" and we didn't even bother with a picture. The camp was pretty good, though rather cold at night as it is in the desert. In the morning we hiked along Fall River, an offshoot of the Deschutes, and eventually found the falls after much side- and back-tracking.

We drove south again through the desert, turning west along the (thankfully open) road to Crater Lake. Most of the hikes to viewpoints were closed, but the rim road and north entrance were open to traffic. We drove the long way around the lake, stopping often for views. We tried to go to Cloudcap, but the road was eaten by snow about 500 ft from the rim road. We made a side trip to the Lost Creek campground and almost got a site, but were chased away by the gimongous mosquitoes. We finished the loop around the lake and continued south to look for a campground. After a short stop at a primitive camp populated mostly by flyfisher-men, we settled on Collier State Park. Best park ever! In addition to hot showers, there was a laundry room that was not exorbitant. We also met a couple from Merced at the end of their 2-month road trip and shared the last bottle of 2006 Orange Blossom mead with them (been dragging that thing around for too long!). They brought us a real axe to split our wood (after laughing at Hilary and the hatchet) and even fed us. Best park ever!