Deschutes River

We had ridden our mountain bikes on the Deschutes River Trail while visiting Bend a few years ago and thought it would be fun to try it again. It was beautiful and peaceful with very few people along the way.

A series of three parallel trails winds through pine forests, lava flows and riparian zones along the various placid and tumultuous waters of the Deschutes River.

 

The Benham Falls are more cascades than actual falls but still quite impressive with the sound of water rolling over the rocks.

We could see the lava flow area across the river which had it's own appeal.

 

Going into Bend to take care of shopping and getting the oil changed started out as a nice idea but turned into work upon hitting the traffic. We turned around in Costco deciding to skip it when we saw the lines at the checkout and tried back in a few days which was much better. I am not sure if it is because of tourist season or just this many people living here now. Maybe we have been in the woods too long. 
 

Sunriver is a quieter touristy area but the kayakers on the river were out in full force in the mornings. There was more than enough to keep us happy over the two weeks here.

Not a bad place for lunch and a rest.

A trip later in our stay to Bend was much more pleasant with a stop at the Northwest Farmer's Market and a stop at Drake's Park in the middle of Bend. I was not hiking or biking today.

A little Tejano music. A person can find music playing everyday somewhere in this area.

The Deschutes River along Drake Park

A bubble machine in the park for little kids.

Something for the big kids

 

Sparks Lake was closed for construction so we took our kayaks down the road to Hosmer Lake. It must be the go to place. I have never seen so many kayakers in one place. We parked on the road above the boat launch and got the kayak on it's wheel and took it down. Most of the people were leaving as we paddled out and were soon alone among the ducks, birds and fish. It isn't very deep and we could see some nice sized trout right under us. Little Lava Lake down the road was much quieter and would be our choice next time we want to paddle.

There are 30 Cascade Lakes

We heard the warning sound of the baby ducks in the lily pads before we saw them. We backed up to avoid bothering them anymore.

 

It looks strange with the wheels on top of the kayak but I wasn't going to carry them back up the hill to put them in the truck when there were perfectly good bungees in front of us. Our kayak is inflatable and is not any lighter than the hard sided. The wheels were a good addition.

A couple parked by a trailhead looked like something was bothering them so I asked where they were going to hike. They were from Britain and said they had forgotten their wallet to pay for their pass. Mike handed them $5 and you would have thought it was $100 as happy as they were. We know the feeling of getting somewhere and have forgotten something important. We once road our mountain bikes in hiking boots after driving an hour to get to the trail and forgetting our bike shoes. We weren't leaving without a ride if we could help it even if it was clumsy riding.

 

 

 

Bayfield, Wisconsin and the Apostle Islands

 

While on our rest day after returning from Madeline Island, we decided to check out the local orchards and farms.

We haven't had TV, phone or much internet service since we left Hinkley, Minnesota. We find places like the Fat Radish for lunch and use their WIFI or a local library that is a cute old home.

Erickson's had two white haired ladies selling apple cider donuts and apple cookies with raisins, nuts and maple frosting that were so big we bought one to share. Then we spent the next day wishing we had another.

 

 

Mike thought that we should bike thru the country since it was only 10 miles. I suggested we drive and check it out in case we wanted to buy something. Good thing. The hills reminded me of those in Seattle. Up and down then up again. This was supposed to be a rest day.

Apple picking doesn't start for another week. I bet we find some along the way.

 

We had seen the ice caves that people walked out to in the winter on the news last year and decided to check it out. There were only about 10 days last winter that people could get out to them.  Parking would be backed up so far that they had to walk 5 miles before reaching the path for 1 mile to the caves after reported by the  national news. Locals started shuttles to haul people out and make a little cash.

The rain cleared and fog lifted so we could paddle but the wind was 15 mph and water pretty choppy.

 

 

We had a guide, Stephanie, that took good care of us and another couple for the day. Lake Superior is way over our heads.  

The eagles would fly over our heads when we came out of the caves.

 

 

After paddling 10.5 miles and hiking 2.5 miles (I thought we signed up for the 4 miles trip) we were tired people and glad to be back.

Some of the caves were so low you had to bend down and push to get thru. I didn't think we could get thru oone since it was so low that we went around.

We made it to Sand Island

It was a nice shady walk to the lighthouse. Our guide said the bugs had not been bad this year but were usually quite bad.

 

 

The blueberries are fuzzy in this picture but quite tasty.

After hanging out at the light house and enjoying our picnic that Stephanie brought, we headed back to our kayaks.

We had to check out the caves again on the way back.

We were glad that it was a cool start to the morning since we had wet suits and spray skirts that got pretty warm on the way back in the afternoon.

We heard this was the place for brats and cheese. We got the award winner and were smiling after we grilled those puppies up.

So glad we drove over the Ashland to check it out. 

This evening when we got back home,  our neighbor had his guitar out playing some nice tunes. We enjoyed just watching the sunset, listening to him. Maybe the raccoons will stay off our grill tonight. They leave such muddy footprints.