Heading to Idaho

We left Sunriver in the much needed heavy rain and could have spent much more time in this fabulous state but Idaho is calling. It was nice driving down Highway 20 through the farm country and stopped after 260 miles in a small town near the Idaho border. Having great WIFI and several channels of TV made us feel like we had hit the big time after a over a month of little or none. We watched for a little bit and realized nothing was on. The lady at the front desk was so pleasant and $30 a night was not bad.

 After a day of driving through farm country, we took a walk through town to look at the murals . We probably should have waited until the sun went down since the temps were in the upper 90s.

 

     Vale was the first stop in Oregon for travelers on the Oregon Trail just 12 miles from the border. The Mural Trail along the streets of Vale depict the early days of the Oregon Trail.

Love these little libraries full of children's books.

 

Just south of Vale is Keeney Pass, an interpretive site where the Oregon Trail wagon ruts are still visible.

The temp cooled down quite a bit after the sun went down and moon came up as the people came out of their air conditioned RVs to enjoy the evenng.

We find the farm country has its own beauty with the wheat and onions growing. Our country is so diverse and amazing.

On to Idaho and the Sawtooth Range.

Three Sisters Wilderness

We decided to get up early to hike in the Three Sisters Wilderness. Driving up towards Mt Bachelor, the clouds became thicker and temps lower. Once we arrived at the trailhead, the temp was 49 degrees. With several trails to chose, we chose the one that followed the creek to the Green Lakes and turned out to be great. There were many waterfalls around every corner with views of the volcano flow from the South Sister as we got higher.  The pictures we took don't do the area justice.

In the evening we found a group playing some pretty good Bluegrass that were quite entertaining.

This bridge was just 1/4 mile from our truck and when we returned the steps were much higher up than when we first started our 9 mile hike.

 

 

There are some huge bullfrogs around here that get loud at times.

The past two weeks have flown by with so much to see and do, requiring a nap in the afternoons and occasional days off to read a book.

South Sister

Middle and North Sisters overlooking the first Green Lake. There were more ahead.

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The marker said 4 miles each way but GPS read 9 when we returned. Taking side trips off the trail and then going further once we arrived just to see what was around each corner added that extra mile.

 

The GPS had not been updated in far too long, so we took the morning and used the park's internet to download the latest version instead of using our data. That took quite a while. I think we get lazy about keeping things up sometimes thinking we are on vacation instead of living our lives this way.  Starting out in a whirlwind, we had to learn to settle down pacing ourselves and don't need to see and do everything. We're just figuring what we need to do to make it right for us. 

 

On to Idaho! (After a nap)

 

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.