Category: Roadtrips

Once we reached the river again, we drove along the gorge back to Portland. We were feeling run down by this point and anxious to get home, so we didn't stop much. We originally had several hikes planned for this day of the trip, but a wildfire last year had led to most of those trails being closed and not expected to reopen for at least a few more months. But we did stop once or twice to stretch our legs and soak in the scenery.

After leaving the Bend area, we took off across the high desert country on our way back to the Columbia River. I expected this part of the drive to be somewhat boring, but it turned out to be just as beautiful as the rest of the trip. I didn't get many pictures, as we were down to a half of a tank of gas and I had no idea where the next town would be - there were several stretches of a half hour or more where I didn't see a single sign of civilization other than the road itself. Next time I'd like to plan to spend a little more time in the area, and get out of the car and explore a little.

Another stop we made with Karen was Lava Butte - an extinct volcano that you can drive up. From the top the views of the mountains were pretty amazing. I didn't get any great pictures, but trust me - it was impressive.

While visiting my Aunt Karen we went and explored a lava tube - basically a long tube-like cave formed by lava. We were the first people in the cave that day, and it was the first day the cave was open this year. So we were the first of the first! It was really cool in there - I've been in a bunch of limestone caves, but a lava cave has a very different feel. And where it was just the four of us, it was really quiet and spooky.

We visited my Aunt Karen and her husband near Bend, Oregon and spent day five with them. It was great! We visited a lava tube, an extinct volcano, took a beautiful bike ride along a river. It was great to have a day to explore with someone who knew the area, and without having to do any driving myself.

This was a similar situation to the aquarium - we visited this museum, had a great time, but somehow neglected to take any pictures. So here you go - a porcupine. :)

The falls we were headed to visit in the last post was this waterfall - Toketee Falls. It's a two-stage waterfall, and only about half a mile from the road. We were the only ones there that day, and the falls were gorgeous.

While parking to try a hike to nearby waterfall, we saw this water pipeline cutting through the parking area. The most amazing thing about it? It's made of wood. The whole thing is made of wooden staves, with metal rings cinching everything tight. It was leaking in a few places, but the idea that this huge wooden pipeline was carry all that water under so much pressure was amazing. I read that it is part of a hydroelectric project.

In Winston, Oregon we did a drive-through safari park, but neither of us remembered to take any photos. My excuse is that I was driving, and didn't want to run anything over. I don't know what Carter's excuse was. Heh. After the drive-through portion we went to see their other exhibits, and one of us took this random photo of a flamingo and a duck, which is funny because we had just spent time driving among the rhinos, bears, and bison. But yep, here's a duck.

Before we turned north into the mountains of central Oregon, we dipped down into California to see the redwoods in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. It's impossible to capture the majesty of those trees in photos - they all looked much less impressive than they did in person. Also having Carter in the shot does help give a sense of scale. I found out later that some of the Endor scenes from Return of the Jedi were filmed in Stout Grove, which is the part of this park that we explored.