Sunday, September 6, 2015
McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass Scenic Byway, Smith Rock State Park
We slept in today after the scrumptious beer tasting last night,
but we got around sometime in the a.m. and set off to see the
sights. The McKenzie Pass–Santiam Pass Scenic Byway is an
82-mile-long National Scenic Byway beginning and ending in Sisters,
Oregon, about 20 miles west of Bend. As has become our custom, we
drove the loop in a clockwise direction. This scenic loop showcases
several snow-capped, glacier-clad volcanoes, including Broken Top
Mountain, Mount Washington, and the Three Sisters, but
unfortunately we couldn't see much of the mountains because of the overcast
conditions.
McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass Scenic Byway
Just past Sisters, the road is closed to vehicles over 35 feet in
length or pulling trailers, due to the multitude of tight
switchbacks ascending through the ponderosa pines before emerging
into a lava field at the summit of McKenzie Pass, elevation 5,325
feet. At the pass you can walk up to the Dee Wright Observatory, a lava-rock fortress
constructed by the CCC in 1935 which affords (presumably)
marvelous views of the mountains, but, alas, not today because of
the low clouds. The observatory structure itself is pretty cool,
and we had a good, somewhat spooky, view over the large lava
field.
Dee Wright Observatory at McKenzie Pass
Lava field
Extra spooky lava field
The next stretch of the drive, from the Observatory to Belknap
Springs, is even more curvy and pretty slow going. This part of the
byway doesn't have much to look at, unless you count driving
through a tunnel of trees as scenic. I'm glad I was the one behind
the wheel, or I would have been sick, sick, sick. I think Brian got
a little woozy in the backseat.
The road straightens out once you get on Route 126, where we turned
back to the east. We stopped at Koosah Falls, a gorgeous waterfall plunging 70 feet over
moss-covered lava, one of the top two most gorgeous falls of the
trip! In spite of the mountains being obscured today, this was
still an outstanding drive.
Koosah Falls
We lunched at Subway again today, this time in Sisters, then took a
beautiful drive along the Deschutes River, with the Sisters
Mountains visible in the distance. As soon as we got away from the
big mountains, we were in blue skies for the rest of the day, but
we could see from afar that it was still cloudy where we'd been
this morning. It would be difficult to forecast the weather
around here. You'd have to do it block by block!
One of the Sisters Mountains
Deschutes River
Along the Deschutes
The Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint in Terrebonne is a
rest area with a view of the Crooked River Canyon and a couple of
cool bridges, one with bungee jumpers. Apparently, dogs like to
jump here too, so they have to stay in the car.
Crooked River Canyon
Dogs beware!
We spent the better part of the afternoon at Smith Rock State Park, situated in the high desert
near Terrebonne and Redmond, a few miles north of Bend. Considered
the birthplace of American sports climbing, Smith Rock was crawling
with climbers. The park is made up of incredible rock formations rising
to 550 feet in height, formed from compressed volcanic ash, and
surrounded by a relatively flat landscape, with the Crooked River
flowing along the base of the cliffs.
Smith Rock State Park, Oregon
Crooked River, Smith Rock State Park
Smith Rock State Park
There are several hiking trails at Smith Rock, including one called
the “Misery Ridge Trail” that just didn't sound like that much fun.
We opted instead to hike the River Trail, one of the few hikes I
know of where the view from the bottom, at the base of the cliffs,
is surely as impressive as from the top.
Misery Ridge Trail - We selected an alternate route
Climbers defying gravity
To rehydrate from our hike, we stopped in Redmond at Wild Ride Brewing,
one of more than two dozen craft breweries in the Bend area. We
tried the Mount Up Maple Brown, 3 Sisters Red Ale, and the Brain
Bucket Imperial IPA. Everything was pretty hoppy, not really my
thing.
Tom and Brian at Wild Ride Brewing
Jana and Brian - Prost!
After relaxing at the hotel for an hour or so, we walked over to
Kelly D's Sports Bar
& Grill, just a couple of doors down from the Rodeway Inn.
Knowing by now that everything closes freakishly early in Oregon, I
checked their website and saw that they were open till 12:00 a.m. I
was skeptical, so we got there before 9:00, and even then the
kitchen was closed, but they offered to fix us something from the
“late night” menu, which was basically anything they could cook in
the deep fryer. We had steak fingers, fish & chips, and they
even managed to find a pre-made salad laying around the back from
earlier in the night. Then a customer brought in a German chocolate
birthday cake for the bartender, and she served us each a big
slice. Beer of the night: Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen, made in
Portland. We closed the place down at about 10:30 p.m.
Oregon ducks
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