Waterfalls and Volcanoes

After leaving Portland, we traveled southeast and crossed over the Cascade Mountains by Mount Hood and went into the High Desert Area of Oregon on our way to Redmond and Bend. Bryan interviewed for a job in Redmond about 10 years ago and we really liked the area. Although we stayed in Redmond, we spent most of our time visiting Bend.  Bend is close to the Mount Bachelor ski area and is popular with outdoor enthusiasts with lots of hiking and biking in the area. We ate dinner at Deschutes Brewery, who has announced plans to build a new brewery in Roanoke, Virginia --their first on the east coast.

Standing behind the waterfall

One of the popular hikes in the area is to Tumalo Falls.  While no where close to being as tall as Multnomah Falls, you could hike to both the top and the bottom of the falls.  In fact, you could actually walk behind the falls and feel the mist as the water comes crashing over you and down into the canyon.  Of course we did both.  At the top, there was a viewpoint where you could actually look down at the top of the falls and see the water as it goes over the cliff.

After spending time at Tumalo Falls, we drove south towards Crater Lake and stopped at one of newest National Monuments -- Newberry National Volcanic Monument.  Here you can see the lava flows still present from when the volcano last erupted thousands of years ago.  We drove to to the top of Paulina Peak where we could see both Paulina Lake and East Lake that had

View of the caldera and lakes from Paulina Peak

formed in the caldera as well as the obsidian flow.  We also stopped to see Paulina Falls -- a small double waterfall fed by a creek that drains from Paulina Lake.

Interesting side note -- Newberry is wholly contained within the Deschutes National Forest.  It is one of 12 national park sites that are managed by the US Forest Service and not the National Park Service.

Paulina Falls