Bend, Oregon - 7/30 - 7/31/2016

We've spent the last two days in Bend, Oregon.  We've never been here before but had heard it was a great retirement location.  Can see why.  The days were very warm and very dry and the nights cold and crisp.  The sky was a deep blue with not a cloud in sight.  Even though it was hot in the sun, if you were in the shade it was very comfortable and as soon as the sun started going down it cooled of so that it was very comfortable sitting outside.  We got to use the picnic tablecloth for the first time as it was very pleasant to eat dinner outside.

On Saturday, we visited the High Desert Museum just south of town.  That is what this area is.  Interesting exhibits on the plants and animals native to the area and a great display of birds of prey.  Here is a photo of a Gila Monster.  It's in the process of shedding its skin

 After that we went to Mass at the only Catholic Church in Bend.  After Mass we drove into the old part of Bend and had dinner at a really good Thai restaurant.  One thing Bend has is a lot of craft beer breweries and I got to sample one of them with dinner.

On Sunday we took a drive on the Cascades Lakes Scenic Highway to the southwest of town.  this first photo is of Mt. Bachelor.

Mt. Bachelor is a stratovolcano on top of a shield volcano.  Shield volcanoes are built almost entirely of fluid magma flows and are low and broad.  Stratovolcanoes have a conical shape and are built up by many layers of lava and ash.  Mt. Bachelor is 9,068 ft. tall and was formed between 15,000 and 11,000 years ago with the most recent eruption about 6,800 years ago.  As you can see it has snow on it year round.

This next photo is of South Sister Mountain.  South Sister is also a stratovolcano and is the tallest and youngest in he area.  It is 10,358 ft. tall and last erupted about 2,000 years ago.  Recent tectonic activity indicates that South Sister may still be active.

These volcanoes are all part of a grouping known as the Three Sisters Range with Mt. Bachelor being the most southern.  As we proceeded south we came to region of the Cascade Lakes.  This photo is of Devil's Lake.  The water is crystal clear.

Here is a shot down the length of the lake to where a boat ramp was located at the south end.

I thought this was a very good photo of the lake.

Our next stop was at Elk Lake and here is Pat at the lodge deciding what to order for lunch.

Here is a photo across the lake with Mt. Bachelor in the background.

This was a Sunday and as you can see the place was very crowded.

Our next stop was at Lava Lake.  Here is a shot across the lake again with Mt. Bachelor in the background.

Here is the Lava Lakes Resort Store.  We stopped in here for an ice cream.

Our next stop was Cultis Lake and as you can see there was a lot of boating activity.

And another shot.

Here is Pat sitting on the veranda of the Cultis Lake Resort admiring the view, so was I.

Lot of pretty flowers around the lodge.  If you want to get into a new line of work, the lodge is for sale.

Our last stop was at Crane Prairie Reservoir.  The dam on the Deschutes River that created this reservoir was built in 1922.  It covers an area of 3,452 acres and it relatively shallow with the maximum depth only 20 ft.  It is famous for its rainbow trout fishery.

We then headed back to Bend.  Tomorrow we head to the Oregon coast.  For the last month we have been seeing day time temperatures in the upper 80s to almost 100.  Tomorrow when we get to South Beach, Oregon, the expected highs will be in the mid 60s.