Tag: deschutes-river

The Power of Friendship: Hiking The Upper Deschutes River Lava Island.

When I moved to Central Oregon 30+ years ago, I had big dreams… I wanted to be a photographer like Ray Atkinson or Erskine Wood. Both Oregon photographers I have admired. I even worked for Erskine and Nancy; in the early 80’s. I had participated in the County fair photo competitions and never won better than honorable mention…. but still I had the drive to do better. I had this high standard that I wanted to achieve, and I knew I could do it with work…. But time, finances, different interests, and different technology in photography, got in the way. Maybe the most important was my own fear of what the unknown would be and that I didn’t have friends to guide me into that unknown. In the past I have always had a big dog to go with me on these hikes that I wanted to do, but the rules have changed on that… I also fell victim to the thought ” Oh that hike is close to home so I will do it later…” Later never gets here.

I joined the Bend Parks and Rec after COVID because I felt I needed to be more active. I have met a lot of fantastic people there and made friends with some ladies who all have different lifestyles, experiences, and interests than I do. Three of the ladies also wanted to get out and hike and a few of those hikes have been featured in this blog.
This hike is another one that was thrown together when a stray comment resulted in plans that had to be changed at the last minute. It was organically thrown together on a Facebook post and the two of us went out to the upper Deschutes River. Close to home but I had never taken the time to do it. what better time than when the fall colors are just popping,

We started at Lava Island Falls and because I took over 180 photos that I whittled down to about 75 to process, I am breaking this into several posts….

Thank You Robin for Saying Let’s Go

Friendship is Team work

and it all works when we engage and support those who can’t make it,

and to be willing to be flexible when things change.
Because the Power of Friendship is the strongest when we all engage and are willing to work through the fear of what is unknown…. and are willing to support those people who want to be there but can’t just yet.
Thank You, Robin for making suggestions….

Morning light, Tumalo State Park Bend Oregon

Tumalo St. park is only 25 minutes from my home but again it is one of those places that I have not taken the time to explore. I even bought a state park pass so I could park there and other parks in the state but never used it until now.
Robin, one of the pool/ hiking pals said “where do you want to hike this week, Tuesday?” I said I have never hiked Reily Ranch preserve or Tumalo St Park. So the plan was put together. Unfortunately, only 2 of the 4 of us could make it Tuesday, but it was the best day for the upcoming weather forecast. The plan was we would meet at Tumalo St. Park, leave my car and then continue up to Reily Ranch Preserve where we would start the hike. I went a little early because I didn’t want to be late and I knew that I could spend the time taking photos. There is something about the morning sunlight on the rocks along the Deschutes river.

And this morning was fantastic. Now that we are in fall there was the red willow branches, the yellow of the dried grasses, the green of the junipers and ponderosa pines, the deep blue of the river water against the pink pumice rocks, and the reflections of the rocks on the water.

No matter which way you looked. Down river or upriver.

Those of you who have followed me on Facebook know that over the years I have spent a lot of time photographing the rocks in the canyon I call Sage Ranch rd. Canyon. I see a lot of similarities between these rocks and those except that the river that probably shaped them is gone. The Deschutes is still here.

To me there is a timelessness about the rocks…. They have withstood a lot from weather, winds, and water for thousands of years. Yes, parts of them crumble and land in the river but still they stand a show of earth’s history.

As an armchair geologist who reads every book she can find on Oregon geology, I know the violent forces that created this scene and am at peace with it though I still have questions that no one can answer. Mother nature does not give up her secrets easily, and she is not going to write a book for me to read.

So I turn my camera away from the rocks and the river and look for other delights to photograph.

Thank you, Mother nature, for giving me the morning sun shining through an oak leaf. You are always giving me the hint that there is more to come in this life. Nothing is finite always changing.
Robin is here now, and it is time to explore more of your beauty.

Fall colors along the Deschutes River Bend Oregon

I have lived in Central Oregon for just over 30 years and for some reason I have not taken the time to photograph the parks along the Deschutes river. There is an incredible series of parks along the river that are all connected by easy to moderate walking trails. Fall is probably the best time to enjoy those trails with the fall colors reflecting in the water. I figured that this Sunday would be the best day to hike along the trails in town. Bend Parks and Rec and the city of Bend have spent the last several years working on the trails that runs along the river and through the city of Bend. It is a series of trails that run from South Bend down river to north Bend running about 25 miles. I wanted to walk and photograph the Drake park area and along the river going down river with no set stopping point. Of the 4 pool pals, two were unavailable and that left just Robin and myself. Since Robin lived a couple blocks away from Drake Park, she was an excellent guide, and I would not have seen as much beautiful scenery as we did. I admit I would have simply done a quick photo shoot around Drake Park and then walked as far down stream as the Newport bridge then turned around.

We did a loop around Drake Park, and I took photographs and more photographs gathering impressions as I went.

I looked up, I looked forward, I looked down.

There were reflections everywhere along the river


We made our way down river towards the Newport bridge on the new trail

towards the first street area and on to pioneer park.

We continued till we ran out of pavement and turned around, the trail continued on north but we really didn’t need to go further. Save that for another day.
I was fascinated by the kayakers navigating under the bridge and thought of my niece Sarah, wondering if she had kayaked this section of the river, thinking yes, she would have.

on our way back to Drake Park we went through the old down neighborhood and enjoyed even more vibrant colored foliage.


Along the way there were always places to stop and reflect, places to sit and even a bit of whimsy with cookies for your pooch

I am so glad that Robin and I took this hike and hope that we can share it with the other two gals in a different season. I also hope that you enjoyed my impressions of this hike.