Oregon, Washington State & Vancouver Island
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Lava & the Painted Hills
Published: 23.08.2019
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Sunday, 1.7.
At 8:45 am we are on the road again, this time heading south to the Cascade Lakes Byway on Highway 46 . The route takes us through forests with views of snow-capped peaks against a bright blue sky.
We will see Mount Bachelor and the Three Sisters several times today. The lakes are beautiful. We stop at Devils Lake , which is said to be so smooth that it looks like boats are floating on it. The mosquitoes are merciless! We drive to Elle Lake and see an eagle sitting on a tree. Shortly afterwards we spot pelicans! This time not the American white pelicans we saw last year in the Rockies. But they also dive for food. In the trees sits a Bald Eagle and looks for prey on the lake. Before we stop at Lava Butte , we drive to another lake where we would actually like to stay, but we don't have time for that, as we have more than a few lakes on today's program. Due to the poor signage, we get lost on the forest roads and end up just past La Pine on the large Highway 97 , about 20 miles south of Bend. So now we head north. The Lava Mountains are visible right on the highway and we drive to the Lava Lands Visitor Center . Unfortunately, you can only drive to Lava Butte every 1.5 hours and it now seems too long for us to wait until the next departure at 3:45 p.m. So we walk up the 'Way of Molten Rock' trail to an overlook. A great trail through lava rock - the last eruption that left this behind was 1,300 years ago. Small flowers and hardy plants grow on the black scree. From above, you can clearly see the lava flows and their lateral moraines. Sometimes the lava flow has formed a tunnel - it smells like tar everywhere, as if a road is being built here. Then it's almost half past three and we could actually drive the Rim Drive . But now time is running out because we still have a nice route to complete. Another highlight, off the beaten path, awaits us tonight in the dry interior of Oregon : The Painted Hills . So off to Safeway, quickly buy bread, cheese and other food. It is now easily 27 degrees warm, no clouds in the blue sky. How beautiful! Here behind the coastal mountains , Oregon is noticeably drier and hotter than before, where the Pacific winds and moisture lead to too much precipitation. At around 4:30 p.m. we set off well equipped and refueled north and at Redmond east on 26 over Prineville into the wilderness. The highway is wonderfully empty but we see two dead Roosevelt Elks lying on the road and a crushed car. So be careful, especially now as dusk slowly begins. The landscape becomes rural shortly after Bend with wide fields, meadows and in the distance we see Mount Bacherlor , the Three Sisters and the perfect Mount Jefferson and far away you can still see Mount Hood , which we couldn't even see properly from close up in Portland in the misty weather. We drive along Lake Ochoco , which is located just past Prineville , and then there are only fields, forests and vastness. Just before Mitchell we can already see funny rock formations. We are only 66 miles away from Redmond , but it looks very different here. Mitchell is hilarious. Apparently 150 people live here, but apparently well distributed or hidden. Mitchell Main Street The main street consists of our hotel, a grocery store that could also be in the Waltons and is closed as well as a few other stores that probably will never open again. There is a post office and a deer stands on the street and then leisurely disappears behind the post office. We check into the hotel, which looks more like a bed & breakfast and is the only accommodation for miles around. I made the reservation by phone from Germany. Here, in the vicinity of the Painted Hills, it was the only thing that could be found. This shows that the Painted Hills are apparently a remote and rarely visited attraction even in the USA. Live like the Waltons There are two unfortunately somewhat silly Austrians sitting on the porch and we immediately saddle up our car and drive to the Painted Hills to see the sunset there. It becomes a breathtaking play of light over these terracotta, brown, and ocher-colored hills. However, the Austrian woman keeps walking into our picture, which is a feat considering there are four tourists and probably 300 hectares of land. In the midst of these great hills, the man asks us if we have found a good photo subject. I am tempted to say that we don't see anything here, but continue looking - but I find that too silly and I probably take 100 photos in a wonderful evening light. While we walk a short trail, the moon rises. The sun slowly sets, so when the light is no longer sufficient, we drive back to the hotel, which is only 6 miles away. Nightlife in Mitchell Our Safeway purchases from earlier are our dinner and we start talking to a couple from Connecticut who complete the entire group of visitors here. So there are 6 guests in this house. The woman is actually from Regensburg and is happy to be able to speak German again after many years. We go to bed at 11:30 p.m. The beds creak, the decoration in the room is amusing, the bathroom is historic. Goodnight, Sue Ellen ... goodnight John-Boy.
Driving distance: 235 miles 
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