Day 9: Southern Oregon
We got back on highway 31 drove north to LaPine which had a bookstore and truckstop. Then we went back south taking highway 97 which went to Cresent. This town was was big enough to have a strip mall. We took the Crescent Cutoff Road on the right side and came to Black Rock Butte, which was a huge pile of black volcanic rock. At highway 58 we turned north, stopping at Odell Lake. There are campsites and cabins tucked in the woods near a medium-sized lake. It was getting cloudy and it looked like they were getting drenched on the other side of the lake. Going over Willamette Pass we started getting sleet, and then snow. We stopped at Salt Creek Falls, where it was still snowing. This is the second highest waterfall in the state of Oregon. There was a nice paved trail that was a about a quarter of a mile long to the falls.
We stopped at McCredie Hotsprings, just west of the Blue Pool Campground which
was closed and 10 miles east of the town of Oakridge. There was a parking lot
of the left side of the highway with several truckers parked in it. We walked
a short ways down a hill and found pools created with rocks beside the river.
There are suppose to be some more pools on the other side of the river. It was
secluded by the hillside but you could hear the traffic from the highway. One
of our guidebooks described this as a place where the truckers hang out and
party. There were just a couple guys there today. We soaked in the pool for
about a half hour while it sprinkled.
We
stopped at the Westfir Covered Bridge in Oakridge. The bridge is 4-5 miles off
the hiway next to a cute little B&B and is painted red and white. There is a
seperate walkway which of course we took instead of walking down the middle
of the bridge. We walked across it and then turned around and walked back. On
the way back we were followed by two local boys, one of which was carrying his
beebee gun. They walked on the auto part of the bridge. We got back in the truck
and drove across the bridge. We hadn't realized that this bridge didn't go anywhere
when we walked across it and that's way the boys didn't use the pedistrian walkway.
The bridge used to go to the Hines Company which owned the land on one side
of the bridge. When the company shut down years ago they closed off the land
and now there is just a place to turn around once you cross the bridge. We drove
around the town. It was a pretty area, lots of green. The town had several chain
motels and restaurants that looked kind of run down.
We took highway 58 to Eugene and then got on I-5 north. We got to Portland at 6 pm and Tacoma at 8 pm. We stopped off at the RAM to get dinner before getting home around 10:00. This was a good trip for us as we saw somthing different and were able to spend some time together without the kids. I will come back here again and take more of the backroads. The fall is probably the best time to come when we are having our Indian summer. Then all the roads would be availablee to use and not as busy with the kids back in school. 700 miles today and 1850 total in four days
We got to Corvalis at 7:15. Dale stopped at the first book store we saw, the Book Bin or End???They sold new and used books and were open until 9 pm. I think Dale was determined to stick around until they closed. He found a couple books. We drove around town a little bit and finally pulled into the Super 8 and got a room for $59. We asked the desk clerk where she recommended to eat. She suggest McMenamins, which we remembered passing and wasn't suppose to be very far away. Well we got lost and Dale kept going the wrong way on one-way streets. We finally figured out about where it was and I suggested we just back at the Super 8 and just walk there. I thought for sure he was going to get a ticket and he hadn't even had anything to drink. We sat in the bar and ate pub food at McMenamins then went back to our motel room.
In the very small town of Cascadia we passed a very short covered bridge called
Short Bridge. This bridge crossed the Santium River and led to a few small homes.
We continued on 20/126 passing the large Foster Reservior on the north side
of the highway just before Sweet Home. This was the largest town in the area.
Staying on Highway 20, the scenery changed from forest to farmland. The next
town was Lebanon, known for it's Strawberry Festival in June. As Highway 20
crossed I-5 we knew we were getting close to Corvalis. We watched the sunset
along the flat horizon. Several fruit and vegetable stands were set up along
the highway. The most memorable one had a large ear of corn lit up.
We
left Sisters around 5:30 taking Highway 20/126 headed northwest. We past several
small ranches. On the north side of the Highway was Black Butte, a mountain
covered with sparse grass. We weren't too impressed, but for some reason most
of the travel books mention it. On the south side of the highway was Suttle
Lake. There was a nice picnic area at one end and a small private resort with
little cabins set in the woods at the other end. There was a canoe on the lake
and you could see the reflection of trees that were changing color in the water.
There is also a 4 1/2 mile trail around this lake. At the Santium Junction we
continued on Highway 20. through the Wallamette Forest, following the Sanium
River.
We got to the town of Sisters just before 4pm. The town was busy, but it didn't take as long as usual to find a parking spot. This town seems like it should have a larger population than just 700 residents. It obviously caters to lots of tourist. We ate in the bar at Gallery Restaurant. We had finally decided to spend the night in Corvalis and asked the waitress how far it was from Sisters. Her son was going to school there and she was confidant we could get there in two hours. We walked around town for 45 minutes. There is one new bookstore and one used we went through, as well as a couple other shops. The shops are fun to go through, but we've always found them to be a bit pricey.