SOMEONE...does not want us to see the sites!

When I got up this morning (5 a.m. by the way) I immediately looked out the door to a sky clear and full of stars. When Jeff got up, he turned on the local news which reported a partly cloudy day with high in the 60's. It was a beautiful morning in Bend. So on a flip of a coin, we headed to Cascades Lake Scenic Parkway for a drive through, what is suppose to be, one of the most beautiful spots in Oregon. This is what we saw...

Yup, more rainbows....and lots more rain. We aborted the route early as it was clear (actually cloudy) that we would not be seeing any sights or taking any hikes. So, on to plan "B" which was to visit an area of Bend called "Old Mill". Got back into Bend where, again, the sun was shining. Old Mill was advertised as  an industrial area along the Deschuttes River that presumably had shopping/restaurants. Yes, they did. Banana Republic, Bath and Body, Red Robin, etc... Not the kind of thing we had in mind. Soooo, on the plan "C". We drove to Sister, Oregon where we thought we would try a different mountian range. Hey, the weather can change in a mile around here so why not try? From Sister, we drove to the McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass Scenic Byway. This pass circled many mountain ranges including the Three Sisters,Thw Willamette National Forest, Black Butte and Mt. Jefferson to name a few. You know what we saw???

(Rain)

Oh, it was beautiful. Stunning actually. The forest was so thick with giant pine, the air was positively fragrant. The peak of the mountain was a tumble of volcanic rocks that made it look more like Mars than Earth. The roads were almost covered with pine needle and a canopy of branches overhead. There were well marked trails, waterfalls galore, and lakes and streams. But, of course, we didn't get to experience that because it was raining and 45 degrees. Not a good combination in my world. We did manage to get some good vistas of the forest, though we were unable to see through the clouds to the surrounding mountain peaks.

Arrived back in Sister (this was a 2 1/2 hour drive) JUST in time to find a bathroom and a burger at Bronco Billy's Bar and Grill. After lunch we drove "home", and I went after some groceries while Jeff putzed. Tonight it is suppose to get down to about 35 degrees and tommorrow....who the heck knows! I do know that we will be talking tonight about wether to stick to our plan to drive north to Mount Hood and west to the coast. Or scrap this inclimate weather and just head south. We can always come back when it is warmer....and sunnier!