Picks and Pans – Central Oregon

Apparently the middle of Oregon is one big volcano just waiting to explode and if you want to preview what an explosion of lava and hot ash can do to a place, Lava Lands is the place to go. A mere 7000 years ago, lava erupted from the Lava Butte cinder cone and covered much of the valley below. Still today, there are only a few perseverant plants and shrubs poking through the lava rocks, waiting to be decimated in the next cataclysm. Perfect vacation spot for the existentialist in everyone.

Being that KaPeRoNi did not have a van to sleep in, we had to find other accommodations along the way for our less nomadic friends. Sitting right in the caldera of Newberry Volcanic Monument, East Lake Resort has rental cabins along the lake shore and, had we heeded Romi’s requests to go out on one of the many available rental boats, we probably could have had a fresh trout dinner. Instead we drove up a peak, watched the sunset and then explored some waterfalls. Not bad options all around.

On a whim, we decided to take an evening drive up the steep dirt road from Forest Service Road 21 to Paulina Peak, the highest point in Newberry Volcanic area. I’m willing to go out on a pretty sturdy limb here and say that it’s the best view you can get of the volcanic crater, the caldera and the Cascades stretching beyond the horizon in both directions.

Another good stop off FR 21, Paulina Creek actually splits and creates a double waterfall at this spot. Since the water levels were at low, end of summer levels, Sean was able to jump over the creek around the top of the falls and get a view standing between the split stream, while Romi and I hopped logs, watched leaves float downstream and sang nonsense songs for the woodland creatures.

This 1300 year old lava flow is massively impressive. From up above on Paulina Peak, we saw the spiraling flow pattern created by just a few days of volcanic eruption. The volume of obsidian is so large that, according to the Forest Service, if you “Assum[e] a paved road 24 feet wide and 6 inches thick, there is enough rock in the flow to pave 70,000 miles of road which is equivalent to a paved road circling the world three times.” Needless to say, we had a rockin’ good time.

I first got to know about McMenamins’ brewpubs when I was at college in Portland. I drank their beer while watching movies at the Baghdad, grooving to concerts at the Crystal Ballroom and while hanging out in the “Detention Bar” at the Kennedy School. So when we arrived in Bend looking for a place to eat lunch and I saw the familiar McMenamins’ sign on the St. Francis School, I knew we’d found our answer. Good food, decent prices, tasty beer, friendly staff and plenty of sunshine out on the patio.Plus free wi-fi, which, as we all know, gets a gold star in our book.

In the high desert north of Bend, Smith Rock has huge volcanic rock towers formed by compressed ash (welded tuff) and columnar basalt, which makes for some great hiking and, from the looks of it, even better rock climbing. We went for a hike up Misery Ridge (much more pleasant than it’s name predicts) and out to Monkey Face, where we were greeted with the unexpected sight of a man balanced on a line hundreds of feet up in the air, suspended between the Monkey Face and its neighboring rock tower (look closely at the pictures and you’ll spot this acrobatic mad man). I mean, I was hoping for a nice view from the top, but certainly couldn’t have predicted that spectacular show. It was like going to the circus and on hike all at once.