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| Mt Bachelor, a mere 20-minute drive from Bend, popular year-round |
We spent an enjoyable day today exploring the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway. Described as one of the prettiest drives in the US, the road takes you through a volcanic landscape dotted with numerous lakes, and winds its way through the Deschuttes Forest.
As we discovered, this particular area is also a very popular recreation area where folks flock to have outdoor fun. We saw numerous cyclists, cars with kayaks and tubes on their roof racks, cars pulling boats, cars pulling campers, and on this summer weekend, there were people everywhere enjoying the pristine wilderness.
Our first stop was the newly completed Welcome Center, always a worthwhile first stop to gather information from the helpful rangers about where to go and what to see. Here, we also found out more about the geology of the area. Oregon and its mountain ranges were created through a collision process that has taken over 150 million years, during which lava reached the earth's surface resulting in the numerous volcanic peaks that dot the landscape. Basically, this region lies on the North American continental plate that is slowly drifting southwest and colliding with the Juan de Fuca oceanic plate moving northeast.
The first people who frequented this region are the Native American tribes: the Warm Springs, Paiutes, and Klamath. They followed animal migration paths in search of food and water in the high country. The Paiutes typically lived in southern Oregon and northern Nevada and moved frequently following game. They camped in central Oregon to hunt and gather food. The Klamath preferred to fish and gather pond lily seeds (wocus) as their primary food source. The Warm springs lived along the Columbia River and its tributaries including the Deschuttes River. They traveled to areas in southern and central Oregon to hunt and gather food.
By the mid-1800's, with the influx of white settlers, these indigenous tribes were displaced from their lands to reservations. The Treaty of 1855 was created to protect their sacred places and restore their cultural connection to their ancestral lands.
Following the suggested route by the ranger from the Welcome Center, we continued on, along route 46, marveling at the diversity of the scenery.
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| Broken Top ahead with one of the three Sisters on the left |
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| tell-tale signs of ancient volcanic activity |
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| gazing across to Mt Bachelor |
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| Sparks Lake is an obvious choice for canoers, kayakers, and anglers. |
Our next stop was Devil's Lake, which was the most incredible blue-green color, and so clear that you could see the bottom. Once again, cars lined the road and folks camped out in every available nook, picnicking and enjoying the water.
Next along the route was Elk Lake. We had difficulty finding a spot to park. The lake, the campground, and the adjoining resort were mobbed on this hot day. Families were out in droves, and they were clearly enjoying themselves.
We enjoyed a welcome ice-cream and Michael posed with the elk at Elk Lake.
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| Michael ogling this little beauty, small enough to find a parking spot between trees at congested Elk Lake |
According to the ranger, we had completed the prettiest section of the byway, so after Lava Lake, we connected to Route 40 which took us through densely covered forest and eventually through Sunriver and back to Bend.
We were glad to return "home" to Alpine and relax at our campsite, under the tree, after a successful day of sightseeing and lake hopping. Bend, in the middle of the Oregon high desert, continues to attract folks as a place to live and raise families. Today, we experienced the attraction. It is an outdoor paradise offering any number of activities from boating to cycling, hiking, and camping. Judging by the number of people we saw today, it seemed like most of Bend found their own little spot of wilderness to have fun and enjoy the great outdoors. 
