The Feet & Forks hike Oregon's high desert

Where to start -- five days and hundreds of photos from the Feet & Forks' trip last week to the high desert of central Oregon. I guess I'll just dive right in.

Hiking along the Deschutes River in central Oregon.

We hiked to spectacular waterfalls on the Deschutes River and Paulina Creek and in Tumalo State Park ...

... and through the eerie lavascape where the "Lavaness Monster" loomed.

We saw wildlife ...

... and plenty of rain.

Mostly we hiked along the river and had the trails largely to ourselves due to the drizzly weather. The previous week it had been gloriously sunny and warm, and I have a feeling that's when everyone was on the trails. We hiked about 25 miles together, and Kandi and Joyce did many more miles on their early morning walks while I was still lounging in bed.

Kandi is always up for a challenge. When she saw a fallen tree spanning the river to a little island, she immediately said she had to cross it. (That would never occur to me because I'm not a risk taker.) We cheered after she made it.

Besides rapids and waterfalls, there were beautiful placid stretches of the Deschutes, like the one below bordered by marshland in Sunriver.

Here's another peaceful view in Sunriver:

One day we explored the lava fields in Newberry National Volcanic Monument, which is within the Deschutes National Forest. Just as we got out of the car to begin our hike it started raining hard, so we jumped back in. Seconds later we were being pounded by hail! Not very desertlike.

When the hail passed, we grabbed our umbrellas and set out on a paved path through the lava fields. What we saw that day was the big chunky porous type of lava piled against dramatic skies. Another day we tried to hike in an area of obsidian (glassy) lava fields, but the road was closed due to late snowfall. It would have been interesting to compare the two types of lava, but that will have to wait for another trip.

This twisted tree adds to

the eeriness of the lava fields.

As always, I took photos of interesting texture and lines, like this pinecone ...

... raindrops on grass ...

... and swirling water.

And, since we are the Feet & FORKS, here are some food photos:

Sweet potato fries are one of our favorites.

We made daily trips to bakeries.

The flan at Hola in Sunriver was to die for!

I hope this gives you a little taste 

of the Bend/Sunriver part of beautiful Oregon.

Along the Deschutes on a city path in Bend.

Have a colorful day