Balancing rocks and falling water

I forgot to mention in yesterday's blog post that my Outback reached 100,000 miles on the odometer. In a little over four years! That's what happens when you take long road trips! I left Portland, OR this morning traveling on US 26 through Mt Hood National Forest and the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. The sky soon took on a smoky haze due to prescribed burning...it was not pleasant to drive through! Thankfully, when I got to Cove Palisades State Park, I left the worst of it behind. Driving along the Crooked River, crossing over a narrow bridge that took me to an even narrower bridge over the Deschutes River, I continued on in my quest for the very unusual.

As the paved road ended, I had a moment of uncertainty...was I going the right way? It's tough when Google Maps Streetview doesn't go everywhere. I continued on the gravel road a short way and there it was...the little turnoff that I was looking for! The trail head for Balancing Rocks! These cool geologic wonders were formed by different volcanic eruptions, with erosion doing the rest. The softer stuff underneath wore away, leaving the more durable rocks above seemingly balancing and teetering precariously.

That's Mt Jefferson that you can barely see through the haze. After I was done admiring the rocks, I returned to Cove Palisades State Park for a leisurely picnic lunch. There were some pretty nice views there, too.

In the afternoon, I drove down to Bend to visit one of their most popular tourist attractions... Tumalo Falls. I had to negotiate an even longer...and rougher...gravel road to reach the falls. I took in the best view of the falls right off the parking lot, then hiked the 1/4 mile trail to the top. As I walked along the trail, my eagle eyes spotted a tiny, furry sentinel perched on a tree stump and surveying the gorge below. I'm pretty sure it was a golden-mantled ground squirrel.

Before leaving the vicinity of the falls, I spotted a bit of fall color. Not much, but it was pretty nonetheless.

After driving up and down the gravel road, my car was now covered with dust...I mean totally! Using my trusty GPS, I found a car wash, which turned out to be exactly what I needed...inexpensive and automatic. Tomorrow, I'll continue my theme of enjoying nature's beauty as I travel south to California.