Spectacular 120-foot high falls on the upper McKenzie River, in west central Oregon, about an hour from our home. There are scores of beautiful waterfalls in Oregon, where there is of course plenty of rain to nourish them!
A mellow place along the banks of the beautiful Metolius River at the eastern foot of the Cascade Mountains near Bend in Central Oregon. Gordon has a long history with this river and it’s one of our favorite places anywhere.
Central Oregon’s breathtaking Smith Rock State Park, a popular rock climbing and sightseeing location 40 minutes north of Bend.
About 2 hours south of Bend is the incredible Upper Rogue River Gorge, many thousands of water per second pounding its way through this narrow gorge cut through volcanic rock.
The upper Rogue River of southern Oregon thunders at the rate of 400,000 gallons of water per minute through a deep gorge as narrow as 25 feet (upper photo). The gorge is cut through relatively young lava laid down about 7000 years ago by the mammoth eruption of Mt. Mazama, which also resulted in the creation of breathtaking Crater Lake. In the lower picture, the river emerges from a cave at the end of a several hundred foot long lava tube, forming a natural land bridge.
Central Oregon’s Metolius River flows mysteriously from the base of a cinder cone named Black Butte and meanders through meadow and forest for 25 miles, before arriving at Lake Billy Chinook reservoir. Along the way it provides lovely scenery in this dry Cascade Mountain landscape. The bottom photo shows a waterwheel which provides water to a cabin formerly owned by our family for 40 years.
