We headed inland to spend some time in the area of Bend and Sisters. We did drive through some snow flurries going over the Cascades but no big deal:

We camped in a city campground in Sisters. Full hookups and for most of the time we were the only ones in the campground. We woke up the first morning to a little snow on the ground and deer munching on the grass.

Sisters is a cute little town:

We drove to Bend and walked along the Deschutes River. The river walk was nice but Bend is just another big town in my opinion. We much preferred the small size of Sisters. We did enjoy watching the surfers in the river. They have installed plates in the river that create a wave that can be surfed. No. John did not try it. But he sure enjoyed watching.

We drove about a half hour out of town to take a hike to Sahalie and Koosah Falls.  We again encountered snow as we drove there. We got to the trail and there was snow on the ground, 34 degrees and raining. Many people would have said no way!  But not us. The falls were awesome and we’ve seen quite a few.  We were so glad that we didn’t let the conditions stop us from going there.

Leaving Sisters, we drove a half hour north and the terrain changed drastically. We spent an afternoon between rain drops at Smith Rock State Park. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

The area is extremely popular with rock climbers. There were hundreds of rock climbers, both novice and experienced. It was crazy watching the experienced climbers. I wanted to shout “does your mother know what you are doing?” You can see a few in this picture. The picture doesn’t really do justice to how high up they were.

This sign was on another hike. That’s my umbrella at the top of the picture.

And another hike. In the rain.

And a final rain picture. On our way to central Oregon we stayed overnight in a casino parking lot. We’ve found that when we just need a place to pull over and sleep, Indian casinos are preferable to Walmart. They usually have large parking areas designated for overnighters and security detail. They don’t even require that you gamble or eat there. So it was 9am when we watched this elderly couple with a big rv, get in their electric scooters and head to the casino. In the rain.

Inspite of the rain and snow, we found central Oregon delightful!  Now we are backtracking to the coast and traveling back east along the Columbia River.