There's Lots of Lava in Bend

One day, I went to check out the Deschutes River west of town. The river is surrounded by lava on both sides.

I walked by a cave that I'm sure someone lived in a long time ago.

The boaters had better take out before Dillon Falls -

The steam rising from the falls is just beautiful.

Looking downstream, at the massive amounts of lava.

Walking farther downstream, I came upon a nice lake.

On another day, I went out to Lava Lands, where there is a beautiful walk through the lava.

The dead tree sticking out of the lava looked like a dragon's head.

After that little walk, I walked up to Benham Falls on the Deschutes. Like I said before, Bend is one of my very favorite places. So much diversity!

Bend Oregon is Beautiful!

Downtown Bend is absolutely beautiful! The Deschutes River runs right through town, and provides lots of activities for everyone, including surfing on a wave!

Lots of people tube down the river -

In addition to kayaking and paddle boarding.

Even dogs can paddle board!

And the "Rats With Wings" love it too.

You can walk along the river for miles on each side, admiring the flowers -

And this sculpture was gorgeous.

Back where I was staying at the Moose Lodge, the leaves were changing. I love Bend! I could end up living here someday!

Bend, Oregon - One of My Favorite Places!

From the Oregon Coast, I headed inland to one of my very favorite places - Bend! One of the first things I did was go see some of the many lakes nearby. This is my favorite one - Sparks Lake. In the background is South Sister Mountain -

And Broken Top Mountain.

The water is a little low, but it's still a perfect place to kayak. It was starting to get a little smokey because of the fires in Oregon.

By the time I got to the next lake, it was really getting smokey.

This would be the perfect place to learn to sail!

On another day, I did a trip to Tumalo Falls, just a short hike from the trailhead. Just beautiful!

And if you walk farther up the trail, you can see a few other small falls.

Back where I was parked, at the Moose Lodge in Bend, I had this cute little visitor. I'm guessing a Red-Tailed Hawk.

The smoke was pretty bad at times when I was there. This is what the sun looked like sometimes... Lots more to see here - stay tuned!

Moving Farther Up the Oregon Coast to Florence

My next stop was up the coast farther to Florence, OR. Of course, the first thing I wanted to do was go to Heceta Head Lighthouse.

I just love lighthouses! Unfortunately, there were no tours going on.

But the views were gorgeous!

Lots of cormorants out on that big rock.

Looking back to where the first picture was taken, you can see one of the many Art Deco bridges on the Oregon coast.

I walked around downtown Florence, where they have one of the most beautiful bridges crossing the Siuslaw River.

This unique sea lion welcomed me.

I was enthralled with the mailboxes being used as bird houses!

And of course there was lots of walking on the beach, although you had to climb over the sand dune to get to it. But it was well worth it!