Thursday 7/23 Smith Rocks, Billy Chinook and Mt Hood

Spectacular sunny day! Cloudless skies and temps in the 80s. We drove around Bend for a bit. We were disappointed that the road up to Pilot Butte was closed, due to Covid. Nuts! It would have been beautiful view of the Sisters! We visited our old neighborhood. Its looks quite nice, actually. Our old house seems well cared for.

We the headed up Rt 97 to Terrabone and Smith Rocks State Park. What a place! And so crowded! Great views of rock formations with the Crooked River down below. I did some great hiking & biking there years ago.

After a quick stop at the Peter Skeen Ogden viewpoint featuring the old bridge and the canyon, we headed north to the Cove Palisades State Park on the Billy Chinook Reservoir. What a fun place! There's an interesting "resort" there that might make a fun vacation some time. Nice lunch overlooking the beach.

Another two hours driving north up to Government Camp and the base of Mt Hood. We arrived at Timberline Lodge around 4:30. What a view! The lodge was dedicated by Teddy Roosevelt in 1937 and still retains its original purpose of providing all-season recreational opportunities. Some of it is shut down due to the virus, but two of the restaurants are open. We had dinner at the Ram's Head - I had chili, Sam had a great Bison Stew!

Its chilly up here! Its only in the low 60s! Tomorrow we'll hike the Pacific Coast Trail.