Central Oregon

Friday morning, we were off on our camping trip to travel around the state. It took about an hour to just load the car. The SUV was loaded with a cooler that contained food, a box with more food, utensils for cooking, a stove, basic provisions, a first aid kit, sleeping bags, pillows, water and a tent. By the time we were done, it looked like we were setting out on a 10 day expedition, not a 3 day camping trip!

The first stop was at Mt. Hood. This is a mountain that is snowcapped in summer, and is used by the US Olympic Ski Team for training. It was a beautiful drive to this mountain, and by now I was fast learning that such phenomenal views are considered normal in this part of the country. Here is a long range shot of Mt.Hood.

As we drove through Central Oregon, I noticed that the rocks had interesting formations. Check this picture - this one looked like a bunch of crayons were stacked together!



As we drove, we stopped by a scenic spot, called the "Crooked River" canyon. This is a rather crooked channel of water making it's way though a 300 ft valley. This place actually had signboards prohibiting pets, and mentioned that many dogs have jumped off the cliff and died! Once you see the canyon, you can see that for anyone who jumps off - survival would be next to impossible.