Drive to Westfir

 Well!!!  I took the LONG way to get where I was going  ;0  of course....  went over the McKenzie Pass as had not been over there in forever.  Once over it started to rain.  We just don't get much rain over here in C.O.  the mountains just stop it.  Happened on the way back too, once over the top no more rain...  BUT while I was on the Western side of those mountains, goodness, did it ever!!!

 The McKenzie you pick up just West of Sisters, it is not kept open in the winter and it is VERY windy road!!!  And narrow,  nothing over 30' combined is what the signs say, and I could just imagine getting stuck up there,  limbs hang down and rocks stick out, not much clearance at all. The road loops back and forth on itself.

 AND the Bear Grass was in FULL bloom (well, that is what we call it, don't know what it really is)  But it was truly spectacular!!!

 See.....

 Then just past McKenzie Bridge, took a road to Westfir, about 65 miles or so the sign says, now this road is not kept up at all!!  Rocks in the road and limbs all over the road and hanging down, made for very interesting driving.  But what I thought would take 2-3 hours took 4!!!  I just barely made it by the time I said I would be there, at noon, and I left early!!!  This was Cougar Reservoir...  HUGE dam there. On the way back took 58 east to Cascade Lake Hwy right into Bend and that only took 2 1/2 hours to get back to Redmond.

 This is Terwilliger Falls there is a hot springs back there too, a little man was manning a kiosk, with an umbrella over it, he came running out when I backed up to get a picture of this Falls, through the windshield, sorry, it was pouring by this time..... wanted to know if I needed something, there was a path back into the springs and parking a little ways past the bridge I was sitting on,  you come around the corner and WHOA here is this lovely Falls...  but think I would like to go back there...unless it was clothing optional place, seems that there are quite a few of those in Oregon  :)- will have to look it up on internet..not too into those places.....  :)

 AND here the wild rhodies were blooming... all over.  they were just lovely..even if the blooms were a bit weighed down with all the rain,  still pretty, pretty, pretty..

But don't really want to go to a hot springs by myself, that is more a group activity one would think.... and while driving there the thought occurred to me that I had left no note or told anyone where I was going, here I was,  on the 2nd road, after the Falls I never saw another car or person the whole time, and I should have let someone know what I was up to for the day  :) in case the family wanted to I.D. the body...haha.. but that is not really stranger than fiction....
It was a good trip and lovely things were seen, even saw 3 deer, two bucks and a doe, at different times.. normally don't see any wildlife, think I am too noisy....
Take Care All & God Bless