Roadside Oregon

This is a view from Hwy-214 between Salem and Silver Falls State Park.  Depending on the time of year, the view can vary widely.

You can see the location here here at Google Maps.

Colors viewed from an entry to a parking area along the McKenzie River National Recreation Trail. The riverbed here is dry for the summer months as the water level has “lowered” so much that it is actually in the porus lava beds. It makes a reappearance at the Tamolitch Dry Falls.

I like the very black dried mosses on the river (lava) rocks and the colors of the vine maple.

This is about five minutes south of Hwy 20 on Hwy 126 (which goes from the Santiam Pass area to Eugene. There is also a great view of the Three Sisters Mountains from the lava fields here.

You can see the area here at Google Maps.

Smith Rock State Park is 651 acres (263 hectare) of year around climbing surfaces of up to 550 feet (168 meter) high. Comprised of welded tuff (compressed volcanic ash and columnar basalt, there are more that 1,500 climbing routes from easy to 5.14c.

Smith Rock State Park is considered to be the the birthplace of modern sport climbing. On some routes the hardware is left in place for the next person to use. In other areas clean equipment like chocks and camming devices are recommended.

The park has been seen in many movies including: The Postman, Mission Impossible II, Swordfish, Rooster Cogburn.

You can see a Google Map of the area here.

I stopped at a SnoPark along Hwy 22 in the Cascades for a little break during my drive over the mountains. The SnoParks are places where people can park for cross country skiing, snowmobiling, tubing, show shoeing or other winter activities. There are several of these around the state, this one was along Hwy 22, here on Google Maps.

I think the photo just makes you think of a cold clear winter day, and it was…

The Hells Canyon National Recreation Area is located on the Oregon and Idaho border and is 652,488 acres in size. Hells Canyon is the deepest gorge in North America (yes, it is deeper than the Grand Canyon)

The Snake River, at the bottom of the canyon, is more than a mile below Oregon’s West rim and more than 8,000 feet below the Seven Devils Mountains of Idaho.

There are no roads the cross the canyon and only three roads that lead to the bottom of the canyon and the Snake River from Hells Canyon Dam and the Oregon-Washington state lines.

You can see a wide view of the location at Google Maps here. The photograph was taken at the North Pine Rest Area above the canyon.

The John Day Fossil Beds have three units. The Painted Hills Unit here is 3,132 acres of beautiful eroding claystone. The Painted Hills are nine miles Northwest of Mitchell, Oregon on Hwy 26, about 75 miles east of Bend. There is an exit to the North of the highway, simply follow the signs from there.

You can see the locations of the Painted Hills here at Google Maps.

The colors of the Painted Hills are most vibrant with the lower angle of the sun in the late afternoon. The hills are probably at their best during the wildflower season, which peaks in late April to early May.

With a varied terrain from high mountains to desert sands, from the ocean to the valley, from volcanoes to glaciers, Oregon has it all.