Roadside Oregon

Mt Hood from Lost Lake. A classic Oregon view. There are a lot of areas on the North side of the lake looking south to the mountain. Just find a spot a take a photograph like this.

You can see the area in a Google Map view here.

Mt Hood from Hood River Valley above Parkdale looking towards the mountain.

I don’t have the exact location, but once you are in the area, you will see this view.  You can see the area in a Google Map here.

This view of theThree Sisters from a pullout along the Forest Service road is on the way to the Boy Scout camp ‘Camp Melakwa’. The Camp is accessed 14 miles up Forest road 2649 off Highway 126 near the McKenzie Pass Hwy-242 junction with Hwy-126 east of Eugene. This view is about 10 miles in. You can not miss this view to the right side of the road.

You can see a Google Map of the are here.

I was driving up Lolo Pass Road, which goes from Welches to the Hood River Area, one day. Part way up the road, the view opens up as some high voltage power lines and the road zig zag over each other for a short distance.

When I saw this scene, I had to have a photograph of it. I returned to the little store at the bottom of the hill on Hwy 26 and picked up one of those little disposable cameras. I returned to the power line area and took this photograph.

Just turn North off of Hwy 26 on McGee Creek Road in Welches and stay on it. The road turns into Lolo Pass Road and starts to climb a little. When you see the power lines you know you are close. Keep your eyes on the road ~and~ to the right and this scene will appear. It is perhaps 15 miles up the road, next time I am in the area, I will get more specific location information.

If you look closely at the Google Map imagery here, you can see the fine little power lines crossing back and forth across the road. Zoom out for a wider view.

This picture of the North and Middle Sisters Mountains was taken from the McKenzie Pass near the Dee Wright Observatory in the lava flow that came from Belknap Crater. This lava flow is fairly recent, being a few hundred years old. Near here, the Pacific Crest Hiking Trail passes through the lava flow with the safety of a paved trail. These lava rocks are very sharp and are unstable.

The observatory was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corp. The top of the observatory has a bronze peak finder that points to the landmarks in the area. Inside the observatory there are little windows that make it very easy to view the landmarks, as they limit the view to that particular landmark.

South Sister (not visible) is 10358 ft (3157 m) elevation. The Middle Sister is 10047 ft (3062 m) and the North Sister 10085 ft (3074 m). In the photo, the North Sister is on the right, the Middle Sister is on the left and the South Sister is hidden behind it.

The drive up here, from the East, is one of my favorites. The trip up highway 242 is spectacular with a very twisty turny drive up and up and up. The nickname of the climb is ‘Deadhorse Grade’. I can only imagine where the name came from. Highway 242 is not maintained in the winter season. The highway goes from hwy 126 (which goes from Eugene to Santiam Pass) to Sisters.

Here is a link to a Google Map photo view of the area, focusing in on the observatory. If you zoom out you can see more of the lava flow from Belknap Crater.

The Dee Wright Observatory is 15 miles West of Sisters on Hwy 242.

Although not the highest mountains in the country, Oregon does offer something that no other state has, year round skiing.  From lone volcanoes like Mt Bachelor, to the deep Alpine terrain of the Eagle Cap area, the state offers a wide range of mountains, and buttes, and hills, and…