Deschutes River State Recreation Area Hike
This was my second visit to Deschutes River State Recreation Area. One of these days I'll look up my first visit by looking at my photo collection. Some years ago my friend and I came here for the first time. It took me a while to recognize the place again.
As far as hikes in this area of Oregon go, this is one of the more interesting. Desert and dry vegetation don't interest in the same way as thick trees, mountains, rivers and lakes. But the shapes of the cliffs, hills, rocks and river are very interesting features in this park.
This hike on a whim didn't start until very late in the afternoon. Dad was supposed to meet me in The Dalles, but he didn't make it. Since I was already out and about I stopped for this hike on the way back. The trail beckoned me to go farther, but it was getting dark. It became necessary to jog back to the trailhead. A pack of deer climbed the hillside on the east side of the river a few hundred yards ahead of me. The river was quite high along the bank.
Dave and I saw snakes here on my first visit years ago. They appeared to be rattlers. It was a little freaky because we didn't notice them until we were right on top of them near the water's edge. I'm glad they weren't the aggressive type!
