We had a nice time in Bend, although it was cloudy with rain showers. We didn't get to see the Three Sisters, only Three-Fingered Jack as we climbed the pass on our way over and Black Butte as we drove back to Sisters. It's too bad because I had the camera ready to take some great pictures of the mountains.

We did, however, visit several sites we had never been to, including the Lava Cast Forest and Smith Rock State Park. The Lava Cast Forest was so amazing and unique. I'm glad we took the time to stop there. I can see why some people don't make the 9-mile trip to the site because the road is gravel. Yet, the road was groomed well and we traveled at a pretty constant speed of 30 mph. Once at the site, we found several other people, so some were adventurous, like us.


We walked the 1-mile paved loop through the lava in amazement. These lava casts of ancient trees are so interesting. The walking tour guide pamphlet gave very good information on the site's geology, history and interesting facts.



I highly recommend visiting the Lava Cast Forest just south of Bend.

Smith Rock State Park was amazing also, but we didn't spend enough time there. Now we know to spend at least half a day exploring the park and doing some hiking. The park was very crowded, with hikers, rock climbers and people just wanting to watch the activities.



On our way out, we saw the old ice cream store where Bill Sullivan stopped during his walk across Oregon.

Make sure to read my Suite101 article - Lava Cast Forest Near Bend .