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As the small, conical pines shot by in a blur of green mixed with brown, my mind wandered. Aided by Led Zeppelin blaring from my stereo, hardly audible thanks to the warm air rushing through my open windows, I began to drift away from the passing high desert of Southern Central Oregon and Northeastern California. Between Klamath Falls and Alturas it's all the same anyway.
And the speed limits aren't nearly high enough.
So, as I did my best not to speed along home, I began to day dream about where I had been. It's not hard to dream when you've been hanging out in the Deschutes National Forest for four days.
The Deschutes River flows out of the Cascade Mountains through Bend, Ore., and through some of the most rich and beautiful forest lands on the West Coast.
Running through the area is the Cascade Lakes Highway, a scenic loop that meanders past dozens of buttes, a handful of mountains, countless lakes and of course, an endless amount of pine trees.
Almost smack dab in the middle of the Cascade Lakes Highway is a lake called Cultus.
Cultus Lake is home to Cultus Lake Resort, a boat ramp, small marina and some lovely beaches. Towering above the lake is Cultus Butte, which overlooks much of the Cascade Lakes area.
Cultus Lake is not the biggest lake out there, but it is big enough for boating of all kinds and warm enough for pleasant swimming.
Having left the Northwest a few years ago, I had almost forgotten what a real forest looks like.
Green stretches out like an ocean, rising and sinking through crests and troughs in the landscape as far as the eye can see. Every so often, the trees give way to a lake or meadow. Some lakes, like Crane Prairie, stretch out over huge expanses. Others, like Little Cultus, are just dots amongst the blanket of trees that cover the rolling hills.
The horizon is divided by peaks that rise up from the forest like great gray rebellious monsters, refusing to be held down by the vastness of green.
The mountains, known as Jefferson, Bachelor, the Three Sisters and Black Butte, are all visible from Cultus Butte, which next to those giants is nothing more than a green pimple.
Method of travel is something that presents options in the area. Of course, you can hike anywhere. Biking is also a very popular mode of travel and the Cascade Lakes Highway is a great loop for road bikers.
However, the path to the top of Cultus Butte is a dirt road, dusty and wide and not alltogether great for hiking or biking.
If one were to, say, drive a raised full size Chevy up the road, it would not seem wide at all. On the contrary, it would be quite the single track.
This brings up another thing the Cascade Lakes area has to offer. Jeep trails and service roads access much of the land in the area, and much of it is excellent for four wheel enthusiasts. In such a huge expanse of land with years of forest service and fire prevention, many access roads are nothing more than miles and miles of dirt or gravel paths through the woods accessing hidden lakes and rivers.
However, if you are going to drive up to the top of Cultus Butte, don't cram eight people and a dog into a closed canopy Chevy with no air conditioning. The trip is long and bumpy and the road isn't fast enough to generate much air through open windows.
However, the view from the top would make almost any amount of suffering on the way up worth while.
Looking down on Little Cultus and Crane Prairie lakes, one wouldn't even know that the Pacific Crest Trail ran right below and through a myriad of smaller lakes hidden from view by brush on the north side of the summit and the immense trees below.
After such a warm ride up and down the butte, there is no better remedy than a dip in Cultus Lake. The main beaches on the east side of the lake border water, which gets to about five feet deep over a couple hundred yards, creating the perfect environment for Frisbee tossing in waist deep water.
As swimming gets boring, a stint on the beach under the warm sun is all that's needed to dry off.
After an afternoon by the lake, take the short walk along the shore to the resort, which has a small gift store selling souvenirs and knick-knacks as well as ice, beer and soft drinks. This store is also the place to inquire about renting a boat or jet-ski.
Attached to the store is a small restaurant that offers some of the finest home cooked food anywhere. After a few days of camping the Cultus Lake Resort, burgers and milkshakes are highly recommended.
However, diners who really want a treat will go by the restaurant for "The Famous Cultus Lake All You Can Eat Rib Dinner," offered every Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Cooked outside in a huge cooker, 10 racks of ribs can be thrown on each of the three racks of the cooker resulting in a near perfect rib. The Pacific Northwest is famous for its countless small-scale breweries. Many of these also house restaurants with excellent food. Bend is no exception.
Four breweries call the Central Oregon town home; Silver Moon Brewery, Cascade Lakes Brewery, Bend Brewing Co. and the celebrated Deschutes Brewing Co.
With beers like Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Black Butte Porter available on store shelves everywhere, it's no surprise that the Deschutes Brewery, located in the heart of quaint downtown Bend, would be a top spot for out of towners to sample some of the Northwest's finest beers.
In addition to being housed in a comfortable and spacious building, the restaurant utilizes windows to make the brewing area visible to the public.
A great way to sample the beers is to try the brewery's sampler. While it comes on a six beer tray, the brewery offers around 13 beers including its seasonals. An individual patron would have trouble remembering what they tasted if they tried all 13 at once, but a group of good friends can easily run through the menu with no problem.
If you're not in the mood to try the entire sample, choose a beer from the seasonal list, one that is not always available. After all, why go to the brewery to get what you would at the supermarket.
Some excellant seasonal Deschutes beers are the Super Pale, which is basically Mirror Pond on steroids. It's packed as full as it can get with hops for an intense flavor, not to mention that the alcohol content is bumped up to almost 8 percent. Bachelor Bitter is also a great choice for the hop head in all of us, and the Obsideon Stout on Nitro is one of the better stouts out there, and when mixed with the nitro has a smooth creamy finish.
After sampling the brewery's goods, it's time to eat.
The brew pub offers a lot of good food. While you really can't go wrong, some standouts and high recommendations were the French onion soup and the pork sandwich.
After a meal and a tasting of some quality beer, the only thing left to do is meet the locals.
Bend is home to some of the nicest people I've ever met. While any town boasts that its residents are quality people with good values, the folks I met in Bend were at the top of the scale.
I met them one day and they opened their home to me the next. After a barbecue and some disc golf in their front yard, we were all old friends.
Much like most of the smaller towns that dot Oregon's countryside, Bend's streets are lined with deciduous trees, people drive slowly and everyone has a smile for you. The town itself is a clean and friendly jewel sitting in the middle of a bed of natural beauty that rivals any other. For outdoor enthusiasts and people looking to get away from whatever it is that surrounds them, Bend is definately worth checking out.
And the speed limits aren't nearly high enough.
So, as I did my best not to speed along home, I began to day dream about where I had been. It's not hard to dream when you've been hanging out in the Deschutes National Forest for four days.
The Deschutes River flows out of the Cascade Mountains through Bend, Ore., and through some of the most rich and beautiful forest lands on the West Coast.
Running through the area is the Cascade Lakes Highway, a scenic loop that meanders past dozens of buttes, a handful of mountains, countless lakes and of course, an endless amount of pine trees.
Almost smack dab in the middle of the Cascade Lakes Highway is a lake called Cultus.
Cultus Lake is home to Cultus Lake Resort, a boat ramp, small marina and some lovely beaches. Towering above the lake is Cultus Butte, which overlooks much of the Cascade Lakes area.
Cultus Lake is not the biggest lake out there, but it is big enough for boating of all kinds and warm enough for pleasant swimming.
Having left the Northwest a few years ago, I had almost forgotten what a real forest looks like.
Green stretches out like an ocean, rising and sinking through crests and troughs in the landscape as far as the eye can see. Every so often, the trees give way to a lake or meadow. Some lakes, like Crane Prairie, stretch out over huge expanses. Others, like Little Cultus, are just dots amongst the blanket of trees that cover the rolling hills.
The horizon is divided by peaks that rise up from the forest like great gray rebellious monsters, refusing to be held down by the vastness of green.
The mountains, known as Jefferson, Bachelor, the Three Sisters and Black Butte, are all visible from Cultus Butte, which next to those giants is nothing more than a green pimple.
Method of travel is something that presents options in the area. Of course, you can hike anywhere. Biking is also a very popular mode of travel and the Cascade Lakes Highway is a great loop for road bikers.
However, the path to the top of Cultus Butte is a dirt road, dusty and wide and not alltogether great for hiking or biking.
If one were to, say, drive a raised full size Chevy up the road, it would not seem wide at all. On the contrary, it would be quite the single track.
This brings up another thing the Cascade Lakes area has to offer. Jeep trails and service roads access much of the land in the area, and much of it is excellent for four wheel enthusiasts. In such a huge expanse of land with years of forest service and fire prevention, many access roads are nothing more than miles and miles of dirt or gravel paths through the woods accessing hidden lakes and rivers.
However, if you are going to drive up to the top of Cultus Butte, don't cram eight people and a dog into a closed canopy Chevy with no air conditioning. The trip is long and bumpy and the road isn't fast enough to generate much air through open windows.
However, the view from the top would make almost any amount of suffering on the way up worth while.
Looking down on Little Cultus and Crane Prairie lakes, one wouldn't even know that the Pacific Crest Trail ran right below and through a myriad of smaller lakes hidden from view by brush on the north side of the summit and the immense trees below.
After such a warm ride up and down the butte, there is no better remedy than a dip in Cultus Lake. The main beaches on the east side of the lake border water, which gets to about five feet deep over a couple hundred yards, creating the perfect environment for Frisbee tossing in waist deep water.
As swimming gets boring, a stint on the beach under the warm sun is all that's needed to dry off.
After an afternoon by the lake, take the short walk along the shore to the resort, which has a small gift store selling souvenirs and knick-knacks as well as ice, beer and soft drinks. This store is also the place to inquire about renting a boat or jet-ski.
Attached to the store is a small restaurant that offers some of the finest home cooked food anywhere. After a few days of camping the Cultus Lake Resort, burgers and milkshakes are highly recommended.
However, diners who really want a treat will go by the restaurant for "The Famous Cultus Lake All You Can Eat Rib Dinner," offered every Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Cooked outside in a huge cooker, 10 racks of ribs can be thrown on each of the three racks of the cooker resulting in a near perfect rib. The Pacific Northwest is famous for its countless small-scale breweries. Many of these also house restaurants with excellent food. Bend is no exception.
Four breweries call the Central Oregon town home; Silver Moon Brewery, Cascade Lakes Brewery, Bend Brewing Co. and the celebrated Deschutes Brewing Co.
With beers like Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Black Butte Porter available on store shelves everywhere, it's no surprise that the Deschutes Brewery, located in the heart of quaint downtown Bend, would be a top spot for out of towners to sample some of the Northwest's finest beers.
In addition to being housed in a comfortable and spacious building, the restaurant utilizes windows to make the brewing area visible to the public.
A great way to sample the beers is to try the brewery's sampler. While it comes on a six beer tray, the brewery offers around 13 beers including its seasonals. An individual patron would have trouble remembering what they tasted if they tried all 13 at once, but a group of good friends can easily run through the menu with no problem.
If you're not in the mood to try the entire sample, choose a beer from the seasonal list, one that is not always available. After all, why go to the brewery to get what you would at the supermarket.
Some excellant seasonal Deschutes beers are the Super Pale, which is basically Mirror Pond on steroids. It's packed as full as it can get with hops for an intense flavor, not to mention that the alcohol content is bumped up to almost 8 percent. Bachelor Bitter is also a great choice for the hop head in all of us, and the Obsideon Stout on Nitro is one of the better stouts out there, and when mixed with the nitro has a smooth creamy finish.
After sampling the brewery's goods, it's time to eat.
The brew pub offers a lot of good food. While you really can't go wrong, some standouts and high recommendations were the French onion soup and the pork sandwich.
After a meal and a tasting of some quality beer, the only thing left to do is meet the locals.
Bend is home to some of the nicest people I've ever met. While any town boasts that its residents are quality people with good values, the folks I met in Bend were at the top of the scale.
I met them one day and they opened their home to me the next. After a barbecue and some disc golf in their front yard, we were all old friends.
Much like most of the smaller towns that dot Oregon's countryside, Bend's streets are lined with deciduous trees, people drive slowly and everyone has a smile for you. The town itself is a clean and friendly jewel sitting in the middle of a bed of natural beauty that rivals any other. For outdoor enthusiasts and people looking to get away from whatever it is that surrounds them, Bend is definately worth checking out.
