An evening at Pine Mountain Observatory

Have you been out to Pine Mountain Observatory yet? They stop public viewings at the end of September and won't start up again until sometime in May 2014. Pretty cool chance to look thru some powerful telescopes...we saw ring nebulas, the Andromeda Galaxy, double stars, a brief glimpse of Saturn before it slipped beyond the horizon.

I would highly recommend taking the binocular tour. You lay down with some binoculars and are taken on a tour of the night sky by an eager and well educated docent. I would do it again. We went up on Labor Day weekend and, of course, it was a zoo but lots of languages spoken and lots of curiosity on the loose!

Benham Falls at dusk

It's early September and lots of water still at the falls! A little lower on the river, at Dillon Falls the mosquitoes are happily feasting on whoever shows up, bring long sleeves for your hike! The water runs so nice and quietly there and folks were taking advantage with some fly casting, canoeing and dusk mountain bike cruises down the river trail.

Todd Lake and Broken Top in August

Todd lake in the evening is the perfect pond for a little shoreline picnic and float-about. You can hike around the lake if you like. Evenings are relatively quiet, we found, with most folks headed back to town toward dinner time. No problem to find some shoreline for yourself!

 

We worked up appetites beforehand by hiking up toward Broken Top and South Sister for gorgeous view. It's an easy loop if you hike back down the gravel road 370 (only open to vehicles a few months of the year) back to Todd Lake. Nice little slice of the high country!

Chimney Rock

If you go visit the Crooked River Canyon (and you should) leave yourself an extra hour for the hike up to chimney rock. It's about a 2 1/2 mile round trip with 500 feet of elevation gain, but affords you great views into and out of the canyon.

A Stone's Throw Bungalow vacation rentals

Tam MacArthur Rim/Three Creek Lake

  We are taking the time to enjoy the last half of summer.  The days are warm but getting shorter, and periodic showers freshen up the dusty trails.  We have our fingers crossed that we don't have any bad fires and smoke doesn't become a problem.
  Tam Macarthur rim is a great short hike with super views.  It starts from high-up Three Creek Lake outside of Sisters.  It's close to Bend as the crow flies, but it takes 30-45 minutes to drive there.  The lake itself is pretty, medium-sized, and quiet.  There are no motorized boats but a beach party atmosphere is possible on a summer weekend.  There is a small seasonal store for supplies and paddle boat rentals.
  The hike starts at the trailhead just before you reach the lake itself.  The sandy trail follows the rim as it rises. Tree cover gives way to more open hiking pretty quickly, and there are views to the north most of the way.  The prow is a great viewpoint, but above-treeline hiking towards the "broken hand" ridge near Broken Top are also an option.  We did the round trip to the prow in about 2 1/2 hours.  When we got back down to the lake late in the afternoon, most everyone had left.  You don't have to go this far from Bend to enjoy an alpine lake or do a hike, but the setting of Three Creek Lake is particularly nice.

View of Black Butte and Little Three Creek Lake as you near the Tam prow.

Perfect for an after-hike paddle or swim.