A couple months ago, Dale and I went for a country ride to clear our heads and get some fresh air. We'd been cooped up in the house with a virus, and needed some distance vision.
Dale spotted this state park on the map, east of Sweet Home, about 1-1/4 hours northeast of Eugene. So even though we still didn't have much energy, we were ready for a Tuesday Travels outing.
Once past Sweet Home, we travelled up the Santiam River on a tree-lined highway. We made our first stop at a roadside pull-out where we followed the sound of water to this watershed. It was peaceful and beautiful beside the rushing water.
Further down the road we stopped at this visitor center. It had been raining, so the deck was slippery. I nearly landed on my butt.
Among other information about the fishing, camping, and hiking that are available at Cascadia park, is this wall of hand-painted tiles depicting some of the wildflowers in the area.
The highlight, of course, was the view of the lake surrounded by mountains. Looking upriver:
Looking west, toward the dam:
I believe we even found a geocache at the end of the parking lot.
Driving a bit further east took us to the entrance of Cascadia County Park. We drove around a little bit on the paved roads, but didn't get out of the car. Things looked fairly buttoned up for the winter season, so we'll need to explore more on a return trip. I hear there's wonderful picnic areas, good paths down to a swimming hole, a lot of hiking, places to fish, and a waterfall called Lower Soda Falls at the northernmost point of the park.
But, wow! We live in such pretty country with tall, tall trees!
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