Big Tree and Sunriver

Many states had heritage trees and Oregon is no exception.  In LaPine State Park stands a 500 year old Ponderosa Pine tree that is the largest of that species in the state.  Access is on a short gravel road that is fairly well maintained.  From the parking lot, it is a 1000’ walk to the tree.

The good news is the trail is all downhill.  The bad news is, coming back it’s all uphill.   Now if my grandpa could walk 10 miles to school, in the snow, uphill both ways, why couldn’t they make the trail downhill both ways?  I don’t know…maybe they need a better engineer!!


The tree is now fenced to protect it from damage from compacting of soil.  That really doesn’t detract from the tree as you can still get plenty close enough.  Although it is a dwarf when compared with the mighty redwoods of California, it is a giant among Ponderosa Pines. 



I love the cinnamon colored bark of the Ponderosa Pine.


The Big Tree is close by the Deschutes River and the bank at this point is actually low enough to allow access to the river.  It is wide and lazy here and provides a scenic green respite from the dust that is everywhere in the campground.

 
Desperate to find some internet and phone service, we drove into Sunriver.  This is a large resort community in Central Oregon.  It includes houses for rent, cabins, lodge rooms, and all kinds of recreational facilities.  We have rented a house here several times and have always enjoyed it.  Unfortunately, there is no camping here…they’re too upper crust for that type of activity!! 

We were not able to find any internet but we did find a nice place to eat lunch.  We ate outside, right on the river and the weather was just perfect.


It was mediocre Mexican food but the ambiance made up for it.



After a late lunch we headed back to the park but as we turned down the park road, we saw flashing lights ahead.  A state policeman was at the first intersection and traffic was not allowed through.  We had to take a 12 mile detour in order to get back to the park.  We read in the paper this morning that there was a traffic fatality there and a 28 year old woman was killed.  So sad when anyone loses their life.  When we left the park this morning (Sunday, Sept.30), we saw the accident site and cannot imagine what would cause a crash there.  No intersection, no traffic, how does something like this happen.  Had we not been delayed in finding a restaurant at Sun River, we could have been right in the middle of it.  SAD.

I am sitting in McDonalds trying to get caught up on my posts and scheduling them to upload at a future date.  I may not have time to get caught up on my reading until we find a place with Wi-Fi.  We are headed out tomorrow, Oct. 1 to see what other excitement we can find.  Everything is going great so far.  The Fit has not thrown any fits and neither have I!!  We are having fun, just missing not having phone and internet service.  But we shall carry on!!