When it’s 2:00 a.m. at sixty-five hundred feet in the Oregon high desert and you’re swapping peeks with strangers through a twelve-inch telescope at the binary star Albireo everyone is on a first name basis. So it was that self-styled “amateur gawker” Lloyd explained globular clusters down on the ground while up in the Pine Mountain Observatory dome Fred focused the twenty-four inch scope on Mars and apologized for the atmospheric disturbances.

Mars was one of the reasons that brought me to Central Oregon on an early September night. After all, the bellicose red planet was the closest it would be in sixty thousand years and a variant of the old admonishment had occurred to me; “Don’t put off for thirty millennia what you can do tonight.” Graciously, Pine Mountain Observatory, located twenty-six miles southeast of Bend on Highway 20, opens its lenses to the public every Friday and Saturday night. The show starts when it’s dark and it ends when — well, as far as I can tell, it ends when it’s light, because the friendly throng of stargazers was still going strong when I crawled off to bed. (There is a small, primitive campground on the mountain that accommodates RVs.)

Big on adventure, fun and sun (the East Side of the Cascades gets three hundred days of sol per year) the area compacts a lot of attractions all within easy reach of each other. Between skiing world class Mt. Bachelor in the winter to fishing and rafting on the Deschutes and McKenzie Rivers or partaking of the many festivals and events in the summer, there is so much to do here that I couldn’t begin to cover it all. At the end, however, you’ll find a number of websites that will further expound this playground’s opportunities as well as point you to campgrounds where you can circle your RVs for the night.

Rocky Road
Head up Highway 97 from California and you will find, just before the town of Bend, the High Desert Museum. It is a must stop. The museum is big, well designed and divides its time between the fascinating natural and human history of this volcanic region. You’ll need about three hours to adequately cover all the exhibits, including the walk-through-time dioramas of the Hall of Exploration, turn of the century homestead and the Raptors of the Desert center.

As you pass through this area you will notice that lava is a big sell here — and why not? It’s the ground you walk on; successive lava flows over years put the high in High Desert. You’ll find Lava Lands, the Lava Cast Forest and the Lava River Caves. My advice is pick one.

At fifty-five thousand souls, Bend is the undisputed metropolis of the region. A short jaunt west from 97 takes you to a vibrant downtown of brick boutiques, restaurants, a great ice cream parlor and a gaggle of galleries. Something is always brewing at the Deschutes Microbrewery. Beautiful Drake Park fronts a wide spot on the Deschutes River and provides repose for humans and geese. It’s a great place for a picnic. If someone tells you to go jump in a lake in this friendly town, they probably mean to take a tour of the beautiful Cascade Lakes Highway where you’ll find fishing, swimming and boating on half a dozen nearby lakes.

Driving north from here you get a choice; head to Redmond or Sisters. We’ll take the Redmond route first.

Those large volcanoes to your west as you drive north are the prime architects of the Cascades. Many of them are still snow-capped in the summer, making them appear as apparitions in the heated air. On a clear day in the vicinity of Redmond, you can see all the way to Mt. Hood, Oregon’s highest peak at 11,235 feet. Starting from there, here’s the lineup of the biggest peaks, north to south. Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, the perfectly conical Black Butte, Mt. Washington, the Three Sisters, Broken Top, Mt. Bachelor. Stop off at the Petersen Rock Gardens on the way to see Rasmus Petersen’s fanciful castles and statues and a collection of rare rocks detailing a hounding obsession of seventeen years.

Here’s a curious thing about Redmond — every year thousands of people make reservations to come here and be robbed. You can, too! It all happens aboard the Crooked River Dinner Train. Along with your entree, you have a choice of calamities. You may partake in a murder mystery, or you have the option of peering down the business end of a Colt .45 during a mock robbery by the James Gang. It’s a smoking barrel of fun.

Next door to the Crooked River Ranch you’ll find Smith Rock, an international Mecca for technical rock climbers. With its orange hues, five hundred-foot columns and jagged skyline, Smith is spectacular, both for its physical beauty and the superhuman feats of the climbers. Take a hike on one of the many trails, watch the daring do and look aloft for Swainson’s Hawks, Peregrine Falcons and, if you’re lucky, a Golden Eagle.

East of Smith Rock visit Prineville, the epitome of small town America. Here you’ll find the Bowman Museum, fishing, boating, day hikes in the Ponderosa forests of the Ochoco Mountains and a chance to dig up Thundereggs, Oregon’s State rock, at one of five nearby sites. Need to cool your heels in the desert heat? Make a dash north to the Cove Palisades, an immense recreation lake in a breathtaking rimrock canyon. On the way you’ll pass through the tiny town of Culver, where a sign will inform you that “Culver is Oregon.” I asked why at the local store and was told that Culver embodied the spirit of Oregon: friendly, easy-going and safe, the kind of place where you don’t lock your doors.

Charmed, I’m Sure
Sisters sits at the base of its namesakes, the towering Three Sisters volcanoes. Heed this warning: many visitors to this delightfully preserved historic hamlet never leave. It’s no mystery why; they simply fell victim to the charms of the town and now number amongst the friendly denizens who will greet you here. You can spend a day just shopping, strolling, dining and partaking of one of a multitude of festivals or rodeos that enliven the town from spring to fall.

The Old McKenzie Highway 242 heading west from Sisters will take you past llama ranches and through lava flows high as storm waves to the Dee Wright Observatory, a tower with view slots to point you correctly to the major peaks. North Sister looms directly above you here and the lava-ridden landscape makes you feel as though you had a front row seat on the creation. (Sorry forty-footers, this route is limited to thirty-five foot vehicles.) Drive on a little farther and take the short walk to Proxy Falls, a waterfall so pretty you’ll look for the fairies that must live nearby.

Highway 20 whisks you northwest to Black Butte, but take a side trip on the way to Camp Sherman. Stop at the headwaters of the Metolius River, one of Oregon’s loveliest. Here the river emerges full-blown from an underground spring. The views of meadow flowers and Mt. Jefferson are as unparalleled as the flyfishing for trophy sized trout.

Black Butte Resort offers catch-and-release flyfishing; guided horseback rides on trails through old-growth ponderosa pine trees and aspens; a cool dip in one of four sparkling swimming pools, 23 tennis courts and, of course, golfing. The Recreation Center coordinates raft trips, rock climbing excursions, mountain bike adventures, canoeing and kayak trips and a host of other activities. Dine in one of three restaurants and relax (phew! after all this activity) with a massage.

Cascades of Fun
At the summit of Highway 20 the Ponderosa and Lodgepole Pine forests give way to Spruce and Hemlock and then to Douglas Fir as you head down Highway 126 towards McKenzie Bridge. If you missed the lava on Highway 242 you’ll catch some flows here, plus you’ll find numerous short hikes that will take you to old growth trees whose girth is second only to redwoods. At Clear Lake, the headwaters of the McKenzie River, you can rent a rowboat and peer down through the crystalline waters at an ancient forest drowned when a lava flow dammed the river. A little further on, don’t miss thundering Sahalie Falls.

This is the wetter, better known side of Oregon and the lush vegetation shows it. It is also, like its eastern neighbor, a playground for fishermen, rafters, hikers, mountain bikers, mushroom gatherers and those who simply like to open their peepers and look around. Check in at the McKenzie River Ranger Station for maps and advice on the area. Local guide services will take you for a thrill ride over some of the river’s famous rapids. Expect to get a wee bit wet (bring your sense of humor) and listen, during the slackwater, for the high chirps of Ospreys. Care to join them? Book a fishing trip in a McKenzie River drift boat, the dory-like skiff that originated in this region.

The McKenzie River is one of the coldest in Oregon. Here’s an antidote. Steer your RV to nearby Belknap Hot Springs and find out why these steamy waters have been a favorite of the natives for about eight thousand years. Belknap is famous for the temperature and high mineral content of its hot springs. Of the two pools, I prefer the lower one where you can swim, soak and then lounge on the large deck accompanied by the music of the McKenzie River. Belknap has 42 full RV hookup sites, but call for reservations at this popular resort.

Fun, sun and a ton to do. Don’t wait sixty thousand years to come to the heart of Oregon. It will never be closer.