Bend, OR

You have read many of my previous editorials and several of them mention Hwy 58 and so I wanted to give you all a bit more of an in depth look at what you see, just in driving by and without stopping.

Hwy 58 is one of the shortest scenic routes that I know of in Oregon but nonetheless it is full of its own bit of magical splendor, majestic falls, pristine water, mountain views, many streams, campgrounds, fishing, water and snow sports and the lush forests as well as all that it has to offer in the way of consumer products.

From LaPine to Eugene this drive is 125 miles and you may even go through several different types of weather such as rain, hail, high winds to snow to clear blue sunny skies and 20 degrees warmer or a mixture of almost all of them at the same time. Yes it does snow, rain or hail with high winds while completely sunny. It’s a crazy mix, welcome to Oregon.

The first several times I drove this pass, many years ago now, it was all about hurry up and get there. Today and several years older I think I might be finally learning to slow down and smell the roses, or so they say. Now I take my time, never in much of a hurry and I take the time to stop and explore, see what is there and see if I can find something someone seems to not see or find a challenge someone has yet to take.

Diamond Peak is in the set of pictures you will view, and as I know, I have driven by this probably close to 1000 times in all these years and the one thing in these pictures that I never noticed before was the picnic table and bench. Something so simple, 50 feet from the highway and yet they were invisible to me and I found them by accident wondering where the set of steps went to. Diamond Peak is approximately 20 minutes West of Oakridge. Oakridge is the little town in the mountains that provides the small amenity of restaurants to include A&W, Dairy Queen and McDonald’s as well as family style restaurants, hotels, service stations, miscellaneous gift shops, a small floral shop and emergency services.

Yoran Lake is another viewpoint that I never knew of until this past summer and is available only to hikers as there are no motorized vehicles. Watch for Yoran Lake and other areas of interests in later posts.