Deschutes River sights to see: LAPC

Today I’m sharing Deschutes River sights to see. Since the river, located in central and northern Oregon, is 252 miles long, I’ll show just a few of its riches. At the end of this post, a map shows these locations.

Where the Deschutes begins

The first picture is of Little Lava Lake. This is a more peaceful place to kayak than the much larger Lava Lake. The spot below shows where the Deschutes River begins.

Little Lava Lake
Little Lava Lake

The next picture was taken on another kayaking trip near Harper Bridge in Sunriver. The waters are calm on this part of the river, but get much rougher when you get to Benham Falls, a class V section. I got out well ahead of the falls!

Kayaking on the Deschutes River 10Sept2016
North of Harper Bridge
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River otter on ice: Monochrome Monday

I saw this Northern river otter on ice a few days ago along the Deschutes River in Bend. If you walk early in the morning, as I like to do, you’ll get to witness magical moments such as this one.

River otter on ice
River otter on ice

Monochrome Monday

Pines on pilings along Deschutes River Trail: TTL

I saw these lodgepole pines on pilings next to a bridge crossing the Deschutes River. I was hiking the trail to Benham Falls but had to pause to marvel at these little trees. Trout swam around the pilings, providing a little extra fertilizer for this odd nursery.

Who knows why the trees settled there. They certainly found a nice piece of waterfront property with a view. 😉

pines on pilings

Thursday Tree Love – 114

Waterfowl reflections on the Deschutes: BWPC

Today I’m featuring photos of waterfowl reflections taken on the Deschutes River. The first picture is of a lone swan that has been hanging around Bend, Oregon for the last several weeks.

waterfowl reflections - swan in Bend, Oregon

Here’s a pair of common mergansers taking off along the Trout Creek trail, north of Madras.

Making a Splash, Common merganser pair on the Deschutes River 2April2017

Here’s a pair of hooded mergansers in Bend, Oregon.

Water fowl reflections - hooded mergansers
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A planter full of color: Friday Flowers

A planter full of color

A planter full of color near the flag bridge in Bend, Oregon.

Friday Flowers

Walking with Winter in B & W: LAPC

Walking with Winter along a River of Falls

Where snow softens hard edges of steel

Walking with winter - Matched pair sculpture

And creates ephemeral works of whimsey

A whimsical snowman

Where snow and ice form furrowed bridges

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Waterfowl on the Deschutes: BWPC

At this time of the year, you see a lot of waterfowl on the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon. I paused to look at this group of mallards until…

Waterfowl on the Deschutes River December 2020

This happened. No he didn’t hit me, but I thought I better continue on my way.

Mallard flying at me! December 2020

Then I saw this big gray-white camera shy bird next to a pair of common mergansers. What is that?

Trumpeter swan & common mergansers December 2020
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Rounded river rocks haiku: Monochrome Monday

Rounded river rocks

Solitary standing snag

Weaving waterway

Rounded river rocks on Deschutes River

Monochrome Monday

Friday Flowers & Flag Bridge

Just couldn’t resist posting one more picture of a bridge.  The color of the flags on the bridge are changed with the various seasons, holidays, and events.  This bridge is not far from the one I posted on Wednesday.  The bridge is in Bend, Oregon and it goes over the Deschutes River.  There are some nice trails to walk on near the river.  It’s also fun to inner tube, kayak, and stand up paddle board here. Colorful flowers around the area are in full bloom.

Bridge at Old Mill, Bend, Oregon 7July2017Flowers and bridge in the Old Mill district, Bend, Oregon 7July2017

Weekly Photo Challenge – Bridge

Bend Whitewater Park

About the Bend Whitewater Park

Did you know that you can surf on the Deschutes River? Yes, thanks to the creation of the Bend Whitewater Park you too can hang ten on the river that flows through Bend, Oregon. Maybe you would rather float down in an inner tube – you can do that too. Maybe you want to get a glimpse of some wildlife – that’s also an option. The river was split into three channels: the Habitat Channel for wildlife; the Whitewater Channel for kayaks, surfboards, and stand up paddleboards; and the Passageway Channel for inner tubes and small rafts.

Innertubers at Bend Whitewater Park, Oregon
Passageway Channel.

A 100-year old dam was recently removed from the river near the Colorado Avenue Bridge and an “amusement park” was put in by Bend Parks and Recreation. At a cost of nearly $10 million dollars, some questioned its value. Bend Paddle Trail Alliance, one of the local groups in support of this park, contributed over $1 million towards the project. The voter-approved  bond said that water recreationists would have “safe passage” once the project was completed. That’s a good idea since people were injured or lost their lives because of the dam.

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