Our recent explorations of the Deschutes River have been limited to the area from our house on the South Canyon north (downriver) into downtown Bend, but now that the weather is improving (we're just having spring now in mid-June), we are branching out. This post sees us go down Century Drive south to the Dillon Falls Day Use Area and hike south (upriver) to Benham Falls and back, about 7 easy miles all told.
Both Dillon and Benham Falls were formed by lava flow from Lava Butte on the east side of the river about 7000 years ago when the lava blocked the river in these two spots. When walking along the river, it is easy to spot where the falls are going to be: lava suddenly appears on the river banks.
I took too many photos to even try to organize them into any kind of coherent story. These are in the order that I shot them.
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| Western Blue Iris, Iris missouriensis |
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| Local Blue Chicken: Steller's Jay |
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| A Lupine: We Have Many, Many Species |
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| At The Head of Dillon Falls |
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| Choke Cherry, Prunus virginiana |
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| Hide and Seek in a Willow |
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No Clue What This Yellow Ray Flower Is,
Maybe a Hawkbit |
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| Either a Microseris or False Dandelion |
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| Arrowleaf Balsamroot, Balsamorhiza sagittata |
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| Bee on a Balsamroot Blossom |
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| Head of Dillon Falls |
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| American Robin in a Riverside Alder |
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| Spray and Mist, Dillon Falls |
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| Start of Dillon Falls Gorge |
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| Scabland Penstemon, Penstemon deustus |
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| A Thistle, Dillon Falls |
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| Curious Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel |
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| Unopened Buds of a Sulphur Buckwheat, Eriogonum sp. |
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| Riverside Choke Cherry in Full Bloom |
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| Beautiful White Rose |
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| Male Brown-Headed Cowbird |
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| Lodgepole Pine, Pinus contorta |
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| Slender Cinquefoil, Potentilla gracilis |
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| Yellow Salsify, Tragopogon dubius |
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| Common Yarrow, Achillea millefolium |
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| Redstem Storksbill, Erodium cicutarium |
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| Male Cinnamon Teal |
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| Mount Bachelor Behind a Slough |
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| An Antennaria, Unknown Species |
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| There are Some Huge Ponderosas Riverside |
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| Many Large Stands of Western Prince's Pine, Chimaphila umbellata |
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| Stunning Western Columbine, Aquilegia formosa |
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| Ponderosa Reflections, Deschutes River |
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| This Yellow-Pine Chipmunk is not a Tree Squirrel |
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| That Sky! |
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| A Buttercup, Ranunculus sp. |
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| Old Choke Cherry, Like an Ancient Abandoned Apple Tree |
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| Nineleaf Biscuitroot, Lomatium triternatum |
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| Western Serviceberry, Amelanchier alnifolia |
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| A Strawberry, Fragaria sp. |
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Nearing Benham Falls, New Growth on
Grand Fir, Abies grandis
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| Lava Returns Riverside Near Benham Falls |
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| Townsend's Solitaire in a Ponderosa Pine |
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| Rugged Lava Flow |
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Doug Fir (left), Pseudotsuga menziesii,
Becomes Common Near Benham Falls |
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| The Three Sisters Behind Lava Flow |
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| Large False Solomon's Seal, Maianthemum racemosum |
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| Whitewater Nearing Benham Falls |
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| Fishing for Rainbows |
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| Benham Falls |
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| A Mat of Unknown Penstemons, Benham Falls |
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| Rock Tower, Benham Falls |
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| Western Oak Fern, Gymnocarpium disjunctum |
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Common Bracken, Pteridium aquilinum, in the Deschutes River
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| Arrowleaf Ragwort, Senecio triangularis, in the Deschutes |
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| So Many Common Nighthawks at Benham Falls |
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| Male Brewer's Blackbird, Showing Off |
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| Slender Phlox, Microsteris gracilis |
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| Slender Vetch, Vicia tetrasperma |
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A Rare Stand of Riverside Beaver Snacks,
Quaking Aspen, Populus tremuloides |
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Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea, and
Rydeberg's Penstemon, Penstemon rydbergii |
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| Antelope Bitterbrush, Purshia tridentata, in Full Glory |
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| A Stand of Water Lilies, Nymphaea odorata, Riverside Pond |
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| A Blue-Eyed Grass, Sisyrinchium, Probably idahoense |
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| American Vetch, Vicia americana |
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| Littlepod False Flax, Camelina microcarpa |
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| Silverleaf Phacelia, Phacelia hastata |
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| It's Time for our Post-Hike Tradition! |
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