Lava Fields Forever

Everyone says we should see the lava fields.  I've seen the basaltic rock at the beaches but I've never ever heard of fields of lava.  So off we go toward the town of Sisters (named for the 3 Sisters Mountains) on the Old McKenzie Road.  The Old McKenzie is passable only in the summer months and isn't opened for action until July so... lucky us.
On the way we make a stop at Proxy Falls in the Deschutes National Forest.  I really don't know anything about these falls accept they are beautiful and fall from a height of 200 feet.   To get to them we had to cross over what was at one time a lava flow, kind of a trickle from the big deal.

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You go through this dusty bleak area and then come into a green forest floor.  The climb down the the lower pool is kind of tricky but  it's worth it because when you get there you can sit on soft moss and feel the cool mist hitting your face refreshing and reviving you.

Back on the Old Mac, the trek to the lava fields changes drastically from the lush, verdant woods of the forest to what is still, after so many years, a barren, charred wilderness that stretches for miles and miles, really as far as you can see.

The structure above is called Dee Wright Observatory and is built entirely of the lava rock.
The observatory was built in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corp.  By the way, the CCC (created by FDR to give people jobs after the Depression.  Hmmm.....what a novel idea!)  built a lot of things in this area.  Bridge after bridge on the coast highway was built by those folks.  Before that, every time you came to a river emptying into the ocean you had to take a ferry to get to the other side.  That wouldn't work out well for a Type A personality.

The bronze disk looks like a sundial but is kind of like a compass that points to all the surrounding mountain peaks. On a clear day you can see mountains from Portland to near Northern California. Inside the structure are little peepholes and when you stand right in front of one, the peak you are seeing is the one that is listed below the little window. This is really cool for me since I can't seem to figure out which mountain is what.  This area of the Cascade Mountain range has the highest concentration of snow capped volcanos in the lower 48 states. 

At the top of the observatory there are some bicycle guys who are celebrating with high-fives and slaps on the back  the wonderful feat they've just accomplished...the stuff that biking stories are made of they say.   They go on to tell everyone that they've just completed the long climb up this mountain with almost no water becoming very dehydrated and almost passing out when they got here. I'm finding it hard to understand when stupidity left off and the heroic accomplishment began.  Why would seasoned bikers (which I assume they are as they're wearing the spandex to prove it) embark on this kind of  ride without such an essential element?   I just wanna say...."Seriously...what were you thinking?"

All the black rock you see is the leftovers from the surrounding molten gushers.  The "snag" trees are look like silvery ghosts next to the immense blackness.
 The lava rocks are very hard to walk over and I'm amazed that this area could be  traversed with horses and wagons prior to the CCC's road work.