The main difference between weather on the Cascade’s west versus the east slope is how long it lingers. In Central Oregon a rain storm comes in and moves on in a day. The great part is you get to experience weather in a variety of stages and it seems like a sunny day is always on the way. This week we drove through clouds.
The Lower Deschutes, around Maupin, is a regular destination in the fall. There are far fewer people, the river level drops to ‘wadeable,’ and summer heat has passed.
The latter part of the week looked like a storm front coming along with wind gusts and increased rain. So we spent a bit more time on the road and headed for Maupin. On the edge of the Deschutes River canyon we drove into the clouds … literally.
The fog bank hung onto the canyon’s edge, so we slipped below the clouds and pulled up to a favorite spot on the river.
Lunch, fresh coffee and on the river. The fishing was very slow but Tip and I had fun scrambling along the bank. JQ was much more productive with the long lens on her camera snapping pix of some of the locals.
We spent an afternoon on the river without encountering a single fisherman or rafter, unusual, but made for a great day. We expect the rainy days to increase in late fall and take advantage of the drier ones. Bend / La Pine get an average of 11 inches of precipitation compared to Portland’s 44 inches, so we still get mostly desert-like weather.
The day was perfect, temperatures in the low 60’s, lots of sun and only minimal wind.
Fall weather has muted any remaining green and added yellow and orange hues to the hillsides.
We break open the lunch, brew fresh coffee, and enjoy the rush of river. A month ago this spot would have been baking in summer sun, today we are dressed in flannel and clouds flash intermittent bursts of sunlight.
Scratch-made gives you a delicious pie with total control over the ingredients.