Approaching The Canyon

Welcome again all as we take a little road trip in beautiful Central Oregon. This time we take a drive on HWY 27 out of Prineville in Crook County along the Crooked River Scenic Highway. It follows the river for about 18 miles to Bowman Dam that holds back Prineville Reservoir. Part 1 will cover a little over half the drive before we stop for a little snack in one of the many campgrounds along the route. The drive starts with fertile farmland nestled between the rim rocked mountains on either side.

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Once past the farmland the the walls start to close in and become steeper. You now enter the canyon portion of the drive.

I was so enamored with the rock formations as I was taking these pictures, I failed to notice the wispy type clouds until I started reviewing the pictures. You will see they are in quite a few of the following shots.

This section of the river is also a fly-fishing mecca. This is the first of many fisherman we saw this day.

I must admit there is probably nothing I like more than rock formations in a desert like setting and this drive delivered around every bend.

Along with the rock formations there were also signs of budding flowers.

Approaching Castle Rock

Castle Rock is the large monolith in the center of the following picture. It is one of the more notable features on the drive.

A view of Castle Rock from the campground down below.

Some Views Of The River

Looking up and down river from a pullout along the road.

And YES! Another rock formation above us at the pullout. 😀

A zoomed in shot of some of the wildlife on the river.

Stopping For Snacks

These last two shots are the views we enjoyed as we sat at the picnic table in the campground.

I love the different textures of rock at the different levels in this shot. Maybe I should have been a geologist. 😀
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Hope you enjoyed the first part of this drive. Be sure to follow along and read part 2 which is coming soon.

Please feel free to comment or ask any questions about this post.

Photos taken by me, @oldmans, with a Nikon D3300 and some Lightroom post processing.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day!