Quiet Times in the Cascades

June 19-25, 2019
Idanha, Oregon

Some of the sweetest spots we've found are those put on our route "in between" places we plan to see. Idanha (eye-DAN-uh) is one of those. 

River Mountain RV Park is a small park along the Santiam River. We aren't able to get completely level on the gravel and grass site, and the trees block our satellite, but we really like it here! The sound of the river, the light breezes, the peace and quiet - this is a beautiful place.

Our arrival is delayed while the river below the bridge is stocked with fish from this hatchery truck. A first for us - very dramatic!

There are two main rivers here, and the lovely Detroit Lake. During our week's stay we don't find anyone who's catching on the river. Still, we find some beautiful places during our scouting drives. Moss covered trees and rocks add a quiet enchantment.

Tree-covered mountains surround Detroit Lake.

Breitenbush River

A lone sail on a sunny Saturday.

Bill spends a morning fishing on the lake without any luck, while I clean house. I replace the parts on our dinette storage space, but unfortunately it doesn't solve the problem. So not a "productive" day for either of us :-(

We spend some lazy days around the house, enjoy BBQing and listening to music. We only have a couple neighbors over the weekend, otherwise we share the park with just the hard-working owner and a couple seasonals. It's a laid back place, not yet bustling with summer crowds.

Sunday we decide to make the drive to Elk Lake. There's only one sign but our GPS takes us up the very rough and rocky dirt track to the crystal blue natural lake. The one guy fishing catches a trout when we walk by, says it's the first fish he's caught. We're starting to see a pattern......

Much rougher than it looks - 12 miles of ruts and roots and holes.

Lots of these strange flowers along the road. I swear they all turn to look at us as we get closer!

Elk Lake

Small trails from the primitive campground lead to the water's edge.

A sunny meadow beside the lake.

Rhodies look so delicate in the wild.

Long vistas from the top.

Edit: Can't believe I forgot our last pretty, but "damaging" day on the river!

We find a beautiful place to get down by the river at Whispering Falls Campground. No day use, but we just pay the federal park pass overnight rate of $9 and use one of the sights above the water.

The rock scramble has me sliding down on my butt, and then looking for a better spot to climb out later. This is a gorgeous stretch of moss covered rocks and clear, rushing water. Bill fishes while Tessa and I hike as far as we can. I find a place where she can crawl under the large fallen tree, but when I turn around she's scaling it like a champ! 

The gnarly decent.

Worth the effort.

Watching for gnomes.

Pretty but no love.

A couple trout follow Bill's lure but never bite, probably having fallen for that before :-) When we talk with the camp hosts later in the day we learn they've been there a month and not even seen a fish. We had such high hopes when we arrived behind the hatchery truck a week ago!

The simple artistry of a smooth log.

Churning rapids on both sides of the calm pool.

I find a much easier exit trail, but before we can get to that Bill misjudges the climb over the large log and takes a nasty tumble off the side into the rocks. Fortunately nothing is broken, and there's no knot on his head. His shoulder hurts a lot but he's a tough old bird :-)

The scene of the crime - he fell onto those rocks. Standing in the sand, the log comes to my arm pit.

Whispering Falls on the other side of the river, easier to hear than to see.

We still have a few days before our planned meet up with friends in Newport. Although the fishing has been a bust, we're loving Central Oregon so we'll make one more stop before heading to the coast.