Summer Adventure Circuit with Jess - Day 4: Skylight Cave, Blue Hole, McKenzie River Area, Sisters, and Bend

Summer Adventure Circuit with Jess - Day 4: Skylight Cave, Blue Hole Hike, Sahalie and Koosah Falls, Clear Lake and Suttle Lake, the Town of Sisters, and an evening out in Bend!

We headed to the mountains since it was blazing hot in Bend today. Our route took us first to Skylight Cave NW of Sisters. It was an incredible spot - a 900' long lava tube that that a few holes in the top, "skylights," that let beams of light in. It was like nothing we'd ever seen and very stunning. We continued west until we hopped onto 126 - the McKenzie Highway heading south. There is a 26-mile trail along the river - the McKenzie River Trail. We did a five-mile hike to the legendary Blue Hole. It totally lived up to everything we had heard and was an absolutely stunning turquoise blue. We scrambled around the pool to the far side to get to a ledgey area where Jess jumped into the 37F degree water. BRRR! If you can - go! After that we visited Sahalie and Koosah Falls on the McKenzie River. They were roaring at this time of year with all the snow run off and the misty breezes blowing off the falls and river were delightful. We headed to Clear Lake Resort after that to grab lunch and were hoping to chill on a beach - but there is no beach area here. It is also a very cold lake and the main sport appears to be boating and paddle boarding - no one is swimming in this lake. Finally, we wrapped up with a stop at Suttle Lake, but at that point (3:45) a few thunderstorms had developed to ward off the heat of the day and laying out on the nice beach or grass area available at Suttle was not an option in the downpour and hail. 

We stopped into the cute western town of Sisters on the way back. It is charming and has the flair of many artists who live in the community. It is also a sleepy town and many things close at 5:00, unfortunately. We did pop into a few shops and scored a few finds. After freshening up at the hotel room in Bend, we headed to the downtown to check out the restaurants and shops and the nice waterfront paths and parks. After walking through the bustling brick downtown, we decided to stop for a drink at the lawn of the Bend Brewing Company overlooking the river. It was a perfect oasis. For sunset, we walked down to the Mirror Pond section of the riverfront and got to see a magnificent sunset with a mountain in the background. What a gorgeous way to cap off such an iconic day!