The High Desert

Best Things Nearby:
The High Desert Museum, John Day Fossil Beds, The Museum At Warm Springs, the mountains, the western town of Sisters, Kah-Nee-Ta Casino, Fort Rock, and Crack In The Ground.

Best Things About the Resort:
The unit was fabulous, the resort was phenomenal, the high desert was a delight, good club houses, and every kind of recreation.

Resort Experience:
My sister and brother-in-law were vacationing with us. When we unlocked the front door and stepped onto the slate floor in the entry way we were thrilled to see the glass wall in the living room and dining area and the deck outside with our own hot tub. In the distance was a canyon. The Dechutes River flows through the bottom of it.

The living room is carpeted and has a beautiful fireplace, upholstered furniture done in high desert colors, and cathedral ceiling made from rough cut oak. The kitchen is light oak, very modern and new, and the dining room furniture is matching light oak.

They took the downstairs bedroom because he uses oxygen and it was easier to set it up. There is a full bath down and a full laundry.

I'll never forget my sister's expression when she saw our upstairs bedroom. She said "Oh my gawd!!!" We have been in a lot of really nice timeshares with Jacuzzis, but she didn't realize they came that gorgeous. This one was special because it has steps leading up to the Jacuzzi and there is a sky light above it. The floor in the bedroom is carpeted and there is a queen size bed and upholstered chair with matching ottoman in more high desert patterns and colors. Pictures throughout are cut paper matching the high desert decor and are quite elegant.

Amenities at the resorts are terrific. There is fishing in the Deschutes River, great horseback riding and stables, hiking trails, nice club houses with services, and golf courses everywhere. This resort is affiliated with a new development intended for year round living, and they share the amenities.

• Unit Type: 3 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

When we paid our admission fee we were given a map with a list of scheduled shows and what times they would take place. It was just about time for the Otter Show so we followed our maps to the Autzen Otter Exhibit. Outside there is a pond and a mound of rocks and inside there is a glass window that shows a cross section of the pond above and below the water and another window shows the inside of the otter's den. It was feeding time. During feeding time the otter is a lively animal and loves to play.

As we walked to the next show on our schedule I thought I saw many animals among the bushes and trees but on closer inspection they were nicely executed life size sculptures of animals in their natural habitats. The Birds Of Prey Show was presented with displays showing how to identify hawks, eagles, falcons and other birds by the shape of their wings as they fly. Near this exhibit two live spotted owls are rehabilitating in cages along with many more birds.

We had a little time before the next show so we went to see the full scale saw mill, the mustang coral and the pioneer cabin that was ready to fully accommodate a homesteading family. The porcupine show was next. A twenty five pound porcupine was lured out of his den with food. A little chipmunk jumped in the dish and helped himself but the porcupine just sat there feeding himself with his paws.

Inside the main building there were exhibits that showed the effects reservation life has on the Indian, a miner's camp, an old west town and a bunk house. I was thrilled to see a genuine old stage coach. More exhibits show the cultures and traditions of the Plateau Indians. Then we walked through a tunnel in a gold mine. It felt like we were in a theme park about the high desert.

There is a lot more exhibits and a great gift shop with terrific information and wonderful gifts. The High Desert Museum is open 7 days a week from 9-5 and can be found south of Bend, OR on Highway 97. Admission prices are: adults $8.50; seniors and youths $7.50; children $4.

From Bend, OR, we took Rt 97S to Rt31E and then after going twenty miles through the Fremont National Forest we found Fort Rock Road. We went a short distance down the road and then we were out on the open prairie with nothing but sagebrush in every direction as far as the eye could see. Five miles further down the road we found Fort Rock, a volcanically formed crater out in the middle of a flat field of alfalfa that seem to go on for miles. A herd of antelope were grazing on the newly cut alfalfa. The farmers cutting the alfalfa noticed we were taking pictures and when they saw why they tried to get rid of the herd.

Fort Rock is a national park and there is a half mile hiking trail inside the crater. As you approach it from Rt 31 it really looks like an old western fort. As you drive on you can see one side of the crater is completely open and it doesn't look as if there is any vegetation inside. Fort Rock and the area around it is a national park. It's hard to figure out where the park is because the land around it is so flat and there are crops growing for miles.

Along the road, in view of Fort Rock, is a collection of buildings brought from various places and each one is significant to the history of homesteading in the area. The little town was closed for the season so it had the appearance of being a ghost town out on the high desert.

A few miles down the road is the center of the town of Fort Rock. There are a few agricultural establishments and a new restaurant that didn't seem to be open due to its dark shaded windows, but when we tried the door it wasn't locked. The sign in front said 'pizza'. They were offering a salad bar for less than $4. We tried it and it was excellent.

Ken and Janice Hamlington had opened the restaurant recently. Janice said her great grandmother came west with the wagon trains and told her stories about the Indians. Her grandmother told her they weren't unfriendly but they were always on the move. Fort Rock is thought to have been an Indian camp at one time.

Most people will think you're being funny if you tell them you went to see Crack In The Ground. My sister drove us out there and we enjoyed the ride because it was so interesting to see all that can be done in the high desert with deep well irrigation. When we got to Crack In The Ground Road we were still laughing and kidding her about going there. We traveled three and a half miles more on that gravel road before we got to the parking lot and the only indication that something interesting was nearby was the presence of a portable toilet next to the parking lot. Then we got out and followed the path across the street for another quarter of a mile into a very isolated place. We felt a little more confident when we met other people on the path who were going to see it also.

Fortunately, she had been there before and just ignore us. We came across an animal feeding station and I thought it might be a sign with information because she wasn't quite sure where it was. To the left I could see some rock formation that looked like two thirty foot high walls of solid rock with a path going through the middle. That wasn't it. I was not prepared for what I was about to see.

We walked about ten feet in the direction of that rock formation and she said "Oh, there it is." We noticed an opening to the right that looked like the entrance to a root cellar and she led us down into it. We followed a path between two walls of solid rock that kept going down, deeper and deeper. We kept walking hoping to find the end. It went on for two miles. When we looked up we could see we were seventy feet down in this crack in the ground. The temperature was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit at the bottom of the crack. It was about 75 degrees on the surface of the ground above. The crack was the result of volcanic action thousands of years ago. Scientists believe molten lava formed a two mile bed of rock and then cooled. Then another layer of molten lava covered the first layer and the heat cause the crack. The walls were wavy near the bottom of the crack. If the walls were to go back together they would fit perfectly.

To get there from Rt97 in central Oregon, take Rt31E to Fort Rock Road. Continue on to Christmas Valley. Follow signs with the words "tour route".

The Word TWANAT is written in big letters above the entrance of the Museum At Warm Springs. I thought it was the Indian spelling of the name of the museum but it is a word meaning "to follow"(traditions and culture).

A stream runs along the path leading to the museum entrance. The entrance is a large circular stone wall representing life. When we stepped into the lobby I was astonished by the magnificence of the tiled floor. It is shiny ceramic and/or stone. Some tiles are smooth 4" X 4" greenish blue and others are rough cut 2" X 2" and 6" X 6" brownish slate. At first they looked as though they were placed at random but the Indian girl at the cash register said they represent the stream that continues outside the door. I could see they did exactly that. Great wooden pillars with diagonal supports represent trees holding up the roof. The museum received the Merit Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.

We then went into a small theater and watched a movie about the culture and traditions of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs including the Warm Springs, the Wasco and the Paiute. A teepee is part of the changing exhibit area and a room looking like a long house is for administration. The volcanic origins of the area are incorporated into the decor.

An exhibit on the Indian method of fishing showed how to use spears and women were digging roots with a device consisting of a long pole centered in a handle. While we viewed the exhibits Indian music was playing and an old woman explained the meaning of the music.

Here you can find out about the Treaty of 1855 from the people whose ancestors lived through it. There is a presentation about the effects of the treaty that established the reservation and ceded much of their lands. This is truly an Indian museum.

There is a really good gift shop in the lobby with some nice hand made jewelry and some Pendleton items and lots of information about the Indians. There is also a small restaurant. An admission fee of $6.00 per person is charged. It is open 9-5 on weekdays. The museum can be found by going west on Rt 26 to Warm Springs from Rt 97.