When we left Mount Rainier, we weren’t quite ready to go home. We had all our gear with us, so decided to stop in Central Oregon for a few more days of camping and hiking before heading west for the coast. We set up camp at Suttle Lake, then headed to the Dee Wright Observatory to enjoy sunset. It was the night after a new moon, and the sky was dark and clear. The stars were amazing! You could see the Milky Way clearly and the whole sky was twinkling; and it was all reflected on the still water of the lake! We also saw several meteors, one quite large.

The Dee Wright Observatory is located on the Old McKenzie Highway (Oregon 242) in Central Oregon at 5,187 ft. elevation. It is a mountain observatory that offers outstanding views of the Mount Washington and Three Sisters Wilderness Areas. The Lava River Interpretive Trail connects to the observatory and offers information on the geology of the area. The observatory sits upon a lava flow from the Yapoah Cone eruption which occurred 2,600 to 2,900 years ago. This lava flow overlaps an older flow from Little Belknap Crater.