This was the last stop on our return to Oregon. Eastern Oregon is vast, rugged, and remote. There is plenty of “elbow room” out here, and it is quite beautiful. The amazing diversity of landscape is one of the many things I love about Oregon.  Steens Mountain is a fault block mountain with an elevation of 9,733 feet, looming over the Alvord desert to the east, over 5,000 feet below. I would like to come back here in summer to hike. The highest road in Oregon takes you near the summit of this beautiful mountain.

We stayed at Alvord Hot Springs on the eastern side of the mountain. The landscape of the Alvord Desert, a dry lakebed, with Steens Mountain rising dramatically above it is surreal. The hot springs were rustic and nice. The temperature was perfect the evening we arrived, but the next morning, one was way too hot and the other too cold. We stayed in an army MASH unit that had electricity and heat as well as furniture; you provide your own bedding, and there’s a bathroom located by the office. We drove through periodic snow on our drive along the western side of the mountain, through The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, and into Bend. We realized that winter had not yet released her grip in central Oregon, but summer would arrive soon enough.