Oregon Back Road in the Cascade Foothills

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The past few pictures were from within Silverton. This was part of the road on the way there.

 

State Hwy 211 is a highway that runs from Estacada to Molalla. As soon as it leaves Estacada it ascends into the Cascade foothills that surround the town and in no time you're more than 1,500 feet ASL, what dwellings and farms there are fall away, and it's a two-lane paved road through thick forest.

There are some gorgeous views to be hand just from the car.  I got a couple more for when I have more time to post.

But this one charms because of the curve of the road, the minimal evidence of other highway engineering, and the power lines illuminated to remind one of spider webs. It's at once near civilization and remote, nowhere and anywhere, and demonstrates why just a trip between two towns in the back roads of the Cascades piedmont is like a tiny vacation.

Today We Go Place Part 4: On A Clear Day, You Can See At Least 85 Miles

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This is a view looking southward from the parking lot at Timberline Lodge, at approximately 6,000 feet ASL. This is along the general trend of the direction of the Cascade Range at this point.

In terms of accessibility to the general public and relative to the Portland metro, this is the tallest one's likely to get in Oregon (outside of those boundaries you have Crater Lake, which is remote from Portland and Steens Mountain, which is just plain remote ... but there's a road on Steens that gets to about 9,000 feet in elevation, so knock yourself out. Send pictures). 

The lopsided volcano in the distance, then, is Oregon's second tallest summit: Mount Jefferson. The line of sight from Your Humble Photographer to that place is approximately 45 miles of crystal clear air. Of equal interest are those sawtooth crags on the horizon immediately to the left of Jeff; those are the summits of the volcanic group we call the Three Sisters. The dominant cone in that grouping, the one we call South Sister, is about 40 miles beyond that. 

One of Oregon's unparalleled viewpoints, without question.