7-18-2025 Sisters, OR

We arrived in this little town and decided to have dinner at the Sisters Saloon and Ranch Grill.  It was the right decision.  For one thing, the food was overly-generous and Josh, our table tender, was friendly in the extreme.  For another, however, this building was built in 1912 and is the oldest commercial establishment in town.  Yes, it is was a hotel, however it was also a whorehouse!  We were free to wander up the steps to the “hotel rooms,” where apparently, a lot of fun was had by all.

Upstairs rooms at Sisters Saloon

Oldest commercial building in this area, 1912

The copper stamped ceilings
are not original but 
certainly are period and beautiful.

MISTER Buffalo to you.

The beautiful backbar.

Everything is gorgeous and perfectly restored.  The woodwork is original and the backbar is spectacular.  Fast forward for just a moment:  We had dinner here again the next night.

 

Now, back up the truck.  Rob, my research consultant, found a loop we could take, 82 miles around on the back roads.  At first, the route wended through miles and miles of forest fire devastation.  It was astonishing.  Thousands of acres of skeletons that were once trees stretched as far as we could see.  Then, there was a sea of, “lava fields.”  Some are dated 2,000 years ago, some 3,000 and some as far back as 17,000.  What a turbulent part of the world this must have been in the early days when the earth was a cooling ball of fire!  The sea of lava in this area covers 65 square miles.  The map called out the Dee Wright Observatory.  We thought we would encounter a fancy building with telescopes and so forth.  Instead, it was an open-air lava rock structure.  Begun in 1927, it was completed in 1935 and is constructed with local lava rock.  We climbed to the top and went inside and were amazed.  There are windows and peepholes aimed at the various peaks on the horizon and beneath each peephole, chiseled in the rock plaques, are the names of the peaks you see.  How cool is that?!

Rob on the lava path to the observatory

The tiny peepholes are aimed at
specific mountains.

I'm that little tiny pink spot on the path
up to the Dee Wright Observatory.

Dee Wright Observatory 1927-1935

Mount Washington

Lava fields for-semingly-ever

Among the burned out forests.
It went on for miles.

Atop the observatory with North
Sister and Middle Sister in view

Yikes.... 

 

The quaint town of Sisters (pop. 3,000) is nestled at the feet of Three Sisters, mountains that loom large (all 3 over 10,000 ft. elevation) on the horizon.  The original settlers had named these three peaks Mount Faith, Mount Hope and Mount Charity.  After a particularly heavy snowfall in 1883, a surveyor, Albert Rogers, thought the mountains resembled nuns with flowing veils and named them The Three Nuns.  In 1886, the name was changed again to Three Sisters by a geologist, explorer and surveyor, George Dawson and this time, the name stuck.  The mountains are part of the Cascade Range and although they have not erupted for a few thousand years, they are still classified as active volcanos.

From left to right, South Sister,
Middle Sister and North Sister

 

We continued on the narrow road as it twisted with sharp switchbacks for 50 miles through corridors of conifers hundreds of feet tall!  The road is so winding that vehicles over 35 feet in length are prohibited.  The little Jeep was our trusty, reliable buddy today.  It took about 5 hours to drive the loop, over two passes and along beautiful, turquoise blue lakes.  There are resorts on the shores of these lakes and local swimmers, kayakers and paddleboarders abound.  Once the long cold winter with deep snow turns to Spring and Summer, the humans come out of hibernation and head for the beaches, no matter how cold the water is.  The water temperature at Suttle Lake and Clear Lake ranges on average 45-50F.  Oregonians may be related to polar bears.  Or emperor penguins.

Yup.  Narrow twisty roads
through endless corridors of pines.

Suttle Lake

Clear Lake (not intended for
77 year-old humans)

 

Our next stop is Salem, OR, where we will spend some time with # 2 son, Mike.

Bend Sisters Garden RV Resort - lovely!