The last two days, we have gone to an area off of China Hat Road, just a short distance from Bend, to photograph the moon and the sunset. We were photographing at the base of a butte called Bessie Butte and yesterday noticed a sign for a trailhead to hike to the top of the butte.
So this afternoon we decided we would hike to the top of the butte and photograph the surrounding area. I looked this hike up on internet and read that it was 3/4 miles to the top and would take about 15 minutes, depending on your pace. Well, I don’t know who does the butte in 15 minutes unless you’re practically running up it. Granted, I’m a lot older than a lot of people, and I consider myself in pretty decent shape, but it was no 15 minute hike.
It is uphill the entire way up. Maybe what slowed us down is that the north side of the trail had snow melting and was quite muddy, but it took us a good half hour to get up to the top.
But the views from the top were well worth the hike up. We were able to get a view of the Cascade mountains as far as Mount Hood as well as numerous other buttes in the area. It was quite windy up at the top of the butte and very hazy off to the west where the sun was going down.
I will definitely be going back up the butte when things have dried out just a bit. I can already imagine the sunsets and moon rises from the top.
Maralee
Through My Lens 
Your last photo here is especially lovely – has a beautiful water-color feel to it.
Thank you.
Ditto what Lois said. That last image is especially beautiful.
Lovely pictures! That last one is something special. 🙂
Thank you so much. It’s funny how different people look at things differently. I liked the last picture too, but it was the least favorite of my husband. I think that’s why art is so wonderful – it’s so subjective and everyone has a different perspective.
Amazing color! very beautiful..
Thank you. We have quite a number of buttes in this area and I’m hoping to climb more of them over the summer.
Spectacular! I love the first one.
Love the first one too … bareness in the trees and the softness in the ground. You’re very good with your camera and lenses.