Day 16
Wednsday, October 11, 2006
38 degrees and full on sunshine, another wonderful day ahead.
We decided to spent the day at the High Desert museum.
We had heard a lot about it and wanted to take it all in. We packed a lunch and headed a few miles south of Bend. The building is in a lovely setting of tall Ponderosa Pines.
Admission is a little steep at $12.00 each but it was worth it.
Stagecoach - Shop
Covered Wagon - Chuck Wagon
There are a number of dioramas inside the building showing the early days of the area and an interesting one on the high desert Indians.
High Planes Indians Tee Pee
They have several presentations a day by rangers in the park showing and talking about different animals. We attended a talk on birds of prey and another that talked about raptor's and small mammals.
Screech Owl
Golden Eagle
At the birds of prey talk the ranger had a small Screech Owl. At the Raptor talk they had a Golden Eagle and a Badger.
Badger on a leash
It was the first time we'd ever seen a Badger and to see one on a leash was really funny.
They have several outdoor displays of early life in the high desert.
Marilyn and covered wagon - Ken and old buckboard
They have living history by virtue of real people dressed up in period clothes working at the displays as though they were living there.
Working Lumber Mill
They have a working steam powered saw mill that unfortunately was not working on the day we were there.
Cutting and planing wood
Boiler and steam engine
They do actually make finished lumber at the mill that they use for replica buildings on the grounds.
There was art everywhere and we thought the this horse and foal made from barbed wire was particularly nice and unique.
Barbed Wire Horse Sculpture
We brought our lunch and ate at the picnic tables in the parking lot. It was a really nice day and a really good place to visit. If you are ever in the Bend area I'd take a day and add it to your list of things to do.
It got into the low 70's and was a really pleasant day.
