Deschutes National Forest

We drove into Bend Or at 9pm, so it is easy to say that we really didn’t see what we were driving through. As we spent time exploring the area over the next few day, well all I can say is «Glorious!» We spent our first day hiking to, from and all around Benham Falls.
I am not exactly sure where the Deschutes National Forest ends and the Williamette Forest begins, so I may at times have been in the Williamette Forest, so this review covers the drive from Sisters along 242 and through the Lava fields. I have not seen such a lunar landscape since we ripped out our front yard to Xeriscape it when we lived in NM… This lava field was far more impressive than our torn apart yard. There is an Observatory tower that seems to be located at the west side of the lava field with many trails. We didn’t stop here though because the weather was changing and I wanted to get to Proxy Falls.
Proxy Falls is really two falls, and upper and a lower. They are both pretty awesome. They seem to be different falls, so my guess is they are where the stream splits. I was in tennis shoes, which fine for the walk/​hike, wasn’t the best choice of shoes for climbing to the bottom of the Upper falls. It was a goat trail, straight down, and I think if I had been wearing some good hiking boots it would have been more possible. I just didn’t want to slide to the bottom of a 60 ft trail drop off, on my ass. I wish I had taken my hiking boots though, because I have now seen photos from the bottom of the falls, and I wish I had my own.
This National Forest is awesome, as in huge and magnificent. With so many varied places to climb, hike, walk, or explore. The Pacific Trail crosses the Forest, so if you want, you can hike a bit of that too.

I would like to see a category of National Parks and National forests, State Parks and county Parks.