We stayed with our family in Portland, Oregon over Christmas and New Year. During our stay we all went to Bend for a few days and on our way back to Portland we visited this beautiful area of high dessert, called Smith Rock. Formed during 2 different volcanic episodes millions of years ago, it is now a hiker’s and climber’s paradise. The river is called The Crooked River and the park probably gets its name from John Smith, a county sheriff who is supposed to have discovered it in the mid 1800s. I expect indigenous peoples knew about it long before.
