2008 – Week 19

Tuesday, September 2, 2008:
It was 37 degrees with a beautiful clear sky this morning. Many people had left the campground by the time Daisy and I started our walk, but I don’t remember any of them driving past so they must have been very quiet. We left the campsite having had only coffee and planning to stop at Vidae Falls on the East Rim Drive for breakfast and a small hike to the Falls. Breakfast went as planned, but I picked the wrong trail, there wasn’t one to the Falls, and we started on a 6-mile hike to Crater Peak. It didn’t feel right so we turned around, got in the RV and continued our drive around Crater Lake in a counter-clockwise direction. The next stop, which required a detour of14 miles roundtrip was to The Pinnacles in the southeast section of the Park. The pinnacles, or ‘fossil fumaroles’, were form by hot volcanic gas flowing up through hot ash deposits, turning the volcanic ash into solid rock. The fossil fumaroles were concealed in the volcanic ash until erosion removed the soft volcanic ash. The Pinnacles are generally vertical, but can have horizontal protrusions when the volcanic ash was less dense and allowed the gases to move horizontally. The Pinnacles were just fun to look at and our question as to why there was this long dead-end road was answered.



We returned to the East Rim Road and stopped at many viewpoints. Many were unnamed and great, but the named ones such as Phantom Ship Overlook,Pumice Castle Overlook and Cloudcap Overlook were special. We had lunch at Cloudcap Overlook, the highest point on the Rim Drive at 7,960 feet. We continued counter-clockwise, passing the hiking trail to the tour boat dock, and then stopped at the junction on the North Entrance Road and the Rim Road. This point is at the northwest corner of Crater Lake and with the sun was at our backs, picture taking of the east wall of the volcano and the water in the Lake easy.



We continued on to Watchman Overlook, our last overlook point. Directly in front of us was Wizard Island, and we were able to see inside the collapsed top of this small volcano. The rim at the top was 300 feet in diameter and extended 763 feet above the water. There is shallow water, maybe 30 feet depth, at the west side of Wizard Island, and the color is not the deep dark blue of the rest of the lake, but a pale blue. There is a 3/4 mile trail from the Watchman Overlook parking lot (elev 7,637 feet) to the top of the Watchman Peak (elev 8,086 feet), the location of a deactivated forest fire lookout station. We took the trail to get one last overall view of Crater Lake and the surrounding area. We noticed a small forest fire that was being watched but not fought by the USFS. We were able to see mountains all around, and into California. When we returned to the RV, Susie discovered that the furnace was running with all the windows open. We returned to the campground and arranged for a better site, one with more space and easier to get in and out. We took showers and did the usual evening chores. It was not as cold, but the sky and stars were just a clear.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008:
We had planned to leave at 8:00am, but didn’t make it. When we finally did, we headed south along the Volcanic Scenic Byway (OR62) taking us to Fort Klamath where we joined US97 to go into Klamath Falls to get Daisy more of her special food for high altitudes. She has been doing find, but we do adjust her diet when we go above 5,000 feet. South of Fort Klamath, the valley opens up, and cattle ranches are everywhere. Upper Klamath Lake is just to the west and is the largest lake in OR. Directly to the south in CA was the snow covered peak of Mt Shasta (elev 14,162 feet). Before we arrived in Klamath Falls, we saw a large trawler-type powerboat being hauled north. I am sure it wasn’t going in the lake, but if it was going further north, why not take the Interstate? We found the vet for the dogfood, found a restaurant for brunch, bought some other stuff including drawing pens for Susie and continued south into CA to the Lava Beds National Monument. On the way, we passed through the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, but were too early for the southbound migration. During the winter months the Klamath Basin is home to more than 1,000 bald eagles, the largest concentration in the contiguous United States. That must be some sight! The KBNMR is just to the north of Lava Beds NM, and we noticed that there had been a brush fire sometime in the recent past. When we entered the NP, a kiosk explained that on August 17, 2008, a lightning strike started the 6,100 acre fire, and it wasn’t contained until August 22, 2008. The reason for containment was to keep it from spreading to private lands and probably to keep the KBNWR suitable for migrating birds. As a result of the fire, we will not be able to visit the stronghold of the Medoc Indians who were able to hold off a US Army force that grew to almost 1,000 soldiers with 52 men until betrayed by one of their own. The four leaders of the Medocs were hanged and the remainder sent to a reservation in Oklahoma. We went to the Visitor Center and were told about three lava tubes that would be good to visit. Formation of a lava tube requires a gentle slope and very fluid lava. The lava, which is at 2,000 degrees F, flows downhill and immediately begins to cool with the bottom solidifying first, then the sides and finally the top. The remaining molten lava continues to flow, extending the tube as it goes. Formation of the tube stops when there is no more lava flowing or it meets an obstruction.. One lava tube here extended 10 miles north from Mammoth Crater and was stopped when it reached the waters of Tule Lake. The first lava tube, Mushpot Cave (770 feet long), was lighted at the floor level, but there were still head bumpers as we walked through. The second, Valentine Cave (1,635 feet long), was a very different tube with pahoehoe basalt (consistency of pudding, smooth and ropy), a great lave for making lava tubes. This lava was from a different source than numerous caves nearby. It has very large lava columns (20 to 40 foot diameter) that must be partially supporting the surface above. The headroom became more limited the further we went so we did not view the entire cave. The third, Skull Cave (580 feet long) was a very large cave, one tube one top of the other and created by two different lava flows.



At the bottom of the lower tube the floor is covered with ice all year. We walked to a point where we could see the ice, but were blocked from walking on it. We returned o the Visitor Center, turned in our lights and received more literature on volcanic flows. We drove to the campground and found a spot that was protected from the setting sun. Susie worked very hard to catch up with the coloring of her pictures. There is never a break in her work. We’ll leave tomorrow morning to view some petroglyphs in the Northeast Section of the park.

Thursday, September 4, 2008:
We left the Lava Beds NM campground early this morning and headed northeast to view the petroglyphs engraved on the walls of a large hill that was an island until the early 1900’s. That is when the demand for managed irrigation by the farmers caused the US Bureau of Reclaimation to build dams and irrigation systems, reducing the size of Tule Lake to 1/6 of its original size. Walking along the west face of the hill, we recognized that we were walking on pahoehoe lava from one of the volcanoes about 20 miles to the southeast.

There has been some vandalism, but many of the 5,000 symbols are still visible. The west wall of the hills is almost vertical and has many voids created by the gases in the volcanic lava as it solidified. Many different type of birds use these voids as nesting places. After we had breakfast at the site, we moved on back into OR following CA139 to Klamath Falls and headed west to visit the Oregon Caves NM. We followed the Scenic Volcano Byway (OR62) north from Klamath Falls OR then west on OR140 through the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest to Medford OR and finally southwest on US199 to Cave Junction. We stopped to have lunch in Medford and to refill the gas and propane tanks. When we arrived at Cave Junction, we hurried to Visitor Information and found that if we didn’t dawdle, we could get on the 4:00pm guided tour through the caves. Susie drove as hard as she could, but the road was much more twisty and slower to drive than we thought. We missed the 4:00pm tour, but found out that there was 4:30pm so we signed up. There were 4 of us, a father and son from Germany (wife opted not to go), Susie and I. We had a Ranger who talked with a loud and penetrating voice as if there were 25 of us. According to the Ranger, this is the only marble cave in the US; all of the others are either limestone or granite. In order to make the tour through the cave one-way, two tunnels were blasted through the rock. Asphalt paths were constructed so that it would be easy to walk and ladders added to make the climbs easier. All was well and good until the National Park Service noticed a deterioration in the interior of the cave. The two added tunnels allowed more air circulation, which allowed the humidity to drop and the temperature to become less stable and the asphalt from the walks was discoloring the marble. What to do? Hire a bunch of strong lads and rip off the asphalt, place it in buckets, carry the buckets to the surface and then carry the same bucket full of concrete to build a concrete walk. There was an estimate of 52,000 buckets of asphalt removed and concrete placed over the course of the project. I know 52,000 is a lot, but it doesn’t seem enough to me. We saw some glorious sights, but the best by far was the Paradise Lost room. I don’t believe the pictures do it justice, but here they are.







The tour took about 90 minutes and when we exited the cave, we had the choice of a quick downhill walk to the parking lot or a longer walk up and over the hill covering the cave. We went up and over and were treated to wonderful views of the forest to the west and a walk through forests of old growth Douglas Fir trees. Douglas Firs are straight, tall and grow in close proximity to each other. The bark is thick and rough, protecting the trees from fire damage. We drove down the mountain and pulled in to the USFS Grayback Campground for the night. Tomorrow we will spend the night on the OR Coast as we start our visit on that coast before leaving OR for CA.

Friday, September 5, 2008:
What a wonderful campground! There was a minimum of traffic at night and with the campground in a river valley with tall trees, we had a good night sleep. We left at 9:30am and headed southwest on US199. When reaching CA, we and all entering traffic was stopped for an agricultural products inspection, including firewood. For the first time I was happy that we were low on fresh vegetables. As we continued southwest, we entered the Smith River National Recreation Area and had wonderful scenery as we followed the Smith River on US199. When we reached CA197, we turned north and saw our first redwood tree. We continued further north and found the Ruby Van de Venter County Park in Del Norde County. It consisted of a grove of redwoods, and we were able to stop, view the trees and have breakfast. Continuing north on CA197, we joined US101, the Pacific Coastal Highway. On our right were the Siskiyou Mountains and on the left, the Pacific Ocean. The wind was blowing hard from the west, the ocean a beautiful blue and the waters close to the coastline were littered with very very large rocks. These rocks were different from the seastacks we saw in northern Oregon earlier in the trip. The southern section of the Pacific Coast Highway has the Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor overlooking the ocean. We did not go in, but will do that on our return trip south. We had lunch in the town of Port Onford at the “Crazy Norwegian’s” diner. It must have been the place to go, because it was full even at 2:00pm. We continued north and stopped at 3:00pm at the Cape Blanco State Park for the night. As we drove west for 5 miles to get to the Park and the Ocean, we noticed what we believed were low-lying clouds being blown to the south. As we reached the State Park entrance, we were enveloped by these clouds (probably fog). We were only 230 feet above sea level. About an hour later, the skies cleared and we took Daisy for a walk to the Cape Blanco Lighthouse, the oldest in the State of Oregon. As we stepped from the woods into the fields, the force of the wind was startling. Susie and I had difficulty walking against it, but Daisy didn’t because there were areas of low brush that provided her with shelter. We went to the top of the Cape in the north side, and Susie leaned into the wind while I tried to take her picture. It was blowing so hard and with stronger gusts I was unable to hold the camera steady as you can tell from the picture below.








I listed to NOAA and they had posted a gale warning until Sunday evening. Around 6:30pm the blowing fog came back, giving the campsite a very strange feel. We were well tucked in and will try to get back to the Cape tomorrow morning to get more pictures of the ocean and rock formations.

Saturday, September 6, 2008:
The fog is still here and so heavy last night that it seemed at times to have been rain. Daisy and I took our walk but with the visibility less than 1/8th of a mile were unable to see the lighthouse so we took another path. We did have a long walk and then left the campground at 10:30am. We never did see the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. The fog cleared about a half mile in from the coast. We passed several cranberry bogs and then turned north on the Pacific Coast Scenic Highway. We drove north, generally with clear sky, but whenever we approached the coast we were in the fog. We stopped in Florence OR to get the mail that was forwarded to us and then passed through a tunnel at Heceta Head. We noticed that the fog was much thicker north of the tunnel, probably due to the small cape that was there. We noticed that there were numerous campgrounds, some State, some Federal and commercial. Most of the commercial ones seemed less than 1/2 full so we felt comfortable that we’d have a good place to stay near Newport. We stopped a several viewpoints, but the best was Captain Cook Point in Neptune State Park just south of Yachats OR. A long time ago, there was a lava flow and while the land over the flow has been washed away, the lava is still there. With the strong northwest winds and big seas, the waves hit the lava with very large “THUMPS” and water shot into the air.

We watched for a long time, realizing that when we pass by on our way south, the seas may have calmed and not be as impressive. We went the town of Waldport, which is sited on the Alsea River. The river is quite wide here, but not very deep. There were numerous fishermen in small boats so it must have a great spot. At Waldport, as in other areas, there are a number of historic bridges. Most are quite attractive as befitting a structure that follows such a wonderful coast. We saw several shops featuring pottery and glass blowing, and we’ll see them on our way south. As we approached South Beach State Park, we saw a sign that said it was full. Panic in the RV! We decided to go in anyway and found that there were 6 spots open for Saturday and Sunday nights. We stopped at 3:30pm, any later than that we might not have been out of luck. We took a walk to the ocean to let Daisy run on the beach. As we walked, we noticed several signs on the pavement indicating where the shoreline had been in various years, starting in 1830. Like the Columbia River, the installation of jetties to protect the mouth of the Yaquina River had changed the ocean flows, deposited sand and extended the barrier island. Daisy ran and ran and when we came back to the RV she was ready to go to bed. We had fast internet here, and both Susie and I were able to download to our blogs. There was less wind as the night worn on.We drove 148 miles today, and tomorrow our main event will be a visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

Sunday, September 7, 2008:
It was foggy when I took Daisy for her walk. It was 55 degrees with 72% humidity with very little wind. It wasn’t but a few days ago that we had the same temperatures with 22% humidity. What a difference being near the ocean makes. As I prepared the RV to go to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Susie took Daisy for a walk on the beach. The wind had started to rebuild, and we didn’t know what to expect. I noticed numerous people in the parking area where I met Susie and Daisy wearing wetsuits and with surfboards. Susie said there was no one surfing, so the conditions were probably not right. Daisy had a good play on the beach and came back to the RV with a grin on her face. We headed to the Aquarium and were delighted with all the exhibits: colorful fish, birds, sea urchins, jellyfish, sea otters, harbor seals, sea lions and a Plexiglas walk-through tunnel that allowed us to see many different fish including 3 or 4 species of shark.


There were knowledgeable volunteers to answer our questions and ‘touch tanks’ so the visitors could touch various small animals, including skates and sharks. The volunteers said that it has taken from May 2008 for the animals to become accustomed to having people touch them. The children seemed to have the best time around the ‘touch tanks’. We watch the feeding of the sea otters and the sea lions. We left the Aquarium and went to visit two lighthouses that are on the Pacific Coast north of the Yaquina River in Newport. Yacquina Bay Lighthouse was constructed in 1871 and placed in service. It was decommissioned in 1874 (that’s right) and replaced by one 3 miles further north on Yacquina Head when it was found that ships coming south could not see the Yacquina Bay Lighthouse because of the piece of land known as Yacquina Head. The Yacquina Bay Lighthouse had a Fifth Order Fresnel Lens, not very large. What a waste of time and money! There is another story that may or may not be true, and it is that the second lighthouse was to be constructed on Cape Foulweather (10 miles north of the river entrance), but the weather was so terrible so they delivered the materials to Yacquina Head (4 miles north of the river entrance) and built the lighthouse there. The Yacquina Head Lighthouse was activated on August 20, 1873 using a First Order Fresnel Lens. The signature of this lighthouse in 2 seconds on, 2 seconds off, 2 seconds on and 14 seconds off. Watching the ocean from these two spots, we noticed that the winds had increased, probably more than we had experienced yesterday. As the waves broke, the wind blew the tops of them. It was pretty, but I am glad I wasn’t trying to sail any size boat in them. We headed back to the State Park after buying more food at Safeway, and Daisy and I took a walk down to the beach. The winds were from the north and blowing sand in a southerly direction. The tops of the waves were also being blown off, but it was much more apparent when we were at eye level. Daisy ran for a good time, but didn’t seem to be too interested in the water. She must have sensed the violence. Tomorrow we head south and will take our time so as to be able to look more carefully at the Pacific Ocean Coast. I think the winds must die down sometime soon, and the views will be clearer. I noticed today that the RV has alight film of salt on it from the ocean spray.

Monday, September 8, 2008:

Today we headed south along the Oregon Coast and will leave the state in 2 or 3 days. Daisy and I had a long walk along the beach; unfortunately I left her ball in the RV so we had to search for a stick. When we returned, Susie and I had showers and breakfast, and Daisy had breakfast. The sky was clear with a temperature of 55 degrees and humidity of 75%. We had new neighbors last night, and they had 2 dogs. The didn’t seem to be responsible dog owners as they had them on long leashes, which let them wander into Daisy’s space, and she was a bit annoyed. When I asked them to shorten the leashes, the reply (in a grumpy tone) was ‘In a few minutes’. Next I heard the daughter asking where one of the dogs was. It had simply wandered off. I packed up the RV while Susie took Daisy for her 2nd walk of the day. We started driving south at 10:20am, stopping at as many of the parks that overlooked the Pacific Ocean as possible. We stopped to browse in an art gallery just north of Yachats. We were surprised at the variety and quality of the product and even more surprised to learn that there were a total of 3 galleries all owned by the same person with 60 miles along the coast. Continuing south we came to Cape Perpetua, south of Yachats, where there are numerous areas of lava flows into the ocean, separated by long beautiful sandy beaches. One of the scenic viewpoints was called the ‘Devils Churn’ and it is a lava flow and with a stream that have ground it way through the rock. The ocean waves from the west bang into the rocks and up the stream, creating some wonderful pictures and lots of noise. The action of the water is ‘pulverizing, pounding, crashing, smashing’.

We stayed there for at least a half-hour just watching and listening. We both noticed a sailboat about 3 miles offshore heading south. It must have been a nice ride. We had lunch at the next view spot, Neptune SP. I was able to walk Daisy on the beach while Susie made lunch. It was so windy that the tops of the sandwiches and the lettuce beneath threatened to blow away. We stopped at the Heceta Head Lighthouse and wandered around, taking pictures. We then headed south again, drove less than a mile and found another unnamed viewpoint about 300 feet above the water. The view of the Heceta Head Lighthouse was much better. I wanted to take a picture of the sheer cliff down to the water, but when I aimed the camera, I realized that there were about 90 sea lions sunning themselves on the beach and more tussling in the water. They really were fun to watch. We continued south into Florence and want to fill up with gas. Safeway has a promotion here that for every $100 you spend on groceries, you get 10 cents/gallon off on your next gas purchase. We thought we had enough for 20 cents/gallon but the pump was showing only 3 cents/gallon. The attendant called the manager (NJ and OR are the only states that don’t allow you to pump your own gas). Much discussion and finally we said to fill in it since the price was $3.319/gallon. When the code was re-entered, the credit came up as 20 cents/gallon. We put in 28 gallons at $3.119/gallon. In all the excitement I forgot to get more half and half for the morning coffee. We continued south to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. There were few roads through the area, so access is limited without having an OHV or taking a tour. We drove as far as we could and climbed a 50-foot high sand dune to get to the beach. Susie collected numerous seashells, and I am sure the RV tires are overloaded. As we continued south we passed a store in Gardiner that was selling ‘Organic Firewood’. Hard to get that stuff now-a-days! We pulled in to the Umpqua Lighthouse Campground for the night at 6:22pm. We drove all of 81 miles today, and that took us 7.5 hours for an average speed of a bit less that 11mph. For the last 4 days when we have been on the southern and central Oregon Coast, I forget to say how wonderful it is to hear the ocean waves crashing on the beach and the moaning foghorn. The horn must be facing out to sea, and so it is not loud and barely overpowers the sound of the waves.

2008 – Week 18

Tuesday, August 26, 2008:
We were at the door of the Onan shop at 7:30am, and they took us in as promised. Wouldn’t you know it, the generator started right up! They put it on a load bank, and it stopped after 30 minutes. They changed a part, and it did the same thing. They believed it is the magneto but had none in stock so it was ordered to be delivered Wednesday morning. New plan needed. It was very foggy and my secret plan of going back to the McKenzie Pass to see it in the sunshine was put on hold. It seems that when we are on the western slope on the mountains, it is foggy in the morning, whereas on the eastern (dry) side it is clear. We decided to take a day trip and headed east to the West Cascades Scenic Byway and travel it from OR126 south to OR58. The Byway section was 54 miles of winding, tree lined road along the South Fork of the McKenzie River climbing to the ridge at Box Canyon Station and then down to North Fork of the Willamette River. They join just north of Eugene OR and become the Willamette River. On the South Fork of the McKenzie, the Corp of Engineers built the Cougar Dam for flood control and power purposes creating Cougar Lake with numerous waterfront campgrounds. All the slopes are tree covered and there was no sign of logging in the area. As we continued south, we passed Constitution Grove, a grove of 200 year old trees that had wood plaques with the names of the writers of the US Constitution: George Washington VA, Daniel Carroll MD, Gov Morris NJ, William Jackson Secretary, and so on. The grove was created on the 200th Anniversary of the approval of the Constitution. There are 20 wood covered bridges in Lane County OR, and we saw three of them. The bridge at Lowell was built in 1945 when there was plenty of wood but no steel (the same reason the Spruce Goose was constructed of wood). The Lowell Bridge was raised 6 feet and put on concrete piers to save it from the waters of the Willamette River when the Corp of Engineers constructed the Wexler Dam, raising the water level and creating the Dexter Reservoir in 1963. The State/County are very proud of these bridges and generally keep them in good repair.
There is the Chambers Bridge south of Eugene in Cottage Grove that is the only covered railroad bridge used to carry logs to the sawmill. Unfortunately the sawmill burned and the bridge was abandoned and has fallen into disrepair. It is much taller than the usual automotive bridges and very eye-catching as we looked at the brochure. We have not seen that bridge. We were going to stop in West Fir at a RV Park for the night. It had showers, but they wanted $39/night plus tax. We told the Owner that it was too much and pushed on. He looked crushed. As we drove away we heard a train whistle so it wouldn’t have been a good sleep. We continued on and ended up at the Lane County Richardson Park near Junction City. On the way there, we saw a fenced in storage yard with a number of sailboats in it and wondered what was happening as we had never seen anything like this before. Richardson Park is on a lake created once again by the Corp of Engineers, and as we approached, there were a number of small cruising type sailboats trying to have a race in no wind. We pulled in and found a very quiet spot with no lights to disturb us. We had a good hot shower and probably plugged the drains with all the dirt we washed off.


Wednesday, August 27, 2008:
Foggy again this morning. Daisy and I took a walk down to the Lake and looked at the Marina. Most of the boats were 20 to 25 feet long and a bit non-descript, but there was a small Beneteau. Continuing our walk, we saw what looked like another private club with a number of sailing dingies on the beach. I didn’t get close enough to see what they were, but there must be a sailing program of some sort. We went back to the RV where Susie was working hard drawing her blog. We had a shower, ate breakfast and finally left the campground at noon. We were in no hurry since the magneto wouldn’t be delivered until 11:00am, and there were a few hours of work before it could be assembled and reinstalled in the RV. We went food shopping, bought small propane bottles for the outside cook stove and found a place to cut Susie’s hair. We arrived back at Onan at 2:30pm and worked on the computers until the RV was ready at 4:30pm. We started driving southeast on OR58, the same road as yesterday, towards the Cascade Lakes Scenic Highway. We climbed through the Willamette Pass at elevation 5,128 feet, managing to pass a few trucks and camping trailers on the way up. We stopped at a scenic viewpoint and had a wonderful view of Odell Lake, a bit of water 5 miles long and 1.25 miles wide. I bet it was very cold as it is fed by melting snow. We turned north on the Cascade Lake Scenic Byway, not without have missed it and having to turn around. It is a well-paved road, but Gabby Garmin had a hard time identifying it, as did we because of a lack of signage. We drove through an area that had been devastated by forest fire around Davis Lake. There was a campground indicated, but we turned around before reaching it. We continued on to the next campground named Lava Flow Campground. As we drove down the gravel road we came upon a lava flow that had the same characteristics as Mt McKenzie’s but it was much smaller. We saw some Ponderosa Pine Trees growing in the middle of all the broken lava rock. We don’t know how they got started, much less survive in such desolate conditions. The Lava Flow Campground was full of tenters and they looked a bit shocked that a RV would be using their special place. We moved on, passing other lava flows and eventually turned down a gravel road that took us the west shore of the Wickiup Reservoir and USFS Reservoir Campground. The reservoir stores water for Bend, and so it is down quite a bit. I imagine that it is very full and cold in the springtime. We were the only ones here and it is very dark and very quiet. I don’t know if I have mentioned it before, but the Cascade Mountains have been the scene of much volcanic activity, often in recent geological time and so there are lava beds everywhere. We turned off all the lights in the RV last night and went outside to view the stars. It took a bit for our eyes to adjust, but the sky was very black with no clouds and with the exception of a faint glow to the northeast, which we believe to be bend OR, the horizon was dark. The longer we sat and viewed the stars the more became visible. The only distraction were 2 airplanes a long way to the east. It finally became a bit cold, and we went in. Tomorrow we will continue north, coming close to the Three Sisters Mountains, but this time on the southeast side. We may stay one more night in this area before moving on through Bend OR on to Newberry National Volcanic Monument and more lava fields.

Thursday, August 28, 2008:
4 Months on the road! The sun came up at 6:00am, but we put our heads under the covers after taking a peak out the window. It was cold enough for a low mist to form over the water. The sky was absolutely clear so during my walk with daisy a bit later, we were able to see mountains to the north.

One had some snow in the ravines near the top, and it may be South Sister. We saw a colony of white pelicans and Canadian geese. White pelicans are not common in the northwest, but there are several wandering colonies. Susie worked on her blog drawings and then gave me a haircut. We left the Campground at 1:15pm and drove north stopping at a few lakes to see the sights. The most impressive sights were the mountains: South Sister, Broken Top and Mount Bachelor. However all along the road were lava rock similar to those we saw a few days ago. We’ll be driving along and all of a sudden there are areas (square miles in size) of broken lava rock. The trees along the Scenic Byway were new growth and numerous areas of burned forest were visible. We passed Goose Lake, which has a green color, not the blue-green from glacial flour. We also passed Sparks Lake that was never more than 8 feet deep. Daisy and I walked across what was the bottom a while ago and all we found was a very cold stream. Daisy went into it, but only to her belly then came out. I put my hand in the water and found it to be very cold. We next went to Bachelor MT to take the ski lift to 7,700 feet to get a better overview of the area. We arrived at 3:15pm and the tram stopped operating at 4:00pm so we passed. Next on the list was to find a campsite. We stopped in a USFS site, and it was awful. Youngsters playing loud music, burned forest nearby, wasps, etc. We left and drove into Bend where we tried a RV community. We left when they wanted $66/night plus tax. We found another cheaper one, but it was still more than we have ever paid. Bend is a very upscale community, and it must be very expensive to live here. We did our laundry and are preparing to visit the High Desert Museum before moving south to the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

Friday, August 29, 2008:
During breakfast we wondered whether we should try to stay in this RV Park for the weekend. I went to the office, but it was closed and didn’t open until 10:00am. We retrieved the big Woodall’s book from under the seat and started looking. We found another RV Park adjacent to the Newberry National Volcanic Monument and were able to find a spot for three nights. Off we went to the USFS Office in Bend to try to get campground information. I had a nice conversation with the desk lady about the Newberry Volcano. It turns out that this was, and maybe still is, a helluva big volcano and it lava flows extend for miles in all directions. We’ll know better after we visit the park, but all the lava rock fields we have seen the last few days have come from Newberry. We filled up with gas and headed to the High Desert Museum, a few miles south of Bend on US97. This museum is a ‘must see’ and takes at least 3 hours to see all the exhibits, indoor and outdoor. We toured from11:30am to 4:30pm. There were live mammals, birds of prey, a sawmill, a homestead farm, live animal (raven, snake, barn owl and badger) handling by the staff for the outside exhibits. The staff was very careful to explain how the Museum had come to have these animals. The two badgers were found as babies after their mother was killed, the golden eagle had a damaged wing and was unable to fly, the raven was almost blind and partially deaf and so on. There was a bobcat and Canadian Lynx in outside atriums but visible from the inside of the building. We had a terrific time and were almost thrown out as the place closed. The High Desert is a very large area and encompasses parts of WA, OR, ID, MT, NV and UT.

We drove south to the RV Park, passing the lava field exhibit at the north end of Newberry, but we’ll go back there before we leave. The RV Park has about 120 spaces in a large filed. There is no shade, but we have electricity and water. The temperatures are forecast to fall for the next few days, good for hiking around the lava beds and the volcanic caldera. I went outside around 10:00pm to view the stars. The good was that the viewing area was much larger due to the flatness of the land and lack of trees. The bad was that it was not a dark area with vehicles on the road and RV’s in the Park, however, the good did outweigh the bad.

Saturday, August 30, 2008:
It was 45 degrees this morning with a low-lying fog. We had breakfast, discussed what our moves are for the next 10 days and then left for the USFS Visitor Center for the Lava Fields and Lava River Cave. We were lucky enough to arrive just in time for a discussion of the volcanic activity in the area and then a tour of the fields and adjacent cinder volcano Lava Butte that is close to the Visitors Center. The volunteer giving the talk explain why Broken Top looked so different from the Sisters Mountains. This area not only had volcanoes, but glaciers also. All the mountains were affected by the glacial activity, but the Sisters had volcanic activity after the glaciers, but Broken Top did not. All of that took about 2 hours including a drive to the top of Lava Butte, a height of 500 feet. We did see some people walking up and others who, having walked up, decided to walk/slide down the steep cinder slope. We walked around the rim of the butte and viewed the bottom of the volcano.

This particular volcano last erupted about 6,200 years ago. From the top of Lava Butte we had a 360-degree view and saw as far north as Mt. Hood. Next we went to the Lava River Cave, a tunnel in the lava that is 5,466 feet long with a temperature of 40 degrees. There were no lights inside so we brought our own flashlights. These tunnels were formed when the top portion of the molten lava cooled sufficiently to form a crust while the remaining 2,000-degree lava continued to flow. It was interesting to look at the walls in the tunnels since it was possible to see the levels of the lava flowing through the tunnels by the ridges on the walls, similar to the rings on a bathtub after a child who was playing in the mud was given a bath and no one cleaned the tub. We traveled about 3/4 the way before turning back. The lights we took were not really adequate, but better than some and worse than others. There was one section where there was one tunnel on top of the other with an extra high chamber at either end. We returned to the RV Park where the Owner admonished Susie for driving too fast. I don’t think she was, but she turned the tables on him by having him give us a better picnic table. The original was warped and had peeling paint. Susie went on to the roof of the RV to retape the TV antenna, and I defrosted the refrigerator and freezer. It started to blow and the temperature dropped even before the sun set. Something is still rattling around on the roof so she’ll have to go back up. Susie thought that it wasn’t on the roof but someplace on the side. I went out and closed an access door for the elctric cord, and the noise disappeared. It will be cold tonight. I bought more milk so that we can have a hot breakfast tomorrow. The traffic on US97 has been heavy all day, and there have been several ambulances and firetrucks on the move with sirens on.

Sunday, August 31, 2008:
Holy icecubes! The temperature fell to 23 or 24 degrees last night, depending on who was talking. We had the heat on in the RV so it never went below 50 degrees inside. The people who did not detach the water hoses to their RV scrambled to thaw the hoses and any filters they may have. It may have been an expensive night for some. We left the RV Park at 10:30am and headed east into the south end of Newberry National Volcanic Monument and specifically the Newberry caldera. This caldera is approximately the same size as the Yellowstone NP caldera and is approximately 500 square miles. Inside the caldera are 2 lakes, Paulina Lake (250 feet deep) and East Lake (185 feet deep). Also inside the caldera is the Big Obsidian Flow.

The last eruption of the Newberry Volcano occurred about 1,300 years ago and 170 million cubic yards of obsidian (glass) and pumice were contained within the caldera. After this material had cooled, it covered 1.1 square miles (640 football fields) to an average depth of 150 feet (14 stories tall). We were able to walk through a portion of this field and found it to be rougher than the other lava fields we have been in and was made more interesting by the big chunks of obsidian (10%) intermixed with the pumice (90%). We talked to numerous folks on the walk; all of them seemed to have moved into Oregon from other areas. One family was from Belgium and were living in Portland OR. We saw more bikes and kayaks on the tops of cars than any other part of the country. These people know how to play in the treasures given to them. One couple had lived in Seattle for 10 years, moved to Tucson for another 12 years and then moved to Bend. They hike, camp and kayak in the summer and ski in the winter. Obsidian was a great resource to the Native Americans in this area as they were able to chip and work it into knives, spear points and other tools. Obsidian when chipped properly makes a very sharp instrument, and to prove this, there were pictures of a medical scalpel and obsidian knife blade magnified 5000 times. The scalpel edge was rough, but the obsidian edge was perfect. There was a story about a geologist who had an operation, and he supplied the surgeon with an obsidian knife, which the surgeon used for part of the surgery. The cuts made by the obsidian healed more quickly and with less scar tissue than the cuts made with the scalpel. We climbed a 540 foot hill named ‘The Little Crater’ and walked the rim.
We had great views and took what I hope will turn out to be great pictures of the surrounding area, but especially the Big Obsidian Flow. We returned to the RV Park feeling that we had accomplish much today. I met a 90-year old gentleman who was traveling with his wife. He had lived in Oregon all his life and was here playing drummer in a jazz band in a 2-day festival in LaPine OR, a few miles south of the RV Park. They were to leave tomorrow morning and return to their retirement village. We filled the RV with water and prepared for the trip to Crater Lake tomorrow. No frozen waterlines for us. We’ll have a bit more heat on tonight.

Monday, September 1, 2008:
Cold again this morning with 23 degrees and a low mist. When Daisy and I took our walk, it seemed that there was more snow on the mountains to the west than yesterday but I’ll need to check the pictures. We left the RV Park at 11:00am and headed south on US97 towards Crater Lake NP. We entered from the north side and passed through an area known as the Pumice Desert. This entire area must have been completely covered with pumice, and I don’t understand why this relatively small area is still a desert. We had decided to take the 2:00pm boat trip around Crater Lake, but when we tried to buy tickets, the 2:00pm was full, but the 4:00pm was open (just) so we took that. In order to get to the boat we walked along a 1.1-mile trail that dropped 700 feet to elevation 6,173 feet, the water level in the lake. Our first glimpse of the water was a real ‘WOW’. It was a very deep blue that is impossible for me to describe. We toured the perimeter for 2 hours and learned that this lake, with a depth of 1,943 feet, is the deepest lake in the US, and was formed by a giant eruption of Mount Mazama 7,700 years ago. Being able to travel around the inside of the crater, viewing the different layers of rock and what actions had caused them was fun and enlightening.



Then we had to climb back up the 1.1-mile trail with its 700 foot elevation gain. Tomorrow we will drive around the rim of the crater, and see it from the top, a different perspective. Oh, by the way, Crater Lake NP had its first snow last night, a light dusting, but still visible as we drove around. We were told that last winter, the area received 560 inches of snow, about 35 inches more than normal. All this snow and 66 inches of rain is what keeps Crater Lake full. We were able to get the last campsite with electricity, but it was really small and we had to squeeze the RV between trees on both sides. It is not supposed to be so cold tonight, but we’ll see.