Central Oregon

5^th May

We drove the 50 odd miles to the gates of the Lassen Volcanic National Park. There was no one at the gates but they wanted a $10 fee to drive the only 10 mile stretch of the road that was open. We ignored this as we wanted to buy a yearly pass for all the national parks but even the visitor’s centre was closed. The road as far as we could drive was beautiful climbing up the side of the volcano. It started to snow very gently!. Unfortunately the clouds were down and we could not see the peak. A short distance back down the road we stopped for lunch and the cloud slowly lifted to give us a glimpse of the top of Lassen Peak. We drove out of the park and slowly descended thru forests to our overnight stop at McArthur-Burney Falls State Park.

We found a camping spot under the huge redwoods before walking to the falls. It was not the highest we had seen (Sutherland) it was not the biggest we had seen (Niagara) but these were the prettiest. The water going down the falls was from two sources. The Burney Creek was the source of most of the water but about ½ way down the falls lots of water was also coming from underground springs and squirting thru cracks. Very unusual! A trail downstream took us to Lake Britton and then back to the camp. It was a cold night as we were at 4500ft.

6^th May

Before leaving camp we walked back to the falls for a last look. Our drive today was thru a mixture of farm land and forest. We stopped at a small town (Fall River Mill) for a few bits and pieces. These small towns are fascinating and talking to the locals is great. We continued on and ended up on a very rough road into the Lava Beds National Monument. The visitors centre was open so we bought our National Parks pass. There was a nice camp in the trees and after selecting a site we walked back to the visitors centre to watch a short video about the lava beds. This is also a significant site of a battle between the local Indians and the US army. (more about that later).

This area is part of the volcanic system that stretches from Lassen to Crater Lake. In the lava beds the earths crust was soft so the many volcanoes are just like large bubbles. There are also many lava tubes. We walked to the closest tube which had been lit. We will explore some more tomorrow. Another very cold night with the gas furnace (US talk for heater) on before bed.

7^th May

The furnace on again this morning. It was around freezing we think. We drove up to the visitors centre where they lend out torches to explore the lava tubes. We selected a couple of caves,(there are hundreds) and descended down into the earth. We have been in lava tubes in Australia and Idaho, but these were quite different. They are formed by the molten lava forming a crust at the surface and continuing to flow underground. In the others we had seen the roofs had collapsed and but these were in tact and stretched for a very long way. At some points it is hard to credit that they are not man made as the floor, walls and ceiling form a near perfect tunnel until you come to where the ceiling has fallen down and then you have to climb and crawl to the next section. All a bit claustrophobic for me. I have decided, like Line Dancing, Spelunking is not a hobby I will be taking up!! Back to the visitors centre to return our torches and a short drive to a battle ground. The settlers around 1870 were being hassled by the local Indians, the Modac tribe. The army was sent in. 60 Indian braves held off 1500 army troops for 5 months in the lava beds using the unusual rock formations as cover. Eventually the army wiped out the tribe. We learned all this on a short walk around the battle ground.

Back on the road and across the border into Oregon. We have been in California for a very long time, counting last year’s trip inland and all of this year so far. We decided to stay in the city of Klamath Falls (45,000) and found a great cheap site at the County Fairgrounds. We had a great meal at Wubba’s Barbeque. I had a burger and a beer and Val had a chicken salad.

                                                      8^th May

Our plan today was to try and see the Crater Lake National Park. After a stop at the Klamath Falls Information Centre we drove around Lake Klamath and slowly climbed up to the Crater Lake. By the visitor’s centre we were in deep snow either side of the road. We watched a 20 minute video explaining the Crater Lake. Here is that explanation! There are two unique geographical features that have changed this area. 7000 years ago there was a volcano called Mt Mazama 15,000ft odd high. In 24 hours the volcano exploded causing the top 7000ft to collapse forming a huge depression. This depression was filled with snow melt creating a lake. This area has the largest snowfall in the USA. (15 metres/year) Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the USA.

It also has the purest water. There are no streams following in or out of the lake. It is totally dependent on the snow falling mostly on the lake surface. The snow they clear off the National Park roads every year would form a path 1m wide by 150mm deep that would go around the equator. (have not worked out why it would not melt!!) We left the visitors centre and drove up to the rim. Now the bad news starts!

The lake was totally fogged in. We sat and had lunch hoping for a clearance but with no luck. Eventually we accepted the inevitable and drove back down the road to a camp 15 miles away. Our plan was to hopefully drive back up and see the lake tomorrow. Our camp was on the banks of the Rogue River. The rain really set in and we watched the river rise but were quite safe.

9^th May

It was still raining off and on. We drove to a village near our camp and a kind lady looked at the web cameras situated at the Crater Lake rim. It was just the same as yesterday. Bugger!! We bit the bullet and accepted the fact that we were never going to see this natural wonder. Before leaving the area we walked to a viewpoint where the Rogue River rushes down a steep gorge. In flood, this was spectacular. Reluctantly we drove north around the National Park thru thick snow and on to a State Park at La Pine where we found a site with “electric”. It is pretty cold so “electric” makes life a bit easier. Val did a wash as a watery sun was shining. We did a nice walk along the Deschutes River in a mixture of sun, rain and even a little snow. It was very cold and we were glad of the oil column heater that Nicola and Gary had left behind from their trip

10^th May

We woke to a winter wonderland as it had snowed lightly in the night leaving a dusting on the fir trees. We drove out of the mountains and onto a plateau thru the large city of Bend. As the forecast is still for cold today we headed to another State Park with “electric” but it was full. We continued on a short way to Redmond where we are in another County Fairground. Eventually a weak sun broke thru and we ventured out for a quick walk. The internet here was supposed to be “down” but we found some and successfully Skyped the girls, Lynne and Mum. There was a horse show on so the Fairground is full of unusual 5^th wheelers, part horse float/ part accommodation. Plenty of Stetsons, boots and jeans around!

11^th May

A beautiful sunny day and we could now see all the mountains surrounding us. We drove west thru great farming land with a mountain range called the Three Sisters in the background. We continued thru the town of Sisters and found a great forest camp at the beautiful Suttle Lake.
 We set off for a walk around the lake (4 miles) and had great views of Mt Washington, which is nowhere near the State of Washington. This mountain is very steep and reminded us of the Matterhorn. There were camps and lodges around most of the shoreline. A very cool wind stopped us from sitting outside when we returned.

12^th May

Still a cold wind off the lake in the morning. We drove a very short trip over the Santiam Pass, stopping to take more photos of Mt Washington and into the Willamette Forest to another stunning little lake where we camped above it with a great view. We were 1200ft lower but the temperature was very warm and there was no wind. We did a short bike ride up the Smith River before walking the length of the lake along part

of the McKenzie Trail. This trail goes for about 26 miles and a few were biking or hiking its length. The forest in this area was quite different from the higher altitudes. The spring growth is on the deciduous trees (oaks and aspens) and the contrast of this light green with the very dark green of the redwoods was beautiful. It was still warm after the sun set so we gathered some firewood and lit our first camp fire.

                                                      13^th May

We decide to walk the McKenzie Trail in the other direction before returning to our great camp site and lunch. It was another very short trip down the valley to our next campsite in the Willamette Forest. We were right beside the very swiftly following McKenzie River with trees all around us covered in moss. A couple of rafts went passed but I was too slow to photograph them. It was very warm now and we sat outside until it was dark at around 8:30pm.

14^th May

It was a very pleasant 55 mile drive following the McKenzie River to the twin cities of Springfield and Eugene. Before finding our RV Park we did a huge shop at Wal-Mart. We made the most of the internet and Val has done a large wash! When it cooled a bit around 5:00pm, we road along the cycleways following the Willamette River thru the University of Oregan to downtown Eugene. Eugene is a university city a bit like Dunedin in that most of the students come from out of town. Lots of the students were swimming in the Willamette River. (much bigger than the Leith!) We went to a bar and had a beer. They had a promotion on and we won a tee shirt. Back on the bikes and a much more direct route back to “Ernie”. It is a beautiful evening and I am outside writing this blog which we will publish tonight.