Crater Lake- The End

Sad that our trip is ending. It was really amazing & we learned a lot.

Our last vacation spot was Crater Lake.  It was made out of Mount Mazama. 7700 years ago it blew out the mountain & it made a Crater.  Rain & snow every year started filling it.  44 feet of snow per average year!!

It is billed as one of the purist lakes in the world.  No rivers flow in so it doesn't get deposits in it.  The reason it is so blue & clear is the purity & the way the sun shines on it because it is so clear.

We were traveling on the Rogue/Umpqua River Scenic by way on the way here. We had lunch by the Umpqua river & watched a bunch of people float down the river in canoes & paddleboats.

We went to Mill Creek on the way & went to
2 sets of falls.

The 2nd falls were Barr Creek Falls.  The whole walk to see both were less than a mile.

Our campground was at Union Creek.  It was so Piney smelling & the smoke from campfires was so strong it actually made our coughs really bad.  We had been sitting out enjoying nature till it got to be too much. The next day we started toward the lake. 1 exit after our campground was the Cascade Gorge & the Gorge Falls.

We saw a movie at the Crater Lake Steel Visitor Center then drove the loop all around the Lake.

 This rock is called the Phantom Ship.

Next, we drove out to the Pinnacles. These were made by lava.

We were having fun sharing our lunch with the birds & 2 baby chipmunks. Look closely by the Apple core & you can see a chipmunk.

Our next stop was Vidae Falls.

We headed to Rim Village & visited the Old Crater Lake Inn

We stopped the next evening in Susanville & picked up our favorite Round Table Pizza.

Today we are in Reno where our oldest Granddaughter Abbey, is going to school.  She is meeting us at the Grande Sierra Resort where we are camping for a nice dinner & visit.

Tomorrow we will stop in Nevada near the Utah border.  Next day we see my beloved best friend from high school in Price. Karla's cancer has spread & she now has tumors in her head. I feel so helpless & a huge sense of loss.  Why didn't we spend more time together in the many years that have passed.

Grab this life with all you've got because it will come to an end.  Some sooner than others.

Thanks for joining us on our journey.
Love Linda

From MT. St. Helens to the Oregon Coast.

This was our huge campsite at Seaquest State Park. Our trailer was in front.  That morning Steve saw 2 black tailed deer.

We went to the St. Helens State Park visitor Center & learned a lot about the volcano.  Then we drove up about 50 miles to the Forest Learning Center & learned more.  Next was Johnston Ridge Observatory with the great views. We saw 3 movies during the day.
The volcano erupted in 1980.

You can see the huge area on the top & side of the mountain that exploded.

There is a lake in the background. Spirit Lake really received a lot of damage & killed some people.  The explosion actually created another lake.

Some of the dead area.

This was a picture from before the volcano blew. It had a pretty good point on it.

Totally dead muddy area from the ash.

This is some of the growth

More of the growth. Weyerhaeuser Company planted thousands of trees

Some of the other surrounding mountains affected by the volcano.

One of the valleys with all the trees destroyed.

It was amazing how many miles that volcano destroyed.

These pics show damage from the lava flow.
It's like a petrified Forest.

 This one was in the theater so it's hard to see, but I t was a car caught up in the lava inside a tree.

The next day we drove over to the Oregon Coast. We stayed in Rockaway Bay & we walked from our campsite along the beach & watched the sunset. It can't get any better than that!!

Our second day we drove as far as Newport Beach. We had to shop & do laundry & Steve got some rest, as he caught my cold.

These are pics of a couple of lighthouses.
Yaquina Head Lighthouse

 Yaquina Bay Lighthouse.

Our 3rd day on the coast took us down as far as Coos Bay. We went to the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.  We saw a film about humpback whales, learned a lot about tsunamis & they had a great touch tank.

 This is a giant octopus.

Our next stop was Seal Rocks but the seals weren't there.

We stopped to see the Haceta Lighthouse & the Umpqua Lighthouse.