Oregon - our 50th state

We had an uneventful drive across Idaho. It was very dry, and we skirted wildfires in the center of the state. Although we didn't see any blazes we smelled smoke several times. The eastern part of Oregon was also brown and dry with lots of sagebrush. We traveled up and down the mountains and curved around the roads.

We stayed several days south of Bend, OR at LaPine State Park. We traded the lodgepine trees of Yellowstone for the ponderosa pines of Oregon. We took a bike ride to the biggest ponderosa pine in Oregon, called "Big Tree." Since it  lost half of its crown to weather several years ago it is no longer the tallest but still the widest with a circumference of 29 ft. It showed its age of 500 years - kind of ugly and not very impressive.

We visited the city of Bend and Lava Lands Visitor center at Newberry National Volcanic Monument, but our main reason for stopping in this area was to see Crater Lake National Park. Crater Lake was formed 7,700 years ago when a volcano named Mt. Mazama erupted. Although the booklet noted that it is six miles across, the other side did not look that far away to us. It is a very, very beautiful shade of  BLUE. The pictures just don't due it justice. Notice a little bit of snow on the right side.

We drove the 33 mile loop around and stopped at many scenic overlooks. This is a picture of phantom ship. It's composed of solid lava and is longer than a football field and as tall as a 16-story building. It looked a lot smaller from the rim.

There was only one area where you could walk down to the water and take a scenic boat ride. We walked part of the way down but didn't take time to ride the boat. Here it is going across the lake.

We enjoyed the center part of the state but were ready to go west to the coast. On the way to the beach we drove two lane roads up and down and around mountains. The road sign said it was "Over the River and through the Woods" scenic highway. I really saw the sign several times! The sign gave us a good laugh, and the road tested Dan's driving skills. Of course he passed with flying colors. I was ready for some flat land!

We chose two state parks on the Pacific Ocean and stayed at each for three days. While we were at Seaside State Park we explored the central and southern part of the state, and when we stayed at Nehalem State Park we traveled to the northern areas. We found a very helpful tour book called  Mile by Mile Guide to Highway 101. Since we knew we couldn't see everything, we were able to read what was available and pick what we wanted to see.

More to come....having computer problems.....