Still Going West – Crater Lake

27^th September – Two Nat Parks in one day!

Up early as we set off to travel south to Crater Lake.  However on the way we stopped at the Newberry Volcanic National Monument as this had been closed earlier in the week.  We drove the RV up to the Big Obsidian Flow by Paulina Lake.

 

This volcanic explosion was only 1300 years ago and The Flow comprised of black pumice, white pumice and black obsidian (the difference between pumice and obsidian is basically the amount of bubbles in the silicon).  It was fascinating to see the obsidian sparkling in the sunlight.

This trip took us up an increased elevation of 2000ft, ie, to snow.  Paulina Peak at nearly 8000ft looked very picturesque with a sprinkling of snow.  Apparently it has never snowed this early in the season before.

 

Then we headed down to Crater Lake National Park about 50 miles further south.  We found a nice camp site in the Umpqua National Forest, right by Diamond Lake, looking up at the snow covered Mt Bailey.

 After lunch we drove into Crater Lake NP which, at 7000ft and above, was covered in snow.  In fact there was so much snow we were unable to access half of the park as the roads were closed.  What we did see looked beautiful in the sunshine.

Crater lake has filled up over thousands of years after the volcano erupted and then collapsed to form the crater.  The water has little sediment in it as it comes from rain and snowmelt, so it is crystal clear.  This area can get up to 43ft of snow each winter.  There is no outlet for the water and the deepest point is 1943ft. 

Wizard Island is a cinder cone erupting after the lake was formed. 

After a couple of hours in the park we headed home as the weather was starting to close in and dark clouds blocked the sun.

28^th September – Oregon Scenic Byway

It had rained most of the night and when we woke we could barely see the lake due to the mist.  Setting off in the morning was hindered by the retractable steps up into the RV not retracting!  Paul’s skills with the hammer came in handy once again!  (Keeping his hand in for the next Hammerslagen!).

We drove west along the Oregon Scenic Byway following the N Umpqua River (that’s a fun word).  The 70 mile route west, took us downhill, dropping over 4000ft, through the forest.  There were many waterfalls along this route.  We stopped at Watson Falls which is the highest at over 290ft.  Unfortunately the wet weather and warm temperature created so much mist that the falls were shrouded from view. The other waterfalls along the route did not have adequate parking for the RV. 

We stopped at the town of Glide for lunch.  Two rivers collide head-on at this point and when the rivers are in full flood it is quite an impressive sight.  However at this time of year these rivers just
create a swirling pool.

From Glide we left the forested scenery and continued to follow the Umpqua River via a rural road through pastoral country onto the campground at Sutherlin.  Here we met up with our friends, Duane and Tami, who we had befriended in Tucson back in March. 

29^th September – Sutherlin

We had planned to continue our journey west, to the coast, but the weather forecast predicted the remains of a Tropical Storm bringing torrential rain and high winds to the Oregon coast.  So we decided to chill out at the campground.  It rained most of the day!