Sunday, October 09, 2005

Back again.

Well, I thought about deleting my blog. I was afraid that some of my more "liberal" or "passionate" views of what's happening in the world might offend some of my friends. But I've thought more of it and, heck, if they are offended, I apologize, but that's me and that's the way I feel. One of my best friends disagrees with my political view and still stays a friend. The others can do that too! Plus.. I'd love to debate with anyone willing to avoid slander and verbal assaults.

Today, we are in central Oregon, taking advantage of one of our RV Clubs, Cascade Meadows RV Resort, a Resorts of Distinction (ROD) club. We get to stay here in off-season for 3 weeks for the cost of our yearly membership dues. It's a good deal. The RV Park is nice, but not exceptional. It's next to a fairly heavily used highway and some trains go by in an acceptable frequency, not late at night (unless I'm too far gone to hear them.) It's nice for us since it has several places to let Reggie (RV Dog) run off-leash in the forest.

We are right on the access road to Newberry Volcanic Crater National Monument. I spent a few hours driving there (18 miles) and was impressed. We are basically on the flank of a large extinct or dormant Shield Volcano. Driving from here is gradually up until we pass over the crater walls and then there are two nice lakes in the crater (unlike the one big lake in Crater Lake National Park), and a fantastic 4 mile drive to the top of one of the peaks on the edge of the crater. Get to the top and you have a view for hundreds of miles. I took a nice panorama from up there. There's also a nice lava flow that you can hike through and see from the top.

I also spent a day in Crater Lake. It's about an 80 mile drive from here. I took the Rim Drive for the first time all the way around the lake. I took about 20 panoramas from various overlooks. This is an impressive Dark Blue Lake. It's the deepest freshwater lake in the USA. The only negative for the day: I dropped a 50mm lens for my Canon camera down a very steep crater wall, never to be seen again. Luckily it was my cheapest lens, but I had to spend $80 to replace it. Also, I feel bad about "littering". I suspect it will be found in 5,000 years when the lake dries and some tourist finds it. It's will probably be worth a lot then.

That's all for today.

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