July 5-7, 2011- Road Tripping…

     One final road trip before heading back to the flat atoll we call home was in order after settling so many of our wedding and reception event details the first 2 weeks of our trip, so we took off inland this time headed to see the Sisters mountains, the rapidly growing town of Bend, and finally the deep, clear, blue waters of Oregon’s only National Park, Crater Lake.  Just driving practically anyway in this state is an adventure in sightseeing alone.  Never in my life have I known a place where the scenery is never boring and is so frequently breathtaking.  From the tall and short varieties of gorgeous evergreen flora and fauna to the abundance of lakes, rivers, mountains, colorful farmlands and gently waving fields of beautiful green grass, the Northwest appears to have no ugly stepchild in terms of its landscape.  Even the high desert plains of the Bend area have their own brilliance in the warm sunshine of July here. 

     Sisters is a quaint, little town that I first visited on our vacation last year, and I couldn’t wait to get back.  After a filling lunch and a walk to one of our favorite stores, the Sisters Olive and Nut Company, to pick up some awesome goodies to share with family upon our return, we drove on down the road, enjoying the view of the 3 snow-covered Sisters mountains, Faith, Hope, and Charity, rising from the flat, dry valley around us.  Of course, along the way, we stopped for a hike at the Obsidian field, as all that riding in cars makes us want to get out and stretch our legs now and again. It was our second hike of the day, having stopped earlier on the drive to walk a couple of miles at a trail head with snow along the side. I had never been to an Obsidian field before, which is formed from lava that cooled too fast, making a mountain of black, shimmery glass to carefully hike around in amazement. I’ve been to volcanic sites before in Hawaii, but hadn’t realize there are so many lava fields and reminders of the work of volcanos long inactive visible in Oregon.  I would love to see more of that next year.

    Bend is a larger town than I expected, and it will be a place to return to next year as we had little time to explore it outside of finding and checking into our hotel and filling our bellies with a hot, full breakfast there the next morning before heading out to Crater Lake.  Unfortunately, there was too much snow surrounding the crater this year (they had 10 extra feet drop on them over the winter and spring of 2010-2011) to drive around the entire thing, and most of the hiking was out, but what a magnificent sight! With snow piled high and the water as clear and blue as I’ve ever seen any water, the lake is the deepest in North America and the seventh deepest in the world! Formed entirely within a crater left by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Mazama, the lake is 6 miles across and cut off from any and all lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water, being fed entirely by snow and rain.  Next trip, we will take a hike down to the shore and ride in a boat around the entire lake, but that was not to be this time as no trails are open now due to the snow.  We did, however, talk to a park ranger who told us we could walk down the closed part of the rim road for some cool sights if we really wanted to hike, so 3 miles down and back, we attempted to make it to Vidae falls, but the sun was getting ready to set, and we were still a couple of miles away, according to the GPS. We did see some smaller falls and heard plenty of running water as the snow all around us continued to melt in the late day sun.  It was totally worth the drive up and back, especially for the amazing pictures my fiancé was able to take with his new camera of the lake and the surrounding mountains and various natural wonders.  Another road trip for the books and more ideas for places to explore next time as there were plenty of amazing spots all along the road that we just didn’t have time to visit and want to go back to next year.