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Published: June 26th 2014
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PAGE TWO
Oregon
Monday 23rd June It is our middle grandson's third birthday so Happy Birthday to you Indiana and we will be visiting the state of Indiana later this trip.
We stayed last night at the Hampton Inn & Suites and this morning we enjoy scrambled eggs with biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit and coffee. On the road again and heading north to Klamath Falls in Oregon. We have seen eagles soaring above us each day and today travelling through the Modoc National Forest we see a turkey vulture land on a fence just as we drive past. There are always lots of chipmunks running across the road and they mostly make it to the other side but today we see three deer who did not make it to the other side, victims of road traffic. We pay a visit to the Lava Beds National Monument, this is a rugged landscape formed by volcanic eruptions around Tule Lake and Medicine Lake and it is in the north of California on the border with Oregon. There are hundreds of caves formed by the lava and bats inhabit them; warnings about 'white nose syndrome' which has caused the
death of thousands of bats in America put us off from exploring the caves.
Tuesday 24th June We leave Klamath Falls and drive north to Crater Lake. A massive volcanic eruption left a deep basin which is now the deepest lake in the United States with very blue water. The view across the lake from the rim is absolutely stunning. There are lots of visitors and we enjoy walking around and taking some photos, we are pretty sure that we see Joni Mitchell walking around with her 2 dogs.. We have coffee and buttermilk pancakes, just one each as they are the size of dinner plates. The temperature is around 52f although it feels quite warm, there is a lot of snow around, piled high in some places. When we leave the Crater Lake National Park the temperature gradually climbs to 73f.
On our way to our next overnight stop in a place called Bend we stop at the High Desert Museum and what a fantastic place, much more than a museum. The Americans do this kind of educational experience so well and we stay until closing time. There is an exhibition on the
Plateau Indians which is very interesting. Lots of animals, birds of prey and desert dwellers and a living history exhibition. We have a chat with the living history people who are a family from 1904 including a doctor/dentist. George is pleased his wisdom tooth had been extracted last week as the equipment available in 1904 did not look too comfortable.
We find the motel and after a rest go out to explore Bend. We find a lovely area called The Old Mill which used to be a sawmill it has shops and restaurants all alongside a river. We have gourmet burgers they are delicious; we have had a very interesting and educational day.
Wednesday 25th June On the road again we stop for an American breakfast on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation at the Indian Head Casino. They take a long time to serve us but are very apologetic and charming when we complain; when we leave they will not let us pay so we leave a generous tip. The scenery is beautiful with snow covered mountains all around, this is part of the Cascade mountain range. We cross the 45th parallel line which means
we are half-way between the equator and the north pole. We are now in the Mount Hood National Forest, Mount Hood is the highest point in Oregon at over eleven thousand feet and it looks stunning with all the snow although today is overcast with white clouds so we are probably not seeing it at its best. A lot of the campgrounds have a Nottingham theme, Little John, Sherwood and of course Robin Hood. We drive past fruit orchards with acres of pears, plums and avocados, there are lots of vineyards and growing along the roadside are wild lupins and sweetpeas. It is very warm today but not sunny.
We stop at Bonneville lock and dam visitor center and the security guard asks us if we are carrying any weapons and then checks the boot in case we are lying! It was built and is managed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. We arrive at the Howard Johnson Hotel in the city of Portland and have dinner at the Park City Pub, where we share a plate of nachos.
We are planning to visit Washington tomorrow for one night, as we have now visited the west
Mount Hood
Cascade mountain range coast four times it is unlikely that we will be here again so it's probably now or never for Washington State.
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Gill Steel
non-member comment
Stunning
Hi there, What a wonderful trip and stunning scenery. Hope you enjoy Washington. It was strange to see you in crops stood in the snow, did it feel strange? I always associate snow with thick coats and wellies. Keep on posting photos and info it's great to read. See you when you get home. Love Gill