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Smith River
Another picture of the Smith River. The color is really that blue. If you look at the bottom left, you will seek the cliff rocks under the clear water. CHAPTER 24-- TRAVELS WITH CALI-OREGON
May 27: “Oregon or bust!” I think that was a slogan that was written on covered wagons. Anyway, Cali and I are finally in Oregon. We followed the Smith River most of the way up to Grants Pass. As I said in the last chapter, it is a beautiful river, so I am enclosing another picture of it. I also saw my first snow covered mountain in Oregon, but I don’t know its name. Near Cave Junction, I didn't visit the caves, but instead stopped at a place advertising big cats. Naturally I had to see what that was all about. A woman gave a group of us a tour of many cages with a wide variety of wild cats, including lions, cougars, bobcats, jaguars, leopards, tigers and some other cats I’ve forgotten the name of. She gave a lot of good information about the different species of cats, their habits, etc. I was sad to see them in cages instead of in more of a park-like setting, but they were older cats, many of whom had been movie “actors” or circus performers. They were very tame and most did some little tricks to her
Jaguars and trainer
These jaguars were part of the exhibit of cats at the Great Cats World Park. commands. We were told the cats were frequently released for "play time" outside the cages.
Cali--Yeah, Mommy said the big cats got out to play. I think Mommy and I are going to have to have a long talk..... May 28: After spending the night at a Walmart in Grant’s Pass, I took off to Crater Lake. My concerns about the mountain roads proved to be untrue. The highway up to the Lake was curvy, but RV friendly. Wide and in good condition. I was amazed as I entered the park to find not only spots of snow under the trees, but as we continued to climb, there was snow piled deeper and deeper on the side of the road. By the time I got to the top where the lake is, the plowed snow was higher than most of the cars on the road.
Crater Lake is awesome. While it is out of the way to get to it, it is certainly worth the drive. The water is just as blue and everyone always said. It was a beautiful day with puffy clouds in a bright blue sky and temperatures in the high 70’s, so
Crater Lake
Crater Lake National Park. Worth the drive. This is the east side of it. I had the best of weather to see everything. The rim drive that goes all the way around the lake was still closed due to snow, so I didn’t get to do that, but I still had plenty of gorgeous views to keep me busy snapping photos. I don’t know if the amount of snow was unusual for late in May, but it was piled so high around the lodge, we couldn’t see out of the windows of the gift shop. They were completely covered!
I spent several hours there, then started down the mountain to find Diamond Lake and a National Forest Campground to spend the night. On the way there, I stopped to take
pictures of another snow covered mountain and met another traveler from Florida. I asked him how long he had been on the road and he said four days! I’m glad I wasn’t traveling with him! He did give me some hints on how to manage the lighting on my camera, though, before he took off again. I wondered how much he managed to see since he seemed in such a big hurry.
I found the campground and the lake. They were at
Crater Lake West
The west side of the lake is the first view of the lake as you drive up to it. the foot of the snow covered Mt. Baldwin. I settled into a spot in the trees and then walked around for a bit. Later, back at the RV, Cali and I watched a weasel, (I think) forage for food around the campground. I would have liked to have built a fire, but no one else did, so I didn’t either. There was a spectacular sunset and a perfect setting for the end of a wonderful day. The good Lord sure created a beautiful world.
May 29: I continued to follow Hwy 138, known in Oregon for its many waterfalls. Naturally, I stopped at most of them to take pictures. At the second or third one, I met a group of people painting. I asked one of the ladies if it was a class and we started talking about outdoor painting. These days they call it “plein aire” painting. After I mentioned I liked to paint, the lady, whose name was Joy, invited me to join them. It was such a congenial group that I decided I would. It turned out they were from the Coos Bay area on the Oregon coast and went together about once a month to
Snow on the Steps
These steps covered with snow led up to the lodge at Crater lake. Notice how the windows on the left are covered. paint some outdoor scenes. I spent the afternoon with them and received an invitation to join them at their RV campground base for supper and the night. We had a great potluck supper then critiqued the paintings each person had worked on earlier. I had a wonderful time and made some new friends. I painted a horrible picture, though, so it got consigned to the waste basket!
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Melanie Neer
non-member comment
WOW
Wow you're really getting around there gal and those pictures are absolutely breath-taking!