31 Days in Oregon : Newberry National Volcanic Monument

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 20:35:52 +0000

Central Oregon’s landscape is very different than that of the Northwest part, where we live. It is considered high dessert, has dry summer’s and snowy winters. The area is dominated by volcanic activity with craters, cinder cones & piles of lava rock.

A great place to visit to see all this volcanic action is Newberry National Volcanic Monument in Deschutes National Forest, about 30 miles south of Bend.

PAULINA PEAK

A drive up a curvy, steep road to Paulina Peak rewards you with a 360° panoramic view of the Cascade Range. It is beautiful!

For sure a focal point is the view of the Newberry Caldera, with Paulina Lake, East Lake, Little Crater & the Big Obsidian Flow.

Paulina Lake is the deeper of the two lakes, at a maximum depth of 250 feet. Neither lake have streams flowing into them, so they are filled with water by rain, snow melt & hot springs.

The Big Obsidian Flow is the youngest lava flow in Oregon and consists of pumice and obsidian.

Ground level with Paulina Lake

PAULINA CREEK FALLS

Paulina Lake has one outlet: Paulina Creek. Not far from the outlet is 80 foot Paulina Creek Falls.

It’s a fairly short hike to the falls.

LAVA RIVER CAVE

Lava River Cave was formed by molten lava & is over 5000 feet long. It is a cave, therefore it is dark and cold.

One time I went there were people outside telling us about White-nose syndrome that is killing bats. They are trying to stop the spread of the disease. So, we had to tell them we weren’t wearing clothes or shoes that we had worn into other caves before entering the cave.

Path to the cave

Lanterns or flashlights are a must when entering the cave.

LAVA LANDS VISITOR CENTER & LAVA BUTTE

Another place to visit is the Lava Lands Visitor Center. From there you can see Lava Butte, which has great views from the top.

Lava Butte is a 500 foot cinder cone.

Bottom Right Photo: Mount Bachelor

Inside the Visitor Center
Left: I really enjoyed this representation of the area.
Right: The boys touching a piece of obsidian

A spectacular view from the summit of Lava Butte.

You can view all these sites in one day or spend many days exploring the area more intently.

To see what others are sharing for the month of October check out write31days.com

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31 Days in Oregon: Crater Lake

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 20:08:25 +0000

I have lived in Oregon all my life and the first time I saw Crater Lake was about 11 years ago. Farm Kid1 was just a couple months old. It was as amazing as everyone says.

Wanting my kids to see this natural wonder at a younger age than I was when I saw it the first time, we visited it again a couple years ago.

The highway to Crater Lake is long & boring. There is not much else around. It reminds me of the drive to the Grand Canyon: a spectacular site in the middle of nowhere.

The last time we went to Crater Lake was a couple years ago, in mid July. Some areas round the lake still had a couple feet of snow, so much of the rim drive was closed. That was kind of a bummer. But, it was pretty with the snow & it was fun throwing snowballs in the middle of summer.

Crater Lake was formed when Mt. Mazama erupted then collapsed into itself. This created the 5 mile wide caldera. Over time snow, rain & spring water collected in the caldera.

Wizard Island

a volcanic cinder cone

Phantom Ship

The smallish rock near the back right edge of the lake is called the Phantom Ship.

Steel Visitor Center

We bought & sent my mom a postcard from the post office in the building.

We pulled off at a picnic area to eat and the kids worked on their Junior Ranger booklets

Left: The water is blue, really blue. It is one of the clearest fresh water lakes in the world. One day I would like to hike the trail down to the lake. We haven’t done that yet.

Right: Vidae Falls is spring fed. Crater Lake is considered a closed ecological system. There are no rivers running into or out of the lake.

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. with a maximum depth of 1943 feet. Average depth is 1148 feet.

The cliffs can reach 2000 feet above the lake water.

The kids receiving their Junior Ranger badges.

The Pinnacles

The first time we visited Crater Lake we drove to what are called The Pinnacles. The second time, the road to The Pinnacles was closed due to snow.

The Pinnacles are volcanic spires of sporia and pumice formed during the eruption of Mount Mazama.

Diamond Lake

We have not stayed overnight in the park itself, although I would like to do that next time. The first time we camped near Paulina Lake. The second time we camped a bit closer, at Diamond Lake. It’s a beautiful lake with a nice campground.

Crater Lake is amazing in person. It’s definitely worth the drive. Next time I would like to explore more by hiking down to the water’s edge and also taking a boat ride to Wizard Island.