I left this morning and headed south on US97 toward the little town of Beaver
Marsh, where I made a right turn onto Oregon Hwy 138 toward the north entrance
to Crater Lake National Park. Just south
of Bend, I stopped at the Newberry National Volcano Monument. I didn’t realize how much of the Pacific
Northwest is part of ancient (and recent) volcanic activity, but right
alongside the road there were large fields of ancient lava and a cinder cone:
After visiting there, I headed on to Crater Lake National
Monument. Hwy 138, which runs east-west,
was closed about 20 miles west of the entrance to Crater Lake because of
wildfires, and the sky was full of smoke.
I arrived at the Park and the smoke hadn’t let up any, so this is pretty
much what I was able to see.
(Fortunately, I got great pictures in 2010):
Crater Lake at Merriam Point in 2017:
Crater Lake at Merriam Point in 2010:
Wizard Island from the Visitor’s Center in 2017:
Wizard Island from the Visitor’s Center in 2010:
More pictures of Crater Lake from 2010:
Anyway, you get the picture.
Unfortunately the wildfire conditions didn’t allow much picture-taking
today. On the way out of Crater Lake, I
passed several fire crews creating fire lanes and clearing brush alongside the
road. Man, that does look like hard
work.
I’m in Grants’s Pass, Oregon tonight and tomorrow I’ll be
heading south Hwy 101, the Pacific Coast Highway in California. Hopefully, the ocean won’t be on fire and
I’ll see something worth taking a picture of!
Miles today: 209
To Date: 11,075
