Central Oregon

It is hard to believe how quickly the time goes by.  Especially when it seems like we have not been too busy.  So, what have we been up to?

We had the opportunity to stay at Tumalo State Park just one more day after our last posting, since the place was totally reserved for the weekend.  Last Thursday was a quiet day we spent shopping in Bend.  Since we will be on our feet a lot while we are at Amazon, we both got some good shoes (aka $$$$) with lots of support.  We will be breaking them in over the next few days.

Friday was a “Moving Day”; back across the Cascade Range to the central valley.  Once again we noticed the dramatic climate change from the high desert of Bend and Sisters to heavily forested mountains in just a couple of miles.  The route we used was not the shortest one, since Oregon State Hwy 242 is closed to anything our length because it is so twisty.  Sometime we’d like to come back and ride it on the motorcycle (in warmer weather).  We connected with Interstate 5 near Eugene and drove it for more than 50 miles (the most Interstate driving we have done since late August).  We got off the road at Sutherlin, where the Escapees have another of their co-op parks. 

The weekend was a quiet one.  We try to avoid the grocery stores and touristy things on weekends so that working people with families can use them.  Instead, we spent our weekend doing laundry and going for walks around the park.  We also attended the Methodist Church in Sutherlin.  This was a unique experience – there were 9 people, total, in the church including the minister and organist.  They were a very friendly group that invited us down for a small lunch after church.  Almost every one of them had some connection to Minnesota so conversation was lively.

After the weekend, it was back to being touristy once again.  Monday we went back to the Pacific coast, from Florence down to Reedsport.  Florence has an area called “Old Town” under the US Highway 101 bridge.  It has lots of restaurants and shops.  We stopped at a little restaurant on the corner where we came into town.  Paige had the best ever “crab melt” sandwich!!

  

Tuesday was a much longer driving day.  We went to Crater Lake National Park. 

     

     

This is visually spectacular, but it is a long drive from anywhere.  At 1,943 feet this is the deepest lake in the United States and was formed in a very short time when a volcanic mountain collapsed.  For details see http://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm  

Much of the park is closed for the winter, but the southern entrance and the Visitors Center are open all year.  The parking lot is ready for the snowplows.

The reason for the tall snow poles is that they normally get about 44 feet of snow here during a typical winter.  The water in the lake comes from snowmelt and rainfall.  There are no rivers or streams flowing in OR out of this lake so the water stays very pure.

 

Today we’re going to do a tour of local wineries.  There are many wineries around here so we need to do a little tasting.  Also, today is flu shot day for us.  Want to get that done before flu season arrives.