Pictures of the Week 2008-29
Hello All,
Departing Ely, NV we put the “hammer down” following US-93 north to I-80 where we turned west. We spent the night in Winnemucca, NV. Then departed north on US-95 to Highway 140 where we turned west. We traveled through the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge where we saw herds of wild burros. They are a beautiful animal in some amazing color schemes, but were a bit too far from the road for a good photo.
Coming into Lakeview, OR we passed a service station that sold diesel. Since it was $4.99 a gallon we decided to see if we could find a better price at another station. Would you believe that was the only place we could find around Lakeview that sold diesel! So we decided we better do a u-turn and go back and fill up. Finding a place to turn around became the next problem!! Finally, we came to a “Y” where the two lane road split. Dave took the road to the right then crossed the oncoming lane and the gravel median between the Y onto the other portion of the Y to complete the turn. At one point we had all lanes blocked, but we made the turn--barely!!
At the service station Dave started pumping the diesel. Since our tank was low he knew it would take a while to fill up. So he decided to go inside the station and use the facilities while the tank was filling. When he came out of the station he noticed liquid flowing from under the fifth wheel--I mean a lot of liquid!! First thought, the fuel pump didn’t kick off and fuel is running out of the tank! Wow, didn’t know the ole guy could run that fast!! Upon arrival at the fuel pump everything was operating normally with fuel still being pumped into the tank. After closer inspection it seems that when we did the U-turn the ground came up enough to break off the fresh water tank dump valve on the fifth wheel. So the 80-gallon fresh water tank was dumping. Another thing to add to the “needs fixed” list!
After spending the night in Lakeview we continued westbound on Highway 140 crossing over the Cascade Mountain Range. Wow, we had forgotten just how beautiful Oregon is. It has big timber, rushing clear water streams and bright blue skies--so refreshing after the desert southwest. Upon reaching I-5 we turned northbound. Spent the night in Goldhill and then continued north to Roseburg area where we parked the rig for a week or so of visiting with family members. We chose an old drive-in movie theater in the small town of Sutherlin that has been converted into an RV park. At dusk they show movies on the big outdoor screen. You can watch the movie from your rig or take a blanket to a grassy area in front of the screen. Speakers are at each site or you can tune your FM radio into a discrete frequency for the movie dialog. It was a new first for us!!
Our first side trip out of Roseburg was to Crater Lake National Park. To get to the park we had to travel for three hours through the beautiful Umpqua National Forest. It was a clear blue sky day so we stopped at waterfall after waterfall for photo ops. Diamond Lake Lodge was our choice for lunch. This jewel of a lake is nestled high in the Cascade Mountain Range. The temperature was in the low 60’s so there weren’t many folks eating outside. There was a fishing tournament being held at the lake, and we saw fishermen with nice catches of rainbow trout being weighed in.
Departing Ely, NV we put the “hammer down” following US-93 north to I-80 where we turned west. We spent the night in Winnemucca, NV. Then departed north on US-95 to Highway 140 where we turned west. We traveled through the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge where we saw herds of wild burros. They are a beautiful animal in some amazing color schemes, but were a bit too far from the road for a good photo.
Coming into Lakeview, OR we passed a service station that sold diesel. Since it was $4.99 a gallon we decided to see if we could find a better price at another station. Would you believe that was the only place we could find around Lakeview that sold diesel! So we decided we better do a u-turn and go back and fill up. Finding a place to turn around became the next problem!! Finally, we came to a “Y” where the two lane road split. Dave took the road to the right then crossed the oncoming lane and the gravel median between the Y onto the other portion of the Y to complete the turn. At one point we had all lanes blocked, but we made the turn--barely!!
At the service station Dave started pumping the diesel. Since our tank was low he knew it would take a while to fill up. So he decided to go inside the station and use the facilities while the tank was filling. When he came out of the station he noticed liquid flowing from under the fifth wheel--I mean a lot of liquid!! First thought, the fuel pump didn’t kick off and fuel is running out of the tank! Wow, didn’t know the ole guy could run that fast!! Upon arrival at the fuel pump everything was operating normally with fuel still being pumped into the tank. After closer inspection it seems that when we did the U-turn the ground came up enough to break off the fresh water tank dump valve on the fifth wheel. So the 80-gallon fresh water tank was dumping. Another thing to add to the “needs fixed” list!
After spending the night in Lakeview we continued westbound on Highway 140 crossing over the Cascade Mountain Range. Wow, we had forgotten just how beautiful Oregon is. It has big timber, rushing clear water streams and bright blue skies--so refreshing after the desert southwest. Upon reaching I-5 we turned northbound. Spent the night in Goldhill and then continued north to Roseburg area where we parked the rig for a week or so of visiting with family members. We chose an old drive-in movie theater in the small town of Sutherlin that has been converted into an RV park. At dusk they show movies on the big outdoor screen. You can watch the movie from your rig or take a blanket to a grassy area in front of the screen. Speakers are at each site or you can tune your FM radio into a discrete frequency for the movie dialog. It was a new first for us!!
Our first side trip out of Roseburg was to Crater Lake National Park. To get to the park we had to travel for three hours through the beautiful Umpqua National Forest. It was a clear blue sky day so we stopped at waterfall after waterfall for photo ops. Diamond Lake Lodge was our choice for lunch. This jewel of a lake is nestled high in the Cascade Mountain Range. The temperature was in the low 60’s so there weren’t many folks eating outside. There was a fishing tournament being held at the lake, and we saw fishermen with nice catches of rainbow trout being weighed in.
After lunch we proceeded to
the national park. We entered the park
via the north entrance, which had opened just a couple of days earlier. It is
closed from mid-October to late June annually due to snow. The south entrance is open year round.
The beauty and intense blue of Crater Lake have awed people for generations. Five miles wide and ringed by cliffs almost 2,000 feet high, the lake rests in the shattered remnants of a volcano called Mount Mazama, which erupted and collapsed into the crater about 7,700 years ago. Later eruptions formed Wizard Island and other volcanic features, now hidden under the lake. Crater Lake filled with rain and melted snow. At 1,943 feet deep, it is the deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world.
Rim drive is a 33-mile road that circles the caldera rim. Pullouts along the way provide scenic lake views. The rim is from 7,000 to over 8,000 feet in elevation and is blanketed with snow for 8 to 9 months a year. As you can see in the following photo there was still a lot of snow in the area.
The beauty and intense blue of Crater Lake have awed people for generations. Five miles wide and ringed by cliffs almost 2,000 feet high, the lake rests in the shattered remnants of a volcano called Mount Mazama, which erupted and collapsed into the crater about 7,700 years ago. Later eruptions formed Wizard Island and other volcanic features, now hidden under the lake. Crater Lake filled with rain and melted snow. At 1,943 feet deep, it is the deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world.
Rim drive is a 33-mile road that circles the caldera rim. Pullouts along the way provide scenic lake views. The rim is from 7,000 to over 8,000 feet in elevation and is blanketed with snow for 8 to 9 months a year. As you can see in the following photo there was still a lot of snow in the area.
It was almost like looking at two different
lakes when viewing the lake from the northern exposures with lots of snow as
compared with looking at the southern exposures where most of the snow had
melted. The next three photos are
looking at northern exposures.
In the following photo if you look closely you
can see a large tour boat on the lake in the right foreground. It is easier to see the boat’s wake than the
actual boat. But, it gives you a good
prospective of just how high up we are above the water level. These tour boats operate from late June to
mid-September. The 1 ¾ hour tour circles
the inside of the caldera, with a stop at Wizard Island and close up view of
Phantom Ship rock. To ride the boat you
must walk down 2,000 steps from the rim and then back “up” 2,000 steps to get
back to the top!!
The remaining photos are taken looking at
southern exposures. Crater Lake National
Park is one of the most scenic of our national parks. There is nothing to compare with it. It is awe inspiring!!
The following photos are of
Wizard Island volcanic cone.
Without a doubt children and pets must be
monitored closely for obvious reasons.
You are warned not to cross rock walls and barriers along the caldera
rim as volcanic rock is unstable and could crumble beneath your feet.
No matter how many times we see it we are always
amazed at the brilliant blue water of the lake.
A few years ago Barb and I were at the lake on a wet nasty day. The wind was blowing and there were low
clouds restricting visibility. But even
with these unfavorable conditions the portions of the lake we could see were
still bright blue.
We highly recommend a visit to
Crater Lake National Park. It is truly
beautiful and there is no other place quite like it.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns