JULY 2004

July 2004: On the road Maine-Montreal-Ontario-UP of MI-WI-MN-ND Heading to Oregon. So far we've had good travel days. The trip through Montreal was helped by expert advice from a forum member, but we'd rather skip Quebec next time. (signs only in French, campground owner and workers only spoke French, etc...not helpful. I speak enough French to get around, but find a campground that probably caters to more than 50% Americans should provide SOME help for Americans.) Roads have been very good (the red ones) from MI on. Drizzly days from MI to ND, but not a problem to drive in. Ran into some people in MI who had lived in the same town we had in So. CA and were good friends with some of our old friends...just one of those things that happens to we fulltimers periodically. Small world.

Central Oregon Area

The Central Oregon area has a very volcanic history. Evidence is all around, from the mountains to the layers of lava that comprise most of the "soil" around here. (Building anything must be very difficult!) We'll be here for the next 8 weeks, so watch this page and, in the future, August's, for information and photos about this area. With so many traveling to this region for the FMCA Rally in Redmond, you might pick up a few places you'd like to see while here.

Silver Falls State Park, just east of Salem, OR is an outstanding park that offers views of 10 waterfalls along a 7-mile "Trail of Ten Falls" hiking route. In addition, there are campgrounds, playgrounds, water play area, picnic facilities, etc. We took a trip to this wonderful park and were able to see 8 of the 10 falls. (Part of the trail was closed for repairs.) If you like waterfalls, this park is one to make sure to take in. Three of the falls are "walk-behind falls"...lovely! They range in height from 27-178 feet.

L-R: North Falls from "behind", North Falls, South Falls, Middle Falls, Lower North Falls
If you look closely, you'll see people on the paths behind the falls in the first 3 photos.

In addition to these falls, we found Tumalo Falls near Bend, OR to be lovely, and less visited.

Tumalo Falls

Smith Rock area showing the Crooked River at the bottom, more volcanic evidence.

Below: Newberry Crater Area just south of Bend, OR

L-R: 3 Osprey just before leaving the nest (an hour later, they fledged while we watched! Lava fields looking towards Mt. Bachelor and Sisters, Benham Falls area, Benham Falls (cascades, really). All these scenes are within only a few miles! What a variety!

Crater Lake National Park

A lovely view this time...last time we were here, there were too many fires in OR to see Crater Lake very well. This time, it was lovely. We HIGHLY recommend eating in the Crater Lake Lodge when you're there. Excellent food at reasonable prices for a resort area. We had breakfast and lunch. The weather was delightful in the morning, with clouds gathering in the afternoon as they do so often in the mountains. There were mountain lion sightings near several of the trails we took, so we (I) were a little nervous...but all went well. We didn't take the rig, but saw that Mazama Campground looked good. Get away from the "standard" viewing areas and take a trail to see some fabulous views. The lake changes with the sun, so it's lovely to watch the blue go through a variety of hues. Want to see it for yourself from you 'puter? Check this out...

http://www.craterlakelodges.com/pages/cratercam.htm

This is the webcam showing Crater Lake...fun to see!