8/14-18 Drive through SE Oregon - Steck park, Idaho - Craters of The Moon Nat'l Monument, Idaho

-The scenery made a definite change from the mountains and pines to pure desert. As we drive through SE Oregon, here we rarely see a tree, but the landscape is beautiful none-the-less.

Southeast Oregon

This area is open range, meaning cattle graze wherever they like and these guys seemed to like the shade in this highway rest area where we stopped for lunch.

The night of 8/15 we made a last minute decision to look for a park that showed up on a highway sign – 20 miles North of Weiser, Idaho located on the Oregon, Idaho border.  20 miles later, and at the end of this 16 mile stretch of long dead end gravel road, was Steck Park, a Bureau of Land Management Park on a pretty reservoir boasting the best crappie and bass fishing in the state. We paid the enormous camping fee of $4.00, and had a great afternoon and evening in this scenic setting.

Getting to Steck Park - 16 miles of gravel road

Not many potholes, but cows to dodge

Steck Park Campsite

Reservoir at Steck Park, Idaho

As we drove across southern Idaho, we were amazed at the beauty. We’re gonna come back here for sure – there’s so much more to see and things to do.

Idaho

This pic shows one of the many natural hot springs in Idaho. Look hard and you can see the steam rising form the naturally heated water bubbling out of the earth and running down the hillside to the river.

One of hundreds Hot Springs

We checked into the campground early ((10:00 A.M.) at Craters of The Moon National Monument, then walked over to the visitors center for a 30 minute movie, then after lunch we took the 7 mile loop drive and stopped at some the trailheads to stroll through the lava flows. We hiked to the top of a cinder cone and got some breathtaking views of the area.

From here we'll be off to Teton's and Yellowstone in Wyoming after a brief stop in Idaho Falls, Idaho for supplies and e-mail...............

8/6 - 8/12 Crooked River Ranch to Crater Lake National Park - Oregon

We checked into Crooked River Ranch RV Park, near Terrebonne, OR and stayed for three nights.   The park is very nice and located on a deep gorge cut by the Crooked River.  Lunch one day at the Golf Club grill next door.  We took a road trip one day to Sisters, OR and a scenic drive on a road that was really too narrow for us, but we did the 40 miles enjoying every mile.  This route took us through a volcano flow and McKenzie Pass at 5000 ft where the scenery of the lava flow and distant mountains was very scenic.

Sisters mountains

lava flow at Mckenzie pass

View of our "home" from lava trail

Alpaca's grazing at local Alpaca Farm

Here I am working on the wire connections for the "New Mirror"
Remember the one that was broken back in May? - I finally replaced it with a new one!



Off we go to La Pine State Park, just a few miles South of Crooked River Ranch.  This is a very nice park - as all of the Oregon State Parks have been.  We hiked each day and enjoyed the scenery and the wonderful weather; about 80 degrees each day and down to about 40 degrees at night.

One day we hiked a 3 1/2 mile loop to the "Big Tree" - Oregon's biggest Ponderosa Pine in the State

Big Tree - Largest Ponderosa Pine in Oregon

Another hike was to the La Pine park Falls, a 4 1/4 mile loop that took us about three hours, a bottle of water each, and 3 ounces of trail mix.

La Pine Falls

Crater Lake National Park in Oregon was our next destination.  Crater Lake is the deepest in the U.S. at 1,943 ft. deep and a surface altitude of 6,173 ft.  The water color is a deep blue, the prettiest I've ever seen. We did not get close to the water as the road to the only trail leading to the shore, was closed for repair the two days we were there.  We did take a hike on the Annie Creek Trail, named after the first woman to see Crater Lake (I assume not counting native american's)

Crater Lake - 6173 ft. elevation

Crater Lake

Crater Lake

Annie Creek Trail - and June

Annie Creek

8/1 - 8/5 Mt, St. Helens, WA to Cove Palisades State Park, OR

It's August already! Four months and it seems like only yesterday we pulled out of the driveway. 

8/1 - We drove around to the South side of Mt. St. Helens to a place called Ape Cave.  The cave was formed a couple thousand years ago from a lava flow which left a bubble - the cave. It was first explored by a group of boy scouts who called themselves the Ape troup - so the cave was named after them.

Ape Cave entrance

8/2...... Today we started our exploration of the Columbia River Gorge. The Columbia River separates Washington and Oregon and the views are breathtaking. We stopped at a State Park and discovered hundreds of people wind surfing. We were told that this area is considered the premier spot in the USA for wind surfing. The natural effects of temperatures from the ocean and wind currents clashing from the desserts in this gorge create these winds that wind surfers crave. We stayed and watched for a couple hours.

They shouldn't tempt me this way....

Columbia River

Columbia River

Coulmbia River

Moving on down the road we spied Mount Hood - As we got closer, we saw a sign to the Timberline Lodge which is a National Historic landmark at 6000 ft. on Mt. Hood...

Mount Hood

Mt. Hood at 6000 ft. from Timberline Lodge

Cove Palisades State Park, Oregon is where we camped 8/4.  Oregon has lots of great places to see and visit - So many we can't see them all on this trip... We'll just have to come back next year.

Cove Palisades on the Dechutes River

Beach scene on the Deschutes River

Nearby Smith Rock State Park is reported to have the number three rock face in the world that attracts rock climbers.  A number of climbers were scaling these sheer cliffs while we were there. 

Smith Rock State Park

Look Close - Rock Climber at Smith Rock State Park 

7/30-31 Mount St. Helen's National Volcanic Monument, Washington

Mount St. Helens erupted May 18, 1980. This great force of nature caused emense damage to the surrounding landscape for 20 miles, leveling trees to mere poles, stripped of leaf and limb, and eraseing all signs of life. People were killed after the blast and ensuing lava and mud flows as well as animals and all plant life.    After the eruption, Congress established the 110,300 acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument to provide for scientific research, education, and recreation.

Despite this tragedy, the mountain has been renewing ever since.

We could not see it, but a new glacier has been forming in the Crater.  While glaciers are shrinking in most other places, Crater Glacier is growing at Mt. St. Helens.  It just goes to show that nature is in charge and given time, will do its' will at its' own chosen pace, place, and time...... All we need to do is enjoy and let her have her way.......  

June got a little too close to this elk

Wildflowers are abundant

Mt. St. Helen - A brief view of Summit through the clouds

Trees struggle to break through the ash 32 years after the eruption, but are multiplying

Mt. St. Helen landscape

Visitor's Center