A Full-time Life

CRATER LAKE COOL DOWN

 

It used to be kind of boring to talk about the weather -- not so much anymore, sadly.  A massive heat dome is expected to cover most of the country this week, bringing yet another round of extremely hot summertime temperatures.  Meanwhile, the Bootleg Fire in SE Oregon has surpassed 400,000 acres and is burning toward Summer Lake, the area I blogged about last week (where we visited the Wildlife Refuge in early June.).         I am afraid catastrophic weather events (fire, flooding, extreme heat) are the future barring a miracle and I hope for that miracle for everywhere. 

But meanwhile I'm tapping into my inner Pollyanna (thinking only happy thoughts ) by posting pictures that may bring some cooling thoughts  ... most of them are from last month.

 

 

June in Oregon (but not the part of the State where we live).   

We stopped at Crater Lake National Park near the end of our early June trip.  The above picture is on the highway between Crater   and Diamond Lakes.     There was still quite a bit of snow  and some of the roads inside the park were not yet open.  

This was the first time we'd visited Crater Lake since 2009.  So long ago! The mosaic below is from that earlier visit, which was in late July of that year.   That's usually a better time to visit, but I am very glad we were there earlier this year.

 

Crater Lake NP, July 2009

Top: View from the rim; Wizard Island; Phantom Ship.   Bottom Row (all views we were unable to get to this year) :  The Pinnacles; Vidae Falls; Pumice Castle.  

You can see there was still a little snow even then, but all of the roads were open by  that time, so this shows some of the Park's attractions that we were unable to visit this year.      

The rest of this post is from last month's trip.  Information about the Lake (in bold) is taken from the Crater Lake Visitor Guide given to us as we entered the Park.   (We always take and read those newspaper-format handouts when we visit any National Park -- they are an invaluable resource.)  

 

Crater Lake from the rim of the caldera -- with a view of Wizard Island

Crater Lake National Park is dedicated to protect the deepest lake in the United States.  The Lake is located inside a caldera formed 7,700 years ago when a 12,000 foot volcano collapsed after a major eruption.   Wizard Island is a cinder cone that erupted out of the Lake around 7300 years ago.    Now the slopes of the volcano are covered by old-growth forests that are home to birds, mammals, and hundreds of native plant species.  The Park is a central part of the cultural traditions of local American Indian tribes, whose ancestors witnessed the lake's formation.

Clark's Nutcracker

A pair of  Clark's Nutcrackers were having a loud argument in the trees that edge the Lake at one of the best viewpoints.   A good bird photo op can distract my camera from anything.   Update:   Thank you to Sondra (see here) for correctly identifying this bird.  

   

Phantom Ship Island

I'm using that distraction as an excuse for this poorly focused picture of the Phantom Ship.  This island is as tall as a 16-story building.  Made of erosion-resistant lava that is 400,000 old, it is the oldest exposed rock within the caldera.  

 

 

All of the  pictures are straight out of the camera.  Crater Lake is this blue year-round because it is so clear.   And it stays clear because there are almost no nutrients in the lake to support things like algae. There are no streams or rivers to bring nutrients and sediments into the lake.   Click here for an article from Oregon Public Broadcasting about true blue lakes in the Pacific Northwest.  I found the explanation very interesting when I read it shortly after our visit. 

 

 

Grateful that we've been able to visit many of our country's beautiful National Parks and thankful for all that the dedicated NPS employees do  to protect and share these national treasures.  

 

LINKING this week to the following, with thanks to the hosts:

 

MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS;   TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY;  TUESDAY TREASURES;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  FRIDAY  BLISS; and  SATURDAY CRITTERS 

SUMMER LAKE AND DERRICK CAVE

All is well in our little corner of the world.  It's too hot and dry here just as it is in pretty much the entire western part of the United States and Canada.  We've  had a few smoky mornings from the fires south and east of us but so far nothing is burning in the county where we live.  

 

Summer Lake Wildlife Area

I'm still posting about our June trip to the other side of Oregon, an area that has not been so fortunate.   When we visited, southeastern Oregon was dry with warm days and cool nights.  This month it is hotter and drier and wildfires threaten some of the places we visited.   One  is burning near  Summer Lake, where we visited  the Wildlife Area. 

 

American Avocet in Breeding Plumage

This wildlife area was established in 1944 by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife "to protect and improve waterfowl habitat and to provide a public hunting area."     I wish they could alter that to add something like "public birdwatching area."  I really do believe  that is more important to many people these days than hunting.

 

 

Black-necked Stilt

We didn't really see a lot of game birds when we were there.  Hunting is never allowed for shore birds and wading birds like the ones pictured here.

 

Avocets

 

Summer Lake is a real oasis for wildlife (and wildlife watchers) in the middle of this rather arid, desert-like part of our state.   We can only hope that it will not be permanently harmed by these fires.  

 

Summer Lake

Now on to another day's destination during this trip.    (If I don't combine places, I will still be blogging about this trip when we're ready to start another one!)

 

At the visitor center at Fort Rock Historical Park we had seen "Derrick Cave" listed on "things to do in the Fort Rock area"  so one day we set out to find it.     As with everything on that side of Oregon, "this area" encompasses a lot more miles and acres than you might think.  And rougher roads than you might expect.  Wikipedia says "The road to Derrick Cave is very rough and there are no facilities at the site."   Wikipedia does not lie!  Bill drove in four-wheel drive for part of the way and, on our way out, in trying to make the drive a circle, we encountered the first dead-end road we found on this trip (but not the last).  We backtracked often.

 

 

 

The cave is on Bureau of Land Management property and open to the public.  However, we contented ourselves with the adventure of driving there and hiking in to view the cave once we finally arrived at the nearly unmarked location.   They don't work real hard over there to make things easy for travelers.  (Which is kind of nice in a way.  We didn't see another soul on that day's journey and I'm not even sure we saw another car. ) 

 

There are eons of history connected to this hole in the ground!  The  tubular cave was created by lava flowing from a vent north of the cave.  The exact age of the eruption  is not determined but based on lava fields on the surface area is known to be between 6,845 years and 13,000 years ago.

 

 

Quite a bit more recently, but still quite a while ago, the cave was used by Fort Rock homesteaders as a summer recreation site -- those pioneer families used ice formed in the cave.  Then, during World War II, area residents planned to use the cave as an air-raid shelter, but it was never needed.  In 1963, Derrick Cave was designated as a nuclear fallout shelter.  Supplies of food and water for up to 1200 people were stored behind a locked steel door in the cave.  Fortunately, the cave was never needed for this purpose.  By 1970, all of the Civil Defense supplies had been stolen by vandals or removed by authorities.     

 

 

  Grateful for all the roads we take whether rough or smooth and all we learn from wherever they take us.

 

LINKING this week to the following sharing opportunities:  Thank you to the hosts.

SATURDAY CRITTERS; MOSAIC MONDAY; NATURE NOTES; THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; TUESDAY TREASURES;  MY CORNER OF THE WORLD;   THANKFUL THURSDAY;   SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY  BLISS 

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL 2021

 

To celebrate Independence Day, July 4 2021.   

Pike's Peak, Colorado

 

I wish "America the Beautiful" were our National Anthem.  With all respect to Francis Scott Key, the words of Katherine Lee Bates better express what we  celebrate about our country.  Here are a few of her words and a few of our archived pictures from places we have been fortunate to visit in our travels:  

 

Oh Beautiful for spacious skies

 

Colorado Front Range

 

For Amber Waves of Grain 

 

Palouse Country, Washington State 

 

For Purple Mountain Majesty 

Mt. Rainier, Washington

 

Above the Fruited Plain

(why have I never taken a picture of a fruited plain?)

...

And Crown Thy Good With Brotherhood,

Oregon - Central Pacific Coast 

 

From Sea to Shining Sea

 

Atlantic Ocean - from Acadia National Park, Maine

 

 

We are grateful.   Happy Fourth of July!  

 

Linking this week to the following:  Thank you to the hosts.

 

MOSAIC MONDAY;  NATURE NOTES;  THROUGH MY LENS;   TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; OUR WORLD ON TUESDAY; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS;  THANKFUL THURSDAY;  SKYWATCH FRIDAY;  and FRIDAY  BLISS;