oregon is an all around special place!!!

Finally, everything has come together so I can again blog!!! How wonderful!!! So, yesterday we left Portland, which really is a delightful city. I would certainly consider moving there if I had a good reason. The rest of Oregon has turned out to be lovely as well. We drove through the Columbia River Gorge on the way out of town. It was a little slow going but we saw several waterfalls, including the second highest in the country. We ate lunch at a little outdoorsy town called Hood River. Then we took a very scenic drive past Hood Mountain (see picture) which is an 11500 foot peak. They just don't make mountains in the East Coast like they do out here.

It has multiple glaciers at the top, I hear. We spent the rest of the day meandering through central Oregon. There are quite a few towns (like Bend, OR) which are apparently really on the rise. It is mostly because there are so many outdoor activities here, the weather is beautiful, there are wineries and microbreweries gallore. Oregon seems like an all around good state!!!

One interesting thing that I snapped a pic of was a brush fire. If you look closely at the pic, you can see little flames. We aren't sure, but we think this may be an intentional fire.

Anyway, we ended the day at Crater Lake. I must admit that although it is a one-trick-pony type of National Park, it is quite a pony!!!! Crater lake was formed by a volcano erupting thousands of years ago. What was left behind was an enormous crater which since has filled with rain water and snow. There are some glaciers at the top and the lake is the deepest in the country!!! It is five miles across and very beautiful (see last pic). And unlike the other National Parks, there were very few people there. The lodge (which I couldn't book because it was full) was much nicer than the ones in GNP. It certainly is worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

We stayed in a tiny town in Oregon called Prospect (pop. 500 people) which is so cute. We stayed in a modern motel room which is part of a historic hotel and dinner house. It is nestled in the pines and there is a pond with trout on the property. Herb and I walked over there and played with the trout this morning. We also took a short walk to a waterfall. Not a bad town. I have to toot my own horn a little by saying that I am very pleased with all the little inexpensive quirky places we have stayed. Research really pays off.

Today it's off to Miranda, CA and the Redwood National Park. Herb and I are having fun. Tomorrow we will go to San Francisco, hopefully by way of a few hours in wine country!!!!