- COVID and Fire Tour 2020 — Introduction
- A quick stop at Mt. Rainier
- A short visit to Mt. Hood
- An interesting (and largely eventful) time at Newberry National Volcanic Monument
- Lava Beds National Monument
- Fire Evasion!
- Avoiding Vegas — and loving it!
- Kickin’ Route 66 and the Grand Canyon
- Migration — Communities that share the land on their way to somewhere (like us!)
- Red Rockin’ Utah’s (and a little of Arizona’s) National Parks and Monuments
- The journey home and final thoughts
After getting our truck’s air conditioner fixed, it was time to head down to the Newberry National Volcanic Monument — just a short drive from Bend, OR. Two very important things struck us as we pulled in: (1) the park was officially closed — that included the Visitor’s Center, but more importantly, the lava tube cave (it is the longest on in North America, at over 1 mile in length) that is one of the primary reasons to visit the park; and (2) it was hot — really hot (ranging between 95-102F. By definition, this would influence our choice of activities; e.g., hiking on lava beds or hanging out in the shade by the rivers and lakes.
Given the late afternoon heat on our arrival, we chose a short hike along the Upper Deschutes River. It abuts a great lava flow from around 7,000 years ago which drastically diverted the river’s course and created some “lakes” along the way. We really wish we had our fishing gear with us as this area is know for its trout fishing! Instead, we walked out to Benham Falls. The river really roars through a canyon there. I wondered if they do white water rafting here as there looked to be some serious Class 4/5 rapids there. From there, we went to our home for a few nights — the Crane Prairie Campground. It is on a lake with a beautiful view of Mt. Bachelor. It also was a respite from the heat of the day, if you don’t mind a squishy, grassy bottom. It was a great place to commune with nature, including gaining an unexpected tenant — a chipmunk we ultimately named Chester. Deb heard him running around and caught a few glimpses of him. After unsuccessfully trying to shoo him out, Chester ended up riding with us for about 24, sometimes wrenching, hours.
During the next day, we visited and hiked around other parts of Newberry. First we went to Paulina Falls, which is sourced from Paulina Lake and is located at the lowest end of Newberry Crater (where the lake is). They are quite beautiful but are slowly eroding the soft rock, releasing the big boulders that sit at it’s base. From there, we went to the Big Obsidian Flow which was created in an eruption around 1,300 years ago. It’s a little over a mile square and is 150 feet deep on average. But what is so amazing is the amount of obsidian that is scattered throughout the largely pumice flow. We finished up our visit to that part of the park by stopping at Paulina Lake itself. It’s normally a resort area with lots of visitors. It was pretty deserted these days — a combination of COVID and the fires.
It was at this point that I made a bad decision — taking a 9 mile drive on a service road to visit the volcanic tree mold area. What are tree molds you might ask? They are what is left after molten lava surrounded the trees there and, as the steam arising from the burning tree, cooled the lava. When the charred wood ultimately rotted away, tree molds remained. This was a bad decision because the dirt road went from just being annoying washboard to seriously rutty and bumpy. It shook the hell out us! By the time we got to the location, we surveyed the damage — lots of breakage and disarray inside the camper (including Chester who was chewing up the carpet in his frenzy!), but more importantly, we lost two of the four tie downs that hold the camper in the truck bed! Since we made it there, I decided to take the hike. It actually was interesting to see how life emerges from the lava. I also saw something I had never seen before —= a kipuka (island of trees). This happens when an area containing much older cinder cones is surrounded by younger lava. The forest thrives in the area of older lava where the soil has many more nutrients than the area surrounding it. There has to be some human analogy there, but I’m not sure what it is. Meanwhile, Deb continued to try to drive Chester from the rig, but was unsuccessful. We ended up creeping back down the road, both trying to find our lost tie downs (we didn’t) and keeping the rig on our truck! It also meant backtracking to Bend, OR to a very helpful RV Center who was able to cobble together enough piece parts for me to install the missing tie downs — in 102F temperature on asphalt that could fry an egg. Needless to say, when we got back to the campground, a quick dive in the lake was in order.
By now, Labor Day weekend had started and our quiet campground became anything but. We are looking forward to leaving in the morning and heading to more isolated real estate around Lava Beds National Monument. I should mention that Chester the chipmunk was, in fact, still in the rig. How do I know this? I awoke to him running across my legs and diving into a clothes closet. As I pulled the clothes and shoes out, he jumped out and skittered into another hidey hole. Ultimately, as I was sitting at our table, he poked his nose out, looked at me and took a couple of steps out, and then retreated. After a few rounds of this game, he made it to the steps and after taking his picture (I’m ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille), he bolted. He had come full circle and now was playing with his buddies in the woods. Ah, nature!
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
