July 5 - Newberry National Volcanic Monument

Today we spent some more time exploring Newberry Monument.  First, we went to the Lava Caste Forest.  This is a lava flow filled with castes where trees used to be leaving behind either horizontal tunnels where trees were knocked down or vertical holes for the trunks.  We took a one mile trail through the forest.  It was really quite interesting.



One of the vertical tree castes.



We really liked these twisty stumps and logs everywhere.



Some of the tunnels in the lava.

Later on, we went to the rim of the Newberry Caldera.  From up there, we could see panoramic views that included Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, The Sisters, Mt. Bachelor, and even (very faintly) Mt. Shasta.



Sitting on the rim of the caldera with some of the Cascades in the background.

Lakes Pauline and East next to an obsidian lava flow in the caldera.
It amazes me how little vegetation grows on these lava flows after thousands of years.

Next up - Crater Lake.  We'll probably be out of internet range for awhile.  We'll also be low on water for awhile.  I received an email from the National Park Service about our stay at Crater Lake.  Due to severe water shortages, they are closing the showers and laundry facilities within the park.  This is not ideal for us, but so it goes.  I received a similar email about our pending stay in Sequoia National Park.  It's interesting, because there seems to be no attempt whatsoever in Oregon outside of the National Parks to conserve water.  We are seeing municipal sprinklers everywhere.