FIRE AND WATER

Even the best laid plans can be thrown into disarray by the forces of nature. As we left Lake Tahoe, thin cloud seemed to have crept over the lake. Driving north, the mist seemed to thicken slightly. We had a picnic by a lake formed by the building of an earth dam. Behind Pat is a control tower ... you can see the mist in the background. We headed further north towards Mount Lassen; noticing that one of the main highways had been closed down. Searching for accommodation near Mount Lassen was a fruitless exercise. We sighted the famous volcano in the distance - a rather disappointing, ugly, snub-nosed rock pile. Eventually we discovered a wayside inn and enquired about staying for the night. The proprietor resembled grandpa from the Munsters! He said we could stay but there was no electricity, no water, no food, in fact nothing other than the buildings which looked as if they had not been used for several years. We drove on. Eventually we got to a small town called Red Bluff (famed for being the hotest place in California). There we discovered that we had driven around four huge forest fires and the mist that we had been experiencing for the past 250 miles was smoke that also reached 200 miles north to Portland! The receptionist had to leave quickly as her home along with many others was being evacuated. After the long drive the first thing we did was to get into the swimming pool, the coolest place in Red Bluff.

The next day we headed north and soon sighted the elegant contours of Mount Shasta. This was on the way to the promised excitement of a steam train journey from a town called Yreka. After the disappointment of Mount Lassen, the steam train journey was going to make up for it. We slept overnight in Yreka so as to relish a full day on the old, restored Pacific Railroad locomotive. When we arrived at the station we were told it was out of service and the carriage was pulled at a stately 10mph by a nondescript diesel. The volunteers running the service tried to make up for the absence of the star of the show but this was another disappointment.

The next day we took the winding road east to Klamath Falls. Truth be told, this was not a town to which we are likely to return. From there we ventured down to the Lava Beds National Park where the caves formed by volcanic lava are called Lave Tubes. They are very cold, very dark, and very dusty. We preferred the flora and fauna on the surface to the "attractions" underground. We also visited the rock carvings (petraglyphs) chiselled by the Mohoc indians when the current scrub land used to be a giant lake. The carvings are small and naive although they may have symbolic significance whose meaning is now unknown.

Carrying on northwards, we soon discovered that mosquitoes in Oregon were more formidable than those we have encountered in California. The countryside was full of cattle and horses. Fortunately the hospitality of Jo's Motel was excellent in Fort Klamath.

Next day, as we climbed towards the Crater Lake National Park, snow was piled around us up to 20ft high. Yet the sunshine kept us warm all day.

We reached the spot where Mount Manzama had erupted long ago, allowing the top of the mountain to sink into the space where the magma had once been. Over the centuries since then, snow and rain has filled the basin with the clearest, cleanest, bluest, deepest water imaginable. All the disappointments of the past few days were swept aside by the astonishing beauty of Crater Lake.

Within the Lake, a later, smaller eruption formed Wizard Island.

We continued north and had lunch at the side of Diamond Lake.

We tried taking photos from places where mosquitoes were more scarce - but they usually found us!

Driving west to Roseburg, we passed the many waterfalls of the Umpqua River. This photo was taken whilst both of us were surrounded by legions of Oregon born mosquitoes! We are now recovering in Roseburg.