Took off this morning on a 400 mile 2 day trip in the car to see Central Oregon. Traveled Southeast along the Willamette River which was very picturesque including an old covered bridge. Went over Willamette Pass and stopped at Cresent Lake where you could see the snow capped Diamond Peak in the background. Continued on to Crater Lake National Park and the smoke from Central Oregon wildfires continued to get thicker. By the time we got up to Crater Lake the smoke & haze was getting heavier spoiling some of the fantastic views around the lake.
Crater Lake at 1949 feet deep is the deepest lake in the US and was formed almost 8000 years ago when Mt. Mazama erupted. The Lake is a beautiful Indigo Blue and very clean as all the water is from snow melt (538 inches per year) and no rivers running into it. There was still snow on the sides of the road and construction on the 33 mile rim drive. With the smoke getting thicker we had lunch and headed out for the drive North to Bend.
Had Dinner at the 10 Barrel Brewing in Bend. Sat on the deck which was very nice and despite upper 90’s there was no humidity and quite comfortable. Drove around Bend after Dinner and it looks like a great town. The Mill District was very upscale and crowed with people waking around.