August Travels

Waldo Lake - second deepest lake in Oregon!

And one of the clearest - you can see over 100 feet down into the water.  There are no inlets/outlets; the lake is fed entirely from rainfall and snowmelt.  It's truly a jewel.  Reservations are hard to come by - we wait by the computer and reserve at the earliest possible moment.  It was worth the wait, 4 days of perfect weather, paddling, evening campfires and beautiful sunsets with 4 longtime friends!

Lots of little coves for the boats

"How delightful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards" Spanish proverb

Sun through the trees behind one of our campsites

Beautiful end to a great day!

Fish lake recreation area near Klamath Falls

Next I traveled to Fish lake reservoir to meet up with a friend I met last winter in Arizona.  Fish lake reservoir was very low - a disappointment for paddling.  But we went to Klamath Marsh and spent several hours watching birds - White Pelicans, cormorants, ibis, herons, merganzers, mallards, etc.

Julia identifying birds

This guy was pretty casual about us invading his hunting area.

Crater Lake

I'm embarrassed to admit that in the 30+ years that I've lived in Oregon, this was my first visit to Crater lake!  Hiked a bit around the rim and took the 33 mile drive around the rim.  It's as blue as they advertise.  One of the deepest lakes in North America.

Gull Point FS Campground on the N end of Wickiup Reservoir

Next up was another reservoir with not a lot of water, but plenty of birds to watch.  Paddling in these low water reservoirs is a bit awkward due to the steep drop-offs way below the normal beaches; but the bird watching was pretty terrific even though it's a bit early for the big migrations.

Early morning fisherman

Over Labor Day Weekend, a friend drove over and camped with us so she could get in a few days of fishing.  Campfires, 'smores and lots of day touring around the Lava Lands Scenic area.  The High Desert Museum is good for a 1/2 day of entertainment and education.  The area around Bend and La Pine is chock full of volcanoes and neat volcano-related activities.  We walked about 4500 feet down into a Lava Tube, visited the Newberry Calderra, hiked through an Obsidian flow and the Lava Cast Forest (a forest was consumed by lava leaving cast images of the trees in lava).

Rebecca fishing on Crane Reservoir

Looking out the Lava River Cave - take LOTS of flashlights!

Hiking through the Obsidian Flow

Finally, the Sisters, Oregon Folk Music Festival!

This was the 19th year for the Folk Festival and it did not disappoint!   About 3500 people descend on the little town of Sisters for 3 days of music - an unusual aspect of this festival is the number of venues that open up all over town for musicians.  3 large tents and 4 or 5 smaller venues give this festival an intimate feel.  This years favorites include David Francey, Heather Maloney and Darlingside, Caravan of Thieves, Ruth Moody Band, Eric Bibb and SO many more!!

Camping on my friend Rainey's property outside of town is becoming a lovely tradition - a beautiful and peaceful break from the crowds and non-stop music in town.