From pine to fir and back again...

Click photo for a slide show

Wednesday was a travel day.  We packed up and hit the road, heading south from Sisters.  Just south of Bend, OR, we stopped at the High Desert Museum. What a treat.  The museum is privately maintained and is a treasure trove of facts and artifacts of the high desert area, including eastern Oregon, parts of Nevada and Arizona.   

I was not able to get too many pictures, because most of the indoor exhibits are priceless old documents and artifacts kept in low light, and flash photography is prohibited.  Outdoors, our timing was bad for seeing the critters. The otters were asleep and other critters in hiding.  Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit and would recommend this stop to anyone traveling in central Oregon. 

When we had sated our curiosity at the museum, we hit the road and headed south to LaPine State Park.  It is a lovely park situated on the Deschutes river in the midst of a pine forest.  In Sisters we encountered mostly Ponderosa pine, but the pines in the SP are a different variety, possibly lodgepole or sugar pine.  The river is beautiful, as you will see in the photos.  Our campsite was situated about 50 yards from the river, although the forest blocked the view of the river. 

While we were strolling about the park, we encountered a couple who had just come from Crater Lake.  They encouraged us to hurry there, so as to arrive before it is closed for the winter.  They recommended a campground near the lake, but it sounded like it was too small for Sadie and basically amounted to a dry-camp area. 

Later we spoke with our next door neighbor, who recommended the Crater Lake RV Park, situated on Hwy 62 between Crater Lake and Bend.  We opted for this park, because it sounded like a better fit.  We have not been disappointed.  We left LaPine SP yesterday morning and checked in at Crater Lake RV Park in the early afternoon.

Click photo for a slide show

The camp hosts, Dennis and Judy, are delightful people who made us feel welcome immediately.  There is lots of hiking to do, and the park is clean and well-cared-for.  It is nestled in the woods; many varieties of fir and pine trees. We hiked one of the trails yesterday afternoon and discovered a reservoir created on the Rogue river by a small hydroelectric dam.  The area around the river apparently suffered a forest fire some time back, but is covered with new growth, especially Ponderosa pines.  In the slide show, you will see Jill standing by our next Christmas tree! 

Today, we plan to drive back up to Crater Lake National Park, which neither of us has seen in decades.  It promises to be a fun day.  We are paid up for three nights in the RV park, so there will be more adventures to come.