Thunderegg – The Oregon State Rock

 

Thundereggs are a lava bubble that filled gradually with silica clay.

They are 10-60 million years old, usually found in volcanic ash.  The most beautiful are found in Central Oregon.

 

 

Mt Bachelor at Sunrise

 

Mt Bachelor, Oregon

Mt Bachelor is one of Central Oregon’s premier destination spots.  Central Oregon enjoys blue skies and sunshine nearly 300 days a year, offering a year-round playground for skiing, snowboarding, fishing, hiking, biking, rock climbing, camping and more.

We often see this pink sunrise on Mt Bachelor in the winter.

 

Crater Lake National Park – Wizard Island

 

Southern Oregon

Wizard Island is a volcanic cinder cone which forms as island at the west end of Crater Lake.

The cone is capped by a volcanic crater about 500 feet wide and 100 feet deep.

 

 

Central Oregon – South Sister

The Cascade Lakes Highway travels past the South Sister through the Deschutes National Forest from Bend to La Pine.  The highway is only open in the summer months.

Sent to Rochester, Pennsylvania on 20 August 2011

This highway was paved (as shown) in the crushed red volcanic cinders found locally.

Recently, it was over paved in black asphalt and does not last as well.

Lava River Cave

Deschutes National Forest, Oregon

The Lava River Cave near Bend, Oregon is part of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, which is managed by the United States Forest Service. The cave is an excellent example of a lava tube. At 5,211 feet (1,588 m) in length, the northwest section of the cave is the longest continuous lava tube in Oregon. While the cave’s discovery in 1889 was officially credited to a pioneer hunter, the presence of obsidian flakes near the cave has led archaeologists to conclude that Native Americans knew about the cave long before settlers arrived in central Oregon.  – Wikipedia 

Three Sisters

Snow capped Three Sisters on a crisp morning.

Looking through the juniper tree and across the high desert.

Sent to Canada on 16 August 2011

Oregon – Nine Views

Oregon

Columbia River Gorge, Portland, Mt Bachelor

Crater Lake, Mt Hood and Lost Lake, Covered Bridge

McKenzie River, Haystack Rock at the Coast, Mt Hood at Hood River

Mt Jefferson and Central Oregon Barn

Mount Jefferson

Mount Jefferson at 10,497 feet towers over the high desert plateau of Central Oregon.

Sent to Great Britian on 14 August 2011 – received 20 August 2011

Lake Billy Chinook

A regal view of Lake Billy Chinook with the Three Sisters on the horizon.

The lake was formed by the Round Butte Dam at the convergence of the three major Central Oregon Rivers:  The Deschutes, The Metolius and The Crooked River.

Billy Chinook was a Wasco Indian scout from the Warm Springs region who traveled with explorer John Fremont in 1845.

Crater Lake Lodge

Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake Lodge opened in 1915.  It accommodates overnight guests in the summer and is partly buried by snow in the winter.