Well, as you can tell I've been a little distracted from my photo posting duties. Between the GRE, Grad applications, the holidays, and a sick Tegu, I haven't gotten to the computer in a while. So here we go… Aug- Dec '07.


Waldo Lake- Lying high on the western slopes of the Oregon Cascades, Waldo Lake is one of the largest natural lakes in Oregon (9.8 square miles with a maximum depth of 427 feet). Waldo is one of the purest lakes in the world. It has no permanent inlet to bring nutrients into the lake for plant growth. The lack of plant life contributes to its purity. You can see to depths of 120 feet on a calm day.




In 1996 a forest fire, the Charlton fire, swept by the lake and forced the evacuation of several campgrounds while burning much of the north side of the lake’s surrounding forest.


View of the Sisters from Waldo Mountain.

For Labor Day, Chris's parents came out to visit. We visited a lot of the same places that we took my mom, so see Aug '06 and July '07 for more information on photos. First stop was Crater Lake.

The Phantom Ship


Yellow-bellied Marmot, also called a Rock Chuck, is a type of ground squirrel in the marmot genus. This guy was peaking at us from the side of the road on the outskirts of Crater Lake National Park.

Chris's parent, Chris, and I at Newberry Volcanic Monument with Mt Bachelor and the Sisters in the background.

East Paulina Lake and Big Obsidian Flow as seen from Paulina Peak, the highest point on the Newberry Caldera, which is four by five miles in diameter.

While in the town of Sisters, Chris's dad was amazed at the hanging flower baskets seen through out the town.

As we drove from Sisters to Mt Hood, we traveled through the smoke from a devastating nearby forest fire.

Mt Hood

Mt Hood has skiing all year round! Timberline Resort is the only ski area in North America to offer year round skiing. Granted this small patch of snow at over 8,000 ft is all that’s left in early September, but still… skiing all year!


We rode up the Magic Mile lift which reaches almost 7,000 ft to get this great view of Mt Jefferson. Chris's Dad declined the trip, as he doesn't like heights.

Aerial shots of the Timberline Lodge were shown in the King/Kubrick classic "The Shining" as the sinister Overlook Hotel.

Ah, combining my love of forest conservation and winter sports!

Later in September, Chris and I went camping at Bolan Lake, a 12 acre lake located at 5,500 feet in the Siskiyou Mountains.

We hiked up Bolan Mountain to the Bolan Lookout, a retired fire lookout now available for rent.

At 6,200 ft, the Lookout affords a breathtaking view of the surrounding wilderness and Bolan Lake far below.






What a goof!

The next day we went to the Oregon Cave National Monument. The caves were discovered in 1874 when a local man Elijah Davidson was hunting and his dog Bruno chased a bear into the caves.


The 1/2 mile tour through the caves included over 500 stairs and total climb of 230 feet.

Popcorn

Banana Grove flowstone

Oregon Caves Chateau, built in 1934, is a National Historic Landmark.

The end of September, we revisited Mt Humbug (1,670 ft), the tallest mountain in the continental US that directly descends into the sea. We hiked the three-mile trail that runs out of Brush Creek Canyon to its summit.

The slopes of the mountain are blanketed in old-growth rain forest.

I believe these are nests of the cliff swallow. This bridge was covered with over 200 nests!

Beautiful Pacific sunset.

The next day, we hiked a coastal trail, which wove in and out of the forest. We had to cut the hike short, as a storm rolled in off the Pacific.


Some type of ant mount… sure hope they aren't fire ants ( we have a sordid past!)