The Most Beautiful Place in the World!

On Friday, August 5 we moved on from northern California to southern Oregon. Funny… they didn’t “quarantine” our fruit as we went into Oregon. The roads are full of huge trucks hauling loads of logs – this is timber country. We stayed at a pleasant, shady RV park on the banks of the Rogue River in Grant’s Pass, OR. The next morning we drove to Crater Lake. I do believe that Crater Lake is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen! The lake is actually in a caldera – a caldron-like feature formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption – formed almost 8,000 years ago. Water goes into the lake from rain and snowmelt and out from evaporation – there are no streams or rivers going into or out of the lake. It is the deepest lake in North America – up to 1,900 feet deep – and supposedly the cleanest. It is the most amazing blue color you can imagine. You can drive around the 33 mile rim, with many pull-outs to stop and take pictures. We did not see hardly any animals – none of the many ground squirrels that were there when Lannas went as a kid.






This past year they received a record snowfall at Crater Lake - 56 feet... yes, feet. There was still a good bit of snow left. One road was still closed due to snow.






The next day we moved on up I-5 to Salem, OR. We stayed in a huge RV park with some of the most amazing flowers and plants. One was the Oregon Grape (state flower), a holly-like shrub with little blue/purple berries that look kind of like grapes.

There was another plant that we were never was able to find out what it was. There were two varieties - one with orange berries and another with red. The berries were the size of pyracantha berries, but they were in great clusters and there were no thorns on the trees.

We have decided to try to visit as many state capitols as we can. The current capitol of Oregon is the third one they have built – the two previous having burned down in 1855 and 1935. It is built in the Art Deco style with a gold plated statue of a pioneer on the top.

They have beautiful murals on the walls of the rotunda and a tour that goes to the very top of the building – up 121 steps! We took pictures from the top – pictures of Willamette University and the grounds. The grounds have some gorgeous trees – Giant Sequoias, Coastal Redwoods, and the very interesting Camperdown Elm shown below.