Wandering Retirees

This is s 2-day note because we didn’t have internet from yesterday until this afternoon. It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? Being somewhere that neither cell nor WiFi can reach? Not too long ago there were no such things. Messages were in writing by mail or by phone if you could find a phone booth and had enough dimes. You laugh, but phone booths were sometimes pretty rare and relatively expensive. Being out of touch for days at a time in wilderness areas was usual and no big deal. If you wanted news or the sports page, you found a general store somewhere and bought a news paper, invariably local and sometimes a day or too past. Or maybe not. Getting away from it all meant something different back in the day. Living without social media was normal because there simply wasn’t any. You didn’t play Pogo, you pulled out a deck of cards and played war or canasta – with your brother or your spouse. And the nights were really dark and very quiet. Imagine. But I digress. Again.

We were unable to connect for a couple of days but here we are. On Sunday morning we went to worship with Laura Lee at the UCC church in Medford where she is pastor. It was wonderful reconnecting with our past: Hank and Laura Lee had worshipped together many times years ago in Willingboro, NJ where they were both pastors. Her folks are enthusiastic and fun and committed to their community without pretense or artifice and very refreshing. It was a wonderful visit.

When it was time to move on, we rode to Crater Lake, a large water filled volcanic crater in the Cascades that has challenged imaginations for thousands of years. The story is fascinating.

The Cascade Mountain Range stretches from British Columbia to Northern California and has grown as the result of the collision of two crustal (tectonic) plates on the earth’s surface. The plate to the west under the ocean is denser than the plate on which the continent rests. So the oceanic plate is forced deep into the earth’s interior where it meets very high temperatures and pressures that melt solid rock. Over the past 7 million years or so, the Cascade Mountains have been forced up, in many cases as volcanoes. The process is still going on: you may remember the eruption of Mount St. Helens in May 1980 when it blew off its top and scorched thousands of acres of forest. Something similar happened to create Crater Lake.

The volcano that became Crater Lake called Mount Mazama built up gradually over 400,000 years to create a mountain about 12,000 feet high. About 7,700 years ago, a powerful eruption powered by expanding gas and rising magma blew huge amounts of ash and pumice from the top of mountain. As the magma chamber below the top emptied, the mountain could not support its own weight and collapsed, forming a deep bowl, or caldera at the top. Minor eruptions later sealed up most cracks in the bottom, making the deep basin able to be filled with centuries worth of rain and snow. There are no streams that run into the lake so there’s no sediment. As a result the lake is very clear and the most pristine blue you can imagine. The caldera is 1,943 feet deep, making Crater Lake the deepest lake in the US and the 9th deepest lake in the world. Wizard Island rises 793 feet above the surface of the water and is itself a volcano. And the area is still geologically active, so it may change again some day. (A little ominous music in the soundtrack.)

To ride the roads and walk the trails, it’s possible to see the telltales of how this lake came to be. And it’s amazing to realize the power that nature unleashed to blow many square miles of earth into the surrounding region. It’s a story that adds to the beauty and wonder of this magnificent park. We find it so beautiful. The water has the deepest, clearest blues imaginable: sapphire, cobalt, royal blue, indigo and more – they’re all there.

We left the park (reluctantly) to head north toward Portland. Our route took us on the Rogue Umpqua Scenic Byway. That’s a name I will not soon forget! There are 17 lovely waterfalls to enjoy on the Rogue River. We stopped at two: Clearwater Falls and Tokatee Falls. Connie got some great shots. There’s a little walking involved and well worth it. These falls are set about by towering fir and pine trees and have the clearest, cleanest water. We so enjoyed these stops on our ride that led to Sutherlin, OR for the night. After a couple of days eating fat, we picked up some salads and light snacks for our repast. Maybe a dip in the pool? And then a glad good night.

Goodnight.

Hank and our friend, Laura Lee Kent, who married us 29 years ago this week.

Crater Lake (formerly Mount Mazama)

Hank standing next to a snow plow marker.

Falls along the Rogue Umpqua Scenic Byway

Clearwater Falls

The pine trees are so tall!

Tokatee Falls

Where’s the beef?

Our small achievement!