Central Oregon

Crane Prairie Reservoir: Browns Mountain Boat Landing

2011-07-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

On July 16, 2011 Cary and I went on a short drive that included a stop at Browns Mountain Boat Ramp at Crane Prairie Reservoir. The boat ramp is located on Road #4285 close by the small dam that eventually empties Crane Prairie into Wikiup Reservoir.

To get there from Highway 97, turn onto Burgess Road at Wikiup Junction north of LaPine, and take that road all the way to the end. Turn left onto Road #42 (South Century Drive) and drive past the Crane Prairie Resort entrance toward Cascade Lakes Highway. After a couple of miles, on your right, you will find a gravel road, Road #4285. Turn onto it and drive a mile or so until you find the sign for the boat ramp.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is a very nice little spot to put your boat in and do a bit of fishing. There is a nice bank on the south side of the landing where you can place your lawn chairs and hang out.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

For my post that tells you about North Twin, South Twin and Crane Prairie Resort, please "CLICK HERE".

Here are some other websites that will tell you more about Crane Prairie Reservoir:

Deschutes River: Crane Prairie to Wikiup

U.S. Forest Service: Crane Praire Reservoir Info

Going Fishing: Crane Prairie Reservoir

The Big Obsidian Flow Tour, Newberry Caldera in Central Oregon:

2010-08-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

Monday, August 23, 2010

Here is a view of the Big Obsidian Flow from Paulina Lake:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

On Saturday morning, I joined forces with the hiking ladies next door. We went on a guided tour of the Big Obsidian flow, which is only about 1/2 mile down the road from our camp. It was so interesting and a lot of fun.


Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews Me, getting ready for the tour.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Amanda, ready to hit the trail.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Up the hill we go. Only 3/4 of a mile and no dogs are allowed.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Wow. That is only a small portion of the obsidian.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The above three photos are of Lost Lake, which is located at the base of the flow. It is filled with snow-melt, and during very hot summers it disappears and becomes lost, hence its name. In late August, frogs hatch in the lake and they climb up and live on the Obsidian Flow. We did not see any frogs, so they probably have not hatched yet. We have had a cool summer and it got here late.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

These non-slip metal stairs take us up the trail.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is Ilana, our tour guide. Ilana is an intern for the U.S. Forest Service. She is a biology and geology major from Santa Rosa, California. Ilana knows her stuff and did a great job showing us around. Our group consisted of the hiking ladies, a couple from Eugene and me.

Stop #1:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Ilana told us that we were at the fifth largest obsidian flow in the world. There are around 20 of them all together. Ilana began her talk by telling us about the Native Americans who used to populate this part of Central Oregon; mainly the Shoshone and Northern Paiutes. We learned that the first house ever found in America was found in the Newberry Caldera. It was a preserved 10,000 year old wickiup, made from lodgepole pine and covered with woven grass and reeds. There were tools and food still inside. The original was taken to a museum somewhere, and the spot was paved over, but there is a replica of the wickiup at the visitors center.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Obsidian is much better to work with than flint when making tools, and it is much more rare. You can more or less control the way that obsidian will break, and therefore it is preferred for making tools, arrowheads, spear-tips, and other items. It is breaks in ripples and is very, very sharp.

The Northern Paiutes became a wealthy tribe due to their access to this obsidian flow. They were seasonal visitors, coming when the snow melted and hunting elk and rabbits. The Northern Paiutes gathering up obsidian at this flow and the six other flows in this area around the ring of fire. They would trade the obsidian at festivals, and some of the obsidian from this flow has been found in Montana and other states.

Stop #2:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Obsidian is actually made of the same elements of glass, and believe it or not, so is pumice. The difference between obsidian and pumice is their density. When these types of volcano's erupt (shield volcanos), the pumice comes out first because it is lighter and then the obsidian comes out next. This happens in waves and they jumble together. As this mixture comes out, it is thicker than toothpaste and as it flows, it cools and breaks.

The Newberry shield volcano is very broad but is not very tall. The other kind of volcanoes, like Mt. St. Helens, are composites.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Ilana told us that this obsidian flow is the 5th largest in the world and came to be only 1300 years ago, the last time this volcano erupted. It is 1.1 square miles and 150' deep. There is enough obsidian here to make a 24' wide highway that would go 3 1/2 times around the world!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Ellen asks Ilana a question, while Marilyn and Jan watch.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Amanda, Ruth and Jan continue on with the hike.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Looking down at Lost Lake.

Stop #3:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

We learned more about Native American tool making.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The red in this piece of obsidian is actually rust. Obsidian contains iron, and will rust just like anything else made out of iron, under the right conditions.

There is another obsidian flow in Oregon near Silver Lake/Christmas Valley called Glass Butte Glass Butte, Oregon. The obsidian there has all different colors running through it, according to Ilana, red, yellow, blue, etc.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Stop #4:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Obsidian is also used for jewelry and surgical tools. Dr. Donald Crabtree invented obsidian scalpels that work well for eye and lung surgery.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Stop #5:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Some of the few trees that live there are very old. They remind me of Bonsai trees; all twisted and small. Not only are they nutrient deprived, they have hot summers and are covered with deep snow in the winters.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Stop #6:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Not too much lives in this obsidian flow, but some things do. A few trees, frogs, lichen, birds and some insects.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

View of Paulina Lake, with Mt. Bachelor and the South Sister

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

View of Paulina Peak

North Twin Lake, Twin Lakes Resort and Crane Prairie Resort

2010-07-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, before the thunderstorm, Cary, Darlene and I went on a drive up to visit three of the local lakes. We were only gone 2 1/2 hours from start to finish, and had a really nice time together. We went south on HWY 97 to Wickiup Junction, turned right on Burgess and drove about 20 miles until we got to the sign that said North Twin Lake.

North Twin Lake:

North Twin Lake is really nice. It is not a resort, but a rustic campground without hookups. The lake is small, warm, has a boat ramp and a large sandy beach. I felt like it was a relaxed place to hang out. A nice little campground where people police themselves. I dipped my toes in the water and thought, hey, I would actually swim here. I don't like cold water anymore.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

South Twin Lake Resort and Campground:

We left North Twin, got back on the road and turned left. A half mile up the road we turned left again, heading toward South Twin. We passed Sheep's Bridge Campground on the right, and kept going until we got to the resort. There are a lot of places to camp or stay at South Twin. There is a campground on the right, a campground next to the resort, and and RV park that backs up to Wickiup Lake.

South Twin is a great place to go to take the kids on a picnic and swimming. The beach is great, and the water is warm. South Twin is also a small lake, but I think it is bigger than North Twin.

Darlene shared her memories of all the times that she has spent at South Twin. When the grandkids were little she went there almost daily during the summer with Julia, and then with Susan when they were in town.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There is a store, cafe, boat rentals and cabins.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The resort offers boat and raft rentals.

These things are huge!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The swimming area by the campground.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The boat rental dock.

No motors allowed on this lake.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Darlene and Cary head into the store and cafe.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There is inside seating ...

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

.... and a big patio for outside dining.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Cary and Darlene waiting for our

Prime Rib sandwiches to arrive.

The food and service were great!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Dogs are welcome on the patio.

Back inside the store, there are gifts, food and fishing tackle:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

After leaving South Twin, we turned left and headed toward Crane Prairie Lake and Resort. On the long road off of the highway on the way to this lake, a huge red tailed hawk swooped down right in front of our windshield, facing ahead. Wow! I wish that I had a picture of that, but I can still see it in my mind. That thing was big, with a wing span of three feet or so.

Crane Prairie Resort has a very nice RV park with full hook-ups. The spaces are huge and are not packed in tightly. There is a play area for the kids with Little Tykes play structures and a basketball court. The offer fuel for your boat and a nice dock/marina. They even have a laundromat.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The Crane Prairie Resort store where

Cary bought each of us an ice cream bar.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The marina has a beautiful view of Mt. Bachelor,

The Three Sisters and Broken Top.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I think that this is Davis Butte in the background.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The Matthews have camped and fished here for years.

Our visit brought back a lot of memories.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There was a lot of algae in the lake, but I didn't notice any warning signs about it being toxic. There is a big Forest Service campground immediately before you get to the resort, which sports a very nice swimming area. Once, when Shanna and John were here camping with the family, a leech attached itself to Collin! Yuck. I don't know if that is still the case around there now; that was 10 years ago.

We headed back home after we left Crane Prairie because the storm was rolling in, and we didn't want to be in the middle of it. I noticed as we came to the end of the resort driveway that we could have turned left and went to Elk Lake. We turned right instead, and went back the way we came.

It was a very nice afternoon excursion with my best friend husband and my other mom, Darlene. I love the fact that all of this, and much more is within a half mile drive from our home. Are we lucky, or what?

Here are links for more information on the places we visited yesterday:

North Twin Lake Info
Twin Lakes Resort
Crane Prairie Resort
Crane Prairie Campground

Crescent Lake Resort in January 2010:

2010-02-13T06:49:00.001-08:00

A Quick Trip to Crescent Lake Resort on a Beautiful January Morning:

This morning we got up and got ready for a drive with a purpose. The weather was gorgeous, near 40*, dry and sunny. All I needed was my sweatshirt today. Our nephew Jimmy went with us to do a bid at the Diamond Peaks subdivison on Highway 58 near Crescent Lake Junction. We got there a bit early and decided to go over to the Crescent Lake Resort to take some pictures.

Hoodoo bought the resort last fall, and has been putting a lot of work into updating it. The road and parking lot are now asphalt. Many of the cabins have new siding and have been painted. Things are looking very nice. Click on this link to find out more: http://www.crescentlakeresort.com/index.html

Crescent Lake:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Diamond Peaks:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

After we met with the clients, super nice people from Silverton, we went to Manley's for lunch. Cary had broasted chicken and jo's, Jimmy had a cheeseburger basket, and I had homemade clam chowder with garlic bread. The food was great, and so were our servers.

What a nice way to spend the morning on such a pretty day!


At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot! All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.

Santiam Pass, November 2009:

2009-11-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

These first photos were taken by sticking my arm out the window as we were driving on Santiam Pass, heading towards Sisters, Oregon:

Potato Hill

Hoodoo Ski Resort

The following pictures were taken at the Mt. Washington Viewpoint:

Suttle Lake

Suttle Lake

Links:

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Mt_Washington/description_mt_washington.html

Paulina Loop Saturday Drive:

2009-11-01T07:53:00.001-08:00

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

We (Cary, Mom and I) left Gordy's at around 11:00 to go on our drive. We drove up Fish Hook Road, which is the gravel road across HWY 97 from La Pine State Park Road. It was a blustery day, but the rain had stopped, and the road was really in pretty good shape. We didn't know where we were going, or if we would find a tree blocking the road and need to turn around, but Cary was our driver and we have good tires, so we headed out. Mom and I remembered Grandma T. and how much she enjoyed going on drives out in the woods with Grandpa and then with other family members. Never come back the way you came, was her motto. So we didn't.

At around MP 6, there is a locked gate on the side road. We kept going for another couple of miles until we got to a huge lava flow, where we stopped to get out and take pictures. We could clearly see Lava Butte with the Cascade Range behind it. Our cell phones worked there. We kept driving slow, taking our time, until we came to a crossroad with a sign announcing it was North Paulina Road.

On the right was an unkempt dirt road, and on the left were arrows announcing Swells Wells, 12 miles and HWY 97, 13 miles. So we turned right. We figured out as we got closer and saw off road motorcycles, that that must be Swells Wells. Gentle bumps with trails. We were speculating why it was named that in the first place. I'll need to look it up.

We ended up at HWY 97, a couple of miles north of Lava Butte, nearly at the High Desert Museum. It was about a 30 mile trip on gravel roads, and it took us around 2 hours. It was so fun to visit with Mom and Cary as we drove along, enjoying the views. Remember, you can enlarge these pictures by just clicking on them ... you will be able to see the deer better if you do.

Views looking down the road:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

*******************************

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

A big, male deer with lots of horns stopped
for us so that we could take his picture.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

*******************************

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

We stopped for a photo shoot and a smoke break.

Views of the lava flow and trees, up Fish Hook Road around 8 miles or so:

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

*******************************

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Lava flow with a view of Lava Butte
and the Cascade Range in the background.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Same view, a little bit over.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Close up of that view.

*******************************

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

A hill across from the lava flow.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The hill from across the lava flow, zoomed in.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The hill when we got to it on the other side of the loop.

*******************************

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Lava Butte from around MP 8 from on the loop.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Lava Butte from the view at around MP 8 on the loop.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Lava Butte, from HWY 97


At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot! All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.

La Pine Clouds in October 2009:

2009-10-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

Paulina Lake Lodge: A View from the Dock

2009-09-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

Paulina Lake, Storm Clouds Gathering, July 2009:

2009-07-30T16:43:00.000-07:00

View from the top of Santiam Pass:

2009-07-19T10:57:00.001-07:00

Mt. Washington in the background.

Black Butte

View of the Cascade Mountain Range from the Viewpoint on Newberry Crater Road:

2009-05-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews


At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot! All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.

Paulina Lake Lodge:

2009-05-27T06:57:00.001-07:00

Paulina Lake Lodge is located in the Newberry Caldera, a quick 13 miles off of Hwy 97 between Sunriver and La Pine. For specific information on Paulina Lake Lodge, please see their link on the sidebar.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Owners Todd and Karen Brown

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The Store

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

View from the new deck off the lounge.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The Peak Lounge

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Dining area.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

New dining room addition.

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The lodge.


At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot! All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.

McKay Crossing Campground, Newberry Crater Road:

2009-01-08T06:50:00.000-08:00

Close to La Pine and Sunriver, this beautiful campground is only a couple of miles off of HWY 97 and Paulina Lake Road. It is rustic, with large campsites. When crossing the bridge, do not turn right if you have a trailer. (I'm not sure where that road goes yet, but we drove about 2 miles on it before turning around. It is called Road 80, and there are no developed campsites on that road that we could see. It is a pretty drive though and the dirt road is nice for a car ride.)

There are waterfalls, and swimming areas, and it is a pretty place for picnicking or camping.


Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews