Thursday, October 20, 2011

Newberry Caldera and Paulina Peak

Our visit to Crater Lake in July was actually just a side trip in route to our real destination… Newberry National Volcanic Monument and Paulina Peak. This was another one of those outings that my husband organizes and I end up enjoying immensely. From the Forest Service website: “In November of 1990, Newberry National Volcanic Monument was created within the boundaries of Deschutes National Forest. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service, this monument provides a unique opportunity to view the Lava Lands of central Oregon. Newberry National Volcanic National Monument includes 50,000+ acres of lakes, lava flows, and spectacular geologic features.” Paulina Peak is named for Chief Paulina.

The most striking thing for me? All of the native Manzanita (Arctostaphylos) growing along the roads! It was everywhere…and gorgeous. Of course I tried to take pictures from the car, that didn’t turn out so good. The road was narrow and curvy but we were finally able to pull out and I snapped a few pictures. Of course there was beauty all around us, literally everywhere you looked! Paulina Lake… As we climbed higher and higher on the way to the peak I kept seeing flashes of bright orange and purple along the roadside, my sweet husband pulled over so I could take some photos… Finally at the peak! On the right is the obsidian flow, from the volcano… More bright orange…in a sea of rock… The mysterious man in the hat? My husband, Andrew. And a bit of trivia (you’ll thank me for only photographing this sign), rumor has it that the toilet at Paulina Peak is the highest public toilet in Oregon, now you know! Of course the ubiquitous Verbascum had to make an appearance. And I’ll leave you with these tiny pink wildflowers…

6 comments:

  1. Great pics! I want to get take the family to central Oregon soon - perhaps next summer. It is a fantastic area. The first two Arctostaphylos are A. patula. The one farther down is A. patula x nevadensis. I did several collections of both on my Mt. Hood area trip, among others. You might be surprised to know we even have both of those in Washington. All wonderful plants!

    ReplyDelete
  2. the orange stuff is
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castilleja

    you can buy seeds for it, but it can be hard to establish, due to being a hemiparasite.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love that part of the state. Thanks for the virtual tour.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ian, it really is! I never knew...thank god for the husband. And thank you for the Arcto identification!

    eeldip, who the heck are you!!!? You've always got the answers.

    ricki, you're welcome...more tomorrow...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gorgeous drive, good of your husband to stop and let you take photos as they're stunning sceneries. Even better at the top!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This looks like a great trip, one I'd like to take.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Comment moderation is on (because you know: spam), I will approve and post your comment as soon as possible!