Oregon Wilderness and Crater Lake

Throughout this adventure I have been most surprised by the fact that I am surprised at the places I’ve loved.  To drive through the Oregon wilderness and rural communities seeing the farms and ranches is a spectacular experience.  I was alone on the road for most of the drive seeing another car only once every fifteen minutes or so.  The expanse of land with the farm houses, cows, horses and a few other creatures was georgeous.  The barns were the most attractive in their design and deterioration.  You will see this in the photos I just couldn’t resist taking.  In the Oregon remoteness is Crater Lake.  Now that is a sight of Xtreme beauty.  What more can I say.  The Lodge at Crater Lake was also cool beyond belief.  The design was early mission and rugged western.  And there were rockers everywhere… LOVED THAT.  I highly recommend this as a fabulous getaway from civilization.  It must be exquisite in the winter.  But alas, I had to leave and drive to southern Oregon.  Notice the name of the road I took there.  I had to take a photo of the GPS listing because it brought to the surface a troubling emotion I’ve had since crossing the Mississippi River.  Here’s the deal.  I wanted to read about places I will be going so I found several books that gave me a sense of the history of these places: Alaska by Michener, a book about Louis and Clark’s expeditions and a novel about the experience of Native Americans on the Trail of Tears.  I could only finish one of these books because the treatment of Native Americans in our history was so deplorable and heartbreaking.  So in my usual Cathy fashion I chose not to dwell on this terribly sad part of history.  Maybe that’s why I feel I am doing my part to make things better for the remaining Native American population by supporting their casinos.  LOL.