http-equiv='refresh'/> Tin TeePee/Log Cabin: So Disappointed

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

So Disappointed

We left the beautiful Oregon coast this morning heading inland—as we drove the miles the temps rose, not drastically but enough for you to know you had left the cooling ocean breezes behind.  The drive on Oregon highway 42 was another one of those egg scrambling roads but with absolutely stunning scenery.  Ainslie, (he grew up in Powers) this one is for you:

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A short driving day for us—160 miles—and we pulled into Diamond Lake USFS campground, finding a spot for our big pink bus in spite of the young woman at the entry check-in station efforts to keep us out.  That’s a topic for another blog post! Sad smile

My dear father loved Oregon, he came to Oregon from Arkansas in his early twenties and worked in the timber industry meeting life long friends.  He went back home to Arkansas for a visit, started dating my Mom and although he always longed to return to Oregon, plans just never worked out.  In 1972, Mom and Dad along with we three children, me at age 17, my sister Ann at age 14, and my brother Ross at age 11 came out west on a vacation.  Dad had so much to show us and one of the places he delighted in was Crater Lake National Park.  There are family photos of we three kids playing in snow in July here at Crater Lake and of the family posed on the edge of that deep blue lake. 

I was so looking forward to seeing that deep blue lake again but unfortunately the forest fires in the west had other plans—I am extremely sad and disappointed.  It is so smoky it is almost impossible to see anything, the mountains are almost obscured and the water in Crater Lake is gray instead of beautiful blue. 

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IMG_8392IMG_8393You can just barely see the faint outline of Mount Thielsen in the background of this photo.

I am praying for rain or wind from the right direction or something to make all this smoke go away—we will see what it looks like tomorrow morning early.

7 comments:

  1. Too bad - that is a lot of smoke from the looks of your photos. It's still a stunning looking lake with its surroundings though.

    You might need a respirator to sleep tonight with all that heavy smoke.

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  2. We're expecting t-storms tomorrow and they are talking about lightning and more fires. We've had a breeze today which has helped to clear out some of the smoke. At least we could go outside and it didn't smell like a campfire. Now I want to know what happened when you tried to get in the campground.

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  3. sorry to hear you are so disappointed about the views at Crater Lake..it is one place that we have on our list of must see's! maybe tomorrow will be a bit better!

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  4. Living near Crater Lake as we do, I always feel so sad for the folks who come from far and wide to see this magnificent lake and are thwarted by fires. As you know, fires in the west are everywhere, and nearly every summer we have smoky skies somewhere. I am so sorry you missed the beauty and gorgeous blues of Crater Lake, Janna. We saw Montana through smoke last summer as well. I guess it is just a crap shoot.

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  5. It doesn't even look like Crater Lake:( Even Wizard Island looks lost. This is such a beautiful area. I sure hope it clears for you.

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  6. I follow your blog. Am saddened that you were not able to enjoy the beauty of Crater Lake. I lived and worked at Crater Lake for 2.5 years and it was the highlight of my career. I can't imagine the area without the crisp blue skies and crystal clear lake. Maybe another time....

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  7. What a total, total bummer!!! Not even a glimpse of that famous blue. Had no idea the fires were so bad out there!
    Nina

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