July 19, 2007: Lakeview, Lake County, OR: It wasn’t the most restful night but we were happy to have a bed to sleep on. In the early morning we awoke to the sounds of doors slamming and cars starting.
We visited briefly with some of our neighbors as we prepared to leave: one lovely lady, a retired professor from Portland State who was in town for her 61st high school reunion, and a retired couple from Indiana, who had been out in the desert searching for sun stones. (They collected a cup full in about two hours.)
Northbound on State Route 31, we stopped at Paisley, home of the mosquito festival, and inquired at the Forest Service District Office about the local area. We bought some maps but wildflower information was in short supply. I had worked at Summer Lake for the Game Commission some forty-eight years ago and remembered a small lake high on Winter Rim that might be interesting so we headed that way. Our time was short so we didn’t hike in to the lake but we found several interesting flowers including Calochortus macrocarpus.
We also took time to see the “Hole in the Ground”, a crater north of Fort Rock that is 500 feet deep and about a mile in circumference. It would be easy to imagine it was formed as a result of a meteor strike but Ellen Morris Bishop, in her book “In Search of Ancient Oregon”, describes it as a maar (formed when cold water reacts with hot lava to create a huge steam explosion).
Then we pointed our noses north again, stopping only to refuel, and headed home.
We drove 987 miles in three days. We’ll know our way around next time.
byLarry
