We departed the Crooked River Ranch RV Park and
headed back out to Route 97. Along the way, we saw two big bucks standing in a
yard. But, I was not quick enough with the camera. Yesterday, I told you about
some unique public art pieces, but we were on business 97. Today, we traveled
through Redmond on Route 97 and found this unique overpass art.
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| Photo Credit: Redmond News |
I had to learn more. To me, at 9 am it looks like
fish in a circle. I learned it was contracted by the Redmond City Council and
created by artist Bruce Taylor. It is an unusual “Welcome to Redmond” sign,
letting motorists know that they are entering Redmond. It is an unusually
artistic welcome sign with back-lit colors and swirls, the sticker price was $45,000.
Since there is no power to the site, the owner of the nearby Redmond Athletic
Club generously offered to run power out to it and pay to keep it lit 24/7. If
it was lit when we passed it, you could not tell. But here is a picture from
the Redmond News archives.
The Three Sisters Mountains are a picturesque trio of
volcanoes located west of Bend in the beautiful Three Sisters Wilderness. The
next highest peaks in Oregon after Mt Hood and Mt Jefferson, each of the Three
Sisters exceeds an elevation of 10,000 feet. The elevations of the respective
peaks are South Sister – 10,363 feet; Middle Sister – 10,047 feet; and North
Sister – 10,085 feet. Members of a Methodist mission reportedly named them
Faith, Hope, and Charity in the 1840s. The North Sister is a shield volcano,
and the Middle and South Sisters are strato volcanoes. All are considered
potentially active per the USGS, with the South Sister erupting as recently as
2000 years ago. There are 15 named glaciers in the Three Sisters, Oregon.
In Bend, Oregon, there is a great deal of outdoor art
… about 20 pieces to be exact. I saw this metal art statue between MM 137 &
138. But could not find anything about it! The Roundabout Art Route offers a
unique art tour in Bend. Art looks different in Bend, their art knows how to
have fun. After all, their art plays outside. The Roundabout Art Route is a collection
of over 20 pieces of public art on display throughout the city in the most
unlikely places – at the center of Bend’s traffic circles. The circles, also
filled with plants, flowers and trees, are designed to keep traffic flowing around
the city. It’s sponsored by Art in Public Places, a non-profit organization
dedicated to providing art to the community of Bend. Bend’s public art is a
permanent part of what makes Bend so unique.
This area is known as “the high desert?” Yes, Oregon
high desert region is located east of the Cascade Range and south of the Blue
Mountains, in the central and eastern parts of the state. The High Desert
Museum is located near Bend. It opened in 1982, showcasing regional wildlife,
culture, art and natural resources together to promote an understanding of
natural and cultural heritage of North America's high desert country. The
museum uses indoor and outdoor exhibits, wildlife in natural-like habitats, and
living history demonstrations to help people discover and appreciate the high
desert environment.
The Deschutes National Forest runs along Central
Oregon’s Cascades, from the Mount Thielsen Wilderness at its southern tip to
the Mount Jefferson Wilderness at the northern point. The Deschutes National
Forest encompasses nearly one and a half million acres.
Intrigued by the forces of nature? Newberry National
Volcanic Monument will amaze you! In 1990, Newberry National Volcanic Monument
was created within the boundaries of Deschutes National Forest. This monument
provides a unique opportunity to view the Lava Lands of central Oregon. Newberry
National Volcanic National Monument includes almost 55,000 acres of lakes, lava
flows, and spectacular geologic features. The highest point within the Monument
is the summit Paulina Peak, at 7,985 feet.
Although commonly referred to as Newberry Crater, the
"crater" is in fact a caldera formed when the overlying rocks
collapse when a magma chamber is emptied. The caldera stretches across 17
square miles in the heart of the volcano. The 1,200 square mile volcano, about
the size of Rhode Island, remains very active to this day. Unlike familiar cone-shaped
Cascades volcanoes, Newberry was built into the shape of a broad shield by
repeated eruptions over 400,000 years. About 75,000 years ago a major explosion
and collapse event created a large volcanic caldera at its summit. Newberry
last erupted about 1,300 years ago, and present day hot springs and
geologically young lava flows indicate that it could reawaken at any time.
La Pine, established in 2006, is a small frontier
town nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, surrounded by open
meadows, lakes and rivers. Strikingly beautiful and with unparalleled access to
the wonders of Central Oregon, La Pine is a community that is truly coming of
age. First settled by French fur traders in the 1800s, La Pine’s history spans
more than a century. The City is the youngest in Oregon, incorporated in 2006.
Today, as in days gone by, La Pine is proud, independent and affordable,
characterized by people being good to each other. La Pine has a deep sense of
community and is a place where people go out of their way to help a neighbor
and truly care about each other’s well-being. Approximately 1,700 people call
the City of La Pine home, and the greater La Pine area includes ten-times that
number.
The town was of Gilchrist was founded in 1938 by the
family-owned Gilchrist Timber Company, which moved there from Mississippi in
search of lumber and lower taxes. The family moved their operations to central
Oregon, where they eventually acquired over 100,000 acres of timber land in
Deschutes, Lake, and Klamath counties. The Gilchrist Mill was built in 1938,
complete with company town housing for about 500 residents. The town and the
central shopping mall were built with aesthetics in mind. The Little Deschutes
River was dammed to create a large mill pond. All the Houses were painted with
a uniform brown color. The attractive setting, large lawns, tennis courts, and
giant ponderosa pines made the town setting a resort-like atmosphere.
In 1991 the Gilchrist Timber Company was sold to
Crown Pacific Partners, which subsequently fired all its employees. The 120
homes and other facilities in the town were sold to residents and others around
1998, with Crown Pacific holding onto sawmill and timberland. The company
upgraded to handle smaller logs in 2000, which were among the last remaining
assets of Crown Pacific, which declared bankruptcy in 2003 and was taken over
by creditors at the end of 2004, and again bought by Canadian company Interfor
Pacific in 2006. The Paul Bunyan and the Grizzly Bear, side by side seem to
describe the history of this town too!
Touching the edge of Gilchrist is the town of
Crescent. It was born as a Railroad Town which still has its presence with
trains passing through daily. Crescent was originally named Odell for Odell Lake
but that was a duplicate name in Hood River County. In 1907 the townspeople,
having their fill of the identity crisis, changed the name to Crescent after
Crescent Lake. The town originally was intended to be the junction of the
north-south and east-west railroads. Now the Burlington Northern passes to the
east and the Southern Pacific to the southwest leaving Crescent with the
Klamath Northern line through town. Oh, well, railroads do not help a small
town much these days anyway.
Chemult is located on US Highway 97 at an elevation
of 4,758 feet. The Chemult area, which includes not only the town of Chemult
but also Beaver Marsh and Diamond Lake Junction. It has a current population of
approximately 200 people. The community was originally established in 1924 as a
station on the Southern Pacific Cascade Line which was called "Knott"
during construction of the railroad. The station's name was changed to Chemult
when the rail line opened to traffic in 1926. A post office was also
established in 1926. The name, "Chemult" is a Klamath chief who was
one of the 26 who signed the Treaty of Klamath Lake on October 14, 1864. The
railroad junction with the Burlington Northern was completed in 1934. The
railroad, logging, and tourism have always been important factors in the
economy of the Chemult area.
We turned on Oregon 138, aka the Volcanic Legacy
Scenic Byway All American Road. Along this 500 mile journey from volcano to
volcano you will find opportunities for beauty and mystery of this land that is
dotted with evidence of an eruptive past. The northern end of the byway is
capped by Crater Lake National Park in Oregon where mysteries of the earth's
interior are studied.
We arrived at Diamond Lake RV Park. Having a small
rig is good and bad at time … everyone has a pull through site here, except us.
We will have to unhook the tow car and back it in. Oh well, our new tow set up
is super easy and quite fast! We have it down, now!
We enjoyed a little quiet time after we arrived and
then headed out in the car, to check out Diamond Lake and exploring Crater Lake.
Crater Lake National Park is one of the country’s
crown jewels. No place else on earth combines a deep pure lake, so blue in
color.
The almost 2,000 feet tall surrounding sheer cliffs, a
picturesque island and a violent volcanic past. We just stopped at one
overlook. Going to be here for 3 nights, plenty of time to explore! Another
great day with Yankee RV Caravans!
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