Today was the first of our relaxing days…and also not at all what we had originally planned to do. Today was originally supposed to be a visit (and picnic) at Crater Lake, but after further investigation, we realized that a major part of the rim road was closed today to motorized vehicles. We then decided to visit Newberry Volcanic Monument. It turned out to require more walking (5.5 miles) than we wanted to do with the temperature in the mid-20’s. It was also similar to the lava flows that we saw at Craters of the Moon, so decided to just drive to Eugene. We took the same route that we had planned to take today; we just turned onto Oregon State Route 58 from US-97 instead of continuing on to Crater Lake.
The landscape started out much the same as it was yesterday, with sagebrush and small pines covering the dry, brown flatlands. Before long however, the sagebrush disappeared and the small pines were replaced with taller evergreens of the Deschutes & Willamette National Forests. Along the way we stopped next to O’Dell Lake to take a picture of Diamond Peak, before continuing over the Willamette Pass.
As we neared Oakridge, we could see (and smell) the smoke from the Deception Complex fire. There were also several signs that referred to fire fighting activity in the area but it was still a ways from the highway. In that same general area we passed an A&W Drive-In – I haven’t seen one of those in decades and it turns out that this is one of two remaining in Oregon. We also saw signs informing us not to pass snowplows on the right (I can’t believe that they need to tell people that).
We arrived in Eugene just after twelve and decided to have a picnic lunch of leftovers at the top of Skinner Butte. I didn’t bother taking any pictures as the smoke from the forest fires made it hazy. With some time to kill before check-in, we decided to enjoy the A/C in the local shopping centre. Mum and I both got sunglasses at JC Penney, and I picked up a couple of long-sleeved shirts for work from Macy’s. We then headed to the hotel to relax before dinner.
Dinner was in nearby Springfield, at Giant Burger which was featured on Meat & Potatoes.
Mum had a BLT, while I had the Juicy Lucille Burger with chipotle cheddar and pepper jack cheeses. We also shared an order of Fire! Fire! Fries, so I opted for a milkshake to calm the burn from the inferno sauce that they make from habaneros. I had an Oregon Berry Shake which is made from raspberries, marionberries and blackberries with strawberry ice cream – extremely yummy.
It was a delicious (and spicy) dinner, and I’m glad we made the trip out to Springfield.
Tomorrow will be another lazy day as we head to Salem.
Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.
L
