Road Trip - Bend 08-19-2013

We planned to visit Crater Lake, and we took Highway 62 North to Crater Lake. 

On Highway 62, we first passed through Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest. The forest covers almost 1.8 million acres; portions of the Applegate and Illinois River drainage's extend into northern California. The Rogue River drains over 75 percent of the Forest's land area.  I enjoyed the drive because the trees along the highway are so beautiful.

We had 4 stops before reached Crater Lake: TouVelle State Park, Lost Creek Lake, Natural Bridge Viewpoint, and Rouge Rogue River Gorge Viewpoint.

TouVelle State Park is a recreation park located on the bank of the Rogue River.  The visitors can fish, swim, hike, and watch wildlife.  The park also has a boat ramp which the visitors can launch the boat into the Rogue River.

Lost Creek Lake is a reservoir located on the Rogue River.  The lake is impounded by William L. Jess Dam which was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1977 for flood control. 

Natural Bridge Viewpoint and Rogue River Gorge Viewpoint, we saw ancient lava tubes, waterfalls, and many other interesting features

Crater Lake National Park is established in 1902 and is the fifth oldest national park in the United States.  The lake water was so blue like the color of blue diamonds.  It was so beautiful.

We took Highway 97 to Bend, OR after we visited Crater Lake National Park.

We drove on the Highway 97 and passed through Deschutes National Forest.  The 1.6 million-acre Deschutes National Forest is located in parts of four Oregon counties: Deschutes, Klamath, Lake, and Jefferson counties. The forest has more than 150 lakes, 500 miles of streams, and 100 miles of the Cascade Range.  The forest contains alpine forests and meadows, mountain lakes, caves, desert areas, and volcanic attractions.

Our last stop before Bend was Lava Butt.  Lava Butt is part of Newberry Crater National Monument.  Lava Butt is a picturesque cinder cone known formed nearly 7,000 years ago.  It was a very interesting place to visit.

Finally, we reached Bend, Oregon.  Bend is largest city in Central Oregon with population of 76,693 at the time of the 2010 US Census.  Bend is located on the edge of the Cascade Range along the Deschutes River.  We took a walk along the river and saw people enjoy many different types of water activities on the river such as canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding, or floating.  It is a nice city to visit.