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| we came down the red road I-5, stopped at Pismo Beach which is just north of Santa Maria, continued down to the Los Angeles area for the Pomona Rally, and then drove the blue marked route to Bend |
It was a scenic drive, and what amazed me most was how volcanic this stretch is. We were following a ridge of volcanic cones and occasional lava flows. Several tall peaks, many with snowy caps, towered over the smaller Hershey Kiss mounds that dominated the landscape to the west and east.
Interspersed in valleys between these conical mounds were farms and pastures.
Eventually the highway wound its way into forested areas.
We were back in familiar territory, rich in trees with occasional logging trucks carrying their loads to lumber mills.
Here is what we saw along route 97 from Klamath Falls to Bend -
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| Upper Klamath Lake |
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| snow capped volcanic peaks begin to appear |
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| interesting soil strata and colors |
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| flat topped buttes |
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| more soil variations |
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| Mt McLoughlin (9,495 ft) viewed from the east side |
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| a giant Hershey Kiss in the sky |
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| more snow capped crater tops |
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| familiar Ponderosa Pines and lots of fields |
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| further along route 97 |
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| Aspens amongst the pines |
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| a section of "sand dune" banks |
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| amazing sandy banks |
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| still further along route 97 |
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| forested cone ahead |
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| red and yellow soil along this stretch |
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| probably Mt Scott and the other volcanic peaks that surround Crater Lake, which is just west of us along this stretch |
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| logging trucks carrying their loads |
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| volcanoes every which way you look! |
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| blackened rocks of a lava flow |
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| approaching Bend |
Happy to have those repairs done, we continued on to Crown Villa RV Resort to set up home for the next week.