Two for One Treat

I got in so late last night there just wasn't time to blog.  So I am going to put two days together.  Don't worry I didn't fall off a mountain though I must say I have had my fill of mountains and pine trees.

I went to a UU Fellowship yesterday morning and I got all choked up.  It was the first time I have been homesick since I left.  II miss all of you and I got the blues.  They were lovely people with a very nice building.  They had just gotten their first settled minister a year ago and now he is leaving for family reasons.  They are going to go through the process all over again.  The service was their RE Children's Bridging Ceremony.  It was so interesting.  Each class was recognized and presented what they had learned during this school year.  The class teacher, they have only one for the whole year, explained the programs for each of the grades.  At the end those children who were moving up to the next class walked over a wooden step to signify their moving onward.  The congregation was much more tolerant of the children then our congregation ever is.  Anyway it was good to be among UUs.

In the afternoon I went to the Redwood National Park thinking that these redwoods were different from the ones at Muir Woods.  I was disappointed to learn that they all are coastal redwood and the really huge ones are in the South at Sequoia National Park at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  I'm not going back to Southern California, so I guess I missed that chance.  These redwoods seem to be older and larger than the ones in Muir Wood so I did enjoy walking around in the woods.  Before I left near the Visitors Center there is a meadow and right in the middle were about 6 elk just lying around.  It was too to take a picture but I got a great look with my binoculars.

On my way out of the Park the eclipse started.  I had purchased a little pair of viewing glasses.  I could see the moon move over the sun and then the full halo.  It had been iffy whether people would be able to see it.  It was really cloudy in the morning.  During the eclipse it didn't get really dark but got to a deep dusk.  It was very exciting.  I never saw a full eclipse before and this was a very unusual one.

I decided to go see Crater Lake today so I had to get to the other side of the mountains.  I made a reservation in Klamath Falls, little knowing that it would take until 9:30 to get there.  I collapsed when I finally got in.  It was a shame because I am now a Diamond Elite member of Choice hotels, I get free upgrades.  I had a jet tub but all I wanted to do was sleep after the strain of driving.

When I got up and looked up Crater Lake in the AAA book it said that every part of the park opened in the middle of July.  There it was again my lack of planning.  I was all ready to give up and called some place to make reservation and the woman suggested that I call because it had been a mild winter and arts might be open. Sure enough my vacation karma kicked in again.  The southern entrance, Rim Village and view were open.  It was fantastic.  They have huge banks of snow along the sides of the road so you get the idea of how much they have had through the winter.  The higher I went up the volcanos side the colder it got.  Eventually it got down to 48 degrees with a wicked wind.  Crater Lake was formed after the magma was released and the volcano crust collapsed.  It is the deepest lake in America at 19,000 feet deep.  It is frozen solid surrounded by snow.  On my way out I saw 3 deer in two different events.  It was fun and scary.  One ran right across the road in front of my car.

I have crossed the mountains again because there are more interesting things on the Pacific side of the Cascades.