The Vortex and the Crater

Ok here's another update. Yesterday we went to the Oregon Vortex. I saw it on the Travel Channel; it was number 8 or 9 on the list of Places of Mystery. Lots of demonstrations about how one person looks taller or shorter depending on which end of a level platform they are standing on. The crooked house was pretty crazy though... especially if you take a picture of a person standing on the level platform in the house, they appear to be leaning quite a bit even though your camera is straight up and down (or at least to your best guess) and the platform is level. Anyways there's more information on the website. Check it out. After the Vortex we went to a winery called Del Rio and it was okay. The cheese was the best part about it. I got some Pesto cheese and Tracie got another kind whose name I can't remember right now. But it was YUM. Then last night we went to the Shakespeare festival and saw "Two Gentlemen of Verona." Very well done and very funny. They had a well-trained dog as one of their cast members. It was just very fun to watch. And the stage was very cool... very Globe Theatre-ish.

Today we drove up to Crater Lake National Park. So worth it. It's so blue and so majestic. It is the deepest lake in the U.S. at 1,943 feet in its deepest part. We took some pictures of the lake, had a picnic lunch in the little camping area, and then took a nice little hike up the Watchman's Trail. It was actually quite steep and got our blood going, definitely. The view was pretty cool; we had a good overlook of Wizard Island, the island in the middle of the lake (actually a volcano). Came back down and then drove to the Pumice Desert. Those pictures have less trees in them though; I may have to come back later and post the pictures I took.

The drive back from the lake has to be one of the prettiest drives I'd ever been on: tall dense trees lining both sides of the road with the sun setting and mountains all around. There was no way I could capture that on film though. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Tomorrow is still somewhat up in the air... we may do some white water rafting, or go to Rogue Creamery, or do some more wineries, or who knows. I guess it depends on what we feel like tomorrow...