Having escaped the heat of the Nevada it was quite a contrast to find our bikes covered in frost this morning with overnight temperatures below freezing. Needless to say I am quite pleased with myself for sending most of my thermal gear on to our end point in Seattle as it clearly wouldn't be needed. Having said that the day warmed up nicely and we had a great ride down to Crater Lake. Of course this part if the world is also volcanic, being the opposite end of the pacific plate known to us in NZ. Crater Lake is a caldera that appeared 6800 years ago after a volcanic eruption. Now it is serene and very beautiful , full of the most astonishingly deep blue water which still manages to be crystal clear.
The lake is 880 metres deep, yes you read correctly.
My panorama camera did overtime again and no doubt will once again struggle to do it justice. The road climbs up to the crater rim so you are rewarded with views into the crater and outwards. It took a bit of focus to stay on the road to be honest.
After that we rode up towards Bend through the cascade lakes region, again stunning. Blue lakes fringed by the billions of Oregon pines here.
We popped down to a nice little stream at which point we discovered that Daves rear wheel was losing air.
You couldn't ask for a more perfect spot to change a tube beside this bubbling stream through the woods.
All in all a pleasant afternoon despite the huffing and puffing associated with the puncture.
So, got to ride home in the evening where we were reminded to remain vigilant as 2 deer leapt out of the bushes across the road. That's the closest I've ever been to a deer in the wild. I'm pleased to say I have good reactions, the bike has fantastic brakes allowing for a front wheel stoppie and all that sphincter training I did on the descent from Hancocks worked.
Cruised home sedately as the palpitations settled.
Got a nice pic of Dave this morning, see below. After a few weeks with me he is a changed man. The cannon in his hand is real, as is the bottle of Jack Daniels. All before 10am. Actually Dave couldn't resist going into the gun shop. The proprietor is a lady on her sixties and was knowledgable and astonishingly quite happy to give us guns and ammunition to play with. All the guns, including automatic weapons are just stackd around the walls. No license needed. Minimal checks. Go figure.
We are really enjoying small town America. People are very friendly and open. Last night we had dinner at the Mohawk restaurant in Crescent. The waitress, with a lovely smile advised me that the special for the evening was beef liver although she wasn't sure how special they were! I quite enjoyed Dave trying to order a medium rare steak. She looked at him as if he is a bit wierd( which he is ) and eventually said the steak arrives cooked and frozen and they just heat it up. Lovely. I thought for a moment Dave was going to pop onto the kitchen to offer some advice Turns out it was Wiener Schnitzel anyway.
People are just very friendly and always happy to talk. Off to get some Chinese. Pics are self explanatory.
Might be in Bend for a couple of days as we need a new rear tyre.
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