Oregon Vacation - Part One

I thought I would write a little about our nice vacation and also post some of the photos.  I hope you enjoy.

The first night of our vacation we stayed in Ashland, Oregon known for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  Bard's Inn provided us with a very nice Jacuzzi Suite with a great view and within walking distance of the Downtown Plaza. Ashland Creek was very close to our suite and had a lovely little park, about a quarter-acre, named Bluebird Park. After walking through the plaza and stopping in at a few shops, we enjoyed dinner of fish and chips (for him) and Fillet Mignon (for me) at an upstairs British pub named The Black Sheep that overlooked the Plaza. The food was very good and we enjoyed everything about the casual environment after a full day of traveling. The next morning after a very nice breakfast at the Inn, we walked in the plaza some more before heading north to Crater Lake.

Crater Lake is five miles wide and ringed by cliffs almost 2,000 feet high, and the lake rests in the shattered remnants of a volcano called Mount Mazama, which erupted and collapsed into itself  7,700 years ago. It filled with rain and melted snow.  At 1,943 feet deep, it is the deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world.

Later eruptions formed Wizard Island and other volcanic features, now hidden under the lake. The island  is a cinder cone rising 760 feet above the lake's surface.

This was truly an unforgettable sight. The water is sapphire-blue and they say the water is so pure and so clear it absorbs every ray of the sun, reflecting only the deepest blue hues of the spectrum back to the surface.

and then north west to Steamboat Inn. 

We traveled along the Umpqua River until we arrived at Steamboat Inn which has a rich history of fishing for steel head trout and salmon. As you can see the cabin had a nice deck just above the beautiful river. The sound of the river was very relaxing.  Since my brief visit to the Inn in 1989, many changes have been made including the addition of a very fancy library for wine tasting and appetizers prior to dinner.  One of the changes that I was disappointed in was the dinner.  In the past it was featured as a "Fisherman's Dinner" with everyone around a long table, like a family style dinner. Yes, the long sugar pine table was used as well as several smaller tables for a guest number of thirty-one. The food was disappointing, mainly because it seemed as though they were trying to be current with the flavors of the present times - and they fell short. But, none the less we enjoyed our stay with the cabin accommodations and The River.

Then we were on our way to the Coast to visit and stay a night in Florence. -  -  - More in the next post.

I hope you are having a Fabulous Day.