11-17 July 2021
Sunday-Monday: And now for a totally new experience: six days of car camping with S & K and our 14 month old granddaughter, A, not to mention Zephy, a Cardigan corgi, and Lucy our 16 year old Australian cattle dog mix. The drive from Bellevue to LaPine State Park is about 360 miles: 6 ½ hours of driving time. Add to that toddler wiggle time and dog walk time along the way. Vincent has never been so packed! Not even when we drove with our two bikes in the van. We are not expecting to be able to do much hiking on this trip what with a toddler, a corgi who doesn’t like the heat, and a 16 year old cattle dog, but both of our destinations sound very scenic, and the campsite at Newberry National Volcanic Monument is right on Paulina Lake. I’ve scheduled our first night at Oregon’s LaPine State Park because there were no campsites available at Paulina Lake for our Sunday evening arrival at the time I made reservations. At least this plan enables us to get to the general area on time. LaPine, as it turns out, has a very nice campground set back in the woods. It feels a bit more isolated than it is. We arrive Sunday evening, set up camp and eat sandwiches we brought along from home for dinner. I didn’t think we would feel much like cooking after such a long drive and the sandwiches are very welcome.
The road to the Newberry campground is practically across the highway from LaPine, so moving on Monday is not difficult. We enjoy our breakfast in the warm sunshine and then wait as A takes her morning nap. After nap time we make the obligatory visit to the big pine tree for which this park is named.
Tuesday-Saturday: From LaPine State Park campground it is thirteen miles up the access road to Little Crater Campground. On the drive we gain a couple of thousand feet in elevation, which is a very good thing, because it’s hot – over 100 degrees F at the lower elevations. The higher elevation helps cool things down – back to the more tolerable low 90’s. The humidity here is very low and everything is crispy dry. Forest fires are burning in Oregon. We can smell smoke and see the haze. Our campsite at Little Crater is across the road from Paulina Lake, and our site is well-shaded. We set up camp: two tents, a couple of hammocks and a high chair by the picnic table. Looks like home to me! Thank goodness there is a fire ban in the park, though who would want a fire in this hot weather? As the sun lowers, we realize that it cools off nicely in the evening. Fourteen month old A is having a blast. The dry dusty ground is like one big sandbox for her. She is perfectly happy putting rocks and pine cones in a shoe box and emptying them out again.
Newberry National Volcanic Monument is not very far from Bend, so on Tuesday we drive to the city and find a lovely park. O and K stay with A and the dogs while S and I find a brewery for take out lunches and cold beers. We also find a bakery for a take out chocolate cake for dessert!. Before we leave town, K and I hunt for and find a children’s clothing store. A is quickly outgrowing her shoes and we need to find new ones. She’s growing fast!
We return to camp and watch as the sun sets across Paulina Lake. The sunsets are particularly beautiful, but sadly that’s because of the smoke of nearby forest fires. Zephy, unimpressed by the colorful sky, waits patiently outside the family tent while K tries to get A to go to sleep.
Wednesday morning we decide to rehydrate our Veggie Sausage Frittata, one of K’s favorite breakfasts. The morning is quite cool. O and I are up early, but A has decided to sleep in today. After she finally wakes, we enjoy breakfast together. O and I are ready to see a bit more of the area, while S and K decide to stay at Little Crater campground to minimize car time for A. O and I drive to the Lava Lands Visitor Center where there are many educational displays touching on the very interesting local geological history. There are also displays discussing the history of Native Americans of this area and their ancestors. The natural history of the high lava plains of Oregon is also reviewed. The ranger at the visitor center is very knowledgeable and adds to the information in the displays.
The day progresses very quickly. O and I settle on visiting the Obsidian Flow on our way back to Little Crater Lake camp. This is the youngest lava flow in Oregon at about 1300 years of age. Obsidian is black glass. Pumice is made of the same substance, but with bubbles. An interpretive panel on the trail explains that cutting edges made of obsidian can be up to 500 times sharper than the best steel scalpel blades. Incredibly, even in this hot, dry, glassy environment vegetation survives! It’s amazing to see penstemon in bloom alongside the trail and tenacious pine trees growing among the glassy rocks. At the high point of the trail a young man joins us. He wants to get a better feel for the extent of the more than 1 square mile flow so he heads off trail to climb higher. We meet up again near the parking lot. He reports that he discovered a small cave among the obsidian that still has snow and ice in it, despite weeks of temperatures in the 90’s to 100’s!
Back at camp we have dinner with S, K, and A and then experiment with making s’mores on our propane stove, sans campfire. On the third try, O and S manage to get the marshmallows to really puff up. They’re not brown, but they still make great s’mores. It’s A’s first s’more experience and one to be enjoyed!
On Thursday we again enjoy a leisurely morning. At least it’s leisurely for O and me. S and K are busy chasing A. After A’s morning nap, we head to the Paulina Falls trailhead. It’s a short hike to the falls and then to the second viewpoint below, but that’s fine as we have not been expecting any long distance expeditions with a baby, and two dogs. Paulina Falls is the outflow from Paulina Lake and, with its 80 foot drop, it’s well worth seeing. Thursday afternoon S and K, accompanied by Zephy, take A over to the sandy part of the lakeshore for a watery adventure. A’s favorite toy on this trip has been a stainless steel teaspoon. She is hardly ever without it. She carries it along to the lake where she accidentally drops it while wading, then bravely dips her head into the water to recover her lost treasure.
Our last full day at this national monument is Friday. For breakfast we drive to Bend seeking the Sparrow Bakery which got excellent reviews online. We arrive at the tiny building and eye the long line, then decide to stick it out since it would take awhile to find another source of breakfast anyway. Good choice! We all enjoy breakfast sandwiches constructed on some of the best croissants we’ve ever had. We also purchase lots of pastries for a quick breakfast tomorrow morning.
After breakfast and a nap for A, we hike up Little Crater Trail whose trailhead is conveniently located near our campsite. This hike can be done as an approximately 2 mile loop, or as an out and back trek to the Little Crater viewpoint. We do the latter. The dogs survive the walk on this hot day and Ada is happy riding in her Osprey Child Carrier. At the viewpoint we take a break while the dogs lap up some water and rest in the shade. A has a good time exploring the rocks up top under K’s watchful eye. Back at camp she enjoys learning the meaning of the word “lounge.”
And too soon it’s Saturday and time to return home. We brew a pot of coffee (we’re getting pretty good at brewing a flavorful pot) and warm the pastries from The Sparrow Bakery in our frittata pans. They’re delicious, even one day old. Somehow we manage to get all our gear, dogs, baby and us back in the van. A helps pack in the suitcases. Amazingly, we are on the road by 10. The ride home goes quite smoothly. We stop in Ellensburg for a take out dinner and then buy four extra-chocolatey milkshakes at Winegars for the home stretch.
There is much more to see and do in and around the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. It would be even more enjoyable at a cooler time of year. Perhaps we’ll arrange a return visit someday.