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| Gregory and Trudy with prize onion they have raised |
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| Marti recommends Belknap Hot Springs |
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Back to Belknap
We all decide to return to Belknap Hot Springs again as we enjoyed it so much the first time. So we cross the Willamette River (one of many times) and head back up the McKenzie River.
We stop at the beautiful Willamette National Forest Ranger Station. It was designed based on the old CCC WPA style. It's well worth the stop even if you don't pick up any maps.
This time we choose to camp in the upper portion away from the hustle and bustle of the main lodge. We love our new spacious campsite.
A carver is working on some bears not far from where we are camped.
As Phil and Sue pull into their campsite next to ours, they meet Gregory and Trudy who are also in a VW camper van. As they are California ex-pats from Sonoma now living in Oregon, we all hit it off immediately. They have a small organic farm and sell some of their veggies at a local farmers' market.
They tell us about a wonderful hike to the "Blue Pool" which is the source of the McKenzie River. Apparently the river is comes from a glacier high in the Cascades, but flows underground through lava tubes until it bubbles up into the Blue Pool. We all decide to hike there together.
The trail is listed as only two miles long (probably as the crow flies), but towards the top it twists and turns over the lava causing us to slow down. Gregory is an excellent trail guide pointing out various lava flows and interesting sights along the way.
It is truly an amazing color and well worth the hike.
I can barely watch as Peter climbs down the steep bank of lava rocks to take a closer look.
We all return to camp in high spirits and relax in the hot springs.
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