Sunday, June 24, 2012

Newberry National Volcanic Monument

Summer snow and sleet greeted me at Newberry National Volcanic Monument.  Perhaps the weather kept some people away, giving me a private look at Paulina Falls and the Big Obsidian Flow. 

Fishermen and women were not deterred from launching their boats on the two lakes.  Although, when I went to the dock for a photo of the shore, one woman answered, “The weather was miserable” to my question about how things went this morning.
Paulina Falls are a spectacular pair of twins. A short paved path gets visitors (singular, today) to the top with a view upstream (top photo).  A path leads one down below for a middle and bottom views.

I enjoyed the interpretive trail up the Big Obsidian Flow.  The signs point out the significance of the natural black glass throughout the centuries.  The barren nature of the rock with a few Bonsai trees contrasts dramatically with the forested hills round the lake and along the river to the falls.

On my way back to the parking lot, I spotted deer, which slowed me down.  Then, I noticed something else as I looked down the steep slope to the pond. Some critter or critters was /were making waves.  Was it a beaver?  I tried to get closer without scaring them away.  No, with those tails, it must be otter, I thought.  Sure enough, my last photo on flicker captures their two heads looking back at me.  Although, with the quality of the photo, I might as well call it the Loch Ness monster. 

We finished up Allyson’s legal conference with food, beverage, disco and Karaoke.  We did a little dancing, during which I kinda felt like this was the special Olympics version of a bar scene.  Was there a defibrillator nearby?  

No comments:

Post a Comment