Newberry National Volcanic Monument was designated on Nov. 5, 1990 to protect the area around the Newberry Volcano. It was created within the Deschutes National Forest. It includes 50,000 acres of lakes, lava flows and spectacular geologic features in central Oregon. This highest point within the monument is the summit, Pauline Peak, at 7985 ft. From the top it has views of the Oregon Cascades and high desert. There are two lakes in the summit area, East Lake and Paulina Lake. The Big Obsidian Flow, that was created 1300 years ago, covers 700 acres with a trail to lead you to the top of the flow. Closer to Bend is the Lava River Cave with Oregon's longest known lave tube. Lava Butte is a 500 ft cinder cone.
We originally were going to visit Mt Bachelor but the smoke from the Oregon fires was so thick over the Cascades that we decided to go a little east of the Cascades to the Newberry Volcano. It was a good decision and the only regret is, due to the smoke, is that while we were at the top of Paulina Peak we could not see much of the Cascades but could only imagine how spectacular the views would be on a clear day. We saw so much at Newberry National Volcanic Monument and had so much fun checking out all of the areas of the monument. We started at Paulina Falls with two water falls. We took two of the hiking trails to see views of the falls from above and below. The trail for the view of the falls from above was an easy walking one with a wide path through the forest. The trail down to the lower view was a smaller trail that, you did not want to step off the trail to one side or you would find your way to the bottom quicker and probably hurt. It was worth the hike for the view. We then headed to Paulina Peak where we drove a rough road to the top and it was amazing. Looking over the caldera that now holds two lakes and a lava flow field was breathtaking. It is a huge crater and hard to believe that it was created when the volcano last blew in 690 A.D. The volcano is still considered an active one. After spending time on top of the peak we headed down to the Big Obsidian flow that is the first time I had been in a lava flow. It was amazing and we took the 1/2 mile hike to the top of the flow to see the views from there. The astronauts did some training for the moon at this flow and now that we have been in the middle and top of it I can understand why. We did stop by and visited both Paulina and East lakes. The weather was cool, about 46 degrees, but the sun was so warm from the top that it felt more like the mid 60s. It was a new experience for both Tim and I and we had a great time taking it all in!
Today the smoke is not suppose to be as bad so we are headed to Mt Bachelor again. Keep you fingers crossed that we can go and check back tomorrow to see if we made it.
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