On the second day of the road trip, we went down to Lava Butte, drove up to the top, and walked around the rim of the cinder cone. You get an awesome view not only of the Sisters, but also of the lava fissure in the earth that stretches several miles southeast to the rim of the blownout Newberry Crater, a shield volcano like a pustule on the lave plane.
Later that afternoon we drove up into the crater itself---it was easy enough to get to the interior, where two beautiful snow-melt lakes sit side by side. We parked and strolled around the rocky edge of East Lake, by the ancient summer resort with its bank of canoes, and watched by folks out in their boats with poles and lines in the water. It was very peaceful, especially with the cool gentle breeze off the lake.
The peaks of the crater rim---the Paulina Mountains---are craggy and laced with snow. They remind me of Glacker Park, diminutive in scale compared to other high ranges, and thus seem strangely accessible despite, like a model of a mountain range. Still it would be a trek to reach the top.
"This is a destination spot for Memorial Day weekend for people that
live in Central and Eastern Oregon," I told Red. "I had no idea it was
so civilized inside. I thought it would be wildnerness."
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