June 7 - June 21
Wednesday, we drove to Paulina Visitor Center, about 30 minutes from the main visitor center and activities, and about 40 minutes from Bend Oregon. Matthew drove the camper up while I stopped at the post office box before heading up. At one point, while I was driving 70mph, a foam block supporting our kayaks flew off, precipitating a nerve-wracking hike along the side of the busy highway to retrieve it.
Arrived at our home for the next 3 months, a lovely shaded spot next to the visitor center, so we won't need to drive to work each time. The site's electricity was working and the water was on, although the testing hadn't been completed on that to give us the go-ahead to use it yet.
We spent the bulk of the day setting up the store and getting cursory instructions about selling items, although the internet isn't working so how sales will proceed is a big question. After the store manager, Gail, her helper, and our Ranger left, Matthew and I drove down every road in the caldera to familiarize ourselves with the site.
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| Paulina Creek |
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| Paulina Peak |
We stopped at the Big Obsidian Flow, the youngest lava flow in Oregon at ~1300 years.
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| The Lost Lake isn't so lost right now - evidently it was a good snow year. It will be a mere puddle by the end of the summer |
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| The tenacious Newberry's Penstemon |
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| A determined pine |
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| Looking at Paulina Lake |
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| Paulina Falls |
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| Paulina Lake, conveniently right across the street from where we are camped |
Thursday some of the volunteers come up for a work day and we cleaned the entire visitor center (the back rooms were quarters for staff in the past), got some more training, had a patchwork internet solution that was only intermittently successful, and prepared as best we could for being solo on opening day.
Friday we donned our uniforms and officially opened the visitor center at 9 am. We were hopping til closing at 4, as folks were eager to be up here. The internet was a headache but we stumbled through. After closing, we hiked the trail to the other side of Paulina Falls.
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| Another view of Paulina Peak |
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| Someone was industrious |
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| The cute ranger |
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| The other ranger |
On Saturday Steph and Britt Barnes, our co-host volunteers, arrived. This is their 4th year here, and we were so glad to see them - they have so much more knowledge and experience! Fortunately we all get along great and have similar world views. It'll make for a fun summer. Britt took us on his tour of the Big Obsidian Flow, sharing the important talking points for when we are interpreting up there.
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Nate, Rux, and their friend Meg stopped by for a brief visit on Sunday after we were done with work. Monday Britt took us on a hike up the Little Crater and shared more of his interpretive points |
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| The Clark's Nutcracker has a mutualistic relationship with the Whitebark Pine tree. The trees need the bird to open its cone for seed dispersal, the seeds are highly nutritious for the birds, who bury the seeds in caches for later consumption, and some caches are not retrieved, resulting in clusters of new tree growth |
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| A fissure in the crater with the cinder cone behind it |
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| View of the Big Obsidian Flow from the edge of the crater. |
Tuesday we had the day off so we did laundry, drove into town to pick up some groceries, and met Ranger Emily and Lava Land host volunteers Walter and Carla, and Millie for dinner. Wednesday Matthew staffed the store and I roved, hiking the trail down to the base of the Paulina Falls
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| It always amazes me how life will cling to the most precarious places |
Drove into town Wednesday eve to meet up with Sarah and Alan at Crux Fermentation - always good to see them. Thursdays Ranger Emily comes up with restock for the store and brings volunteers who spend the day roving to various points. I went with Steph to the hot springs at East Lake to learn to take the weekly measurements.
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| This spring measured at 130 degrees at the source |
Friday, our regularly scheduled day off, was a slump day for both of us. We never left the camper, since a cold front had moved in. We spent a lovely, lazy day reading, cooking, and playing mindless games on our phones.
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| Woke in the morning to this - thank goodness for a space heater in the camper |
No real plans for the weekend, just hitting the Bend farmers' market, picking up some odds and ends, and sitting in the library to catch up on all things internet related.
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