Fort Rock and Crack in the Ground

Hello all. 

We spent a day seeing the sights in the High Desert.

By the end of the day we were tired. We are cramming a lot in

since our time here is limited.

First up is Fort Rock.

This is called a tuff ring. It is 4,460 feet in diameter and stands 200 feet above the plain. It is believed
that it once stood in a large lake. The water levels are marked on the walls of the ring.
Now this is desert. They have found evidence of Indians living around the perimeter of the area.
Sandals made of sagebrush and various pots and household items. The ring is open on one side.
It is believed that water erosion is responsible for the opening.

Much of this is guess work.  Geologists vary in their estimates of the age of this formation. Some say
1.8 million years. Others estimate 50,000-100,000 years, which is still a wide gap.
So the truth is...they don't really know.

These are all pictures of the edge. It is pretty against the blue sky.

See the patch of green at the end on the right? There are huge hay fields here.
Farmers use huge pivots to water circular areas to grow hay. Where there is water here, there is
life. Otherwise it is dusty and covered with sage brush.

 This is an opening in the ring wall on the top. It is a long way down.

I think Conley was showing off.
:)

Robin wasn't as adventuresome as we were. We climbed up some
rocks to get on top of the rim.

On the rim of the ring.

All of this rock is volcanic basalt.
It almost looks bubbly.

This is the back of the ring.

Next is a place nearby called Crack in the Ground.

It is what it is, a 2 mile crack in the ground. It is believed to be a depression
formed along one of earth's plates.  There are 4 volcanic craters in
the area, so at one time it was a very active area.

There is a nice trail down the center.
There are warnings at the
trail head to be wary of
stinging nettles. It is a plant that
stings you.

It is up to 70 feet high in places.
The temperature was much cooler in the
bottom.
:)

It is also tight in places.

Monica!!!!

Boulders have fallen in places.
We did a little impromptu
rock climbing or boulder hopping.

There was grass growing in places.
We are literally in the middle of no
where in the desert. The green grass was an
unusual sight.

Good thing we weren't in there when it
fell.

:)














Even in the desert, there are flowers.  Imagine when the "desert plain will be joyful and
blossom as the saffron." (Isaiah 35:1)

These are tiny.

We are taking a lazy day today. Catching up on stuff.

Hope everyone is doing well.