During my ride around Crater Lake last Saturday I pulled over to take a photo of the lake, and this little one came scampering up the side of the caldera, seemingly for the sole reason of getting its picture taken.

Posted on September 18th, 2019 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens, crater lake, Nikon D500, wildlife. Comments: None

@CraterLakeNPS

I once tried to ride around Crater Lake on my bike. It didn’t go well.

Fast forward many years to yesterday. I heard they were closing the road to vehicles on two Saturdays this year. Maybe this has happened in recent years as well. In any event, I did it!

Anyway, let me share a few observations for those of you doing it on September 21, 2019 or in future years…

Get there early! Before 8 is good; before 7 is even better. When I left Crater Lake for home at 11 something after finishing my ride the car traffic was crazy. People were circling forever and not finding places to park their cars. In addition, the roads may not have cars on them, but do you really want to ride around the lake when the roads are crammed with bikes? The ride was very pleasant, congestion wise, between 7 and 9. Things got a little crowded after that and seemed to be getting very crowded about the time I finished. Besides the crowd size issue, the lake looks fairly different between 7 and 11 a.m. with the sunrise but not so different between, say, 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Bring gloves and a face shield. The shield will help with the temperature and wind chill–especially before 9 a.m.–and it will also keep the bugs from entering your mouth and nose at 20+ MPH.

There is plenty of water at the five rest stations so you don’t need to carry too much. I brought three bottles which was two too many.

The ride is over 33 miles (not including Cloudcap) and includes a ton of elevation. Basically, there are no flat spots. You are either climbing or coasting downhill. Therefore, you will want to do some training to make sure you can ride uphill for at least 15 miles.

Cloudcap viewpoint adds an extra mile or two and is a big climb. Feel free to skip it unless you want the extra workout. I did it only because I didn’t realize I could skip it, and the bikes in front of me were heading that way.

You can go in either direction. West Rim Drive (not closed to autos) is best done early, IMO, before the car traffic arrives so if you park at the lodge or visitor’s center a clockwise direction is advised.

I would love to do this again, earlier in the year, when there is still some snow on things. It would be nice if they closed the roads to autos as soon as they open the East Rim Drive some year. I suppose a flexible date, based on the weather, would make planning more difficult though.

Posted on September 15th, 2019 under outside of ashland. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens, biking, crater lake, Nikon D500. Comments: None

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football

The Raiders open their Frontier Conference season in Ashland on Saturday at 1 against Eastern Oregon University. Massey has favored the Raiders to win by 10 points. (BTW, Massey gave the Raiders just a 4% chance of beating Sac State last weekend, where today’s photo was taken, but gives SOU a 75% chance of victory this week.)

Posted on September 5th, 2019 under places. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens, football, Nikon D500, photoshop photomerge, Raider Athletics. Comments Off on SOU football set for home opener

We are returning to Ashland today, after one more hike, to conclude our vacation in the Mt. Hood area. Tamanawas Falls has been my favorite hike so far, as the trail follows the lovely Cold Spring Creek.

Posted on August 27th, 2019 under nature, outside of ashland. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens, mount hood, Nikon D500, waterfall. Comments Off on Behind Tamanawas Falls

Made it to Mount Hood yesterday. Today’s photo is from a short hike (about 2 miles) around Trillium Lake. Three more days of hiking to go.

Posted on August 24th, 2019 under nature, outside of ashland, photography, places. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens, landscape, mount hood, Nikon D500, summer, Trillium Lake, water. Comments Off on Mt. Hood

Posted on August 21st, 2019 under only in ashland, people. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens, Nikon D500, Raider Athletics, track and field, zach beltz. Comments: 1

@SOURaiders @BobbyHeiken1

Posted on August 12th, 2019 under only in ashland, people. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens, bobby heiken, Nikon D500, Raider Athletics. Comments Off on Happy birthday to “super” model Bobby Heiken!

@rqjordyn @SOURaiders @SOU_Softball @krissmauro @csmdeadmond ‏

Posted on July 15th, 2019 under only in ashland, people. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens, Gabby Sandoval, hannah shimek, jordyn ragan, kristen mauroschadt, lauren quirke, monica deadmond, Nikon D500, paige leeper, parade, Raider Athletics, softball. Comments Off on Happy birthday, Jordyn Ragan!

Isiah Carter stops a Søllerød Gold Diggers drive

Rundforbi Stadion (Denmark)

Isiah Carter of the Frederikssund Oaks

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football @CarterTheGr8_ #frederikssund #oaks #frederikssundoaks #amerikanskfootball

Posted on July 2nd, 2019 under outside of ashland, people. Tags: AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens, AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lens, football, isiah carter, Nikon D500, Raider Athletics. Comments Off on A few of Isiah Carter in Denmark