Mount Mazama, once over 12,000 feet in elevation, went through a half-million years of alternating eruptions and quietude. Between seven and eight thousand years ago, Mount Mazama erupted violently numerous times, covering eight states and three Canadian provinces with six inches of ash. These eruptions produced 150 times the ash as the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980.
This is a re-post from about a year ago when we were still on the Tibetan Plateau. We re-post it here for those who might have missed the original. If you wish to read the complete posts of In Search of Shangri-la, click on the link under Adventures at left.
We’ve called this often grueling trip from Chengdu, the Back Road to Shangri-la. A few days ago, we entered the high gate to the garden of Shangri-la. We topped out above 15,000 feet each day, and often stayed there for hours.
The Olympic Peninsula of Washington State is not a famous for sunset skies as some places, but when the sun has a little space between clouds to work with, spectacular results. Some of the best skies are late in the day in winter. It seems like winter is coming early this year (La Nina), and this evening sky gives strong hints of things to come.
Claire and I were honored to be able to fly on a vintage B 24 and B 17, with members of the Womens Air Service Pilots, WASPs, from Phoenix to Tucson. They were a delight to be around and it is a memory we will cherish. The story ran in the Desert Leaf, a Tucson monthly.
Today about 200 surviving WASPs were presented with the Congressional Gold Medal. About time! We hope all our friends were there.