Welcome to our Om
What's Here
Photo Galleries
A collection of pictures from the past 12 years
Vacation Pictures
Pictures from vacations
The Om Pages
Our travels aboard Om Sweet Om
The Ship's Blog
In which we recount our experiences cruising the US East Coast and the Bahamas
Lava Beds National Monument
October 2012. A few warm sunny days are forecast before fall settles in. We decide to visit the Lava Beds National Monument. It is less than a 3 hour drive southeast from where we live in Ashland, Oregon. The experience made a vivid impression on me. I jotted down some notes so as not to loose hold of the experience.
Schonchin Butte
My very first impression: Lava Beds is vast and unwelcoming - forbidding actually. We drive past Devil's Homestead, an apt name for a dark and jagged basaltic lavascape. 
Then, our hike up Schonchin Butte near sunset time. The Butte is like a natural compass marking north, south, east and west. On the southwest side, where the sun is harshest, the slope is steep and completely devoid of vegetation...how is one to gain a foothold to reach the top? But the trail begins on the northeast slope, the cooler side where moisture-giving snows linger.