Yes - before and after fire. It lasts quite a while to get to a "normal state" in a forest.
Read the info at the kiosks carefully. We all have the responsibility to protect nature.
Chevrolet Cruze, rented at Alamo's RCC Portland Int'l Airport
Foster Lake near Sweet Home, at Hwy US-20
Prevent Wildfires
Keep Oregon green
Interstate I-5 - Oregon's bloodline to Washington in the north and California in the south.
Hwy US-20 W @ Salt Creek Tunnel, elevation 4'000 ft -
tunnel closed Mo-Th between 8pm and 6am
Awesome Crater Lake
Mt. Thielson
Waldport
Waldport - turn right on Hwy OR- 34 E to Corvallis, crossing Suislaw National Forest and by-passing Mary's Peak 4097 ft.
On Hwy US-101 N ahead of Waldport
Pacific Ocean - Oregon coast near Waldport,
Beachside State Recreation Site
Sisters
Sisters
Sisters on Hwy US-20 W to Sweet Home.In wintertime, gas up in Sisters because no gas station till Sweet Home, Foster Lake for 70 miles.
On Hwy US-97 N direction Bend - the mountains Mt. Bachelor and The Sisters on your left hand side.
Hwy OR-31 W direction La Pine - with view to Mt. Bachelor, temp. outside 88 °F
The slogan "Keep Oregon green" is very important, for sure. I made 3'000 miles in 12 days and got this litmus test. Yes, the prevailing color in Oregon is green - but weeks of relatively nice and warm to hot weather without rain increase the need for irrigation, creeks are running low on water.
Every resident and tourist in Oregon should be aware of the problems involved with wildfires and their consequences. You can see a lot about deforestation by these (un-) provoked burnings, and, of course, a fine of $500 when discarding burning material is absolutely appropriate.
Only some west-east connections are available between Salem and Eugene on the North to South I-5 Oregon bloodline. Along this interstate, you will find the "bigger" cities.
So, for the tourists who wanna discover this beautiful, green state, a hub in between would be advised, too.
The distances to the picturesque locations - Newport, Waldport, Sisters, Bend, Crater Lake - are always in the range of 2 plus hours.
But the sea or the mountains are worth it going these distances.
It was quite a good choice of taking Halsey, Travelodge Pioneer Villa Motel as hub for the excursions.
Well, two of day trips were made to Washington State, Battle Ground and Mt St. Helens.
Idaho or California or Nevada are really out of bounds, believe me.
Yes, indeed, you are able to go over beautiful green hills and mountain passes - uphill and downhill on excellent state and/or federal highways in Oregon, driving makes fun there, relaxing in comparison to traffic jams during rush hours.
In Oregon, you get the diversity - Pacific Ocean - mountains - desert.
OK, I skipped the desert although I almost reached Fort Rock from Hwy 31 - well, the road didn't look so inviting, and I turned around to get to Bend, then back via Sisters, Sweet Home and Halsey.
It was a great stay here, I enjoyed this vacation in the NW of the U.S. very much.
So, my good companion, the silver Alamo-owned Chevrolet Cruzer, got me to all viewpoints reliably.
3'000 miles in 12 days is quite a distance, would be "Flensburg (northernmost German city) to Füssen (southernmost)" almost 5 times.
I improved the mileage on the Chevvy from 34.1 mpg (when 5'000 on the meter) to now 35.8 with 8'000 miles.
Finally I give you a neat math problem, huh?
What average mileage did I have during my stay here?
But relatively easy to solve:
5000 miles * 34.1 mpg + 3000 miles * X mpg = 8000 miles * 35.8 mpg
Isolate X - and find out, what average mileage I did on this 3000 miles during my visit.