Beautiful Butte

Today I learned, in a slightly embarrassing way, that butte (as in hill) is pronounced 'beaut' rather than butt.... According to the nice ranger who disabused me of my eroneous pronounciation it's a mistake made most often by the French - so now at least I feel suave and continental rather than just a bit stupid.

Anyway, this is a butte which was a volcano and is part of the Newberry Volcanic National Monument, near Bend, Oregon. You can drive right to the top for very windy views of lava flows, forests and (today) approaching rain clouds. We also walked some of the length of a very long lava tube, which is a cave made by a river of lava as it cools around its edge. If that makes sense. Anyway, my claustrophobia only allowed me to go in a bit - about 300 metres - but photos didn't work down there so what's the point anyway!

Staying in Bend tonight, at a rather lovely nunnery/school which someone has very conveniently converted into a hotel with a microbrewery. I'm sure the nuns would approve.