Monthly Archives: August 2014

August 29, 2014 Weed, California

We spent a relaxing four days at Collier Memorial State Park near Chiloquin, Oregon.  We had been without internet or good cell phone service for over a week so we spent lots of time working on blog posts, doing paperwork and planning our fall and winter itinerary.  It takes time to research places to stay and make reservations.  Now that summer is over the parks will not be as crowded, but there is always the holidays to plan for, and the earlier the better.  There are many snowbirds that come down from Canada and snap up spots in the nicer RV resorts.

Our second day at Collier we began to notice smoke in the air from four surrounding Oregon wildfires.  Even though the fires were not that close, we could definitely smell the smoke.  The smoke continued to worsen during our stay and when we left on August 29th for Weed, California, there was hazy smoke in the air.

We had a wonderful time in Washington and Oregon and the time passed by so quickly.  Today we entered California again.  We passed through farmland with cattle grazing and the beginning of irrigation and crops growing in the fields.  We made a stop in Klamath Falls, Oregon at a Walmart to stock up on supplies and food.  We wanted to take advantage of this last Walmart in Oregon since Oregon has no sales tax.

As we crossed the border into California we had to stop at an agricultural checkpoint where we were asked where we were coming from and if we had any fruits or plants.  Bill told them we had just bought a bag of apples at Walmart in Oregon and they told us we could go.  We thought as we traveled further south the smoke would begin to dissipate, but if anything it got worse.  For most of our two hour trip the visibility was only about two miles.

We checked into a small, no frills campground in Weed, California (population 2,900), for a four night stay during the Labor Day holiday.  Weed is a little spot in the road but we wanted to stay away from the craziness of crowded state and national parks during the final summer holiday.

We ventured out to Main IMG_2136Street to visit the post office.  We did a little geocaching and it is always amazing to find some unexpected sites in these small towns!  We came across this Alaskan totem pole where a geocache was located.  Turns out this totem pole  is at the beginning of Highway 97 which is the beginning of the Alaskan-Canadian Highway.  If you stayed on Highway 97 you would eventually pass through Canada into Alaska.  There is another totem pole at the end of the highway in Alaska.

Another wonderful find while geocaching was the “Living Memorial Sculpture Garden” located about fifteen miles from our campground on Highway 97.  This garden, located with a view of Mt Shasta in the distance, was founded in 1988 by a group of Siskiyou IMG_2152County veterans to celebrate veterans of conflicts from the Revolutionary to the present.  Dennis Smith, a Vietnam veteran, is a metal sculptor whose works are displayed in the garden.  There is also a Memorial Wall and every Memorial Day and Veterans Day, new names are etched on the wall and read aloud. At the entrance to the area is “The Peaceful Warrior”, a lone figure with one arm raised,  representing those who love peace and will fight aggression to preserve that peace.  This sculpture honors those willing to step forward when asked to do so.  There are nine other sculptures in the park where we walked through a labyrinth to see them.  We took pictures of some of our favorites to share in the blog.  “Those Left Behind” is a  female figure accepting the American flag.

Those left behind

Those left behind

“Who can repay those who have lost loved ones in combat?  What on earth can compensate them for the loss of life?”  “The Greatest Generation” sculpture depicts the second raising of the flagIMG_2141 on Mt Suribachi, Iwo Jima, on February 23, 1945.  “The Nurses” sculpture honors nurses, Navy IMG_2151corpsmen, Army medics, doctors and pharmacists  who bring healing.  “The POW-MIA” sculpture was the most moving, showing a soldier in a cage.  Outside the cage is a metal arch where  IMG_2148 over the years people have left POW and MIA bracelets, wreaths, flags, flowers and personal notes.

Our main reason for stopping in Weed was to see Mount Shasta, the largest composite volcano in the Cascades and the second highest peak in the Cascades, with only Mt Rainier being higher.  When we arrived in Weed, Mount Shasta was nowhere in site due to the smoke and haze from the wildfires.  We hoped the visibility would improve during the four days we IMG_2144  were there and on the day before we left the smoke cleared enough for us to get some fairly good pictures. IMG_2166

North face of MT Shasta and MT Shastina

North face of MT Shasta and MT Shastina

South face of MT Shastina and MT Shasta

South face of MT Shastina and MT Shasta

IMG_2177 We drove the fourteen mile Mount Shasta Scenic Mountain Drive which took us halfway up the mountain to an altitude of 7,900 feet. IMG_2155  Many mountains are considered to be sacred places, especially to Native Americans, but we found Mount Shasta to be considered one of the most sacred mountains in the world.  There are small sacred communities near the mountain offering spiritual energy and peaceful experiences as well as spiritual guidebooks of the area.  At one viewpoint we found many sacred circlIMG_2164es made of rocks.  We took a hikeIMG_2165 on the Panther Meadow Trail which would have been prettier in the spring when the wildflowers were in bloom.

Trailhead for MT Shasta starting at 7,900 FT

Trailhead for MT Shasta starting at 7,900 FT

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Bill spent the rest of Labor Day laboring with jobs around the RV like washing the tow car, checking the water in the RV batteries and cleaning the tanks.

 

August 22, 2014 Crater Lake, Oregon

Bluer than blue, deeper than deep.  We never imagined Crater Lake would be so beautiful!  Our first glimpse took our breath away.  Aqua, azure, cobalt, indigo, midnight, royal and sapphire, none of those words can fully describe the beauty of the color which can change depending on the time of day.IMG_2065  IMG_2066 IMG_2060 IMG_2100 IMG_2080IMG_2050

We left lovely La Pine State Park and traveled the short distance to Crater Lake National Park, which is the only national park in Oregon.  They were doing quite a bit of road work in the park, taking advantage of the short summer season.  After waiting a short time in stopped traffic, we arrived at Mazama Village Campground on the south side of Crater Lake National Park.  We had planned on four days of dry camping here but after two days we were able to move to a full hookup site.  It was nice to have electricity and heat with nighttime temperatures reaching the upper thirties and low forties. IMG_20140822_121102 IMG_2131

The best way to view Crater Lake is by driving the 33 mile Rim Drive which makes a loop around the lake.  It took us two days to drive the loop because of the thirty-three overlooks and things to stop and see.  Crater Lake, at 1,943 feet, is the deepest lake in the United States and is fed by rain and snow, not streams or rivers.  One of the Rangers told us if you took the Eiffel Tower and put the Washington Monument on top of it and then put the Statue of Liberty on top of those two, the torch would still be under water.  If you gave each person on earth 7,000 gallons of water, the lake would not be empty.  The lake is considered the cleanest large body of water in the world and is known for its clarity and intense blue color.

Crater Lake rests inside a caldera formed approximately 7,700 years ago when 12,000 foot tall Mount Mazama collapsed following a major eruption.  The eruption may have been the largest in North America in the past 640,000 years.  Later eruptions formed Wizard Island which is a cinder cone in the southwest area of the lake.  If you gathered up all the ash from the Mount Mazama eruption and spread it evenly over the state of Oregon, it would form a layer eight inches thick.  IMG_2088 IMG_2065 IMG_2081

Zoomed in view of crater on top of Wizard Island

Zoomed in view of crater on top of Wizard Island

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Crater Lake National Park is home to more than forty volcanoes and everywhere we looked we saw cinder cones, peaks and hills from volcanoes that erupted in the past 500,000 years.  Not all of them can be seen since some of them are underwater in the lake!  Many of the volcanoes are extinct such as Wizard Island, but the volcano which holds Crater Lake is likely to erupt again!  IMG_2113

Cinder cones in the distance

Cinder cones in the distance

Watchman Peak, 8,013 ft

Watchman Peak, 8,013 ft

snow still visible on the lake shore in August

snow still visible on the lake shore in August

We stopped at the Visitor Center and talked with a super friendly and enthusiastic park ranger.  We saw a fabulous film detailing how they believe Crater Lake was formed after the Mount Mazama eruption.

They have a trolley which will take you around the lake but we chose to drive our car and go at our own speed, taking as much time at each overlook as we wanted.  Some of the highlights of our drive on Rim Drive was Pumice Castle Overlook where a layer of orange pumice rock has been eroded into the shape of a castle. IMG_2120 Also Pinnacles Overlook was fabulous with colorful spires 100 feet tall eroded from the canyon wall.  The Pinnacles are “fossil fumaroles” where volcanic gases rose up through a layer of volcanic ash, cementing the ash into solid rock. IMG_2128 IMG_2127 IMG_2125 Phantom Ship Overlook had a view of a small island that they say looks like a small sailboat, though it takes quite an imagination to see the shape of a boat. IMG_2122 IMG_2124 Vidae Falls, with a drop of 100 feet was beautiful. IMG_2129 But the biggest highlight of the drive was just seeing Crater Lake itself.  At each overlook people gazed at the lake in awe, speaking in whispers or simply drinking in the beauty in silence.  IMG_2117 IMG_2106 IMG_2108 IMG_2118

We really wanted to take the narrated boat tour of the lake with a three hour stop to explore Wizard Island.  We were ready to book the tour when we noticed in the description of the trip that you would have to hike down the side of the rim of the volcano to get to the water.  The only way to get to the shore of Crater Lake is to hike down Cleetwood Cove Trail, a mile long, very steep and strenous trail that drops 700 feet in elevation.  It was the description of hiking back up that got us.  It was equivalent to climbing 70 FLIGHTS of steps.  As one person said, it is one mile down and feels like ten miles back straight uphill.  If you were injured or became ill, the only way back up was to be carried up by a team of Rangers.  So we reluctantly and wisely gave up that idea!  One of the Rangers told us they have flirted with the idea over the years of putting in a ski lift or some kind of lift that would make it more accessible to people.  The park has managed to escape the boat access not being handicapped accessible because they did not want to damage the beauty and risk the fragile nature of the lake landscape.  As the Ranger said, it is a hard choice when you consider keeping the park as an honored place.

White spot is boat and to the right is the steep trail from rim top to shore

White spot is boat and to the right is the steep trail from rim top to shore

zoomed in view of boat and can see clarity of water

zoomed in view of boat and can see clarity of water

We loved our time in Crater Lake and the campground was wonderful.  We were able to get satellite TV with the only negative being no internet and limited cell phone service.

Other Crater Lake trivia:

  • Annual snowfall is 44 feet.
  • Widest area across the lake is six miles.
  • The lowest point from the rim to the lake is 570 feet.
  • The last time the lake froze over was 1949 but even then the Ranger’s footprints left a sloshy path as he walked across.
  • Crater Lake National Park was established in 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt designated it America’s fifth national park.
  • The Park is of importance to local Klamath Native American tribes, with Native Americans witnessing the eruption 7,700 years ago and passing down through time an oral history of the event.  The Klamath call the Lake “gii-waas”, sacred place.
  • The lake was discovered in the 1850’s by a European, John Wesley Hillman.  The Ranger said Hillman fell asleep on his mule and the mule stopped on the edge of the crater.  Imagine Hillman waking up to that view!

In 1988 and 1989, a one person submarine made 47 dives to the bottom of Crater Lake to collect data on the lake’s hydrology, biology and geology.  Another important reason for the submarine dives was to explore the geothermal energy of the lake.  Beneath Crater Lake National Park lies a reservoir of restless magma.  In the mid 1980’s a company from California announced its desire to build a power plant on public lands adjacent to the park.  They planned to use geothermal heat to spin turbines to produce electricity for San Francisco.  They drilled an exploratory well a half mile from the park boundary.  This caused deep concern and with the findings of the submarine dives, Crater Lake joined a list of 15 other National Park Services deemed to have “significant thermal features” worthy of protection under the Geothermal Steam Act, a law passed by Congress in 1970.  The submarine only explored 2% of the lake floor, so there is much more to learn about Crater Lake.

For the past three years southern Oregon has been experiencing near drought conditions, with Crater Lake’s snowfall last year at only 50% of the average.  As of this time the lake’s depth has not been impacted.

August 19, 2014 La Pine, Oregon

We didn’t have a reservation at La Pine State Park which is unusual for us during the summer tourist season, but we decided to take a chance since it was the beginning of the week and not the weekend. The camp host showed us several sites to choose from and we happily settled into a nice pull through site with full hookup.

This turned out to be such a fascinating area to explore. We had no idea we would explore a lava tube (cave) and see huge cinder cones and lave flows in Oregon!

We were eager to explore Newberry National Volcanic Monument, established in 1990. IMG_1996 IMG_1994 IMG_1999 IMG_1997Newberry Volcano, central Oregon’s sleeping giant, has a lava flow covering almost 1,200 square miles (about the size of Rhode Island), making it the largest volcano in the Cascades chain. Unlike other volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest, this volcano is a composite volcano with dramatic lava flows that were very fluid during the eruptions, making it similar to volcanoes you would see in Hawaii. Newberry has as many as 400 volcanic vents around its slopes. Newberry Volcano has a large volcanic depression called a caldera. Scientists think the violent eruption which caused the caldera and occurred about 75,000 years ago, is responsible for volcanic ash deposits as far away as the San Francisco area. Newberry Volcano has been erupting over 400,000 years with the last eruption occurring about 1,300 years ago. Geologists say that while it is a sleeping giant, it could reawaken at any time and they monitor it closely.

We drove to the Newberry Caldera and stopped by the Lava Lands Visitors Center which included exhibits and 3-D topographic models of the volcano. We picked up a free pass to drive to the top of the Lava Butte Cinder Cone. The parking area at the top is very small so they limit traffic to 10 cars at a time. The pass gave us thirty minutes to explore the cone. The view at the top was magnificent. This cone is 7,000 years old and the lava flow from this cone once dammed up the Deschutes River. IMG_1991 IMG_2001 IMG_2007 IMG_2011

We drove to an Obsidian Lava Flow and hiked a short distance to stairs that took us to the top IMG_1998 IMG_2041 IMG_2039 IMG_2035 IMG_2033 IMG_2031 of the lava flow. It was amazing to see the huge piles of lava rocks. What makes this lava flow special is the presence of large amounts of obsidian rock (black glass). I spoke with a lady who is an Oregon native. She said there used to be even more obsidian rock many years ago but people over the years carried them off.   Today there are signs warning it is against the law to remove any rocks. The lady also said that there is only one other obsidian lava flow in the world, and that is in Russia.

We read there was a lava cave where we could walk inside a lava flow. So while in the area we went to the Lava River Cave. This is one of the longest, uncollapsed lava tubes in the IMG_2012 IMG_2013 IMG_2015 IMG_2023 IMG_2025

We could see our breath!

We could see our breath!

IMG_2026 Northwest. The cave was once the pathway of an underground stream of molten lava. We knew the cave was going to be cold and dark, so we took jackets and flashlights. We entered the cave and immediately started to descend. The cave stays at a constant temperature of 42 degrees and it was very dark, even with flashlights. We picked our way slowly over rocks and uneven surfaces, occasionally coming to narrow flights of stairs taking us higher and further into the cave. The cave is a mile long and I found it more claustrophobic and unsettling than Bill. I don’t tend to be claustrophobic, but the dark lava walls and rocky uneven surface made me uncomfortable. There were quite a few tourists in the cave and I wondered how those walking with flipflops and using their cameras for light ever made it back out safely.  I read the forest service is working on improvements to the cave with boardwalks over the uneven rocky surfaces and new stairways to make it more accessible to everyone. Hopefully this can be done without destroying the natural setting of the cave. There are bats living in the cave but we didn’t see any.

While at La Pine we got our first taste of cold weather. We awoke one morning to the sound of the heat pumps struggling to keep up and discovered the outside temperature was 38 degrees. Yikes! It wasn’t that long ago we were complaining about the heat. Now instead of searching for a campsite with shade, we were hunting sites with full sun! IMG_2004 IMG_2005 IMG_2006

August 12, 2014 Redmond and Bend, Oregon

We had a great time in Redmond at the FMCA International Rally.  It was five full days jam packed with seminars, vendor shopping, looking at new RV coaches on display and entertainment.

Looking East in our neighborhood of motorhomes

Looking East in our neighborhood of motorhomes

Looking west over the sea of motorhomes with the three sister mountains

Looking west over the sea of motorhomes with the three sister mountains

Whew, it was exhausting!  While there we had three days of rainy, chilly weather followed by sunny skies.  We managed to get a picture of the Three Sisters as we left the Redmond Expo Center where the Rally was held.  The Three Sisters form a volcano comprised by three volcanic peaks of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the Cascade Range in Oregon.  Each peak exceeds 10,000 feet and are the third, fourth and fifth highest peaks in Oregon. Together they have 15 named glaciers, nearly half of the 35 named glaciers in Oregon. Interestingly, although they are seen as one unit, the three mountains formed under different geologic situations.  The North Sister is extinct, the Middle Sister is inactive, and the South Sister last erupted about 2,000 years ago and still could erupt.  Satellite imagery in the year 2000 detected uplift in South Sister and the U.S. Geological Survey made plans to improve monitoring in the area.  The mountains were originally named Faith, Hope and Charity by the early settlers but those names did not last and today they are called North Sister, Middle Sister and South Sister. IMG_1945-001

We arrived in Bend, population 80,000 and checked into a small private campground. Surprisingly there are not many RV park choices in Bend, and while this park was crowded with tight sites.  While the park wasn’t great, we certainly enjoyed our activities while in the area.

Bend is bordered by the Deschutes National Forest and the Cascade Mountains, with the Deschutes River meandering through the center of the town. We drove around downtown Bend and stopped at lovely Drake Park where people were taking walks, riding their bikes or sitting and reading. Ducks danced across the water and tubers floated downstream. IMG_1966

Floating in the city of Bend OR on the Deschutes River

Floating in the city of Bend OR on the Deschutes River

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One day we drove the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway,

IMG_1980 an 87 mile drive through a volcanic and glacial landscape. Volcanoes built up the land and glaciers tore it down. We saw evidence of this volcanic history along the road. IMG_1983 IMG_1982 During the last Ice Age glaciers flowed down both sides of the Cascades and cut deeply into the volcanic cones, gouging out glacial valleys. As we drove through Deschutes National Forest with views of snow-capped mountains and many lakes, we could see why this road is called one of America’s most important scenic byways. We drove on Century Drive, so named in the days of horse and buggy because it was a hundred mile dirt road and at one time was an ancient trading route for Native Americans where they hunted, fished and gathered. Appearing before us was magnificent Mount Bachelor,

Mount Bachelor

Mount Bachelor

at 7,700 feet another volcano and home to the most popular ski resort in the Pacific Northwest.   We were also able to make out the Three Sisters and Broken Top mountains. Those mountains were features in the movies “Homeward Bound” and “Rooster Cogburn”.

Oregon has many beautiful lakes and on this drive we passed Sparks Lake, Devils Lake, Elk Lake, Little Lava Lake and Big Lava Lake to name a few.

Big Lava Lake with Mount Bachelor in the background

Big Lava Lake with Mount Bachelor in the background

Little Lava Lake is the source of the Deschutes River. During the Ice Age, eruptions took place under the glaciers and often melted holes in the ice, forming the more than 100 small and large lakes behind volcano dams and in craters.

We drove to the Pilot Butte State Scenic Viewpoint. Pilot Butte is a cinder cone rising 511 feet above the city. From the viewpoint we had views of Mount Bachelor, the Three Sisters and could just make out Mt Hood. We had a nice view of downtown Bend.

At the Pilot Butte crest was this bronze compass dial that showed the mountains peaks that could be viewed assuming good visibility

At the Pilot Butte crest was this bronze compass dial that showed the mountains peaks that could be viewed assuming good visibility

IMG_1948 The day was a bit hazy so it was hard to get pictures.

We loved our time in Bend but we were looking forward to getting away from the cramped private park and heading to La Pine State Park just down the road.

August 11, 2014 The Cove Palisades State Park, Culver, Oregon

One forgotten Mt Hood picture!

Close-up view of one of Mt Hood's glaciers, very cold but melting

Close-up view of one of Mt Hood’s glaciers, very cold but melting

We reluctantly left Moro and may have stayed for another day if it hadn’t been for the dreadful heat.  We were headed south and sought out a campground with some shady campsites.  We found The Cove Palisades State Park and after finding out they had several spots available we drove to the campground and chose the shadiest spot we could find.  We didn’t worry about trees blocking the satellite TV; with temperatures approaching 101 degrees, we just wanted some shade!

This was just a one night stay and we wanted to see some of the park, so after setting up we hopped in the car.  This park actually has two campgrounds.  We atayed in the one at the top of the canyon which was cooler, had more grass and shade and was closer to the entrance.  We wanted to see the other campground which was a five mile drive down into the canyon.  Once we saw the road we were really glad we didn’t stay there because the road was very steep and our car thermometer went up five degrees in the canyon.  We loved the views of the canyons walls which surrounded a lake and we crossed a bridge as the road wound through IMG_1920 IMG_1916 the canyon and passed an impressive waterfall. IMG_1915 We came to one area in the canyon where we found a geocache at a site where there was a petroglyph.  IMG_1923 IMG_1922

The next day we headed to Redmond, Oregon where we will be attending an FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) Rally.  They are expecting well over 3,000 RVs to attend this rally with seminars, vendors and entertainment to keep us very busy.  As we pulled out of our campground we had a hazy view of Mt Jefferson.

Mt Jefferson from our campsite

Mt Jefferson from our campsite

 A zoomed view of Mt Jefferson from our campground

A zoomed view of Mt Jefferson from our campground

 

August 7, 2014 Columbia River Gorge Part 2

Wow it was hot!  As much as we loved our site at the county park in Moro,

The little town of Moro, Oregon amid the trees and wheat fields as seen from our campground

The little town of Moro, Oregon amid the trees and wheat fields as seen from our campground

Mural on the side of a little cafe where we had breakfast in Moro, Oregon

Mural on the side of a little cafe where we had breakfast in Moro, Oregon

there was no shade and we cooked in the sun!  On our last day in the area we decided to drive up to Mt Hood and then come back through to the Gorge area, cross back over into Washington state, and see the gorge from that side.

Mt Hood, Oregon’s tallest peak at 11,245 feet, is a dormant volcano believed to

Mt Hood

Mt Hood

Zoomed in view of Mt Hood from the north side

Zoomed in view of Mt Hood from the north side

have been formed 11 to 14 million years ago.  Mt Hood has had at least four major eruptions during the past 15,000 years, with the most recent eruption occurring shortly before the arrival of Lewis and Clark in 1805.  Mt Hood has twelve glaciers and is the source of five main rivers which flow into the Columbia.  It is the second most climbed glaciated mountain in the world with the first being Mt Fuji in Japan.  We could see Mt Hood and Mt Adams from our campsite, though with the haze from the heat, it was not a clear view.  With the grandeur of Mt Hood and the magnificence of the Columbia Gorge, this area is quite a jewel!  We could only imagine what Lewis and Clark must have thought!

As we left the campground we continued to see the dry wheat fields and then canyons, IMG_1835 but the farther we drove we began to see glacier carved valleys with trees and vineyards.  We reached Timberline Lodge which at an elevation of 6,000 feet was the closest point we would get to Mt Hood.  This area has the longest ski season in North America and has the most night ski acreage in the United States.  We saw many people dressed for snowboarding and it seemed strange to see people in winter clothing on this very hot day.  Timberline Lodge, built in the 1930’s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and dedicated in 1937 by President Franklin Roosevelt, is a historical landmark and was featured in the movie “The Shining”.

Mt Hood from the south side skiing lodge

Mt Hood from the south side skiing lodge

The Hood Valley is a one of the finest fruit producing regions in the world due to the fertile volcanic soil and the area’s temperate climate.  Over 50% of America’s winter pears, as well as a large number of Bartlett pears come from this area.  It is also known for its magnificent Pippin apples.  We passed many orchards of apple and pear trees, as well as bushes full of blackberries.

As we continued our drive back from Mt Hood we noticed a geocache with an unusual name.  This geocache was in honor of a pioneer woman’s grave.  She continues to be a reminder of those pioneers who traveled west in search of a better life.  Today people still leave items in her honor at the gravesite.  This was just another one of those fascinating finds we would have never known about had it not been for geocaching! IMG_1856 IMG_1853 IMG_1855

We crossed from Oregon back into Washington

Washington State uses a profile of Washington's head for their state road signs

Washington State uses a profile of Washington’s head for their state road signs

to see the Gorge from the other side.  The views were IMG_1870 IMG_1883 IMG_1897 IMG_1904

This Falls was completely submerged by the Dalles Dam

This Falls was completely submerged by the Dalles Dam

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IMG_1886 IMG_1899 IMG_1902 magnificent.  We came to Stonehenge Memorial, built by a local entrepreneur to honor the soldiers of that area who had lost their lives in WW1.  It is a full scale replica of England’s Stonehenge and was completed between 1918 and 1929.  There are also memorials there to local soldiers who lost their lives in WWII, Korea and Vietnam.  We noticed that all the columns had plaques with the names of soldiers who died serving their country.  This Stonehenge sat high on a bluff with magnificent views of the Columbia River Gorge. IMG_1906 IMG_1913

We crossed the bridge back into Oregon and headed home for our final evening in Moro, marveling at what a beautiful area this turned out to be, knowing how glad we were to have made a stop here.

August 6, 2014 Columbia River Gorge

As I mentioned in the last post, the reason we came to this area of Oregon was to see the Columbia River Gorge.  The Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River which stretches 80 miles and is up to 4,000 feet deep.  The Gorge is the only navigable route from the Cascades and the water from the Columbia River flows to the Pacific Ocean.  It is also the boundary between Washington and Oregon.  The Gorge is a federally protected scenic area and makes up the IMG_20140807_141245 IMG_20140807_141231Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area.  This area is the largest scenic area in the United States.  The way the Gorge was made is really quite amazing.  Thousands of years ago glaciers dammed up the waters of the Missoula River.  Over time the water built up until finally it was released from Montana with such force that it carved a canyon through the mountains as it roared toward the Pacific Ocean.

On our first day in the area we drove the Oregon Scenic Byway to see Multnomah Falls about a 90 minute drive from our campground.  On the Washington side of the Gorge we could see Mt Adams and on the Oregon side was majestic Mt Hood.

Zoomed view of Mt Adams in Washington

Zoomed view of Mt Adams in Washington

Mt Hood

Mt Hood

Zoomed view of Mt. Hood

Zoomed view of Mt. Hood

This Scenic Byway was built from 1913-1922 and was considered an engineering marvel at that time.  It was built in such a way as to showcase the waterfalls and beautiful spots through the Gorge and in the words of its engineer “not mar what God had put there”.  As we drove we could see smoke from the wildfires still burning, IMG_1732though they were closer to being contained.  The camp host had warned us this was a very popular attraction so we should avoid the weekend and get an early start.  We followed her advice but when we reached the parking lot for the falls it was full with lines of cars searching for a parking spot.  We ended up playing car tag where one of us would circle the parking lot while the other one would get out and walk up to the falls to take a look and then come back to the car and circle the lot while the other one took a turn.  What a pain!  Regardless, the falls was beautiful.  The upper falls drops 542 feet and the lower falls 69 feet, making it the tallest waterfall in the state of Oregon.  A sign at the waterfall says it is the second tallest year round waterfall in the United States, though some would argue with that distinction. IMG_1736

Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls

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A little farther down the road we came to Horsetail Falls which is supposedly in the shape of a horse’s tail.  It has a drop of 192 feet and was also beautiful.  There was not a long line of cars  so it was easier to view the waterfall and less hectic getting pictures.  Near the falls we had a nice picnic lunch in the shade.

Can you find Bill at Horsetail Falls?

Can you find Bill at Horsetail Falls?

Bill determined there was a geocache nearby and we not only found the geocache but blackberries on both sides of the road as far as the eye could see.  We sure wished we had a bucket or a large container in the car but instead filled up a baggie left over from lunch.  I made a delicious blackberry cobbler when we returned home! IMG_1774 IMG_20140808_133232

We then decided to stop at the Bonneville Lock and Dam on the way home.  Bonneville Lock and Dam was built and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and spans the Columbia River, linking Washington and Oregon.  It was the first federal lock and dam on the

8 dams on the Columbia-Snake River drop the water 730 feet

8 dams on the Columbia-Snake River drop the water 730 feet

Columbia and Snake rivers.  Construction began in 1933 and was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937.  It cost $88.4 million.  In 1986 it was placed on the National

Bonneville Dam First Powerhouse

Bonneville Dam First Powerhouse

View of the Bonneville Dam spillway

View of the Bonneville Dam spillway

Register of Historic Places.  As we drove in we went through a security checkpoint where a guard asked if we had any explosives or weapons.  Everyone who passes through is asked to open their car trunk for inspection.  They had a very nice visitors center where we watched

Bonneville Dam Visitors Center

Bonneville Dam Visitors Center

Generator turbine

Generator turbine

several interesting movies and looked at displays.  We learned that the dam supplies enough energy to meet the power needs of 900,000 homes.  They had nice observation decks to view the dam as well as the fish ladder.  We were fascinated with the fish ladder which was planned

Bonneville Dam fish ladder

Bonneville Dam fish ladder

by the Corps engineers to allow migratory fish to continue their migration from the sea, upstream to the tributaries of the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  There are actually workers whose job it is to spend all day counting fish!  This information is used by biologists and engineers to track increases and decreases in fish runs.  Between 700,000 and 1.5 million adult salmon and steelhead fish swimming upstream, and between 24 and 43 million salmon and other fish migrating downstream, pass through the Bonneville Dam in an average year!  At one point we went downstairs in the Visitors Center where we were then underwater and watched fish swim in the ladder by looking through underwater viewing windows.  Cool!

the fish ladder as seen from the underwater viewing window

the fish ladder as seen from the underwater viewing window

At the bottom are lampreys, really ugly fish

At the bottom are lampreys, really ugly fish

Diane thinks this fish is really ugly and creepy!

Diane thinks this fish is really ugly and creepy!

On our second day in Oregon the temperature really started to rise and it was around 100 degrees by the end of the day.  Seems the temperatures in Montana, Idaho and Washington were catching up with us.  The main objective for today was to visit the Dalles (pronounced Dowles) Dam which is completely located in Washington state.  We made a reservation for a

Exterior view of the Dalles Dam Powerhouse

Exterior view of the Dalles Dam Powerhouse

tour and headed over to the Visitors Center.  There were twelve of us scheduled for the free tour and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employee gave the hour and a half tour.  We were driven by trolley over to the dam where we could actually go inside the facility and see the

Generator room in the Dalles Dam

Generator room in the Dalles Dam

IMG_1818 generators supplying power.  The generating capacity is 1.8 million kilowatts, enough to light up two cities the size of Portland.  Here they had more fish ladders and we could walk on catwalks and see the fish going over or through the ladders.  Yes, they have fish counters here too!  They also had an underwater viewing window and while we were fish watching, a duck swam by!!  The guide did an excellent job of describing what goes on at this dam, which was built over a 5 year period with completion in 1957.  The Dam has a unique design in the shape of a backward “L” which takes advantage of the natural rock formation in the river.

Exterior view of the Dalles Dam fish ladder

Exterior view of the Dalles Dam fish ladder

Dalles Dam fish ladder as seen from the catwalk

Dalles Dam fish ladder as seen from the catwalk

On the way home we drove into the town of Dalles because the town had several murals along Main Street.  Dalles marks the end of the Oregon Trail, a trail known as the source of the greatest peacetime migration in history.  We chose three we particularly liked for the blog. IMG_1824 IMG_1822 IMG_1826  There is a strong Lewis and Clark influence in the state as we drove on roads marked “The Lewis and Clark Trail” and “The Oregon Trail” and we tried to picture what it must have looked like to Lewis and Clark as they paddled through the Columbia Gorge.  It is in this area they bartered with the Indians for horses, and it seems the Indians “saw them coming” so to speak and came out ahead on the deal as they forced Lewis and Clark to barter for three horses, two of which were not good horses in order to get one good horse.  I bet when Lewis and Clark traveled down the Columbia Gorge they must have been wondering where the elusive Pacific Ocean could be!

As we traveled home later in the day we were behind several fire vehicles who had spent the day fighting the nearby wildfires. IMG_20140809_165605 IMG_20140809_165832

August 5, 2014 Montana, Idaho and Washington, Oh MY!

We left Missoula, and with our visit to Glacier National Park completed, we headed once again west and south.  Over the next several months we will gradually make our way back south for the winter.  As we traveled through western Montana we marveled at all the open land with few houses in the distance.  We concluded that people must each own a lot of land since there was so much land and so few homes.  We continued to see cattle and horses on the dry, rocky farmland and little if any crops. It appeared it would take a lot of irrigation to grow much of anything.

I don’t know when, if ever, we have crossed through three states in one day, but we did today as we made our way through Montana, the north western tip of Idaho, and just over the border into Washington.

After one night stops in Spokane Valley and Kennewick where the daily temperatures approached 100 degrees, we headed west and south towards Oregon.  We had planned on staying two or more nights in Kennewick, but the campground was new and had absolutely no shade and we were cooking in the broiling sun.

As we headed west through Washington, we continued to marvel at the difference between eastern and western Washington.  Here in eastern Washington the grass was a golden brown surrounded by steep rocky cliffs.  Occasionally we would see some corn growing in areas where they had worked hard at irrigating the fields.  We saw many power lines, fields of wind turbines called wind farms, and long long trains racing beside us on tracks fairly close to the interstate.  While in Montana, Idaho and eastern Washington we often heard train whistles in the distance during the night.

Eventually we began to see the mighty Columbia River, an important passageway for Lewis and Clark.  This was the beginning of the magnificent Columbia River Gorge, and the reasonIMG_20140807_130851 IMG_20140807_133345 IMG_20140807_141245 IMG_20140807_141231 IMG_20140807_142459 IMG_20140807_141708we came to this area.  But much much more on that later!  As we approached the Oregon border we began to see vineyards appearing, though it appeared that irrigation was still a struggle, as well as field after field of wheat.  We saw the John Day Dam and Mt Adams in the

John Day Lock and Dam was completed in 1971. John Day Lock has the highest lift (110 feet) of any U.S. lock.

John Day Lock and Dam was completed in 1971. John Day Lock has the highest lift (110 feet) of any U.S. lock.

distance and we stopped at an overlook to take a break and snap some pictures.  Mt Adams, at 12,276 feet high is the second highest peak in the Northwest after Mt Rainier.

As we crossed the bridge between Washington and Oregon we caught the first whiff of smoke from the Oregon wildfires burning about thirty miles away.  As we approached our home for the next several days we saw some llamas in a field.

Welcome to Oregon

Welcome to Oregon

We are staying the next several days at a county park in Moro, Oregon.  For the low price of $25 a night we get full hookups with 50 AMP service, free WIFI and cable TV and they have laundry facilities.  Quite a deal!  The only drawback is there is no shade, but the temperatures were 10 to 15 degrees cooler than we left behind in Washington and there was a stiff breeze with gusts of 20 mph so we opened the windows and enjoyed Mother Nature’s air conditioning.  From our campground we can see Mt Hood and Mt Adams in the distance!  While the air appeared smoky in the distance, we could not smell smoke at the campground.  The super friendly camp host came by to greet us and spent about an hour filling us in on all the interesting places to visit in the Columbia River Gorge area.  Later Bill stepped outside and snapped some great sunset pictures which may had been enhanced by the smoke in the distance.

A zoomed view of Mount Hood from our campground just before sunset

A zoomed view of Mount Hood from our campground just before sunset

Our first sunset over the wheat fields

Our first sunset over the wheat fields

August 3, 2014 Missoula, Montana

We left our campground at Glacier National Park on yet another hot day and headed towards Missoula, Montana.  We didn’t have any particular reason to go there except just to hang out a few more days in Montana.  Along the way we passed through farmland with many signs advertising cherries for sale as we passed one cherry orchard after another.  We continued to marvel at the large lakes, in particular Flathead Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi and originated from an ancient massive glacier.  All but the northern tip of Flathead Lake is part of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

We arrived at our campground, a delightful private campground owned by Jim and Mary.  The office looked like a little fairy tale cottage with beautiful flowers growing alongside a white picket fence.  Mary said her husband plants the flowers from seeds and all throughout the park were little flower gardens.  We parked the RV in a nice spot under some shade trees and spent a relaxing two days at Jim and Mary’s.  One evening I caught a glimpse of a little black bunny as he scurried along one of the flower gardens.

One day we drove into downtown Missoula which had the usual box stores and restaurants.  I wanted to drive down Main Street which was smaller than we expected and didn’t have the western flair we thought it might.  We did a grocery run and I did some laundry at Jim and Mary’s super clean laundry facilities.

It was a wonderful relaxing two days in Missoula after the crowds, traffic, heat and rush to take in everything at Glacier.