Alan & Sandra’s Incredible Cross Country Adventure
Phase Three
Portland – Columbia Gorge – Bend – Crater Lake Park – Redwood Park – California Coast – San Jose
October 26 – November 9
We were not certain until a few weeks before our scheduled departure whether we would be able to complete the third leg of our journey. The problem with living a semi-retired lifestyle is that you are still burdened with work related problems. We are presently experiencing a major staffing issue at work, but fortunately, we were able to put this issue on hold long enough to complete our trip, though it was a slightly shorter than our previous ones. Unfortunately, the issue has not yet been resolved, so the next leg of our adventure is still up in the air.
We only had enough time for one day in Portland, and put off extensively exploring the city for a possible future vacation. This was enough time to visit the Saturday farmers market, the Portland Saturday, Market and take a walking tour of downtown. I always thought that the Madison farmers market was pretty impressive. The one in Portland had a far greater selection of lush produce and interesting things to choose from. Portland Saturday Market is the largest continually operating arts and craft market in the country. On the walking tour we heard a lot of great stories about the very quirky nature of the people of Portland. Such as a former mayor appearing to expose himself to a sculpture of a naked woman for a fundraising poster entitled “Expose yourself to art”.
Leaving Portland we had two choices for routes. Follow the coast to the west or the mountains to the east. Being that we were planning on traversing the California coast during the second week of our excursion, we decided to take the mountain route, and save the Oregon coast for our future hypothetical vacation to Portland. We lucked out on this trip and arrived in Oregon during their peak fall color season. I always felt that autumn in Wisconsin was pretty spectacular. Fall in Oregon is couple more notches up the amazing color spectrum.
We spent our second day driving through the Columbia Gorge to Hood River. The Columbia Gorge is a thin ribbon of federally protected land hugging the Columbia River. The 4,000 feet mountains that line the sides of the gorge are filled with numerous canyon and waterfall trails. However, most of the interesting trails were closed because of the Eagle River Fire which took place in September 2017. We still managed to take in three short waterfall hikes and loads of fall colors. Hood River is a lovely town with a very developed art scene, so we spent some time there exploring the art galleries.
Crown Point Overlook - Columbia Gorge
Multonomah Falls - Columbia Gorge
On our third day we pushed south to Hood Mountain, Oregon’s tallest peak, with plans to take in a trail in the Timberline Lodge area. This is the hotel used for the exterior shots in the movie The Shining. While driving to the mountain it began to rain, and as we increased our elevation the rain changed to snow. By the time we reached the lodge, we were in the midst of a heavy snow storm with very limited visibility. I am sorry to say that we never saw the mountain. After driving back down the mountain, we were soon out of the snow, and in a mere hour found ourselves in the high desert basking in the sun.
The next three nights were spent in Bend. The town itself is nothing special, but the surrounding area is a playground for outdoor adventurers. While in Bend we visited two parks, and the High Desert Museum, a great indoor/outdoor museum highlighting the cultures and natural history of the surrounding area. The first park was the Newberry National Monument, where we did a short hike to a waterfall and another to an eerie lunar landscape filled with mounds of lava pumice and obsidian. When we left for the park it was in the 50s, so we were taken by surprise by the snow at the higher elevations.
The next day we went to Smith Rock State Park. This was a small but impressive mountain range jutting out of a sea of little ranchettes. Here we began our hike by zig zagging up to Misery Ridge. We then came around the back side of the mountain, and hiked down to a river, which we followed back to the parking lot. Along the way, we passed numerous sheer cliffs dotted with the bright color outfits of mountain climbers dangling from ropes.
Big Obsidian Flow Hike - Newberry Monument
Rock Climbers - Smith Rock State Park
Misery Ridge Hike - Smith Rock State Park
River Hike - Smith Rock State Park
After Bend we drove to Ashland with a stopover in Crater Lake National Park. We would have preferred to spend more time at the park, but all of the hotels and campgrounds there were closed for the season, and desirable lodging was slim pickens between these two cities. As it turned out, it did not matter, because all but a small portion of the park was closed. With just a few hours to spend in the park we were able to complete the only interesting trail that was open. Crater Lake is very deep body of water, the ninth deepest in the world, surrounded by a ring of steep mountain vistas. It was created by Mt. Mazama a volcano collapsing onto itself 7,700 years ago. No rivers run in or out of the lake, so the water is a very pristine blue.
Garfield Peak Trail - Crater Lake National Park
Ashland is a delightful town renowned for its theater. the highlight being the nine month long Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which ended five days before we got there. We spent the morning, touring the downtown and hiking through the beautiful Lithia city park bursting with autumn colors. The picture on our home page is from this park. Afterwards we bid farewell to Oregon and drove to the California Coast.
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The next day we connected with highway 101 and began our journey down the coast. We spent most of the day taking a 13 mile hike that looped through Redwood State Park. This would turn out to be our most ambitious hike to date. The forest was absolutely enchanting. The trees soared high above over a forest floor covered with every type of fern imaginable. It was unlike any forest we have ever seen before. Walking under these massive trees gave me the sensation of how a small creature such as a fox might feel walking through a typical Wisconsin forest.
After six mile of hiking, we came to the true gem of the park, Fern Canyon. This small canyon is lined with shear vertical walls covered with thick layers of ferns. It felt as though we were walking through an abandoned open air cathedral. Even though I packed head lamps for the hike, I was a little concerned about being stuck in the forest after dark. My concern was justified, because as the day progressed, we found ourselves walking a little slower and slower. But, we stilled managed to make it back to the car just minutes before sunset.
Fern Canyon Hike - Redwood State Park
Sandra Posing with the Redwoods
Our next stop was for two nights in Eureka. Even though we found the old downtown to be interesting, and we enjoyed the murals and old Victorian houses that dotted the town, overall we were not very impressed with the city.
After Eureka, we followed highway 101 south away from the coast, and took a slight detour through the Avenues of the Giants. This is another impressive redwood forest where they filmed the famous chase seen in The Return of the Jedi. I was disappointed not to have seen any Ewoks scurrying about. Perhaps they are very solitary creatures. This area where the road diverts away from the shoreline is called the Lost Coast. It comprises of a range of coastal mountains that are too steep for any highway construction.
We soon connected with highway 1, which started as a long winding road through thick forests, finally opening up to a breathtaking vista of rugged coastline. We were totally mesmerized with the view. We continued for two days hugging the coast. I have to admit that after awhile we become a little jaded viewing one amazing vista/beach/bay after another. There were small coves filled with sandy beaches surrounded by steep rock formations, and shorelines filled with sea stacks which are hard rocks that resisted the force of the waves while the softer rock surrounding them would be eventually eaten way. We especially enjoyed walking over the tidal pools exposed during low tide looking for sea life trapped in these pools. such as the alien like sea veggies that looked like snakes creeping among the rocks. Highway 1 has to be considered one of the most scenic roadways in the country
Highway 1 ended for us at the Golden Gate Bridge and our drive into San Francisco. We had only a few hours to spend in the city. Sandra used to live in the Bay Area, and I have been there many times before, so we did not feel the need to tour the city. We just made one stop to the Japanese Tea Garden. I have been to many gardens, and consider this to be one of the best. After exploring the gardens, we relaxed in the tea shop overlooking a tranquil pond.
For our last night we spent some time with my friend Kevin Krave and his wife Sonja in San Jose, before flying back to Madison.
As I write this blog while listening to the news, I am amazed at how lucky we have been on our trips in avoiding the wrath of global warning. On our second trip we arrived just days before the last smoke clouds drifted away, and this time, we left just days before the Armageddon of the Camp Fire. Living in a place like Wisconsin where the worse thing that ever happens is a random tornado, it is difficult for us to fully comprehend the lives of people living in areas that are experiencing more dramatic effects of global warming. Sadly, it would appear that this pattern of extreme weather events is becoming the new normal for all of us.
For My Peace Corps LDA Brothers
Kevin and I had a great time reminiscing about the good old days in the Philippines, and I updated him on all of the stories I heard at the last reunion. Sonja is retired and Kevin still works a few hours a week from home. They are doing well in San Jose, but are thinking of downsizing their life to a smaller town such as Victoria Canada. Their son is a lawyer, living in Hawaii.
