ELEVATION 5000 FEET ...

There must have been a rush on 5000’ Elevation signs, as all day on our 286 mile journey to Susanville CA, via the backroads, we saw many elevation signs, and they all read “Elevation 5000 Feet”.  We stopped to see Anne Creek Falls on Hwy 62 before we turned off on another Scenic Byway that would take us from Fort Klamath along the west side of Upper Klamath  Lake (OR).  We followed OR 140 to Klamath Falls and OR 39 and CA 139 to Susanville CA.  I loved the sign on an old building in Fort Klamath which wins the “name of the trip” award...  Gingham Frog Ceramics.  Makes a creative person conjure up fabulous fantasies from days gone by.  We enjoyed forests, waterfalls, pastures, farmland, more mountains, lakes and high desert (5000’) along the way!!!  The most fun today was planting a geocache travel bug of a duck that Don picked up in Oregon near the Crooked River on 7/8.   Don placed it in Tulelake CA - a major bird sanctuary - where he is sure to enjoy a rest, a swim and perhaps meet many new friends!!!

After 37 days, we are “fat and happy” and trying to decide our favorite things.  Tomorrow we Head for the Barn (only 185 miles from here), to complete our 3,950 mile driving “Wander”...  which did not include 2 days of FLYING, 7 days of CRUISING and 5 days of WALKING around Sitka and Juneau AK.  We visited AK, WA, OR, CA, NV and BC Canada (including all of Vancouver Island)... and loved every minute of it.  If you haven’t been following the blog till now, we invite you to backtrack and catch up with us by opening June and selecting NW 2013, then work your way up to today!!!

In summary, I shot over  2500 video clips and photos...edited video about 3.5 hours of video (about 2/3rds of what I shot), and I’ll have to weed thru all those stills... but you've seen the best of best.  Of course I'll save many more.  And, if you're so inclined, stop by throughout the summer as I'll post some "hiking the high sierra photos" now and then plus any other exciting "wandering" we might do.  Thanks for tagging along.

This is not sandstone.  It is the pale-buff dacite pumice
layer of material that lies below the grey andesite scoria
layer...just as you saw in yesterday's Pinnacles, which
gave them their light base color.

Fort Klamath Hotel - home of

the Gingham Frog Ceramics - many years ago

A couple shots of Upper Klamath Lake from the West Shore.

Black Angus leading the good life...

Not that we needed it, but "big red" gets a wash as
Klamath Falls Swim Team does a fund raiser.

I loved the window box decoration across the street.

Eagle Lake just north of Susanville CA

After all those trees, mountains, glaciers & lakes
this meadow deserved a photo...

Where Don "planted" his duck geocache "bug"

Last Mountain - Mt Shasta again as we return home
38 days later...from the East side.   That's a wrap!!!

A CRATER OF A DAY - Crater Lake OR

Crater Lake is the deepest Lake, 1943’, in the US (with Lake Tahoe being second).  Photos taken from the rim road make up the majority of the visual journey today.  We started at the north entrance and went from East to West to take advantage of the sun’s position---something only a photographer thinks about!!! And for our friend Bob, make sure you do it in this direction as the road going the other way, is straight off in many places on the passenger side... without Guard Rails!! The Volcanic eruption that created this lake happened 7700 years ago where a 12,000 foot mountain peak once stood.  The rim road averages an elevation of 6800-7200’.  We also took a short out and back journey to see the pinnacles...100’ spires which are “fossil fumaroles” created when volcanic gasses rose up through a layer of volcanic ash, cementing the ash into solid rock.    A 5-Star Day.  And Don and I both agree... about the most spectacular "single" thing we saw on the whole trip.  Incidentally, the annual snowfall for this area is between 45 to 50 feet...times 12” equals 600” on a snowy year!!!   Upon looking up CRATER, one definition is:  a large bowl used in ancient Greece for mixing wine.  No wonder I enjoyed the day so much... Hope you enjoy the 38 mile loop as much as we did.  It only  took us 5 hours so you're not seeing all the photos I took, not to mention video!!!!!!!!!

Mt Bailey 8363' - Diamond Lake OR

Approaching Crater Lake - looking South
(backside of Watchman Overlook)

Turning to look North ...  Mt Thielsen 9182'

Close up of craggy top of Mt Thielsen

Steel Bay Overlook...

another view

Cleetwood Cove

Grotto Cove

Pumice Castle Overlook

Side trip:  The Pinnacles

Pinnacles are "fossil fumaroles" where

volcanic gasses rose up thru ash, cementing the ash into
solid rock.  

Vidae Falls drop 100' over glacier-carved cliffs.

View from Rim Village

Don at Rim Village - Wizard Island in background.

OREGON’s MOUNTAINS...

As you can tell, we've been without internet for a while (as we are home now - 7/11) so I'm posting the rest of the journey today from home.  As we left our overnight at the Best Western in Gov/t Camp OR at the base of Mt Hood we thought we had taken our last look, but this magnificent mountain showed itself in the clear blue sky with many other peaks in the Cascades: Mt Jefferson, Three Sisters, Three Finger Jack, Mt Washington, Mt Bailey and craggy Mt Thielson.  The last two hugged Diamond Lake (just north of Crater Lake) where we stopped for two nights at Diamond Lake Resort.

Sites along the 235 mile journey, which took us all day, included many mountain “shots” along hwy 26 and 79, plus a few back road adventures which made us glad we were not hauling the 5th wheel, since we would have missed all those unique opportunities:  Warm Springs OR to the Pelton Dam/Lake Simtustus area and then Lake Billy Chinook (both whose namesakes were indians who were guides for the US government in the mid 1800‘s).  Stopped at Round Butte Overlook Park to learn more about the dam at Lake Billy Chinook which is a place  where our gov’t spend 130 milllion dollars for a fish transfer station!!!  The little park on the Crooked River, named after the explorer Ogden was well worth the stop to look at the old highway bridge, the new one and a great ole train trestle.  We revisited Smith Rock after 20 yearsand found it just as impressive.  Many geocaches were also found in very unique places and we’re transporting several travel bugs to CALIFORNIA.  

Mt Jefferson OR 10,497'

Again...

On the back roads to Pelton Dam

Pelton Dam

That 130 million dollar fish transfer station...

The lavender version of a Mariposa Lily.
I've never seen one before.

Passing by Mt Washington 7,794

The new bridge over Crooked River

to the West, the RR Bridge

Looking east again, the old bridge hides the
new one...

Smith Rock area

more..

with Mt Washington in the background

Diamond Lake Resort

Singing for his supper

Dinner on the patio

Diamond Lake Good Night...

COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE SCENIC HIGHWAY plus..

In order to miss the traffic we feared this morning Sunday July 7, we headed out at 6:45 a.m. We only saw several herd of Elk and a few wandering deer on Hwy 12 West.  We then traveled south on I-5 to Hwy 14 East, the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway (which wasn’t too scenic as the trees are too high and block the view).  However we managed to stop a number of times to experience a close up look at flowers,  Beacon Rock, The Columbia River Interpretive Center in Stephenson WA, as well as wind surfers, with and without parasails, who rode the rough water  with style and grace as their colorful boards and sails provided this photographer with many rapid fire kodak moments. 

Beacon Rock is an 848'  high free standing volcanic core created out of Basalt, and is the 2nd largest free standing monolith in the northern hemisphere and fourth in the world.  It is a rock climbers paradise.  Lewis & Clark who explored this area in 1805, referred to it as “Beaton Rock” (for good reason).  And not to be forgotten, towering 11420’ above sea level,  Mount Hood, which was named after British admiral Samuel Hood, by a member of Captain George Vancouver’s discovery expedition.  Our 246 mile excursion ended some 6 hours later at the Best Western in Government Camp Oregon... an interesting place in itself... Google knows the rest of the story!!!

???

Beacon Rock close up

and from afar...

The massive Bonneville Dam

The Columbia River Interpretive Center...

One of 3 "Court of Cedars" carved in 1980 by
90 year old artist and woodsman Dudley Carter.

Tunnel #5 along side the Columbia River

More ?????

Mt Hood - far away

and up close