Magnificence – Redwood State and National Parks and the North California Coast [September 18 – 21, 2023]

 

Gigantic Coastal Redwood root ball

Just Wow!!!  The Coastal Redwood trees are dramatic and beautiful.  The North California Coast is also dramatic and beautiful.  We spent 4 days exploring this beautiful part of our beautiful country.  (Do I get an award for using the word beautiful four times in the first 30 words of this blog post?)

 

Foggy Bodega Bay Marina

The rugged, foggy Pacific coast

We joined the California coast in foggy Bodega Bay.  Most of Bodega Bay is perched on a cliffside, and the restaurants have tiny parking lots.  We drove down to the marina area where there were spots big enough to accommodate us as well as seafood restaurants.  We got food for lunch, and chowders to save for dinner.  Does Bodega Bay sound familiar to you?  Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, The Birds, was filmed there.

 

Point Arena Lighthouse

Yes, those are pelicans...

We continued along the foggy coast and camped that night at the KOA near Manchester State Park, and went looking for the Port Arena lighthouse in the fog the next morning.  The setting is scenic, even in the mist.

 

Beautiful sea vista

The fog lifted on our second driving day revealing rugged sea vistas viewed from the top and sometimes from the sides of cliffs on Route 1.  The road cuts inland after Fort Bragg and winds its way through scenic second growth Redwood forests, up and down steep slopes of the Coastal Range of mountains toward Route 101 which takes you North again.  Note to RVers- this is a white-knuckle drive on a very narrow, very windy road with no shoulders and steep drop offs.  Not recommended for the faint of heart.

 

The California coast is rocky, with cliffs overlooking gravel or coarse sand beaches.  The Pacific Ocean slams huge waves against rocky outcroppings with tall sprays of water.  There is always a roar of the ocean beating against the shoreline.

 

We learned about treacherous Sneaker Waves (sometimes called Sleeper Waves or Rogue Waves) – waves of water that do not break on the shore, but instead continue in toward the beach and carry people and dogs out to sea.  Survival in the cold Pacific waters is unlikely.  There are signs on every beach warning you to never turn your back on the ocean.  Rather than swim Schooner here, we found a quiet lagoon cut off from the ocean for her to retrieve her ball from the water.

 

No that isn't an optical illusion, that tree is really that big

The Coastal Redwood trees thrive in the misty fogs of the coastline.  Warm inland air passes over the frigid ocean waters generating fog and providing precious moisture to the trees.  Scientists say that this climate pattern approximates the mild, moist climate of the Dinosaur Age, when these majestic trees grew all over North America.  Now they are confined to a narrow strip along the northern California coast.

 

Coastal Redwood Facts

·        Can live to be 2000 years old, and average 500-700 years.

·        Grow to nearly 380 feet tall (tallest tree on earth)

·        Can be 22 feet in diameter (although some are bigger)

·        Do not suffer insect damage or have killing diseases

·        Sprout from seed, stump, or off the base of the tree

·        In 1800, covered 2-million acres, about 100,000 acres remain today

 

This tree grew from another tree

These trees are growing from a stump

After the California Gold Rush played out, fortune hunters turned to logging precious Redwood trees.  In 1920, California preserved a few old growth groves of the trees in a series of state parks.  The US Congress created Redwood National Park in 1968, surrounding three of these State Parks, protecting additional trees and also an important salmon fishery.  The four parks are operated collaboratively, so you will see rangers in California State Parks and National Park Service uniforms throughout the parks.  The Redwood National and State Parks protect about 40,000 acres of these ancient forests.

 

The Newton B. Drury Parkway through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park 

Circle Trail

The "Big Tree"

We explored the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.  It has a drive through the forest with parking pull-offs at trail heads.  Every tree along the road seems larger and more stately than the previous tree.  There is a Circle Trail that is well maintained and flat.  Needless to say, it is also quite popular.  It takes you by the “Big Tree” – height 286 feet and diameter 23.7 feet.  

Roots in the trail

Cathedral of Trees Trail

We turned off the Circle Trail to the aptly named Cathedral of Trees Trail.  The first thing we noticed away from the crowded trail was the quiet and serenity in this forest of enormous trees.  The narrow trail was seamed with tree roots and rocks.  Gigantic root balls and fallen tree trunks supported the life of new trees.  We were awe-struck. 

 

Yurok plank house - Sue-Meg State Park

The view from a hike in Sue-Meg State Park

We camped outside Trinidad at Sounds of the Sea RV Park, where we heard, but couldn’t see, waves splashing and sea lions barking.  The campground is near Sue-Meg State Park.  Sue-Meg and other State Parks in the area honor the Yurok people who along with two other native tribes lived in this area.  It has a reconstructed plank house Yurok village that is used today for tribal ceremonies.   It also has trails to dramatic rocks, beaches and overlooks.

 

Yum!

Trinidad harbor

Trinidad lighthouse replica

The town of Trinidad is located on a scenic little harbor.  They have a wonderful seafood restaurant, Seascapes, where we happily over-ate delicious local seafood.  It also had a tiny 24.5 foot lighthouse that used to sit on the top of a very high cliff.  The cliff is deteriorating, so a replica of the lighthouse has been brought down to the marina for safety, where it will eventually become part of a park

 

You can not reach this region by vehicle without driving on a twisty, mountain road.  When we left, we headed east on winding Route 299, which is wide, has passing lanes for slow vehicles on hills, and (most importantly) has shoulders.  After Route 1, this road was a luxury!

Overlooking the beach at Sue-Meg State Park on a windy day

Not Just Another Pretty Lake – Crater Lake National Park, Oregon [September 12-13, 2023]

 

Breathtaking.  Mesmerizing.  Remarkable.  Memorable.  Crater Lake is an exceptionally beautiful place and also a geological novelty.  [Most of what we know about geology was taught to us by the National Park Service, and this is no exception.]

 

Mount Mazama is part of the chain of volcanic mountains in the Cascade Range.  A few of the other notable volcanoes in this range are Mount Ranier, Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Shasta.  About 7,700 years ago, 12,000 foot tall Mount Mazama erupted.  Pumice and ash flew into the air and flowed down its sides.  After the magma chambers emptied, the mountain could not support its own weight and fell in on itself, forming a deep basin or caldera where the mountain peak had once stood. 

 

The eruption was witnessed by native people from what is believed to be four tribes, including the ancestors of the current Klamath tribe.  Their oral tradition about the eruption matches closely with what scientists believe happened.  The lake has been and continues to be an important part of tribal practices.

 

The caldera has filled with centuries of snowmelt  and rainfall, to form the deepest lake in the United States.  It is 1,943 feet deep at its deepest point.  No streams feed or empty from the lake; the consistent water depth is maintained by precipitation and evaporation.  The water is exceptionally clear and bright blue in color.

 

Wizard Island is a volcano within a volcano

You can see the crater at the top of the cone

While the lake was filling with water, other smaller volcanoes erupted inside the caldera.  One formed what is known as Wizard Island.  It looks like a mini-volcano floating in the lake.  The others formed cones under water.  You can see the crater in the top of Wizard Island from above.

 

Early in the history of the park (1888-1941) the lake was stocked with game fish to improve the lakes recreational value.  Previously, Crater Lake was without fish.  They also stocked it with crayfish to provide food for some of the game fish.  Today, two of the fish species, rainbow trout and kokanee salmon, and the crayfish still remain in the lake.  Scientists are studying the consequences of importing these fish into the pristine lake.  We question how anglers would have been able to get down the steep sides of the caldera to the water’s edge to fish, or more importantly how they would get their boats down there?

 

Steep sides to the caldera, Phantom Ship in the foreground

When you visit Crater Lake, you hike or drive around the rim of the volcano, looking down at the water.  The sides are steep and often covered with loose rock.  There is only one place where you can hike down to the waters edge.  It is termed to be the most strenuous hike in the park with an elevation change of 700 feet in 1.1 miles.  Hardy hikers can hike down and take a boat ride out to Wizard Island and hike or swim there.  We decided not to try it.

 

A view of the Rim Drive

And another...

The Rim Drive encircles the lake.  Sometimes it is close to the edge of the rim, and sometimes it travels around a ridge and away from the lake.  There are many pull-offs to admire features of the lake, some right next to the road, and some with short hikes from the parking lot.  Every view of the lake is a picture postcard moment.  While we were there a portion of the East Rim Drive was closed for maintenance.

 

Crater Lake Lodge

We camped outside the park at the charming Crater Lake Resort.  It is located in a very flat area at about 4,000 feet in elevation 25 miles from the South Entrance to the park, which is actually a ways inside the park boundary.  As soon as you enter the park, the road starts to climb.  The Rim Village with a café, gift shop, visitors center, and the historic Crater Lake Lodge is at 7,100 feet of elevation. 

 

Eyeing our grapes...

We explored the Rim Village on our first morning in the park, then we set out on the East Rim Drive.  We stopped for a mid-morning snack at a picnic area along a ridge.  It was tranquil and quiet until we opened our container of grapes for our snack.  We were visited by four very forward Jays, who took turns hopping around on the table eyeing our grapes then flying to a neighboring tree and being replaced by another Jay or two.  Obviously, these birds had been fed by humans.  We closed our grapes up and left them to fend for themselves in the wild.

 

The Phantom Ship

We hiked a loop trail in Sun Notch through a lovely meadow and out to several remarkable viewpoints of the Phantom Ship.  This is a lava remnant of a volcanic cone that precedes the time of Mount Mazama.  It is the oldest rock in Crater Lake.  It looks kind of like the Black Pearl in “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie.  The views from above with the reflection in the lake are spectacular.  As you drive further, there is an overlook with yet another view of the Phantom Ship.

 

The Pumice Castle

Another feature seen at the Phantom Ship Overlook is the Pumice Castle, an orange outcropping of hardened pumice in a landscape of greys.  While it is named a castle, it looks like a hoodoo to us.

 

The rim hiking trail takes you quite close to the edge

On our second day, we explored the West Rim Drive.  This drive gives you many, wonderful views of Wizard Island.  There is a hiking path from the Rim Village that parallels the road and runs closer to the edge of the rim in some spots.  We hiked along it for a while enjoying the views.

The Watchman trail takes you past stone left behind by the eruption

The watch tower at the top of the Watchman

The view from the top of the Watchman

The Watchman is an 8013 foot peak that got its name when it was used by the US Geological Survey as a watch point while surveyors sounded the lake depths in 1886.  There is a stone tower at the summit built in the early 1930s to spot fires.  The hike is considered “moderate” at .8 of a mile each way and 420 feet of elevation change.  The view from the top is glorious.  It is a popular hike, so we shared the tower patio with a lot of other hikers.

 

There really is no place we have visited quite like Crater Lake.  Is it on your bucket list?  We hope you enjoyed the photos in this post; we took 100’s.  Such a beautiful place!

Instantly Recognizable – The Space Needle – Seattle, Washington [September 6, 2023]

 

The Lego Space Needle in the gift shop

The iconic Space Needle silhouette is an emblem of Seattle.  Completed in less than a year in 1962 for the Worlds' Fair, the Needle was intended to evoke a vision for the future.  It is now an historic landmark, drawing over 1.3 million visitors a year. 

 

Looking up from the base

Here are some Space Needle facts:

It is 605 feet high and 138 feet wide.

The upper observation deck is 520 feet off the ground.

The lower restaurant deck rotates 1 full rotation every 45 minutes. 

You have options to purchase tickets to visit the Space Needle - online, at an electronic kiosk around the base of the structure, or at a traditional ticket booth.  You choose an entry time for your ticket, so there isn’t congestion or a long wait.

 

Once you enter, you walk along a ramp with displays that recount the timeline of the construction with photographs, text and models.  From there, you take an elevator to the upper observation deck.

 

Looking out from the inside room, just love the Plexiglas cup holders

Reflections while we take pictures of each other through glass

The upper observation deck has an indoor, glassed-in central room with a snack bar/coffee bar.  You can walk around the room, and look out through the glass over the city.  An interesting design note, there are stools where you can sit by the windows, with clear Plexiglas coffee cup holders attached to the windows that don’t obstruct your view outside.

 

The outdoor observation deck, with glass bench

Alternatively, you can go out onto the glassed-in outdoor viewing deck and get a closer look.  There are a few narrow benches that you can use to pose for photos floating in space.

 

This is the ferry we took from the Olympic Peninsula the day before.

Here it is up close...

We had spent the first part of the day driving around Seattle in search of locations from Dana’s Mom’s teenagerhood there.  So, we had a general idea of Seattle geography.  As we walked around the circular observation deck, we picked out locations we recognized and enjoyed watching the ships and tug boats in the busy harbor.

 

The rollers that carry the revolving floor

From the observation deck, you descend a flight of stairs to the revolving restaurant level.  There are still a few restaurant tables there reminiscent of the original intention for this level.  Most of the space now has glass floor panels that you can look through to see the gears and rollers that convey the level around.  You can also look out the window and watch the city of Seattle revolve by.

One designer opined that the Space Needle would become as recognizable and emblematic as the Eiffel Tower.  What do you think?