Crossing Northeastern California

Leaving the Oregon Coast, our plan is to make our way south east across California as we head toward a visit with our Arizona Family, before our final leg of our trip home. 

 Shasta Caverns

A boat ride across Shasta Lake, followed by a bus ride up a narrow mountain road, brought us to the entrance to these caverns.  That’s where the real workout began with some long flights of stairs up through the cavern, and then down on the outside of the mountain as we exited back to the bus and then boat. Oh and a steep incline and more stairs back to our truck and trailer in the parking lot!

Empire Mine Tour

Located 50 miles from San Francisco, in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Grass Valley, California, the Empire Mine is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Empire Mine is one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California. “Between 1850 and its closure in 1956, the Empire Mine produced 5.8 million ounces of gold, extracted from 367 miles of underground passages.”

Our docents for this tour of the mine, and the mine owner’s residence, were a delightful married couple, who added humor into their informative conversation about the history of this site.

Wildlife encounters

While preparing to leave our Oregon House, CA campsite in the morning this young buck didn’t want to let us get out of our trailer. He just stared at us when we opened the door and tried to shoo him away. We didn’t want to have a run in with those antlers! Finally Steve convinced him to move on.

As we arrived at our new campground in South Lake Tahoe in the evening, a black bear came through the campground while we were unhitching and was trying to get into trash cans. The bear proof bin did its job to deter him. As he left the trash can and continued to walk toward us, we hurried into our trailer to get out of his way. In my haste to get out of the Bear’s path, I accidentally left my door to the truck slightly ajar. From the window of our trailer we could see our truck door opening. Our visitor thought he would get in and have our food and trash! Steve shot a blast of bear spray at him from the back bumper of the truck and he moved on to check other campsites! It was our closest encounter with a bear and quite unexpected to have him so boldly walking through a campground searching for human food.

Also, this was our first time to discharge the bear spray. Without it we may have had the dilemma of a bear inside our truck! We had to air out the truck from the lingering fumes of bear spray after we got all food and trash out of it! 

Lake Tahoe

With 72 miles of shoreline surrounding this Lake, a journey along the 89 highway on the California side, and the 28 highway on the Nevada side is touted as “America’s Most Beautiful Drive”!

While we have been on some spectacular drives in the course of our Adventures on the Road none have had such views of this lake, which contains enough water to cover the entire state of California to a depth of 14 inches! At 22 miles long by 12 miles wide Lake Tahoe is North America’s largest alpine lake.

Lake Tahoe varies in color depending on the depth of the water, at its deepest 1,644 feet it is a dark blue and as it gets shallower it has distinct bands of shades of blue! Also the sky in Tahoe is the deepest shade of blue we have seen anywhere! My photos can barely capture these colors!

Boathouse Concert

A historic boathouse on Lake Tahoe, Valhalla has been repurposed as a concert and play venue. Behind the stage, windows cover what used to be the boat access, providing a wonderful backdrop to the quartet “Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands”. We were treated to a fabulous evening of blue grass music from four very talented musicians. They  played bass, fiddle, guitar and banjo and had great harmonies covering some fun tunes and original songs!

Hellman-Ehrman Mansion Tour

This "summer home" offers tours which showcase the opulent lifestyle of the rich tycoons who had second homes in Tahoe.

 According to the parks/ca. website:

“In 1897, San Francisco businessman I. W. Hellman began buying property at Sugar Pine Point and by 1913 had acquired nearly 2000 acres. His grand but informal summer home, called Pine Lodge, was completed in 1903 and was considered to be one of the finest in the high Sierra. His daughter, Florence Hellman Ehrman inherited the estate and she and her husband Sydney spent many summers here entertaining family and friends.”

Our docent led tour put us in the role of guests of the family arriving for a summer visit. Only as an invited guest in that era, you would have traveled by train and then boat to arrive at this estate, where you would have every need met by the staff. You could boat, fish, hunt, hike or take a horseback ride, or do nothing at all! You would be served three meals a day, sometimes with a formal dinner.  I think this was the "bed and breakfast" or "cruise" of the day, but with all the expenses paid by your hosts!

The house had electricity and indoor plumbing in a time when this was rare, and certainly unexpected in a remote lakeside home! Quite the life! 

Now a state park, the home and  lakeside grounds provide trails, swimming and boating opportunities.  We enjoyed the tree lined hike to a picnic spot by the beach with great views!

Virginia Lakes and Trumbull Lake

We got just a taste of the Eastern Sierras on our way south. When we first bought our travel trailer a little over four years ago we had planned a trip to the sierras that got rerouted due to wildfires. Seems every year since there have been so many wildfires in the western U.S.

We arrived at a campground six miles from the highway which we thought was “first come, first served”.  But it seemed full and sites had signs which said “reserved”. Steve prayed for the Lord to provide a place for us, and as we came around a curve the camp host was headed our way! He clarified that reservations are required and the website was in error that said we could come without one. It was already late in the day and I thought he would  turn us away. He checked his site list and thought he had one site available for that one night! That was what we needed! The Lord is a wonderful provider!

We got set up and did a little drive to see Virginia Lakes and then we came back to our campground to hike around the shore of the Lake Trumbull, which was just steps from our campsite.  We felt we had the best site in the campground! 

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

Mark 11:24 

“A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”

Proverbs 16:9 

Thankful that the Lord has watched over our Adventures on the Road! Not long now and we will be home! Just stopping in Arizona for a few days to visit with our son Brent and his wife Abbie, and our grand girls Hannah and Ava! We are looking forward to connecting with our friends and family back home soon!

Oregon Coast

A trip down Highway 101 on the Oregon coast is sure to be a memorable journey! Our route brought us through quaint historic seaside cities, past beckoning lighthouses to wide sandy beaches strewn with gigantic driftwood and  Agates. We visited farmer’s markets, picked wild blackberries, and shopped seaside towns filled with souvenirs and great art galleries. We drove on high seaside bluffs with fantastic, seemingly endless views, crossed a number of bridges, including draw bridges, and even traveled through a tunnel along the way. I thought this mural in Lincoln City fittingly summed it up as the Magic of Oregon!

Astoria

Leaving the Washington side of the Columbia River we drove over the 4 mile bridge, (the last connector of the US 101 on its route from the Mexico Border into Canada) to enter the town of Astoria.

This city, at the mouth of the Columbia River, reminded us of San Francisco on a smaller scale. Wharfs and docks line the river’s bank while Victorian homes take advantage of views provided by the bluffs. Driving up the steep streets was like riding a roller coaster with no line of sight at the crest of the hills!

We explored the Flavel House set high on a hill  with views of the river.
 As one of the best-preserved examples of Queen Anne architecture in the Northwest, the Flavel House survives today as a landmark of local and national significance. The house was built in 1884-85 for Captain George Flavel and his family. The Captain, who made his fortune from his occupation as a Columbia River bar pilot and through real estate investments, had the house built as his retirement home at the age of sixty-two. The Flavel House has been restored to accurately portray the Victorian period’s elegance and the history of the Flavel family.

Also of interest in this town is the Astoria Column, built in 1926. The brochure calls this monument “an artful summary of the triumphs, conflicts, and turning points of the frontier”. The murals on the facade of the column recount key events from the 1792 arrival of white people on the ship Columbia, the namesake of the River,  to the arrival of the Railroad in the 1880’s. Set on Coxcomb Hill, which is 600 feet high, the monument rises 125 feet. Inside, a circular stairway of 164 steps takes visitors to the viewing platform atop the column, providing views in every direction! 

Of course a central part of the area's history can be explored at Fort Clotsop, the location where Lewis and Clark built a fort to winter over, before their return journey to the East. The Corps of Discovery is illustrated on the column in a prominent position just above the door!

An Unexpected Meetup 

While our travels were bringing us south toward home, our son Chris and daughter in law Briana were traveling northward. They had traveled to San Francisco so Briana could run a half marathon across the Golden Gate Bridge, (woo hoo) and they were now in Oregon. We discovered that we were only a short distance away from them, as they were arriving in Cannon Beach, which we had also planned to visit. 

The four of us, and one of their pups, were able to enjoy a late afternoon walk on this iconic beach to see the 235 foot high Haystack Rock. Our beach walk was followed by a dinner of Pizza and Gelato for dessert in the town of Seaside! What a fun and unexpected meeting!

Oregon Coast Lighthouses 

Heading South we camped for a few nights in Lincoln City. We enjoyed exploring the miles of beaches along the coast here. The location also gave us an opportunity to view and explore a couple of lighthouses and a fantastic bridge in nearby towns.

Most of Oregon’s lighthouses were designed and built by the US Army Corp of Engineers between 1870 and 1896. They are located on prominent headlands or near major estuaries to support commercial fishing and shipping along the Oregon Coast. No longer maintained by lightkeepers the stations were automated in the 1960’s.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse 

First illuminated in 1890, this sentinel rises 93 feet above the 162 foot bluff. Its tower is the tallest on the Oregon Coast!
The lightkeeper's house is no longer standing, but walking down to this remote wind battered bluff overlooking the rocky coast we could get a sense of the difficulties faced by light keepers. They sacrificed a lot to keep sailors safe from the rocks below!

Steve and I enjoyed a picnic lunch overlooking the Yaquina Bay Bridge, which was just across the parking lot from the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. This is the second oldest standing lighthouse on the Oregon Coast. It operated for just three years from 1871-1874. 

The iconic Heceta Head Lighthouse was first illuminated in 1894. Its 56 foot tower rests 205 feet above sea level.  The strongest light on the Oregon Coast, this tower’s beam shines 21 miles from the land.

I took the picture above from just a few miles south at a view point. The Lighthouse is that tiny white dot on the farthest left bluff!  But below is a close up taken from the base of the structure!

Cape Perpetua Scenic Area

“Where the forest meets the sea!”

And what a great show the sea puts on here! Volcanic rock ledges jut out into the crashing waves. A short hike from the parking lot brought us the ocean. An area called Thor’s Well is a deep hole in the rocky ledge. From below a lava tube allows the well to fill with the sea water rising and falling between sets of  waves. During high tide and strong winds the well is a sight to see! We stood upon the rugged lava rocks about 25 feet from the well watching the rise and fall of the ocean waves. 

On particularly large waves the water would shoot upward out of the well, at one point showering the onlookers with the chilly sea spray! It was so mesmerizing to watch and experience. We highly recommend a stop here if you are in the area at high tide! Here is a short video to entice you to go see this amazing sight!

Before leaving the Oregon Coast our route took us by tall sand dunes and more forests. At Reedsport we started inland to join the 5 Freeway Southbound, heading towards Mount Shasta and Shasta Lake. We are doing our best to stay away from fires and smoke back In California.

Our upcoming planned Adventures on the Road include visiting Shasta Caverns, then staying at Lake Tahoe for a few days as we head toward a visit with our kids and grandkids in Arizona in a couple of weeks!

Psalm 145:3

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised:

And His greatness is unsearchable!