Oregon-Part 2

 

More waterfalls, rivers, Cascade Mountains…and Silver Falls State Park

It’s a Travel day from Crater Lake RV Park to Silver Falls State Park Campground, about 270 miles.

 

On long travel days like this one we try to plan stops to see places of interest along the way. We may make stops for gas and groceries as well. Our travel this day was further delayed by several areas of road work where crew were removing downed trees and a rock slide of boulders from the roadway. When we see these hazards we are so grateful for the Lord’s protection upon us as we are traveling, camping, hiking…

Our first side trip of the day was Watson Falls,  just past the first traffic delay a flag man allowed us into the Forest Road leading to this trail. After a magical hike up a hillside we came to this spectacular falls, the third highest in Oregon, plunging 293 ft. over the edge of a basalt lava flow and cascading down moss covered boulders. A Bridge crossing over the river provides great views of the boulders and the falls high above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Albany Historic Carousel and Museum

 

In researching things we might see or do along our route I came across the info for this place. The description read:

 

"Over 50 hand-carved animals on an antique mechanism, plus exhibits of historic carousel artifacts."

 

I have loved carousels ever since my childhood visits to the Carousel that is outside of the San Diego Zoo. Our visits to the Zoo were always followed by a Carousel Ride! 

The carousel in Albany did not disappoint. Inside an incredible glass carousel house, below a stunning wood ceiling, sits a colorful and whimsical Carousel! 

 

 

Each creature has been lovingly hand carved and painted by volunteers. The finished mounts are unique and fantastic steeds, elephants, giraffes, frogs and more! The museum has limited days and hours and because the long travel day had become longer with road delays, we arrived just 30 minutes before closing time. 

 

 

If we had more time, there was a tour to see how the animals are carved and a studio where the animals are painted and finished. We had been told the final ride of the day was free, so we enjoyed browsing in the gift store and watching the carousel until our turn. Steve chose a horse on the outside row so that he could try to catch the brass ring!

 

 

 

 

I mounted a fanciful orange zebra in the middle row beside him to enjoy the up and down rhythm of the ride. The music and lights transported us back to our childhood memories of riding carousels! This is an all volunteer run organization and was well worth the short detour from the highway!

Silver Falls Campground (4 nights)

 

After arriving and getting set up, we took an evening stroll after dinner, which became an adventure on the Nature Trail Loop at dusk. After about a mile of walking, and not knowing how long the loop was we came around a bend to an obstacle! We could either turn around and retrace our mile of travel or we would have to wade about 20 yards through a puddle that looked to be deep enough to cover our ankles. The water extended way beyond the edges of the gravel trail and the foliage and trees would keep us from getting around the water. We weren’t sure how much further beyond the puddle-lake the campground was, but to retrace our path would be about a mile, and we did not have much daylight left.

Steve determined that we should remove our hiking shoes to keep them dry and wade through the water in our socks to hopefully cushion our feet from the gravel. At the end of the water we could remove our socks and put on our shoes. Treading through cold water over gravel in our stocking feet while trying to not fall over or drop our shoes made for a memorable adventure…it reminded me of a scene from the movie “Romancing the Stone”!

Trail of Ten Falls

 

“When you take some time to 

explore this temperate rain forest, you'll discover amazing ferns, mosses, vibrant wild flowers and stands of fir, hemlock and cedar.” -viewpoint sign

 

This was not false advertising!

A morning hike along the South falls loop trail, 5.5 miles, brought us alongside, in front of and behind an incredible variety of falls!

We added more distance to our day’s trek after lunch and a siesta with a hike to Upper North Falls and a glimpse of North Falls from a trail above the falls, for a total of almost 7 miles in a day!

Rain began that evening and was forecast for our third day so we knew the trails would be muddier than before, but we had one final 3 mile loop trail that would take us to North Falls.

 We had heard from other hikers we crossed paths with that this was spectacular and not to be missed. We set out in a light and steady rain over the wet, muddy, puddled trail, steadily dropping to the level of the river, crossing over a bridge and heading upriver to the falls, which drop down a 136 cliff in front of a very wide cave like area, where the trail took us behind the thundering cascade. 

What a place to ponder the majesty of God’s creation. The second half of the loop took us back up the side of the canyon and up a final stretch of eighty stairs.

 

 

 

Arriving back to our truck the rain let loose and became a steady rain which intensified and lasted throughout the night. We were glad to have a safe dry trailer to enjoy, warm and dry!

 

Next week's blog will be our  Adventures on the Road from our next Campground at Ainsworth State Park, just inside the corridor of the Historic Columbia River Gorge. Thanks for following along and for your prayers for safety and adventure!

Oregon-Part 1

 

Rivers, waterfalls and…Crater Lake National Park

Heading North again from Lassen Peak we traveled about 240 miles along Rivers and streams through the Cascades range to our destination of Crater Lake National Park, hoping that it would be cleared enough of snow to enjoy some views. 

The area around the small town of Prospect, Oregon, where we stayed at Crater Lake RV Park for 3 nights, surprised us with some wonderful trails in the Prospect State Scenic Viewpoint area of the Rogue river and its tributaries.

 

 

Pearsony Falls trail was a quiet secluded walk from the town down a trail which soon ran along the tree lined creek, a rushing torrent of water tumbling down multiple outcroppings of boulders covered in moss,  and spilling over a short but gorgeous falls.

 
 

Mill Creek Drive Bridge crossed over the Rogue River here providing stunning views into the distance to Mt. McLoughlin. The river was running high and fast below us. Near the bridge is the trailhead to Mill and Barr Creek Falls, a short hike to views of dramatic waterfalls. All different kinds of trees towered overhead along the path.

Avenue of Giant Boulders was an unusual trail that led to the area below the bridge that we had been on earlier. The last part of the trail led between giant moss covered boulders to the edge of the river.  Because of the abundance of volcanic activity in the area we are learning all about geology along the way. Below is a brief summary of the Giant Boulders.

 

“The Avenue of the Boulders provides visual information as to the power of volcanic eruptions and the strength of water flows.  These boulders were thrown all the way from Mt. Mazama- more than 20 miles distant – when it erupted 7,700 years ago and created the caldera now known as Crater Lake.

This section of the upper Rogue River is relatively flat and gentle above here, then crosses under the Mill Creek Drive Bridge (what was at one time a covered bridge), and drops rapidly into the Gorge. The view from the bridge encompasses the Rogue’s roaring waters (in spring) with Mt. McLoughlin in the distance. A trail north of the river is a view from a 100-foot-tall cliff. Trails south of the bridge wind you down into the boulders. Viewing old photos – available at the Prospect Historic Hotel (just 1/4 mile away), one can see the impact of the power of the Rogue River. Several huge boulders that are in the historic photos have moved a considerable distance downstream.” - National Geographic 

 

The next day we headed out to our visit of Crater Lake National Park, with some sights along the way. 

 

Our first stop was Natural Bridge. 

 

This unusual feature was formed by lava tubes and now the Rogue River runs through portions of the lava tube, appearing to come out of the rock. The river was running high, so high that the water was going over the natural bridge as well as through it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rogue Gorge provided a short walk along the Rogue River. From the trailhead we followed the river to an area where the course of the river gets more and more narrow in the area known as the chasm.

 

 

The Rogue River has formed this 500 feet long chasm as it has cut down through the volcanic rock which flowed out of the Mt. Mazama eruption. At one point  the Gorge narrows to a width of 25 feet from the viewing platform's edge

to the opposite wall, and it drops 45 feet to the river. 

 

The sound of the powerful river of water below is unbelievable as it rushes downstream.

Crater Lake National Park

Of course this Park is known for its spectacular Crater, now filled with sparkling blue waters.

 

While the rim drive had not been fully cleared of its winter blanket of snow, the Rim Village area was sufficiently clear to enjoy some spectacular views out over the lake to Wizard Island and the snow covered banks of the far side of the crater. Steve and I decided that this was a place to just slow down and enjoy a picnic lunch at this one of a kind sight!

 

Of course we savored our time exploring the Crater Lake Area and we look forward to you joining us for our next blog with Oregon Part 2 for more Adventures on the Road - with Steve and Lori!

 

 

If The Lord Wills

Welcome to the first episode of the Summer 2022 edition of our Adventures on the Road! This trip is the result of months of planning, preparation and prayer.

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

The plans we put in place for the summer include three months of exploring the western states of the US with a jaunt across the border into the Canadian Rockies for a bucket list visit to the Banff and Lake Louise Canadian National Parks. We are holding these plans with an open hand, listening for the Lord’s direction, guidance and will for each day.

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring — what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes. Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.””

‭‭James‬ ‭4:13-15‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

And so we set off on the last day of May to begin our adventure with two travel days headed north on the I-5 freeway through central California, driving through rolling hills and farmland which stretches into the distance on either side of the road. At the end of our second day we were about 550 miles down the road. Then on the third day, just south of Redding we headed East on the 44, a beautiful route through small towns and family farms, climbing slowly into forested hills to Lassen Volcanic National Park where we settled in for 3 nights among the tall pine trees in Manzanita Campground.

 

 

Lassen Volcanic National  Park

Driving the last stretch of the 44 to the park entrance we had glimpses of  Lassen Peak, which dominates the Park at10457 ft. The adjacent volcanoes are in the 8000 ft range and hadn’t yet shed their coat of winter snow.

From our campground we hiked around Manzanita Lake, Lily Pond Trail and Manzanita Creek Trail which brought us through beautiful quiet stretches of forest and lake shores with views of Lassen Peak and Chaos Crags. Along the trail and in our camp site we enjoyed sightings of Blue Jays, Red shouldered Blackbirds. Western Tanagers and White-headed Woodpeckers. The variety of fir trees was made evident by differences in the shapes of needles, height, bark, and pine cones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Due to the snow and winter conditions the roadway which travels through to the south eastern side of the park only opened our second day, finally plowed and cleared of snow. The hiking trails on the eastern side of Lassen were still closed and snow covered because they are at a very high elevation, so we enjoyed the views and vistas from the roadway. At the highest point of the road we reached an elevation of 8512ft.

 

 

 

The eastern side of the National Park has the area known as the devastated area, where the eastern side of the Lassen Peak was torn away by a devastating eruption on May 22, 1915, carving away rocks, snow, boulders and forest in the area below the mountain.  We saw huge boulders that had been thrown or carried by the avalanche of mud and debris several miles down the slope and into the valley below.

 

 All the rock in Lassen is volcanic rock of different types and ages, with various colors and textures. These are called Puzzle Rocks because in their cooling process they split into what look like pieces of a 3-D puzzle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The devastation area is now less visible due to the regrowth of the forest, but historic pictures reveal the magnitude of the eruptions of Lassen, which culminated in the area being declared a National Park by Theodore Roosevelt in 1916. 

 

 

 

 

Dixie Fire

The more recent destruction caused by the 2021 Dixie Fire was very evident as we drove to the east side of the park. In some stretches of the roadway all we could see we blackened and downed trees. 

 

 

Last summer we had planned to visit Lassen, but the Dixie’s Fire caused the park to close, resulting in us rerouting to the Oregon Coast. As I mentioned earlier, we can have a plan but we know that at times the Lord redirects us! I am so glad we were not in a situation of being evacuated during a fire!

 

 

This park still holds unsolved mysteries like Chaos Jumbles where a mountainside poured down a rock slide that buried miles of trees! The second picture below show the new forest that has taken root above the deep rock debris. The landscape here is so varied, with high elevations still deep in snow even in June, mud pots and hot steam venting out of the sides of mountains, shield volcanoes, cinder cones, plug volcanoes, beautiful forests! There is so much to explore here.

One of the favorite things about traveling around is the opportunities to meet people who are traveling or working in the places we visit. We enjoyed visiting with Kevin and finding out where he has been and having a fabulous cup of coffee from his home roasted coffee beans, ground and brewed over his propane coffee pot. We were able to pray for his girlfriend's parents who were in the hospital, before wishing him safe travels!

Our adventures on the road are leading us into Oregon...see you there on our next blog!