The Drive, Day 16, Sat, 9-12 Crater Lake National Park...

 We started this day having driven 3,819.9 miles. We got in the car and I said to Claude, "Are you ready to drive, drive, drive?" Claude's reply, "Make it stop, Make it stope." Silliness aside, we were in for a final tourist treat this day. 

It was a four hour drive from our hotel in Portland to Crater Lake National Park. We would fill the car with gas as we left Portland and once more before reaching Crater Lake. The morning was cloudy with the threat of rain. We would again cross the 45th parallel. This is a bit of our drive, a covered bridge and another bit of burned forest. 

Let me talk about Crater Lake. It was originally a mountain that we now call Mt. Mazama. Mt. Mazama was a 12,000 foot volcano. 7,700 years ago there was a massive explosion and collapse. During this collapse, thick lava flowed sealing the volcano for what would become Crater Lake. The lake was formed by centuries of rain and snow melt filling that basin. The maximum depth of the lake is 1,943 feet. The average depth is 1, 148 feet. It is the deepest lake in the United States. The average diameter is 5 miles. Five species of fish were introduced to the lake including rainbow trout and kokanee salmon. They continue to thrive. 

We entered Crater Lake National Park from the north entrance. I have underlined in blue the entrance and Rim Village. This is as far as we would drive. The road was closed between the red dots at Rim Village and Phantom Ship Overlook for repairs and maintenance. We agreed to drive to Rim Village, then, if we felt we wanted to, we would retrace our road and go from the north side of the lake around to Phantom Ship Overlook. We spent a good deal of times at the overlooks to Rim Village and determined we would not drive the west side of Crater Lake. The Rim Road goes completely around the crater rim with lots of overlooks. There is also a hiking trail around the rim. We saw many people opting to do this. There are places it is fairly east to traverse and there are places that this hike is considered strenuous. Our car was fine for us. 

After you go through the entrance gate, you drive thru Pumice Desert.

Our first overlook was gorgeous. This was the bluest water Claude and I have ever seen. I found an explanation of the color of blue that is this water. It was way over my head but basically is how the light reflects off the water and what of that light is absorbed. Because the lake is so deep, extremely pure, and has no streams flowing into it dropping sediment it allows the water to maintain is extremely blue color. 

Claude wandered off on a little path through some trees. I followed. I am always slower because of taking picture. 

We drove to the next overlook which would be on the opposite side of the road from Crater Lake.

This pole in the ground is for snowplows to know where the edge of the road is located. I marveled that there were real poles from trees and not metal stakes. 

This plaque informs one that there are many volcanos in this area. I was surprised about that when we were in Portland and they pointed out all the volcanos in that area. Really, this is part of the Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean. The place names the volcanos you can see from this overlook. The next picture is that view from the overlook of the real volcanos.

One of these volcanos is Mount Bailey. Our youngest grandmonster is named Bailey. This was a must to share with her. This is the picture on the plaque followed by a real picture of Mount Bailey.

As we entered Hwy 136 to drive to the North Entrance road, there was a sign about the Volcanic Scenic Highway. After a little research I learned that Highway 136, the drive from Highway 136 down the North Entrance road and around Crater Lake then out the South Entrance road are all part of the Volcanic Scenic Highway. Then the drive goes south into California. That might be an interesting trip sometime!

We are driving, driving, driving. 

Another overlook.

At this overlook we gained an understanding of the workings of this volcano. The plaque explains that Llao Rock, this large grey cliff, was form when a lava flow filled the explosion crater. As Mazama collapsed, the hardened lava flow cracked and fell into the caldera, leaving Llao Rock perched on the rim. 

Wizard Island is in the Lake. It is actually a cinder cone. It is 764 feet high. The crater is 90 feet deep and 300 feet across at the top. During all the collapse of Mount Mazama as the magna erupted into the air, it cooled quickly and fell as cinders forming Wizard Island. There is actually another cinder cone under the lake named Merriam Cone. 

Rim Village was a good overlook. 

This the first photograph known to be taken of Crater Lake. It was taken by Peter Britt in 1874. 

We went into the Lodge at Rim Village. We were very happy to find lots of huckleberry items. We purchased huckleberry pancake mix, huckleberry syrup, huckleberry jam and huckleberry licorice. Silly us!

We determined it was time to find our hotel for the evening. I booked us in The Woodsman Country Lodge. This was a fascinating motel. We loved our room. There were fixtures of bears and moose on every thing that had a hook in the room. The sheets and towels were bright red! Claude wanted a toilet seat like theirs. It was acrylic with real coins inside the clear acrylic. There was an old phone and it had dial-tone. So fun to stay in places like this. 

Next door was The Mohawk where we would enjoy our dinner. We walked over. The placed was decorated with all kinds of things, even a stuffed two-headed calf. Yep, it was that classy. Great food. When we left, the rain had started. 

This was the end of our tourist type adventures. The remainder of the trip was driving back across the country and seeing family along the way. 

Gas this day was $4.60 in Salem, Oregon and $4.86 in Chemult, Oregon. 

The Drive, Day 15, Fri, 9-11 Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler, Visit McCombs...

Day 15 we would spend the afternoon on the Columbia River in the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler. 

We were out of the hotel at 11am. We stopped for gas and to get Claude something for breakfast. We could again make out Mt. Hood in the distance. 

 

We made it to Cascade Locks where we would board the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler a little early. We brought out Kindles and had a bit of time to play on them. CJ and Kayla arrived and waited in their car in the shade until we all headed inside to board the Sternwheeler. 

Big Foot was there to greet us. After boarding the boat, I took a look back and saw that very rare sight of the backside of Big Foot. Just sayin'...

This boat does an East Loop and a West Loop. We purchased the East Loop. However, after you finish the tour you purchased, you are welcome to stay on board for the other tour at no extra change. We did just that. CJ and Kayla joined us for this adventure. On this map, Cascade Locks is underlined in red. That was where we parked and boarded the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler. The East Loop leaves from the dock and goes to the left on the map. This took us under the Bridge of the Gods and to the Bonneville Dam. Both these sites are underlined or circles in blue. The West Loop leaves from Cascade Locks and goes to the right up the Columbia River Gorge. Both routes are stunning. 

Let's shove off the dock. This is a true Sternwheeler and that is its only propulsion. 

Our guide pointed out an eagle on a tree branch. I took a picture of the tree and put a red dot under the branch on which the eagle was perched. It wasn't long before this majestic bird took flight. The two pictures after the tree are of the eagle soaring over the Columbia River. What a great place for him to live!

We also saw an osprey nest on top of a river marker. The osprey is flying in three pictures. 

A huge pastime for local residents is parasailing. There are a couple of different boards on which they do this. One of the boards has them skimming the river, the other board has them actually taking flight. We watched one person fall into the water. Another person sailed over to them to be there if they needed any help. Fascinating to watch. It must be exhilarating to participate in this sport.

There were fishermen on the river. This one boat was pulling in nets and happened to catch a particularly large fish. They whooping and hollering and raised their fish in the air so all of the Sternwheeler could participate in their happiness. 

We went under the Bridge of the Gods. This is a toll bridge that connects State Route 14 in Washington with I-84 in Oregon. It is a steel truss cantilever bridge. 

Here is the Native American story of the part of the Columbia River Gorge: According to Klickitat oral tradition, the Great Spirit built a massive stone bridge across the river. The legend says a fight between the god's warring sons (representing Mount Hood and Mount Adams) destroyed the bridge. The guardians and figures in the story were transformed into the region's famous Cascade volcanoes, including Mount Hood, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens. The Bridge of the Gods gets its name from this ancient natural rock and earth dam that once spanned the Columbia River, which local Native American legends say was a stone bridge built by the Great Spirit. 

Here is the geologic history of this part of the Columbia River Gorge: Centuries ago, a giant avalanche known as the Bonneville Landslide crashed down from Table Mountain and completely blocked the Columbia River. This natural debris dam created a temporary land bridge that allowed people to cross on foot without getting their feet wet. The collapse of this natural dam eventually formed the roaring Cascade Rapids. 

Now, for a little pop culture: Built in 1926, the bridge was later raised in the 1930s.  Aviator Charles Lindbergh famously flew his Spirit of St. Louis under the newly built bridge in 1927. At that time the bridge was 40 feet lower that the present bridge we floated under. 

If you look closely at the shoreline, you will see wooden platforms build out into the River right at the edge. These platforms are for Native American's only to fish from. This harks back to respect for them and their heritage along the river. Cool.

This is Bonneville Dam. The is the end feature on the East Loop tour. 

From here we turned back and headed to Cascade Locks. We would wait on the Sternwheeler and enjoy the West Loop tour. I simply didn't take many pictures on this loop. We had time to sit and visit with Kayla and some with CJ. This was absolutely delightful. 

We had Kayla take this picture of us with Big Foot. Our Todd is very much into Big Foot and we wanted him to see us with Big Foot. 

In the evening, Chris joined us for dinner at Bullygan's. This is similar to a Texas Roadhouse experience. The food was great and we had a good final visit with the McComb's family. 

This was a great final day experiencing the river that Lewis and Clark road on the final leg of their journey.