2008 – Week 19

Tuesday, September 2, 2008:
It was 37 degrees with a beautiful clear sky this morning. Many people had left the campground by the time Daisy and I started our walk, but I don’t remember any of them driving past so they must have been very quiet. We left the campsite having had only coffee and planning to stop at Vidae Falls on the East Rim Drive for breakfast and a small hike to the Falls. Breakfast went as planned, but I picked the wrong trail, there wasn’t one to the Falls, and we started on a 6-mile hike to Crater Peak. It didn’t feel right so we turned around, got in the RV and continued our drive around Crater Lake in a counter-clockwise direction. The next stop, which required a detour of14 miles roundtrip was to The Pinnacles in the southeast section of the Park. The pinnacles, or ‘fossil fumaroles’, were form by hot volcanic gas flowing up through hot ash deposits, turning the volcanic ash into solid rock. The fossil fumaroles were concealed in the volcanic ash until erosion removed the soft volcanic ash. The Pinnacles are generally vertical, but can have horizontal protrusions when the volcanic ash was less dense and allowed the gases to move horizontally. The Pinnacles were just fun to look at and our question as to why there was this long dead-end road was answered.



We returned to the East Rim Road and stopped at many viewpoints. Many were unnamed and great, but the named ones such as Phantom Ship Overlook,Pumice Castle Overlook and Cloudcap Overlook were special. We had lunch at Cloudcap Overlook, the highest point on the Rim Drive at 7,960 feet. We continued counter-clockwise, passing the hiking trail to the tour boat dock, and then stopped at the junction on the North Entrance Road and the Rim Road. This point is at the northwest corner of Crater Lake and with the sun was at our backs, picture taking of the east wall of the volcano and the water in the Lake easy.



We continued on to Watchman Overlook, our last overlook point. Directly in front of us was Wizard Island, and we were able to see inside the collapsed top of this small volcano. The rim at the top was 300 feet in diameter and extended 763 feet above the water. There is shallow water, maybe 30 feet depth, at the west side of Wizard Island, and the color is not the deep dark blue of the rest of the lake, but a pale blue. There is a 3/4 mile trail from the Watchman Overlook parking lot (elev 7,637 feet) to the top of the Watchman Peak (elev 8,086 feet), the location of a deactivated forest fire lookout station. We took the trail to get one last overall view of Crater Lake and the surrounding area. We noticed a small forest fire that was being watched but not fought by the USFS. We were able to see mountains all around, and into California. When we returned to the RV, Susie discovered that the furnace was running with all the windows open. We returned to the campground and arranged for a better site, one with more space and easier to get in and out. We took showers and did the usual evening chores. It was not as cold, but the sky and stars were just a clear.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008:
We had planned to leave at 8:00am, but didn’t make it. When we finally did, we headed south along the Volcanic Scenic Byway (OR62) taking us to Fort Klamath where we joined US97 to go into Klamath Falls to get Daisy more of her special food for high altitudes. She has been doing find, but we do adjust her diet when we go above 5,000 feet. South of Fort Klamath, the valley opens up, and cattle ranches are everywhere. Upper Klamath Lake is just to the west and is the largest lake in OR. Directly to the south in CA was the snow covered peak of Mt Shasta (elev 14,162 feet). Before we arrived in Klamath Falls, we saw a large trawler-type powerboat being hauled north. I am sure it wasn’t going in the lake, but if it was going further north, why not take the Interstate? We found the vet for the dogfood, found a restaurant for brunch, bought some other stuff including drawing pens for Susie and continued south into CA to the Lava Beds National Monument. On the way, we passed through the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, but were too early for the southbound migration. During the winter months the Klamath Basin is home to more than 1,000 bald eagles, the largest concentration in the contiguous United States. That must be some sight! The KBNMR is just to the north of Lava Beds NM, and we noticed that there had been a brush fire sometime in the recent past. When we entered the NP, a kiosk explained that on August 17, 2008, a lightning strike started the 6,100 acre fire, and it wasn’t contained until August 22, 2008. The reason for containment was to keep it from spreading to private lands and probably to keep the KBNWR suitable for migrating birds. As a result of the fire, we will not be able to visit the stronghold of the Medoc Indians who were able to hold off a US Army force that grew to almost 1,000 soldiers with 52 men until betrayed by one of their own. The four leaders of the Medocs were hanged and the remainder sent to a reservation in Oklahoma. We went to the Visitor Center and were told about three lava tubes that would be good to visit. Formation of a lava tube requires a gentle slope and very fluid lava. The lava, which is at 2,000 degrees F, flows downhill and immediately begins to cool with the bottom solidifying first, then the sides and finally the top. The remaining molten lava continues to flow, extending the tube as it goes. Formation of the tube stops when there is no more lava flowing or it meets an obstruction.. One lava tube here extended 10 miles north from Mammoth Crater and was stopped when it reached the waters of Tule Lake. The first lava tube, Mushpot Cave (770 feet long), was lighted at the floor level, but there were still head bumpers as we walked through. The second, Valentine Cave (1,635 feet long), was a very different tube with pahoehoe basalt (consistency of pudding, smooth and ropy), a great lave for making lava tubes. This lava was from a different source than numerous caves nearby. It has very large lava columns (20 to 40 foot diameter) that must be partially supporting the surface above. The headroom became more limited the further we went so we did not view the entire cave. The third, Skull Cave (580 feet long) was a very large cave, one tube one top of the other and created by two different lava flows.



At the bottom of the lower tube the floor is covered with ice all year. We walked to a point where we could see the ice, but were blocked from walking on it. We returned o the Visitor Center, turned in our lights and received more literature on volcanic flows. We drove to the campground and found a spot that was protected from the setting sun. Susie worked very hard to catch up with the coloring of her pictures. There is never a break in her work. We’ll leave tomorrow morning to view some petroglyphs in the Northeast Section of the park.

Thursday, September 4, 2008:
We left the Lava Beds NM campground early this morning and headed northeast to view the petroglyphs engraved on the walls of a large hill that was an island until the early 1900’s. That is when the demand for managed irrigation by the farmers caused the US Bureau of Reclaimation to build dams and irrigation systems, reducing the size of Tule Lake to 1/6 of its original size. Walking along the west face of the hill, we recognized that we were walking on pahoehoe lava from one of the volcanoes about 20 miles to the southeast.

There has been some vandalism, but many of the 5,000 symbols are still visible. The west wall of the hills is almost vertical and has many voids created by the gases in the volcanic lava as it solidified. Many different type of birds use these voids as nesting places. After we had breakfast at the site, we moved on back into OR following CA139 to Klamath Falls and headed west to visit the Oregon Caves NM. We followed the Scenic Volcano Byway (OR62) north from Klamath Falls OR then west on OR140 through the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest to Medford OR and finally southwest on US199 to Cave Junction. We stopped to have lunch in Medford and to refill the gas and propane tanks. When we arrived at Cave Junction, we hurried to Visitor Information and found that if we didn’t dawdle, we could get on the 4:00pm guided tour through the caves. Susie drove as hard as she could, but the road was much more twisty and slower to drive than we thought. We missed the 4:00pm tour, but found out that there was 4:30pm so we signed up. There were 4 of us, a father and son from Germany (wife opted not to go), Susie and I. We had a Ranger who talked with a loud and penetrating voice as if there were 25 of us. According to the Ranger, this is the only marble cave in the US; all of the others are either limestone or granite. In order to make the tour through the cave one-way, two tunnels were blasted through the rock. Asphalt paths were constructed so that it would be easy to walk and ladders added to make the climbs easier. All was well and good until the National Park Service noticed a deterioration in the interior of the cave. The two added tunnels allowed more air circulation, which allowed the humidity to drop and the temperature to become less stable and the asphalt from the walks was discoloring the marble. What to do? Hire a bunch of strong lads and rip off the asphalt, place it in buckets, carry the buckets to the surface and then carry the same bucket full of concrete to build a concrete walk. There was an estimate of 52,000 buckets of asphalt removed and concrete placed over the course of the project. I know 52,000 is a lot, but it doesn’t seem enough to me. We saw some glorious sights, but the best by far was the Paradise Lost room. I don’t believe the pictures do it justice, but here they are.







The tour took about 90 minutes and when we exited the cave, we had the choice of a quick downhill walk to the parking lot or a longer walk up and over the hill covering the cave. We went up and over and were treated to wonderful views of the forest to the west and a walk through forests of old growth Douglas Fir trees. Douglas Firs are straight, tall and grow in close proximity to each other. The bark is thick and rough, protecting the trees from fire damage. We drove down the mountain and pulled in to the USFS Grayback Campground for the night. Tomorrow we will spend the night on the OR Coast as we start our visit on that coast before leaving OR for CA.

Friday, September 5, 2008:
What a wonderful campground! There was a minimum of traffic at night and with the campground in a river valley with tall trees, we had a good night sleep. We left at 9:30am and headed southwest on US199. When reaching CA, we and all entering traffic was stopped for an agricultural products inspection, including firewood. For the first time I was happy that we were low on fresh vegetables. As we continued southwest, we entered the Smith River National Recreation Area and had wonderful scenery as we followed the Smith River on US199. When we reached CA197, we turned north and saw our first redwood tree. We continued further north and found the Ruby Van de Venter County Park in Del Norde County. It consisted of a grove of redwoods, and we were able to stop, view the trees and have breakfast. Continuing north on CA197, we joined US101, the Pacific Coastal Highway. On our right were the Siskiyou Mountains and on the left, the Pacific Ocean. The wind was blowing hard from the west, the ocean a beautiful blue and the waters close to the coastline were littered with very very large rocks. These rocks were different from the seastacks we saw in northern Oregon earlier in the trip. The southern section of the Pacific Coast Highway has the Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor overlooking the ocean. We did not go in, but will do that on our return trip south. We had lunch in the town of Port Onford at the “Crazy Norwegian’s” diner. It must have been the place to go, because it was full even at 2:00pm. We continued north and stopped at 3:00pm at the Cape Blanco State Park for the night. As we drove west for 5 miles to get to the Park and the Ocean, we noticed what we believed were low-lying clouds being blown to the south. As we reached the State Park entrance, we were enveloped by these clouds (probably fog). We were only 230 feet above sea level. About an hour later, the skies cleared and we took Daisy for a walk to the Cape Blanco Lighthouse, the oldest in the State of Oregon. As we stepped from the woods into the fields, the force of the wind was startling. Susie and I had difficulty walking against it, but Daisy didn’t because there were areas of low brush that provided her with shelter. We went to the top of the Cape in the north side, and Susie leaned into the wind while I tried to take her picture. It was blowing so hard and with stronger gusts I was unable to hold the camera steady as you can tell from the picture below.








I listed to NOAA and they had posted a gale warning until Sunday evening. Around 6:30pm the blowing fog came back, giving the campsite a very strange feel. We were well tucked in and will try to get back to the Cape tomorrow morning to get more pictures of the ocean and rock formations.

Saturday, September 6, 2008:
The fog is still here and so heavy last night that it seemed at times to have been rain. Daisy and I took our walk but with the visibility less than 1/8th of a mile were unable to see the lighthouse so we took another path. We did have a long walk and then left the campground at 10:30am. We never did see the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. The fog cleared about a half mile in from the coast. We passed several cranberry bogs and then turned north on the Pacific Coast Scenic Highway. We drove north, generally with clear sky, but whenever we approached the coast we were in the fog. We stopped in Florence OR to get the mail that was forwarded to us and then passed through a tunnel at Heceta Head. We noticed that the fog was much thicker north of the tunnel, probably due to the small cape that was there. We noticed that there were numerous campgrounds, some State, some Federal and commercial. Most of the commercial ones seemed less than 1/2 full so we felt comfortable that we’d have a good place to stay near Newport. We stopped a several viewpoints, but the best was Captain Cook Point in Neptune State Park just south of Yachats OR. A long time ago, there was a lava flow and while the land over the flow has been washed away, the lava is still there. With the strong northwest winds and big seas, the waves hit the lava with very large “THUMPS” and water shot into the air.

We watched for a long time, realizing that when we pass by on our way south, the seas may have calmed and not be as impressive. We went the town of Waldport, which is sited on the Alsea River. The river is quite wide here, but not very deep. There were numerous fishermen in small boats so it must have a great spot. At Waldport, as in other areas, there are a number of historic bridges. Most are quite attractive as befitting a structure that follows such a wonderful coast. We saw several shops featuring pottery and glass blowing, and we’ll see them on our way south. As we approached South Beach State Park, we saw a sign that said it was full. Panic in the RV! We decided to go in anyway and found that there were 6 spots open for Saturday and Sunday nights. We stopped at 3:30pm, any later than that we might not have been out of luck. We took a walk to the ocean to let Daisy run on the beach. As we walked, we noticed several signs on the pavement indicating where the shoreline had been in various years, starting in 1830. Like the Columbia River, the installation of jetties to protect the mouth of the Yaquina River had changed the ocean flows, deposited sand and extended the barrier island. Daisy ran and ran and when we came back to the RV she was ready to go to bed. We had fast internet here, and both Susie and I were able to download to our blogs. There was less wind as the night worn on.We drove 148 miles today, and tomorrow our main event will be a visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

Sunday, September 7, 2008:
It was foggy when I took Daisy for her walk. It was 55 degrees with 72% humidity with very little wind. It wasn’t but a few days ago that we had the same temperatures with 22% humidity. What a difference being near the ocean makes. As I prepared the RV to go to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Susie took Daisy for a walk on the beach. The wind had started to rebuild, and we didn’t know what to expect. I noticed numerous people in the parking area where I met Susie and Daisy wearing wetsuits and with surfboards. Susie said there was no one surfing, so the conditions were probably not right. Daisy had a good play on the beach and came back to the RV with a grin on her face. We headed to the Aquarium and were delighted with all the exhibits: colorful fish, birds, sea urchins, jellyfish, sea otters, harbor seals, sea lions and a Plexiglas walk-through tunnel that allowed us to see many different fish including 3 or 4 species of shark.


There were knowledgeable volunteers to answer our questions and ‘touch tanks’ so the visitors could touch various small animals, including skates and sharks. The volunteers said that it has taken from May 2008 for the animals to become accustomed to having people touch them. The children seemed to have the best time around the ‘touch tanks’. We watch the feeding of the sea otters and the sea lions. We left the Aquarium and went to visit two lighthouses that are on the Pacific Coast north of the Yaquina River in Newport. Yacquina Bay Lighthouse was constructed in 1871 and placed in service. It was decommissioned in 1874 (that’s right) and replaced by one 3 miles further north on Yacquina Head when it was found that ships coming south could not see the Yacquina Bay Lighthouse because of the piece of land known as Yacquina Head. The Yacquina Bay Lighthouse had a Fifth Order Fresnel Lens, not very large. What a waste of time and money! There is another story that may or may not be true, and it is that the second lighthouse was to be constructed on Cape Foulweather (10 miles north of the river entrance), but the weather was so terrible so they delivered the materials to Yacquina Head (4 miles north of the river entrance) and built the lighthouse there. The Yacquina Head Lighthouse was activated on August 20, 1873 using a First Order Fresnel Lens. The signature of this lighthouse in 2 seconds on, 2 seconds off, 2 seconds on and 14 seconds off. Watching the ocean from these two spots, we noticed that the winds had increased, probably more than we had experienced yesterday. As the waves broke, the wind blew the tops of them. It was pretty, but I am glad I wasn’t trying to sail any size boat in them. We headed back to the State Park after buying more food at Safeway, and Daisy and I took a walk down to the beach. The winds were from the north and blowing sand in a southerly direction. The tops of the waves were also being blown off, but it was much more apparent when we were at eye level. Daisy ran for a good time, but didn’t seem to be too interested in the water. She must have sensed the violence. Tomorrow we head south and will take our time so as to be able to look more carefully at the Pacific Ocean Coast. I think the winds must die down sometime soon, and the views will be clearer. I noticed today that the RV has alight film of salt on it from the ocean spray.

Monday, September 8, 2008:

Today we headed south along the Oregon Coast and will leave the state in 2 or 3 days. Daisy and I had a long walk along the beach; unfortunately I left her ball in the RV so we had to search for a stick. When we returned, Susie and I had showers and breakfast, and Daisy had breakfast. The sky was clear with a temperature of 55 degrees and humidity of 75%. We had new neighbors last night, and they had 2 dogs. The didn’t seem to be responsible dog owners as they had them on long leashes, which let them wander into Daisy’s space, and she was a bit annoyed. When I asked them to shorten the leashes, the reply (in a grumpy tone) was ‘In a few minutes’. Next I heard the daughter asking where one of the dogs was. It had simply wandered off. I packed up the RV while Susie took Daisy for her 2nd walk of the day. We started driving south at 10:20am, stopping at as many of the parks that overlooked the Pacific Ocean as possible. We stopped to browse in an art gallery just north of Yachats. We were surprised at the variety and quality of the product and even more surprised to learn that there were a total of 3 galleries all owned by the same person with 60 miles along the coast. Continuing south we came to Cape Perpetua, south of Yachats, where there are numerous areas of lava flows into the ocean, separated by long beautiful sandy beaches. One of the scenic viewpoints was called the ‘Devils Churn’ and it is a lava flow and with a stream that have ground it way through the rock. The ocean waves from the west bang into the rocks and up the stream, creating some wonderful pictures and lots of noise. The action of the water is ‘pulverizing, pounding, crashing, smashing’.

We stayed there for at least a half-hour just watching and listening. We both noticed a sailboat about 3 miles offshore heading south. It must have been a nice ride. We had lunch at the next view spot, Neptune SP. I was able to walk Daisy on the beach while Susie made lunch. It was so windy that the tops of the sandwiches and the lettuce beneath threatened to blow away. We stopped at the Heceta Head Lighthouse and wandered around, taking pictures. We then headed south again, drove less than a mile and found another unnamed viewpoint about 300 feet above the water. The view of the Heceta Head Lighthouse was much better. I wanted to take a picture of the sheer cliff down to the water, but when I aimed the camera, I realized that there were about 90 sea lions sunning themselves on the beach and more tussling in the water. They really were fun to watch. We continued south into Florence and want to fill up with gas. Safeway has a promotion here that for every $100 you spend on groceries, you get 10 cents/gallon off on your next gas purchase. We thought we had enough for 20 cents/gallon but the pump was showing only 3 cents/gallon. The attendant called the manager (NJ and OR are the only states that don’t allow you to pump your own gas). Much discussion and finally we said to fill in it since the price was $3.319/gallon. When the code was re-entered, the credit came up as 20 cents/gallon. We put in 28 gallons at $3.119/gallon. In all the excitement I forgot to get more half and half for the morning coffee. We continued south to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. There were few roads through the area, so access is limited without having an OHV or taking a tour. We drove as far as we could and climbed a 50-foot high sand dune to get to the beach. Susie collected numerous seashells, and I am sure the RV tires are overloaded. As we continued south we passed a store in Gardiner that was selling ‘Organic Firewood’. Hard to get that stuff now-a-days! We pulled in to the Umpqua Lighthouse Campground for the night at 6:22pm. We drove all of 81 miles today, and that took us 7.5 hours for an average speed of a bit less that 11mph. For the last 4 days when we have been on the southern and central Oregon Coast, I forget to say how wonderful it is to hear the ocean waves crashing on the beach and the moaning foghorn. The horn must be facing out to sea, and so it is not loud and barely overpowers the sound of the waves.