Wonders of the west. (LA to PNW and back)

Introduction.

Our latest western USA adventure took us on a journey of 3500 miles from Los Angeles to Olympic NP in the Pacific Northwest and back again. We were once again joined by our son and Daughter in law, which meant we were back in an RV for this trip, which we were excited about. Our trip will take us north on an inland route up the east side of the Sierra Nevada and on through the Cascades before heading across to Olympic NP and back down the Oregon and California coast. The reason for starting out in LA was really down to cost, we got a very good deal on direct flights from London Heathrow and the savings made it a 'no brainer' decision.

Tuesday September 15th.

Having realised the benefits of staying in an airport hotel the night before flying on our last trip, we decided to do the same again. Having packed our main luggage on Sunday, we put the rest of our paperwork and bits together after finishing work Tuesday and headed to the Mercure Hotel near Heathrow at 6:30pm. One of our other son's drove us to the hotel in our Nissan Elgrand which swallowed the five of us and the luggage with plenty of room to spare ! We arrived a little after 8pm and all sat down to an evening bar meal before waving Matt off as he headed for home. We relaxed with a couple of drinks before retiring to our clean and comfy hotel room.

The Nissan Elgrand.

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September 16th

Our Taxi arrived on time at 9:45am to take us to the airport for our 10am check in, it was a 10 min drive. We used a local cab company which was half the price of those advertising themselves as 'Airport cars', so keep that in mind when booking a ride near an airport. The hotel breakfasts were £14:95 per person so we skipped that and decided to have breakfast in the airport, not only was it cheaper but it also helped to pass the time. We was flying out with Delta airlines in partnership with Virgin and the information board informed us our flight was on schedule. We made our way down to the boarding gate only to be informed at the desk that the flight was delayed. By how much time they did not know, they were trying to locate a faulty part. Hmm, doesn't fill you with confidence ! They gave us each a £10 voucher to spend in the shops, we decided to top up with snacks that we could use on the flight if needed and would be handy to have in the RV. An hour later we were boarding, but then we sat on the plane for ages while they fuelled it up, they obviously wasn't confident of repairing it or else you would have thought it would have been done already ! Our confidence took another knock when having sat waiting for the fuel to go in, for what seemed to take forever, an announcement from the captain informed us we would be sitting on the runway with the engines revving to burn off 11000lbs of fuel to lose weight so we would be able to get off the ground, talk about wasting time and money, they had only just filled it !! As we edged forward to prepare for take off another announcement told us there would be a further delay as they were having trouble with the electronics on board. Another 5 minutes and we were told the electrician had re-booted the system and all should be fine. By this time I was beginning to wonder if I should get off, but some hour after boarding the plane and 2 hours late in total, we were in the air and on our way. The direct flight [without delays] would have shaved about 4-5 hours of our normal flight time, had we had a change to make, but boy almost 12 hours flying in one sitting is a long uncomfortable time. It helped a little as we flew over the States and enjoyed some good views from our window seat, flying over the Great Lakes area to just north of the Rockies and over southern Utah and the Mojave to LA.

From the plane.

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Once at LAX we cleared customs in reasonable time and hopped on the shuttle bus to the car rental counter. We had booked a car through rentalcars.com as they always seem to offer good value, a Dodge Caravan 'Grand' to ensure it would seat us all and fit our luggage in comfortably, it did that all right ! We were spending the night on Venice Beach and the RV was located between Carson and Long beach airport, where we had arranged to drop the car off next day. This worked out cheaper than taking 2 cabs and was more convenient.

After collecting the car we drove to the Venice beach Suites and hotel, located right on the beach and Boardwalk and there to greet us was Mark and Megan who had been waiting patiently for us after our 2 hour delay, it was just after 8pm. After dropping our cases off and parking the car we all walked to nearby Larry's bar where we had a bite to eat and shared a few cocktails while enjoying catching up with each other IRL. It was good food with a real friendly waiter and Mark and Megan's good company kept us afloat after our long journey. After our meal we strolled back to the Hotel where we sat in Mark and Megan's top floor suite overlooking the ocean and shared a bottle of wine and chatted some more. We arranged to meet up in the morning for a stroll and some breakfast before we departed to pick up the RV. I think it was around 1am when we finally got to bed, some 25 hours after starting out on our journey.

Larry's bar.

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September 17th

The Venice beach suites and Hotel was very cosy with comfortable beds, but despite this I was awake from around 6am and decided to go for a walk along the beach around 6:45am. It was a lovely warm morning with blue sky's and the morning joggers, skate boarders and keep fit fanatics, who were working out on Muscle beach, were already 'up and at it', plus there were a few surfers out catching the waves already. There are a few homeless people in the area but they seem to keep themselves to themselves and don't bother you at all. The beach was very clean with fine sands and volley ball nets, in the distance you could see Santa Monica Pier. The skate park walls and even the closest palm trees to it, did not escape the local 'artists' attention with the spray can, but it was all very colourful. Lots of fine 'wall art' on the local buildings as well.

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We all met up back at the hotel as arranged and went for a walk to Santa Monica pier, it's something we had wanted to do while in town. It was a couple of miles each way, but a very pleasant walk in the sunshine. When we arrived we were surprised to see how 'sleepy' everything felt, no one was in a hurry to get opened up for the day, despite it now being around 10am.

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As we made our way back we found a nice looking diner for breakfast with tables outside by the beach, so we decided to stop there. There was a woman standing at the counter with a closed sign right above her head, she looked as welcoming as a bear with a mouthful of wasps ! We all stood and studied the menu board while she continued to ignore us. I took the brave decision to approach with caution and ask if they were actually open, she managed a small movement of the head that suggested they were. We ordered from the menu and ordered drinks for us all. The food and drinks arrived in due course and in fairness it was all very nice. One drink was missing so Simon [son] went back to the counter and said we had ordered a pineapple juice but hadn't got it. She replied "We don't do pineapple juice but I didn't charge you for it anyway". We had to laugh, it was just a shame she didn't inform us at the time of ordering and gave us another option.

I am not sure why Lezli chose this spot for a group photo !

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After breakfast we started making our way back to the hotel and having spent some quality time with Mark and Megan, it was time to say goodbye and hit the road. With our cases in the car we made our way to the Cruise America depot in Carson to collect the RV. By the time we had completed the paper work, loaded the RV and dropped the car rental back at Long beach airport, we were quite a bit behind schedule. It was around 2:30pm before leaving Long beach airport and the traffic out of the LA basin, all the way through to Cajon junction, was stop start and slow moving most of the way. Once on the 395 we were moving along much better as we made our way towards Lone Pine and the Alabama hills, our destination for the night. We stopped in Johannesburg to top up with gas and some basic supplies for an evening meal, we only had a half tank of gas when we had picked up the RV.

Sign on 395 Johannesburg.
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We arrived in Lone Pine after dark and took the Whitney Portal road to Movie Flats road into the Alabama Hills. It was pitch black as we made our way along the road and we had no idea of our immediate surroundings. We passed up a couple of suitable spots in which to Boondock and continued further. We then found quite a level area just off the road and decided that would make a nice spot to stop and then we would see exactly where we were in the morning. It was around 8pm. After getting the RV as level as possible and getting some of our things packed away and the dinner on the go, I took a little walk in the dark, I just could not believe how amazing the night sky was, there were millions of stars and the Milky way seemed to stretch from one horizon to another. Throw in a couple of shooting stars and this was a real stand out moment. The more you adjusted to the dark the more stars appeared, I have not witnessed anything quite like it ! I didn't have a tripod and I was both to tired and to intrigued by it to try and set something up, I just wanted to enjoy the moment. I took a blurry shot 'just because'. An incredible sight !

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After dinner we were all ready to 'hit the pillows', while looking forward to actually seeing our surroundings in the morning. It felt as though we were the only people there.

Today's mileage. 250

I love reading this - I had been looking forward to it since your teaser post a few weeks back!

For others reading this: It was around 2:30pm before leaving Long beach airport and the traffic out of the LA basin, all the way through to Cajun junction, was stop start and slow moving most of the way. , it should be Cajon Pass and the Cajon Junction. Just a matter of spelling.


Donna

Thanks Donna, starting to find a bit of free time after a rather hectic return to the real life ! And thanks for correcting my typo.

Dave.

Thanks Dave. In a very selfish way, I need this. Not having been anywhere this year.

I too have stumbled upon street art/ wall murals as I was driving through the LA area. Rarely though have I been able to stop long enough to take a pic.

Glad you liked Venus Beach. That was my first day in the US, and the only place where I could get a cheese and vegemite sandwiich in 2001 - from a place along the boardwalk. It is also where the lady in the library drew my attention to the reciprocal arrangement between automobile clubs in different countries. She had only just come back from a visit to Melbourne, and used it there as well.

So where was it that you were parked on that first night in the RV. Did your grand daughter come as well?

Lifey

Yes, if is funny how many "freaks" you can find in the USA.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Mark

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lifemagician

So where was it that you were parked on that first night in the RV. Did your grand daughter come as well?

Lifey

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We were parked in the Alabama hills, we were just unsure whether we were down the road far enough to be surrounded by the rock formations I had seen in photo's, we won't find out until the morning. ;-)

Not a Grand daughter, that's the Daughter-in-law. She's a littl'un. lol.

Dave.

We picked a great spot in the darkness and were greeted by some amazing views as we stepped out of the RV at sun up.

First glimpse.

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I decided to have a walk before breakfast.

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Looking towards Mt Whitney.
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I was already in love with this place and we hadn't really got started yet. I had mentioned to Megan that I was a little concerned about finding a spot to park arriving late in the day as it was commonly used for 'Boondocking'. Megan thought we would be OK and she was right, we were the only people around ! It was time for breakfast so we sat down and ate before we continued further down the road in search of the Mobus Arch trailhead.

Those of us who live (albeit reluctantly) in the American Southwest often take our wide open surroundings for granted. It often takes the eyes of a visitor to reawaken in us the wonder of seeing the landscape afresh. And for that I than you. Time to get my own family, especially the grandsons, back out into that nature.

AZBuck

WOW...Great campsite! We've always wanted to do the Alabama Hills, but never got around to it. Now it's tops on my list of places to go.

Looking forward to the rest of the report.

Utahtea

Hi Buck. I hope one day that I may be able to bring my Grandchildren out to this wonderful part of the world you call home. I hope you are back on the road with the family soon.

Hi Utahtea, good to see you on the forums ! Alabama hills are great, to get the opportunity to stay overnight is even more special.

Dave.

September 18th

After breakfast we drove to the parking area at the Mobus arch trail along the Movie flats road, so called as it has been a popular location for movie makers. As well as many old western films, more recently Russell Crow filmed a scene here for the blockbuster movie 'Gladiator' and it was also used in Star Trek Generations. It's also been a double for the 'Khyber pass'.

We walked around the trail and as we went we explored through rock cuts and climbed the rocks, each time you looked up you saw something new. All this plus the Sierra Nevada as a back drop, including the highest mountain in the lower 48. [Mt Whitney] The contrast between the rounded red boulders and desert floor against the white chiselled appearance of the Sierra's is quite stunning.

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Louise discovers a mini mountain range under the arch !

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Despite our early start this morning, time is flying by and it's time to leave this amazing place [not an easy thing to do] as we have another 250 miles ahead of us. Our first stop is Lone Pine where we go to the local grocery store and fill the cupboards up in the RV with supplies and then we head for the Alabama Hills café for brunch. The café was filled with locals [always a good sign] and we found out why. The food was good and there was plenty of it and the staff were obviously happy in their work, highly recommended. The walls had a map drawing of the hills and other drawings naming some of the many shapes and faces you find etched into the rock face.

I think someone gave nature a helping hand with this one !

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So back on the road we needed to make up a little time, so a few places noted from my research on the 'maybe, maybe not' list were skipped. These included Manzanar historic site, [where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during world war 2] Erick Schat's bakery in Bishop and the Mammoth scenic loop road. We did get to drive the June Lake scenic loop road which was pretty before stopping at the Tioga Mart on the junction of CA120 and US395 for fuel and to revisit the Mono lake vista point. I wasn't surprised to see how low the water level was on Mono Lake after several droughts, rain is much needed, but today I am grateful for the blue sky and warm temperature. It was strange to think that Yosemite NP's east entrance, our first ever National park to visit on our first ever trip [and our favourite] was just a few miles west of here yet we would not be visiting it this time. [We have plans to stay in Yosemite for a few days to explore properly on a future trip]

June Lake.
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Mono Lake.

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We continued north on 395 through Fales Hot spring and Walker and then turned onto CA89 and gave the RV a nice work out climbing and twisting over Monitor Pass at over 8000ft, then it was over Luther Pass and Deadman's summit. We crossed rivers and creeks, drove through forests and had expansive views from the summits, just the type of driving I love ! We finally arrived at Camp Richardson on Lake Tahoe around 7pm and got checked in and parked up on our site before walking across the road and down to the beach to eat at the Beacon bar and grill for an evening meal. The food was wonderful and we enjoyed trying out the various 'rum runner' cocktails. It was quite a chilly walk back to camp under the clear sky's, but not enough to wake us up. We were all ready for a good nights sleep having had about 11 hours sleep over the last 3 days.

Today's mileage 246. Total mileage 496

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Southwest Dave

... so a few places noted from my research on the 'maybe, maybe not' list were skipped. .................

Erick Schat's bakery in Bishop

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Each vehicle I have driven through Bishop came to a screeching stop.... simply would not pass it by.

Lifey

It was mainly down to the huge brunch we had ate in Lone Pine ! To full up to even contemplate picking up some goodies, mind you we regretted it later. lol. We will get there next time.

Dave.

September 19th.

After a good nights sleep in the RV we walked to the Camp Richardson store and grabbed a coffee before walking down to the shore to check out the views. Once again it was a beautiful morning with clear blue sky's.

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On the way back we stopped at the Camp Richardson hotel and took advantage of the Wi Fi to send messages home to the folks. We then returned to the RV and drained our waste water and topped up the water tanks before hitting the road. Our first port of call was Emerald Bay, just a few miles up the road. The road was narrow in places and the area seemed to be a mecca for cyclists, so it was a slow climb up the hill. When we arrived at the Emerald bay viewpoint it was already packed with cars queuing and jostling for a parking bay. We pulled into the parking area but there was no hope of parking the RV, it was actually a tight squeeze to get around the loop and back out. The road was even more blocked up by the time we had done this so I had to make a quick decision, to skip it or try again. Opposite was a small campground, so I drove over the road to give myself a little thinking time, then I noticed a camping spot big enough for the RV, it was to much of a temptation so I decided to 'borrow' it for a few minutes as the place was all but deserted. We went across the road in pairs to the viewpoint, leaving two behind to watch the vehicle and do what was necessary, move if it was someone's place and they returned , or pay the camping fee if needed. Fortunately neither was the case and we managed to all see the view. Maybe it was bit cheeky but it didn't do any harm.

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We continued up the west side of Lake Tahoe with more lovely views [and more cyclists] following US89 towards Truckee and then through Sierraville into Lassen National forest where we stopped for an RV lunch at Massack rest area. We continued our journey to Lassen National Volcanic park through the town of Quincy and past Lake Almanor to the south entrance of Lassen. We topped up with fuel on the way having seen the prices drop from a high of $4:40 down to $3:09, a huge difference when you have a 55 gallon fuel tank !

Mount Lassen on the approach to the park.

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We were staying in the park at Manzanita Lake campground near the north entrance so we got to drive through the park this evening to get a taster of what we will see tomorrow. The road was steep and twisty in places with long climbs, but boy what an amazing drive ! It's a National park so it had to be good , but we were amazed at how beautiful the views were for a park that has a small amount of visitors compared to others.

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It took us about an hour to drive through the park to our campground, arriving around 6:30pm as the sun was beginning to set. We parked up in our spot and walked through the woods down to the lake to catch the last light. It was very quiet with a few people sitting on the shore and a couple of small boats fishing on the lake. We then spotted a couple of Deer having an evening swim !

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We returned to the RV and had a simple Stew and bread supper and washed it down with a couple of beers around the campfire.

Todays mileage 210 Total 706 miles.

Hi Dave,

Great report as always.

As a keen angler myself, I just love that photo with the deer and the guy fly fishing - absolutely fantastic!

Hi Dave.
Great to be reading your report. Fantastic as usual. Interesting seeing your Lassen National Park pics. Looks like a great place. We have stayed in Westwood in Lassen County on both of our trips with rallies but havnt been to the park yet. We nearly got there last time but forgot and went to see the Sheriff in Susanville. (Relation) Then kept heading south from there. Looking forward to reading more.

Cheers. Keith

Hi Subman and thanks. Yep, wasn't sure if he was a fly fisherman or a 'new age' Deer hunter ! ;-) Shame the Deer weren't facing me, it could have represented a 'water stage coach' with rider whip in hand. lol

Hi Keith and Thank you. Hopefully it'll be 'third time lucky'. I was really impressed with Lassen. Hope the 'Sheriff went easy on you. ;-)

Dave.

September 20th.

The campground had quite a few tent campers and a lot of them were already sitting around campfires at 7am on this bright cold crispy morning. It was very quiet apart from the odd crackle and pop of the wood burning and the smoke clinging around the trees as the sun came up just made you think, yep this is the life and it's gonna be a good day ! So breakfast and shower sorted it was time to explore the park. First we drove to the other side of the lake where we got lovely views of the mountain as the sun created a mist rising off the water. We scrambled down a bank to the shore and also spotted a big bird opposite, which we presumed to be a type of Heron.

Manzanita Lake.

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Then it was back through the park tackling big climbs, steep descents and switchbacks through the heart of the park, wonderful ! Even though we had been experiencing temperatures from mid 70F to low 80's there was still snow in sheltered spots and someone had even stopped and built a 'snow owl' by the side of the road, quite amusing as it felt like summer. We decided to head straight to Bumpass Hell as it was a highlight of the park and we wasn't sure what parking would be like. We needn't have worried, the car park was big and there were only 4 or 5 vehicles there. There were some lovely views to be had from the parking area as well as on the trail down to the Hydrothermal area, it was a wonderful 3 mile hike, round trip. It's not a difficult trail but it is located at 8000ft which makes it a tad harder than normal. Bumpass Hell [so named after the person with the unfortunate surname who discovered it] is the largest active thermal area in the park and we learnt that 'Big Boiler' fumarole is one of the hottest in the world, having had the steam temperature recorded at 322F.

Bumpass Hell trail.

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Bumpass Hell.

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Lake Helen from the Bumpass Trail.

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After our walk we continued south to the Kohm Yah-Mah-Nee visitor centre near the southern entrance and had a look around at the informative displays and had lunch. It was now time to head north back through the park and visit other areas along the way. The first was the Sulphur works which was located close to the road with a nice size parking area. This was a big boiling mud pot and with the help of a swirling breeze it done it's best to chase you around with it's 'rotten egg' smelling steam invading your nostrils.

Once again we wound our way over the mountain at a high of 8212ft near Lassen peak trailhead while stopping at various viewpoints and Kings Creek picnic area, Summit Lake and the Devastated area.

Lassen Volcanic National park Highway.
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The Devastated area interpretive trail had good views of the mountain and took you through the trees where huge boulders that ended up here after the big eruption lay. Lot's of good info here telling you about the forces of nature. We continued north stopping at 'Hot rock' and Chaos Crags and out of the North entrance past Manzanita lake once more.

Chaos Crags.
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Lassen National Forest on route to Burney Falls.

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Once we had left the park it was about an hours drive through the Lassen National Forest to our destination, Burney Falls Trailer resort, ready for our morning visit to the Falls. The owners of the RV park were very friendly and made us most welcome. We chose a site for the night and then drove into the town of Burney for a bite to eat. We ordered two Pizza's to eat in at Gepetto's that were very nice and VERY HUGE but they didn't mind giving us a take away box for the remainder, which was going to be plenty for lunch tomorrow. There was a late night supermarket just across the road so it was an ideal time to re-stock the fridge etc before returning to the campground.

As I may have mentioned once or twice already, we really enjoyed our visit to Lassen, even though we only explored parts of it. We would love to come back one day and do a couple more hikes and visit the Butte lake and Cinder cone area as well as the Warner Valley. It's typically thought of as a day visit park but you could easily spend a couple of days here in my opinion.

Today's mileage 135. Total 841 miles.

Well, you have done it now Dave. You have upset me that i didn't go to Lassen National Park. We will just have to not worry about our dollar being so low and go there. We had been told it was beautiful there and not a lot of people go. Shame. Hope they sell ice creams there. :)

Keith

September 21st.

I was sitting outside the RV at 7am when a black and white sheep dog came out of the woods and dropped a pine cone at my feet. I couldn't resist so I threw it for him, this went on for a while before I found myself explaining to the dog that I need to go for a shower, but he took some persuading. After a couple more throws I went inside and got my towel and wash gear and finished my coffee ready to go to the shower block. Yep, he was still waiting outside by the RV so I threw the cone a couple more times and went to shower. He followed and when I came out the shower block he was laying patiently by the door, we had hit it off. He followed me back and sat by the table while I studied the plans for today and then it was time to say goodbye. First up was a short trip around the corner to Burney Falls where we park up and start following the river towards the Falls.

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You start by hearing them and then you start to get little glimpses of them and finally you get to see them from a vantage point and then you can walk down the trail to near the bottom of them, where they look quite magnificent. It's another lovely sunny morning but the drop in temperature as we neared the bottom was significant, helped by the shadows of the trees and misty spray from the falls. Rainbows formed in the pool at the bottom as the sun broke through the tree tops. They are not the biggest of waterfalls but always get mentioned when talking of the prettiest waterfalls in the US. You have the two main cascades and then water along the cliff edge seeping through the rock.

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We walked the complete loop which was very pleasant. We had a few options near trails end so we decided to head for the footbridge and not Canada or Mexico.

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We had quite a few miles ahead of us today so it was time to get on the road, but first we had to do something to quench Louise's thirst ! [There was no ice cream Keith] ;-)

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Our destination tonight is Mazama campground at Crater Lake, so we are looking at a couple of hundred miles still ahead of us. Not far up the road we get our first of many views of Mt Shasta before stopping in the lovely town of McCloud.

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To be continued..............

Quote:

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Originally Posted by keithg

Well, you have done it now Dave. You have upset me that i didn't go to Lassen National Park. We will just have to not worry about our dollar being so low and go there. We had been told it was beautiful there and not a lot of people go. Shame. Hope they sell ice creams there. :)

Keith

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Keith,
Yes, Lassen Volcanic National Park is special and yes they do sell ice cream. This was taken outside the Manzanita Store in July 2014 when we were there with son and his family.
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-Pat

Looks like we missed out there Pat, they look delicious !

Dave.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pmount

Keith,
Yes, Lassen Volcanic National Park is special and yes they do sell ice cream. This was taken outside the Manzanita Store in July 2014 when we were there with son and his family.
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/photo...m/image98.jpeg
-Pat

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Thanks Pat. :) If i get lost and think i wont get caught, i go and buy a ice cream. Margaret always catch's me though. As soon as she realize's she hasn't seen me, she looks for the ice cream shop.

Keith

September 21st Cont..........

We wandered around the lovely historic town of McCloud and learnt that the town was developed through the lumber Mill and the McCloud river Railroad company that followed to transport the timber. Although the Mill closed some years ago the town has some lovely homes and stores to admire surrounded by countryside and Mt Shasta looming in the distance.

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Back on the road we got to I5 and headed north for a few miles before turning off onto US97 at Weed through Butte valley and stopped at the Grass Lake rest area for lunch. It was a lovely setting with shaded seating areas and various types of birds flying between the trees. In a corner you can see some Lava Tubes they have named the 'Glory hole' which is a drain for high water on Grass lake, when we there it was just Grass, no lake.

Mt Shasta from US97.
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We continued north through Dorris and across the State line into Oregon to Klamath Falls and past Upper Klamath Lake on US97 before turning off onto OR-62 to Manzama campground, Crater Lake. We arrived around 5pm and got checked in and then decided to drive to the Lake to try and catch a sunset. We wanted to get to the Watchman overlook on the west side to have the sun behind us. On the way we briefly stopped at Discovery point, the views were impressive !

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We then arrived at the Watchman and started the steep walk up the hill, the sun was dropping and the urgency to get to the top before the light faded made it a real work out. We were breathing hard at the top and I thought my heart was going to beat it's way out of my chest !

Up the top we could see the RV down below.
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Was it worth the effort ? You betcha !

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It was wonderful sitting there and watching the sun go down, a wonderful sunset over the lake and the surrounding views. We then drove back to the campground where we lit a campfire and sat down to sausages and Macaroni cheese and of course, beer ! For dessert we had 'Smores' heating the Marsh mellows around the fire, quite popular in the US I believe, but a first for us all and very nice they were to !

Todays mileage 210. Total, 1051

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Originally Posted by Southwest Dave

For dessert we had 'Smores' heating the Marsh mellows around the fire, quite popular in the US I believe, but a first for us all and very nice they were to !

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The first thing all my children learned to 'cook' over a campfire. After all, why have a campfire if you're not going to toast marsh mellows? I never had to pack any.... the children saw to that. Even while they were still toddlers.

But did you have them on the end of long twigs/sticks? Not the same when done on BBQ forks.

Lifey

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After all, why have a campfire if you're not going to toast marsh mellows?

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Marsh mellows we have had many a time, but not as part of the 'Smores' recipe Louise discovered.

Three simple ingredients;

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But did you have them on the end of long twigs/sticks? ]

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Indeed we did despite the BBQ sticks in the photo above. We found a 'double ended' stick and sharpened the ends.

Smores. For any non USA residents who may not of heard of Smores, here it is.
You place dark chocolate on to one half of a Grahams cracker and when the Marsh mellow is nice and warm and soft you place it on top of the Chocolate and then put the other half on top to create a sandwich. The marsh mellow should be warm enough to soften the chocolate and make one 'gooey' delight. Named Smores, because once you have eaten one you want some more.

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So delicious I am ordering Grahams crackers on line as they are not available here !

We never had the chocolate with them..... any old cracker or even plain biscuit will do. No need to have a special brand. I love them with Marie biscuits.

Lifey

September 22nd.

The long days may have caught up a little, it was 8:30am before we were up and about this morning and it was slow going, eventually getting back on the road at 11:15am. We headed back to Crater Lake and took the east rim drive to stop at the various viewpoints along the way, including a short walk to 'Sun Notch' for views of the 'Phantom ship'.

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The lake was stunning with it's deep blue waters and glorious views and lived up to my expectations and some ! We were delayed a little while by road works, we were head of the line and passed time having an interesting chat with the young man on traffic control. He was interested, as was I, in discussing how our way of life and standard of living compared to that of the USA. It was time to move on and by the time we exited the park it was around 2pm with about 230 miles ahead of us on US97.

Deschutes National forest.
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We made pretty good time and were soon passing through Bend OR and stopping in Terrabone for more gas, prices have dropped right down to $2:59. A huge difference to California prices. After topping up the tank we took a small detour to Smith Rock State park to take a break from the road for a little while and have something to eat in the RV.

Smith rock State park.
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The Crooked river runs through the Canyon.
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We were back on the road at 4:30pm, having wished we had more time to hike in the canyon but it was a lovely spot to relax at. We continued on US97 to Madras and then took US26 through the Warm Springs Indian reservation which had recently experienced wild fires over a large area. Although it was mainly bush and scrubland the evidence was clear as we drove for miles with charred remains on either side of the road. We then started to get our first views of Mt Hood as the sun began to set.

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We then approached Mt Hood National forest and headed north on OR35 and Dee Highway (281)
to Lost Lake road. Lost Lake road is about 15 miles long, one way in and one way out to Lost Lake resort and campground. The road was twisty and steep in places which made it quite challenging in the dark but eventually we got to our campsite at 8pm. Good job we had a simple dinner of stew and potatoes and it wasn't long before we were once again eating around the campfire. The campground was in woods well away from the resort and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, we heard the odd critter but didn't see another soul. We also opened a bottle of wine Mark and Megan had given us back in LA and very tasty it was too !

Todays Mileage. 278. Total 1329 miles.

Wowee, you captured some great road shots!

You know I will be featuring some of them soon on the RTA front page!

Fantastic!

Mark

Bringing back fond memories of our own trip to Canada using this route back in 2011. Not sure if it was along your way, but you have already passed Lava Beds National Monument on the northern edge of CA by Tulelake. If you have any fancy for caving into tunnels made by ancient lava, that's an excellent place to go.

I trust you're using coastal Hwy 101 when coming back south, hehe.

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Mark Sedenquist. You know I will be featuring some of them soon on the RTA front page!

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Yep, no worries. I will have to dig around my photos and find some other road shots for you.

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Kinless. Not sure if it was along your way, but you have already passed Lava Beds National Monument on the northern edge of CA by Tulelake. If you have any fancy for caving into tunnels made by ancient lava, that's an excellent place to go

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Hi Joey. Lava Beds National Monument was on our radar, but could not be worked into our timescale along with a lot of other things !! We travelled along US97 and was hoping to briefly explore a lava tube known as Pluto's cave but that also went on to the 'Another day' list.

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I trust you're using coastal Hwy 101 when coming back south, hehe.

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It would be daft not to, although I guess we will have to wait and see. ;-)

Dave.

September 23rd.

Awake at 6:30 this morning to the silence of the forest, a beautiful location. Once we had readied ourselves it was time to walk down to the lake via an old growth forest trail that snaked it's way around the trees. We arrived at Lost lake and it truly felt as though we were the only ones to have found it, there was a peaceful calm that enveloped you so we found a nice spot along the shore and sat in silence to take a while to 'breath' it all in with the warm morning sun on our faces. Heaven !

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The little store had opened and there were some pastries and other 'goodies' reduced for an end of season clear out so we bought a few and some coffee and walked back through the forest to the RV. I must say our campsite was wonderful, we were tucked in the trees and we had steps going down to our very own sunken garden with picnic set and fire ring. This would be a perfect retreat for a few days R&R, but alas it was time to hit the road once more. [Later than expected as usual]

We headed back to Dee along the Lost Lake road and then headed north towards Hood River. First we stumbled across 'Apple valley country store' on Hood river. The store had a lovely range of speciality pickles, jams and biscuits etc. They also had some rather tasty milk shakes. We can vouch for the Pumpkin and Huckleberry flavoured shake, Yummy ! We walked around the pretty garden which had a lot of colour left in it from various plants and took a look at the river while drinking the shakes. There was also a BBQ shack on the premises but we didn't get to try that out. It was a great little find.

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At Hood river we took I-84 along the Columbia River before turning off to Cascade Locks, where we parked up and looked around some shops and walked to the 'Bridge of the Gods'. I think the name of the bridge offers higher expectation than what you get in real life, but some of the artwork underneath it on the walls and columns is quite impressive.

Bridge of the Gods.
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So back on I84 for a short while before turning off on to the Historic Columbia river Gorge, an area I had been looking forward to visiting for a long time. Our first stop was at Horsetail Falls and although a relatively small falls it turned out to be one of our favourites as there were fewer people and you could 'get up close and personal' by sitting on rocks near it's base. You can also hike up the hill to the upper Ponytail fall where you eventually come to a cove that you can walk under and stand behind the Falls.

Ponytail Falls.
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The highway got pretty narrow in places as we made our way to the popular Multnomah Falls and I had to 'breath in' a couple of times as there were some large vehicles coming towards us that seemingly had the confidence not to slow and to think I would move over even tighter while they hogged part of my lane ! We stopped in a pull out parking area a short walk from the falls as we knew it would be busy and parking might become a problem, we were glad we did. As we were walking a huge long train with several engines went through the canyon blasting it horns just a few feet from us, it was kind cool !

It was soon after this that our holiday nearly took a turn for the worse. We had taken the foot bridge over Multnomah creek which then joins the roadway just past a narrow bridge and opposite the Falls. There was a pedestrian crossing and the traffic on our right had stopped so we checked left to see a car a slowing so we started to cross. Luckily [as I had been taught to do as a kid] I kept checking and noticed that the driver of the moving car had only started slowing so he could crane his neck to look at the Falls and was not going to stop. I pulled Lezli back and then noticed the look of horror and shame on the drivers face as he came to a stop on the exact spot where we had been standing on the crossing just a second earlier. It was a near miss !!

Multnomah Falls.
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There is no doubting what a beautiful waterfall this is, but it has fallen victim to it's own success. Coach loads of visitors, food places and traffic prevents you from sitting and having a quiet moment unlike some of the other Falls, but it's certainly worth stopping for.

We continued along the Gorge stopping at Bridalveil Falls [also walking to the Columbia river viewpoint from there] and Latourell Falls and at Vista House for more views of the river.

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Not for the first time the daylight was running away from us and we had one place we wanted to see but wasn't sure if we would make it in time. It was the 14 mile slow mountain drive up to Larch mountain, we decided to go for it. We got to the top and the light was fading and it was a little hazy but it was certainly worth it ! From this point you can enjoy panoramic views of 5 famous mountain peaks from one spot. They are; Mt St Helens, Ranier, Adams, Hood and Jefferson. We sat and watched in silence as the light faded.


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We drove back down the mountain in the dark and arrived at our RV park, the Sandy river resort near Troutdale at 8pm. We confirmed our pitch was waiting for us and headed straight back out for something to eat. Louise is our 'foodie' researcher and she had found Shirley's Tippy canoe by Sandy river which had featured on the TV show, 'Diners, Drive in's and Dives' and thankfully it wasn't the latter. The bar was really nice and the food and people were great, I really enjoyed the Clam chowder which was a first for me. If you visit during September or October you need to check out their Halloween garden with all sorts of ghouls and creatures lurking around. They certainly go 'all out', Great stuff !

Todays mileage 110. Total 1439 miles.

September 24th.

We don't often use city type RV resorts but Sandy river resort was very pleasant and I took a walk to the river bank while admiring some awesome 'Big rigs' that their owners parked here and used as a base while exploring the Gorge in there tow[ed] vehicles. As I returned I got chatting to our neighbours who were road trip enthusiasts and were close to taking the next step of becoming 'Full timers' and living on the road. They were only to pleased to show me around their Class 'A' RV which was immaculate inside and out. With both slide outs open it was huge inside and quite luxurious, oh yes I wouldn't take much convincing if I resided in America.

Today we are heading towards Mt Ranier and it's another lovely day. This we are particularly pleased about as we want to visit Mt St Helens and there was a question mark over making the lengthy detour had it been cloudy and overcast. First we went into the charming town of Troutdale, the self proclaimed 'Gateway to the Gorge' town.

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After a walk around the town admiring the various plant pots and bronze statues and looking in a few Antique shops, we were on the road. Our plan 'B', had the sky's not been clear to see Mt St Helen, was to visit Portland but we just didn't have time for both. A shame, but nature wins the day every time ! We crossed the Columbia river into Washington State on I-205 and joined I-5 for a while before turning off onto 504 to the Johnston Ridge Observatory. There were some lovely views to be enjoyed as we drove along 504 and we stopped a few times to capture the moment. Once at the Observatory we were reminded of what great value the Annual National parks pass is at $80, without it would have cost $32 to gain entry for the four of us. The visitor centre was pretty awesome with displays and was very informative as to what happened here back in 1980. A Ranger also gave a great talk out on the deck with the mountain as a back drop.

A view on the way.
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Observatory centre.
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Mt St Helens.
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I remember the news coming through on our news channels in the UK about this huge eruption in 1980. Being here and witnessing how the mountain and landscape changed forever, and thinking of those who lost their lives near the mountain was quite surreal. For those that don't remember it there is a lot of footage to be found on line, here is one short YouTube video but there are a lot of in depth reports if you search.

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We made our way back on Hwy 504 as far as 505 and went through the small community of Toledo to Ethel and US12 past Riffe lake before heading north to Elbe on WA7. Elbe was a town close to Alder Lake, the location of one of many wildfires this year but there were no signs of it, or the smell of smoke in town. We were then approaching the Longmire entry to Mt Ranier National park, but we stopped a little short for the night at the Mounthaven resort, a lovely wooded little campground. We then walked back down the highway to eat in the Wild Berry restaurant. The owners were originally from Nepal and they had a selection of American and Nepalese dishes as well as Pumpkin Ale. The food was nice and it was a nice intimate dinner, in that you felt as though you were in their kitchen at home.

Gift shop near Ashford.
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Todays miles 229. Total 1658 miles

Just for fun -- a motorhome (MH) sometimes has a towed vehicle, on or off a trailer (depending on what type vehicle it is). That towed vehicle is fondly known as the "toad". :-)

Love your report, and the gorgeous pictures. Hubby and I were at St Helens the first time in 1983, about 3 years after the blast. We went again in 1997 and saw the difference. Now your photos really bring out the reshaping of the mountain and its area.

Donna

Amazing what idea's people come up with like all the chain saws for example. Great pics.

Keith

September 25th.

We woke this morning to a grey murky day with drizzle in the air, I guess it had to happen one day, we were just hoping it would be while we were in the rain forest, if at all. It was a short drive to the Longmire entrance to Ranier where we stopped at the museum and gift shop and took a walk through the woods on the 'Trail of the Shadows'. It rained quite heavily at this point, but it was a lovely walk

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We continued towards Paradise, stopping at the pretty Christine Falls and driving via the one way loop to Ricksecker point.

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The cloud was rolling in and the views were obscured, but it didn't matter, they took on a new form of amazing. We were on 'Cloud 9' when we arrived to Paradise.

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Narada Falls.
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Paradise.
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Driving back down the mountain the visibility through the cloud was terrible, only being able to see a few feet ahead of you, any hope of seeing Mt Ranier in it's glory is long gone, never mind seeing it's reflection in reflection lake. We decided to abandon our plans of driving the road to White river and Sunrise as the visibility was so poor at higher elevations, along with a planned detour to Crystal mountain for the views. So we did a couple of walks and stopped for a while at Stevens Creek and Box canyon. It was a lot clearer at lower elevations.

Nope not a waterfall. Looking down 180ft into a box canyon.
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We left the park via the north entrance and started our way towards Port Ludlow, our overnight stop between here and Olympic NP. We hope to re-visit Ranier in the future as we loved the place despite the weather. We have named it 'Rainier'. We followed WA410 through Greenwater and remained on it through Bonny Lake to I5 for a brief moment near Tacoma and then took WA16 past the Cheeney stadium over Tacoma Narrows Bridge. We then stretched our legs in the nice little town of Gigg Harbour.

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Back on the road WA16 curved it's way around Sinclair Inlet past Navy yard City and north to Port Gamble and over the Hood canal bridge. We arrived at the campground around 7:30pm and was soon heading to the Harbour for a 'fine dining' experience at the Fireside restaurant. The food was great and so was the service, so we didn't mind paying that bit extra as a treat to ourselves.

Navy Yard.
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Todays mileage. 182. Total 1840 miles.

I hate to be the one to rain on your parade, Dave, (grin), but the actual spelling of the mountain DOES include the word "rain"....Rainier is the official spelling. It is definitely a "rain-i-er" place at times! Sorry it rained so much on your trip, though.



Donna

Thanks Donna, I don't know what I was thinking ! I obviously wasn't, other than hearing some Americans pronounce it 'Ran-yeah,' where as we called it 'Rainier', and it was ! lol. It was only the second time we had experienced these conditions in all our visits to the US, the other was at Glacier NP, but we had a second day there that was fabulous.

Dave.

[Enjoyed your pun.] lol

Wow - your picture of Paradise with Fall colors is surreal and spectacular! Sometimes a cloudy day makes colors pop! Some benefit to enduring rain.
Pat