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

[Southwest Dave]

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.



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.





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.



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] ;-)



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.





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

[Pmount]

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

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.

-Pat

[Southwest Dave]

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

Dave.

[keithg]

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.

-Pat

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

[Southwest Dave]

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.



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.


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.


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

[Lifemagician]

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 !

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

[Southwest Dave]

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

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

Three simple ingredients;

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

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.





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

[Lifemagician]

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

[Southwest Dave]

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'.







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.


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.


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.





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.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Wowee, you captured some great road shots!

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

Fantastic!

Mark