Crater Lake to the Dunes

May 25^th to June 1^st 

   

Crater Lake and Klamath Falls

After Farewell Bend, we continued on our way to Collier State Park which is about 45 minutes from Crater Lake. We arrived early enough so that we could get settled and go up to the Lake that afternoon.  Wow was it ever cold and windy! There were snow banks at least 8 feet high at the top and along the road. The views were spectacular. The Lake itself at its maximum width is over 6 miles wide and at its deepest point is 1,978 feet deep which makes it the deepest lake in the United States. Deep blue and crystal clear! There are no springs in the lake or rivers that lead into or out of it. Its water comes from the 44 feet of snowmelt every year and the rainfall. It was formed from a volcanic eruption of Mount Mazama and we were told that it was at least 100 times greater than the eruption of St. Helena. It is unique in that it cracked in a circle all the way around the top and thus is geologically described as a caldera (deep basin.)

We wanted to drive the perimeter of the lake, but the eastern rim, which is about 2/3^rd of the roadway, was closed due to snow. We were able to enter the south entrance and drive the western rim only.

The following day, Tim arose bright and early and walked to the Collier Memorial Logging Museum. This is an outdoor exhibit of logging equipment used in the early 1800s to present day. Tim was particularly impressed by the use of the different type of steam equipment, Mack trucks and Caterpillars. Oregon logging sure has come a long way and is still the principle industry here.

In the afternoon, we journeyed through Chiloquin and then on to Klamath Falls. We pretty much circled the Klamath Lake on our drive coming down the east side and back up the west side stopping at the Rocky Point Resort which is a very quaint old place with great marsh and lake views. The season hasn’t really started yet, so we were pretty much the only ones there other than the owners and workers.

We continued our trek the next day traveling southwest in Oregon on the old Oregon Trail into northern California Redwood Forest to get to Route 101 so we could head north up the Oregon Coast.

Harris Beach

Our first coastal stop was in Harris Beach where we were still bundled up against the wind and the cold. We did stick our feet in the Pacific Ocean, but not for long. The Ranger told us where to see the best sunset and which Viewpoints we should stop and see along the 17 mile section of the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor. We caught the sunset that night and saved the viewpoints for the following day.

We left early the following morning to go to Gold Beach and hitch a ride on a jet boat up the Rogue River. The 1000 horsepower craft  carried about 25 shivering, bundled up folks doing about 35 miles per hour most of the way up the river. We stopped along the way to chat with the fishermen and see their catch.  Our River Pilot was the grandson of the original owner and loved to do high powered spins getting us all a little wet in the bargain. Since we were dressed appropriately, it was great fun.  The farthest we could go on the river was up to the Class V rapids.   Altogether, we traveled 104 miles round trip with a stop at a restaurant in Agnes on the way up for a restroom break and on the way down, for lunch. By then, we had stripped off the rain gear, the heavy polar fleeces, the gloves and crew caps and were in shirtsleeves and ball caps instead. That is until we were about 3 miles from the bay when we had to don the windbreakers again. Cold, cold, cold and windy! We would definitely recommend this trip to anyone. It sounds like a long trip and it was…9:00am to 3:30pm, but the boat seats were comfortable and there was lots to see along the way, deer with fawns, eagles and osprey.

On the way back to Harris Beach, we stopped at the recommended Viewpoints…Arch Rock, Natural Bridges, and House Rock. The Oregon Coast is spectacular!

Dunes

Our next stop was only about a 3 hour ride to Sunset Bay State Park. Our intent here was to be near the famous Dunes.

We first explored the area right near us..the Cape Arago Highway and the Shore Acres State Park which brought us to the Simpson Reef with bellowing Northern Elephant Seals and Harbor Seals all over the rocks; the  Botanical Gardens and views of the Cape Arago Lighthouse. We were so surprised to see the children at the beach and in the water! We had multiple layers on and they made it look like it was July in  Florida!

We traveled up the Cape Arago Highway through Coos Bay and up to Winchester Bay to view the so talked about Dunes. Once we figured out how to get down to the beach and dune access we were able to watch the ATVs zoom up, down and around. Truly, we have never seen dunes quite this large anywhere else!  We watched surfers and had lunch on the beach! Cool and crisp still..hoping to get a little warmer weather soon with a little less wind. Maybe tomorrow.

South Carolina to Oregon

South Carolina to Farewell Bend, Oregon- May 17-May 25, 2014

We are making our planned progress through the south and midlands of our great country.  On a whim (Tim’s), we stopped and did a tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery.  What a place!  Lynchburg, Tennessee has a population of 341 and the fresh water spring, which was the enticement for Jack to put his distillery there, has been delivering spring water to make the mash since 1866 and has never gone dry.  The tour was about an hour and a half and we observed the process from start to finish.  Corn and rye are delivered 24/7 by truck from railroad cars about 3 miles away.  We saw two in the few minutes we were at that station.   Behind here was the charcoal process.  They make their own charcoal from sugar maple trees.  There were stacks of pre-cut wood and two ovens that are used to make the charcoal.  Once it is burned into about one inch cubes, it goes into a crusher and turned into pea size pieces for the filtration process down the line. The corn and rye are cooked and then yeast is added and the mash sits in fermentation tanks to get all of the ingredients to the proper mash consistency.  It is then put into the still and heated to a vapor and then cooled into a liquid.  We saw 140 proof liquid pouring at 26 gallons per minute through two sight glasses in the line.  From here it goes into large vats to await the filtration process which takes 10 days to drip through the pea size charcoal. Once filtered, it is put into oaken barrels which are also made and cured at the distillery. They are then stored for  5 to 7 years in buildings that are not heated or cooled so that nature’s seasons provide temperature changes that insure the liquid takes on the flavors of the oaken barrels. 

Two things were really impressive.  First, they produce no waste that is not recovered for cash.  The charcoal used once is sold to a company in Florida which turns it into briquettes for backyard grilling.  The 80 percent of the mash that is not alcohol is sold to the farming community for beef and pig food.  The barrels are sold to other breweries for wine and other liquor distilleries.   The second thing we noted is that customers can come to Lynchburg and buy a single barrel and have it bottled with their own label.  You do a tasting of three barrels and choose the one you like best.  You get the barrel and about 240 bottles with your name or anything you want etched into a plaque on the brass medallion on the bottle. All this for a mere nine to twelve thousand dollars ($9,000-$12,000).  We were surprised to learn, as they have a score sheet on the wall of who purchases these barrels, that there were several repeat customers including many units of service men and many businesses as well as private citizens or groups of citizens.

Alas, Lynchburg is a dry town, so no samples on the tour.

Our next stop was Nashville, TN.  We did not get to see much because we arrived late and there did not seem to be any formal Visitor Center or tour company that would show the sights.  We also had some trouble finding a parking space for our RV towing a car totaling about 50 feet.  We did get to see music Alley which was basically a bunch of bars with live music.  It reminded me of New Orleans, but was not as historical.  The Music Alley Street was closed and they were filming a Budweiser commercial for lite beer.   The locals were on both sides observing and, of course, drinking.

We stopped in St Louis to go to the Arch. We met a camper from St Louis the night before and he told us where we could park the RV and get to the Arch easily.  Unfortunately, he did not know that the whole riverfront was under repair and construction so we had to again try to find a place to park.  We had to disconnect the car twice because of the road closures and repairs.  We did get to ride the top of the Arch and got some pictures of the city and the riverfront. Wonderful views!

We won’t be driving into too many other cities, however! Twice was enough for us!

Next stop.. Cheyenne, WY where we spent two nights to rest up a little from our continuous trek. We toured the city on a trolley getting all of the history of the good ole western days including the very important Union and Pacific Railroad which played a major role in connecting the east coast to the west coast. We even toured the museum which has one of the best model railroad displays done by a Harry Brunck who is world renowned for his models and has authored books books on the subject. Very impressive.The Frontier Days are in July, so we missed out on seeing the daring dos of the cowboys!

We drove through Utah with a one night stop in Brigham City just north of Salt Lake City  and then on to Farewell Bend, Oregon. We stayed at the State Park there which was a really comfortable and relaxing experience. Great place to spend a couple of days. Farewell Bend is on the Oregon Trail and is where the pioneers would rest before continuing their journey through what they called “landscape with no soil” or much water for that matter.  From our last journey west and again this trip, we are truly in awe of the stamina and strong will it took for them to make their trip across the mountains through all kinds of terrain with little rest. Believe me, it’s long enough riding in a comfortable RV!

All in all we drove over 2300 miles in eight days! We’ll be slowing a bit now to take in the beautiful northwest regions of Oregon and Washington.

Getting Ready

Here it is one week from our departure and we are doing the usual preparations..cleaning the RV, last minute doctors appointments, lists and lists of what we need to take for clothing, food, extra RV supplies, medicine etc. Harried as we may be, we are anxious to get on the road. We leave here on May 17th and our first reservation is in Vancouver, Canada at the end of June. Following that, we will board the Marine Highway Ferry in Prince Rupert on July 1st. We will have lots of time to relax and explore the mid west and Oregon and Washington before heading North.

To follow our journey just click on the link and you will see where we have been in the previous 72 hours and where we are at the current time.

 

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0l2fBzb6AQOWM4s34gysbzCR2t6lD7CAc