Tag Archives: Crater Lake

Northwest Trek – A Great Debate and a Great Big Rock

20 Aug

We spent quite a bit of time debating what to do next. My nephew wanted to see Olympic National Park, but, while it would have been cool, I felt that it was too far. Instead, I thought we should see Mt. Rainier. We made our points before he got to the crux of the matter. He was afraid that we would look at the mountain; say something about it being a big rock; and drive on down the road. He had reason to worry because we are prone to do that. Patience is not our virtue.

I promised him that we would stop anywhere that he wanted to stop. If he saw a trail that he wanted to walk, then we would walk it. On top of that, we would not complain about it. He was not convinced.

Honestly, I think going to Olympic would have been cool, but we were not set up for it. If I had it to do over, then we would have spent all of our time in Washington. That way we could have done both. Crater Lake was interesting, but we spent a lot of time just to see one thing.

With the debate behind us, we set out for Mt. Rainier. Along the way, we went through several towns where logging was the major industry. I always think it is interesting to drive through towns. As Del Gue says in Jeremiah Johnson, “Here’s where the people is.” I wonder if Jeremiah, Del Gue and Bear Claw ever made it up to Mt. Rainier.

Anyway, we drove the high road to the mountain, and Mt. Rainier is truly an impressive thing to see.DSC00358

However, it is still a big rock, and I do not have much to write about it.

On the way down from the mountain, we stopped by a mountain stream that was interesting. My nephews and I took the trail and crossed a small bridge to the other side. There were a lot of rocks and a little water, but there are probably times when the water is pouring down.IMG_2888

There is a funny story about my youngest nephew losing his footing on the trail, but I will spare him the embarrassment of putting it out here for everyone to read.

After all of this, we stopped in Longmire, Washington for lunch at the National Park Inn. We had thought about eating at the lodge in the middle of the park, but this turned out to be a better decision. Besides, my dad’s favorite show is Longmire, which made this a fitting place to spend some time.

We made our way back to Longview, Washington and more pie at Shari’s. This time, I skipped Marionberry and went with Pecan. It tastes more like home.

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Northwest Trek – I Will Take Two Lions and a Lake for $10

15 Aug

We awoke in Roseburg, Oregon with big plans for the day. We were going to visit a place that none of us had ever seen. However, we had another surpass addition before starting on our way.

The night before, my brother read about a safari park in Winston, Oregon. He remembered going through one as a kid and thought it would be interesting. With that in mind, we drove to Wildlife Safari and something that I would call a drive-thru zoo.

Animals were divided by different continents, and most of them were roaming around.IMG_2344

Of course, there were a few animals that were deemed too dangerous to get close to the cars. Those were kept behind some well-built fences.IMG_2372

I am still trying to figure out how they decided which were fence worthy and which were not.

In the beginning, the adventure was interesting, and we drove slowly through the land. However, patience is not our virtue, and we sped up as more land and animals passed by. We had done the Marlin Perkins thing. It was time to move on.

That meant making our way to Crater Lake, a place that I have always wanted to see. The road to the national park followed a mountain river and was surrounded by huge trees. Honestly, it felt claustrophobic. There are times when I like the wide open spaces of the Plains more than a mountain forest.

We stopped for lunch at the Steamboat Inn. I am not sure if they think highly of their food or just have a monopoly on the road, but those were some expensive sandwiches. There was also a lodge for people who like to sit and contemplate. We did not have time for contemplation. We had somewhere to be.

Crater Lake was as beautiful as I imagined. Along the way, we drove through a barren caldera, which set the lake up nicely. The water was pure blue, and, from our high vantage point, we could see 150 feet into its depths. Of course, that was only a small percentage of its depth of over 1900 feet.DSC00327

After taking a bunch of pictures and visiting the welcome center, we got back into the vehicle and drove north to Redmond, Oregon, where the situation became entertaining. I stood in line to check in the hotel as an older couple argued with lady working the desk. Apparently, they got a reduced rate and were trying to add a $10 coupon on top of it. They spent 15 minutes arguing over $10 and making the lady behind the desk cry. I am not sure $10 is worth all of that.

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