A Rose is a Rose is a Rose...!

My first destination this morning is Voodoo Doughnuts, a unique Portland based shop specializing in unusual favor combinations with names to match - Captain Crunch or Fruit Loops, cookie toppings, and grape flavored Tang are just a few.  There are over 100 varieties, but the NyQuil Glazed and Vanilla Pepto Crushed Tums flavors are no longer available due to the health department!

There is a line outside so something yummy must be inside!

One young boy finishes a doughnut covered in frosting and coconut before starting on another w/ mini-Reese’s pieces.  Approaching the counter, two rotating display cases hold the available flavors.  

“Hi!  I’m a Voodoo Doughnut Virgin so what do you recommend?”

I’m told all about Voodoo Doughnuts...prices, regular vs. specialty, vegan.  I chose the bacon maple bar (w/ real strips of bacon on top), the Dirty Old Bast___d (Oreo cookies w/ peanut butter frosting) and the Voodoo Doll (puffy figure w/ a face and filled w/ raspberry jam, covered in chocolate frosting and a pretzel stake sticking from it’s belly).  How could I refuse that one!

I leave with a signature pink box, and after eating the bacon maple bar, a smile!

Pittock Mansion is a Portland landmark built in 1914 by newspaper owner and publisher, Henry Pittock and his wife, Georgiana.  On a hill 1000 ft above the city, the French renaissance chateau features 46 rooms on 46 landscaped acres.  The couple built this house to accommodate themselves, but 11 people lived here including their daughters and families and nieces.

A top of the line oven/stove was installed in the kitchen for the kingly price of...$35!

Georgiana loved her flowers and had an extensive cutting garden.  

However, her favorite was roses, and she helped form the Portland Rose Society and held the first rose show in her backyard.

I head to the International Rose Test Garden, a 4-acre public space, w/ 8,000 plantings of over 550 rose varieties.   Started in 1917, Henry Pittock was one of the founding members.  I have never seen so many gorgeous flowers, and I take picture after picture looking for the special bloom.  Many of these roses don’t have a fragrance but others fill the air with perfume.

On this sunny mild day, the garden is packed with families and couples and friends.  It took me 3 trips around the park to finally find a parking space - about 40 minutes.  However, it gave me time for an afternoon snack - the Voodoo Doll!  Yum, but I feel a little naughty eating it!

In the distance are the mountains and Mount Hood.  A toddler bends over to smell a rose; absolutely adorable!  Where are the parents w/ a camera?

Portland is known for a plethora of food carts, and I try Egyptian for dinner - lamb shank and stewed veggies over rice.  I’m glad I tried it but think Egyptian food might be off my bestie list.

Portland has a huge rose festival annually that lasts almost a month.  I have arrived at the busiest time w/ the Grand Floral Parade in addition to concerts and art shows, the Navy Fleet Week, coronation of the Queen, the knighting of Royal Rosarians - a type of ambassador - who each get “knighted” under a rose of their choice.  This is a big deal!

I don’t attend the parade, but I want to see the floats which are similar to the Rose Parade in Pasadena; another bucket list item for me.  They are covered w/ flowers and other living items and nothing artificial can be on the surface.

The floats are amazing!  Creative, artistic, whimsical are all words that describe them.  I wish there was a list of the natural ingredients, but you can see seeds, and pods, and moss, and bark, and dyed rice in addition to incredible floral displays.

It has been a busy and exhausting day, but definitely a beautiful one!

Let it Snow!

Rain is predicted today as I head over the Cascade mountains.  I’ve been blessed to have sunny skies every day so I can’t complain about a little rain now.  It looks like Virginia is being soaked.  Heat and now rain...the perfect time to be out of town!

Driving toward mountains always make me smile plus I am on another scenic highway - Mt. Hood Scenic Byway.  As I climb upward on Mount Hood, a 11,239 ft peak in the Cascade range, white flakes begin to hit the windshield.  By the time I turn off to visit Timberline Lodge which is still several miles further up the mountain, I debate whether to continue or abandon my adventure for one at a lower elevation.

I arrive to a parking lot covered in slushy snow and temps below freezing.  I pull on my boots while the white flakes become a furious icy snow mix.

I spend a couple of hrs admiring and learning about the architecture and history of the lodge.  Built in the mid-1930’s by people employed under FDR’s Work Progress Administration, designers and decorators wanted to incorporate natural elements of wood, stone, iron, and animal motifs throughout.  “Cascadian style” was used to describe a rustic Arts and Crafts style while incorporating pioneer and Native American themes true to Oregon history.

Recovering from the Great Depression, it was an era of thrift and recycling.  Telephone poles purchased for $2.10 each were carved into the shape of animals for staircase newel posts.  

My favorite was the post used for the mail box!  

Worn workers uniforms and blankets were cut and made into rugs, and spiral fireplace andirons had been railroad rails.

A massive fireplace anchors the two lower floors, and enormous pine columns support the main lobby roof which have been hand-adzed.

Furniture was over-sized and most is original to the Lodge.  The artwork is also original and coordinated with the themes of nature and Oregon.

Light fixtures are both decorative and functional.

Heading down the mountain the road is covered in white, and I don’t have the advantage of 4-wheel drive nor the bulk of The Beast.  I creep along, and I’m passed by The Mt. Hood Express bus!  The snow is beautiful, but I’m glad to reach non-frozen territory.

Next stop, Hood River, a town on the Columbia River known as a haven for wind and kite surfers.  I watch these acrobats for a while eating my sandwich before heading to Bonneville Lock and Dam.  This is the first of 8 locks on the Columbia River, and I arrive to watch a series of barges passing through!

I am fascinated by the technology which is ingenious but fairly simple of gates opening and closing to raise or lower the water level to accommodate vessels.  Just as the sawmill demonstrated, we think we are so smart in modern times, but people have been solving problems for years without the benefit of computers and technology.

I watch fish on the dam’s fish ladder and learn about solving dual problems - turbines killing fish and migrating fish traveling up-stream to spawn.  The near-by fish hatchery has areas for egg incubation and pools based on size of rainbow trout and sturgeon.  Wish I could throw a line in!  

The mascot is Herman, a 70 year old 10 foot monster sturgeon!

Driving on Historic Highway 30 Scenic Byway through the Columbia Gorge instead of the interstate, I stop at waterfalls - Horsetail...

...and Multnomah...

...where in 1995, a 400 ton boulder weighing as much as a school bus filled with concrete slid 225 ft off the rock face and landed in the upper pool  drenching a wedding party on the bridge.  Talk about bad timing!

And another waterfall!

It’s hard to resist these photo-ops, but they remind me of “another” bison in Yellowstone NP when Stephen complained after I stopped again, “Mom, they’re like squirrels; they’re everywhere!”

Final stop is Vista House at the top of this lovely drive where trees over-shadow and stone masonry line the roadways.  

The Columbia River valley spreads below and is lush and gorgeous.

I’ll spend 3 nights in Portland with a college friend’s  (Hi, Karen!) daughter and her family.  I am such a country mouse, and I have loved all my time in nature.  The next 8 nights will be in cities before I head into the Canadian Rockies.  

Lord, protect this little mouse!

Lava, Boots, and ....

After the long drive yesterday, I need time to regroup today and catch up on the blog, laundry, banking, emails.  I don’t rush out the door since I know the next week will be busy with Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver before turning eastward through British Columbia.

It is tempting to lounge today and read; after all, I am on vacation!  However, I head out to Newberry National Volcanic Monument to visit an area of lava flow since I wasn’t able to incorporate a visit to Lassen Volcanic NP in northern CA on this trip.

There are school buses and children running around when I arrive.  Ahhh, I remember those days of chaperoning school field trips.  A past season of my life, but good memories.

I am surprised to learn that Central OR is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, and one of the most volatile places on earth.  This area was formed by the eruption of Newberry Volcano, the largest volcano in the Cascade Mountains, over 500,000 years ago.

Massive lava flows resulted covering 1,200 square miles, and created cinder cones and lava tubes.  The last eruption was 1,300 years ago.  This sounds like ancient history, but in geological terms, I suppose it’s recent history.  Makes you feel insignificant, doesn’t it!

I spiral 500 ft. up Lava Butte on a narrow road with only a thin rail designating the roadside edge.  Beyond that is straight down!

This is a cinder cone created when pieces of magma mixed with large amounts of air and gases trapped inside accumulate in an area after an explosion. 

 I crunch along the trail at the top and look down on the lava flow below.  I’m surprised at the lack of vegetation, but the lava and cinders may be 80 ft deep.  We are in the high desert which receive about 10” of rain a year so this landscape doesn’t have much erosion to create soil.

Next stop, Lava River Cave, a mile long lava tube which formed when the top surface of the lava cooled faster than the hot flowing liquid below.  I rent a torch and head down the trail which is rated difficult with uneven and slippery surfaces.  

This is a rustic cave; the most primitive I’ve been in since spelunking with boy scouts.  There are hand rails initially, but the floor is covered with rocks from the roof collapse which revealed the lava tube.  I have to watch every step picking my way gingerly through since there is no established path and no guide.  It would be a great place to sprain or break an ankle!

I wasn’t allowed to wear my hiking boots into the cave.  WNS, White Nose Syndrome, is a fungus killing millions of bats throughout the US.  It has not been seen in OR yet, but it is spread by contamination of clothing and shoes from one location to another.  We are instructed not to wear anything that has ever been in another cave.  The toes of my boots are scraped raw from crawling through caves so they will remain in the car.

I love caves and have visited or crawled through about 15.  The commercial caves are my least favorite with the canned lights, but they offer an amazing view of God’s creation below ground.  I always wonder, though, when the next rock will fall! 

There are no formations here like limestone canes, but a stark dark beauty.  Cave kisses, water droplets percolating from above, offer good luck along my journey.  I don’t see any bats, but I can see my breath condensation in the light due to the 45 degree temp.  Turn off your light in a cave, and you realize what total darkness is like.

It’s a long mile to the end, but I make it!  I’m puffing a little, and wonder how long it will take me to get out.

45 minutes later I emerge...ankles intact!  My only injury is a hard knock on my head meeting a low spot on the roof.

I stop at Beyond the Ranch Antique shop in Redmond.  It is amazing and filled with western wear, saddles, stirrups, chaps, and boots...and more boots...along with a wide variety of vintage items and antiques.

Dinner is a repeat from the previous night and groceries.  $30 at the store provided 2 dinners of steaks, baked potatoes and mushrooms, 1 salad lunch, crackers for my cheese, and bananas.  One dinner would have cost that.  No breakfast buffets to assist me here!

Michael is vacationing in the Philippines by himself planning to scuba dive and enjoy beach time, scenery, and new friends at the hostels.  He calls to tell me he is okay but had a motorbike accident with bad road rash on his back and shoulders and a knee injury requiring stitches.  He was w/ several other people, hit some gravel maybe going too fast, and down he went.  

He is sore, but he won’t show me his back so it is probably worse than he is sharing.  I tell him to count his blessings!  He is bummed since no more diving or water time.  I encourage him to check out tours including some history!  He ends up flying to Manila, does some sightseeing and is considering taking a cooking class or food tasting tour.  This will make a good story for the future, and a wonderful learning lesson!  

Thank you, Lord, for protecting him!

Today I visit the High Desert Museum in Bend.  I don’t have time to read everything which my boys use to accuse me of doing then quiz me and laugh when I didn’t know the answers!

I attend lectures and animal presentations and very impressed w/ the sawmill re-creation.  Looking at machinery from the 1800’s, I am impressed w/ their ingenuity from moving logs down a ramp on rollers, to locking it into place on a moveable sled, and adjusting levers to control board thickness.  We think we are so smart!

The animal presentations are informative and exhibit halls display the settling of the west by the pioneers...explorers, trappers, miners, farmers/ranchers, and the establishment of towns.  On the opposite wing is an exhibit of Native American culture before and after Europeans & Americans arrived.

Heading to Mt. Hood tomorrow and the Columbia River Gorge along with projected rain.  However, it will be National Donut Day.  Wonder if I can find a place to celebrate!

A Sapphire Miracle!

After a 3-hr drive, I was excited as I approached Crater Lake National Park.  Climbing the switchbacks up the mountain, snow became visible on the roadsides and woods.  It’s 60 degrees outside....70 at the base of the mountain...but there is not much evidence of melting.  In two days, the high is projected to be 29 degrees with snow!

The visitor’s center movie lays the groundwork for the history of the lake’s formation.  7,700 years ago, Mount Mazama exploded spewing magma at twice the speed of sound into the air.  Multiple additional vents opened around the mountain encircling the top.  A 12,000 ft tall peak which had taken centuries to create, collapsed inward as the magma chamber emptied in only 24 hrs.  

There are NO rivers and streams flowing into Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the US and seventh in the world.  It has been filled over the years and continues to be filled each year solely with rainfall and snow melt.  Became of this and the lack of sediment to cloud the water, the lake has been declared the clearest and cleanest large body of water in the world!

I park, gather my camera and binoculars, and walk through snow on the rim side trail for my first view of this inspiring sight.  

It is breath-taking!  Sapphire blue water so rich and deep it doesn’t seem real spreads below surrounded by a snow crusted rim.

 A sense of awe overwhelms me.  I try to capture the lake’s beauty in multiple photos from different viewpoints some of which show the walls reflected in the clear water.

The intense deep blue color result from the absorption of all colors in the light spectrum except for the blue wave-length which is seen by our eyes.  It’s the same reason the sky appears blue.  

I hike along the rim slipping in the snow and hope I can catch the narrow yellow nylon rope if I fall and begin a 1,000 ft slide down to the lake.  Luckily, I don’t get a chance to see if I can!

I spend time sitting on a rock wall and absorb the atmosphere.  I wish I could find a spot for a nap!  John Muir said, “Man needs places to play, and places to pray.”  This is one of those places.

Thank you, God!

I drive several miles to Inspiration Point, the last turn-around before the rim-side road is blocked due to snow.  I hang out with a ranger and listen to him answering questions, and as always, I’m amazed at his knowledge.

More facts:  The lake is 6 miles across, 1,943 ft deep, and holds 4.9 trillion gallons of water.  We are standing at over 7,000 ft of elevation.

Wizard Island sits in the middle of Crater Lake looking like a wizard’s hat, covered with evergreens, and is home to the lake boathouses.  Phantom Island looks like a rocky clipper ship in the lake.

Crater Lake NP is open throughout the year, but snowplows can only keep a few areas cleared continuously including the southern park entrance, visitor’s center, Rim Village, and the Crater Lake Lodge.  Otherwise, snow accumulates until the spring plowing begins in April, and all roads may not open until mid-July!

The park received 35 ft of snow this year which is below the normal winter average of 44 ft.  Snowplows work every day but can only clear 50 yards a day on the 33 mile Rim Drive.  As the ranger explained, you can always snowshoe to the other side which will take 3-4 days!

I asked if the lake contains fish, and the ranger explained it was stocked w/ rainbow trout and salmon years ago. People are welcome to fish...w/ a permit...and keep anything they catch.

A strenuous hike to the lake during the summer months deliver you to the water’s edge to catch a boat for a tour around the lake.  It is suppose be fabulous, but beware...you also have to hike back up!

I stop by the Crater Lake Lodge which was saved from demolition and entirely renovated in 1985.  Built in 1920 on a shoestring budget, the outside was covered in tarpaper and interior walls were a cardboard-like particle board.  Visitors complained of cracks in the walls where you could see between rooms!

There were no private bathrooms and little furniture, but people came to stay and visit Crater Lake.

Native Americans cherish this site, and their history document the cataclysmic explosion over 7,000 years ago.  According to their folklore, two gods, one good and one evil, battled over dominance of the world.  The evil god was trapped under the mountain when it collapsed so that the good god was victorious. 

It’s been a wonderful visit even if abbreviated due to snow.  I hope to return and walk, roll, or be carried down to the lake for that boat ride!

The Oregon Coast - A Surprise Beauty!

I was sad to leave the coastal redwoods.  That is until I glimpsed the Oregon coast!

Crossing the state border and stopping at a Visitors Center, I picked up a brochure which detailed every stop along Highway 101 in increments of 1/10 mile.  I am driving, defensively aware of cars, bikes, and hikers along The Pacific Coast Scenic Byway, and now, hyper-attentive navigator.  No wonder I’m exhausted at the end of each day!

I spend my first night in OR at The Beachfront Inn in Brookings where samples of clam chowder and fudge welcomed me upon checking in.  I was up-graded to an oceanfront room, and it’s gorgeous.  I wish all my hotel rooms were as welcoming!  Sliding doors open to crashing waves on a beach covered with driftwood and water pounded rocks.  It’s too tempting to remain inside!

Dinner is at Catalyst Seafood - a boat to table restaurant where the owners catch your dinner!  I enjoy a Columbia River Steelhead Salmon on chimichurri pasta.  Absolutely delish!

Another walk on the beach, and I join people as we wait for sunset over the harbor.  A few people have started bonfires, and a couple of brave souls have their toes in the freezing water!

I wake early, but it’s difficult to leave my oceanfront retreat.  Fog has rolled in obscuring the ocean, but I still hear the wave action.  Maybe another walk on the beach!

Breakfast, and yes, I come away with more goodies for future meals....biscuits and bacon, an orange, and a bagel!  

I stop at a Visitors Center and convenient bathroom break at Port Orford.  Chatting with a volunteer, we compare the OR and CA coast.  He explains Hwy 101 in OR is far from the main interstate so it doesn’t get as much traffic as the highway in CA.  OR gets my vote as having a better coastal highway along with this cute artsy town for a stroll.

I pass cranberry bogs as I approach Bandon.  Most people know Bandon for its golf courses, but it is also the cranberry capital of the west.  Face Rock Creamery satisfies my ice cream craving along with multiple cheese tastings.  It’s Saturday so they aren’t making cheese today, but I purchase some cranberry walnut cheddar.  Yum!

As I search for lighthouses and another perfect photo, my 2 1/2 hr trip morphs into 6 hrs!  There is so much to see along this craggy coast filled with state parks and sea-stacks off shore.  I stop counting at 12 viewpoints which includes watching wind surfers for an hour while I eat lunch...and then nap!...and short walks down to the beach or along the wall.

Even though it’s late in the season, I’m determined to find a straggling gray whale migrating to Alaska for the summer.  No luck, but I do find sea lions lounging on the rocks below.

You can often hear them before you see them.  Reminds me of some people!

I had debated if I should drive further along the coast for the night, but after my surprisingly long day, Reedsport is the perfect stop.  Before dinner though, I’m on the hunt for Roosevelt Elk which congregate near here.  I’ve passed multiple signs for these elk along the highways but no sign of them.

As I approach the meadow, shaggy brown figures lift there heads.  Finally, Roosevelt Elk, the largest of the species in North America!  Watching them enjoy their grassy dinner from behind a camera or binocular lens, I am so close I hear them pulling the stems from the ground!  

Males have velvet covered antlers...some just nubs, but since this is spring and females have recently calfed, there is no aggression and fight for dominance.  I am so blessed these creatures chose to feed right by the road tonight!

Dinner is a seafood platter baked on a cedar plank with lemon and dill - halibut, cod, shrimp, and oysters.  I like 3 of the 4, but I’m willing to give that slimy crustacean another try.  Nope, don’t like them!  Which reminds me, whoever first opened an oyster and thought, “Looks good; I think I’ll eat it!”

Breakfast includes make your own waffles....with rainbow sprinkles!  I had seen these earlier w/ pancakes but thought it was an anomaly.  Do you put them in the batter or on top?  Must be a west coast thing, and of course, I try them!

My $7.50 Wal-Mart cooler is coming in handy as I have 2 yogurts and milk for a later meal.  I want an earlier start today since I am continuing up the OR coast to Newport before turning inland.  I don’t want my 4 1/2 hr drive to triple today!

However, I can’t resist another lighthouse!

Several miles north my brochure indicates a Sunday farmers market!  A tent where grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade soup is being made is too tempting. I don’t think I will like the Brazilian Rainbow soup with sausage, peppers, garlic, poblano peppers, and sweet potatoes, but a taste convinces me I am wrong.  It is delicious and so unusual with just mild heat.  While I wait for my sandwich to brown, I overhear people say they are here for their weekly grilled cheese fix!

A local bakery prompts a quick visit, and I cannot decide between lemon sugar cookies or molasses so I buy both.  Definitely...the crunchy lemony sugar!

Just like the redwoods, I am sad to leave the coast.  I had heard it was beautiful, but I had no idea just how beautiful it is.  

Some observations:

*With gas prices over $4/gallon in CA, it was a pleasant surprise to see them a dollar cheaper in OR!

*When I left VA, temperatures were in the 90’s.  The redwoods were pleasant in the 60’s, but the OR coast is in the 50’s during the day with brisk winds of 30mph off the cold Pacific!  I’m freezing and holding my hat so I don’t lose it in the wind.  However, I am so glad to have escaped the heat wave at home; just hand me another jacket!