Day 4 June 9, 2017 Crater Lake to Ashland

It was cool and overcast when we awoke so, we hung out in the Lodge's Great Hall for a few hours enjoying the fireplace and the surroundings and reading the paper and emails. The internet was spotty, but no urgency. Breakfast consisted of some fruit and cheese

that we had been hauling around and hotel drinks.

The Lodge was opened in 1915 shortly after the area was declared a National Park. It closed in the 1990s for major renovation. It is open only from May to October and hard to get reservations. The Great Hall has a massive stone fireplace and there are additional fireplaces in the Lobby and dining room. The back of the Lodge has a breathtaking view of the Lake. Rocking chairs on the large back porch offer a relaxing, and in my two experiences a chilly, view of Crater Lake’s deep blue waters.

The Lake was formed when the top of a volcano imploded and the resulting crater gradually filled with water. I think it is the deepest lake in the continental US. It is replenished solely by rain and snowmelt, so it is clean and clear. However, about a century ago it was stocked with two varieties of fish. (The Ranger conceded that was a mistake.) It is so large that it creates its own mini climate

We had a lengthy conversation with a tall female hiker. She has been hiking portions of the Pacific Crest Trail which runs through Crater Lake Park, although not close to the Lodge (it also runs through Lassen, although this time of year it was snow covered there.), but doing it “backwards”, from the north rather than the typical south to north route. She was not staying in the Lodge, but was there to get the free coffee and out of the cold.  She had hiked several h hundred miles of the Trail and was thinking of returning to her husband in Seattle. The Trail runs through the Park, but not very close to the Lodge. I could not figure out where she had spent the night or how she had gotten to the Lodge so early since the nearest campgrounds in the Park were several miles away and she did not appear to have a car.  She spoke very disparagingly of the woman who’s hiking the trail had been the subject of a book and movie (“Wild”) staring Reese Witherspoon) claiming that she had hiked less than half the trail and had failed to properly understand what such a hike required, e.g., bought too big a pack and then overloaded it.

After checking out and loading up the car, we took a hike around the rim road, now closed to auto traffic and not open all around the Lake due to snow. It was intermittently sunny, but brisk. The road we were walking on frequently had steep and tall walls of snow lining it. We took several side trips to the lake’s edge over the snow and were rewarded with breathtaking views of the Lake and Wizard Island. We walked a few miles until we came to a road repair crew. One member was holding a large stop sign even though there was no vehicular traffic. We could have gone beyond them, but instead we turned around and then drove down the mountain to the Visitor Center.

At the Visitor’s Center, we watched a movie and wandered through the gift shop. One of the Rangers was very talkative. I purchased a book on lodges in the national parks. Never found the charging station.

We drove west on highway 62 descending through beautiful green forest. We passed through some very small towns but could not find a grocery to purchase a picnic lunch. Finally, we went into a park/marina where we  purchased and ate lunch by the water.  

Made a side trip to a small, relatively new, winery off route 227. Tasted our flight of Oregon wines and then purchased a couple of bottles and a corkscrew. We attempted to go to a noted cheese shop, the Creamery, in Crown Point, a very non-descript town, but we just missed closing time.

We arrived at our motel in Ashland about 6. We stayed about 2 miles from the center of town at the Roadway Inn. Nothing special, but at our request we were given a room at the end on the first floor so we could charge up the car from in the room.  I replenished our food supply from a local supermarket. Turkey and cheese lettuce wraps in the room, along with our newly purchased wine for dinner avoiding a rainstorm. 

The Solar Eclispe Trip

The Eclipse Trip August 20-22

Airplane vs. automobile? Time saver vs. flexibility. I opted for the former since I had just come off two long driving trips to the Pacific northwest.  

A mid-morning Southwest flight to Salt Lake City via Oakland (Southwest had very few non-stops LAX to SLC. In prior winters, they had 7 or 8 a day.) Parked the car at the airport in Park One which I used to do regularly, but have not done in years. It now has a dozen electric charging stations, but they appear to all be in the valet parking area.) The flights were full and on-time. Even handed out peanuts and on the first flight they appeared to be handed out by a father and son volunteer team. They were not wearing airline uniforms.

A problem arose when I went to pick up my car from the off-airport, Fox Rent a Car, via Priceline. There were no cars. The Manager explained that about 25 renters had not returned their cars per their reservations. I wondered if some people decided at the last minute to stay for the eclipse, or more devious, always intending to view the eclipse, attempted to avoid the awesomely inflated car rental rates by stating that they intended to return the car before the eclipse. The manager promised to honor the reservation by renting from another company and absorbing the difference. So, we got back on the shuttle bus and headed back to the Budget counter at the airport. The clerk there claimed to have no record of our reservation, but said that she had a car available for $350. I could not reach the Fox people, nor anyone at Budget since none of their phone numbers get you to a live person. So back on the bus back to Fox. They checked and verified the reservation, but could also not reach Budget by phone. So, this time the Fox clerk (who was on temporary assignment form Las Vegas) came back with us to the airport. The Budget clerk claimed that she had not received the reservation and that reservations normally take 50 minutes to appear in the system (this had now taken more than 1.5hrs). The Fox clerk took us back to his office and gave us a big black Jeep SUV. I suspect that someone else did not get a car.

Because I delayed searching for them, and when I did late in the week all locations were sold out, we did not have the special glasses needed to view the partial eclipse (You could view the total eclipse without glasses without harming your eyes). Making one last chance we stopped at two 7-11s outside the car rental site. The first was sold out, but at the second we got the last two pairs of glasses, albeit at an exorbitant price. Dynamic pricing, but it made the experience much more enjoyable!

We drove up to Layton toward our reservation at the Comfort Inn. I feared that it too would be a problem, but there were no issues, other than John Oliver’s show came on at 9:15pm.

We got up at 5:30 the following morning to make sure that we got up to southern Idaho in time for the “Great American Eclipse”. By now radio, TV and the newspapers were filled with eclipse information. At least it drove Trump off the news, at least temporarily. Ate a quick breakfast and got on the road, I-15 by 6:45. To my surprise, the drive did not present much congestion. There were a few occasions when traffic slowed, but that appeared to be caused primarily by the presence of a police car in the median.

As we approached Idaho Falls after 9 we began to see groups of people hanging out in parks and open spaces. We decided to go to Rigby, a small town about 20 miles northeast of Idaho Falls since it was squarely in the middle of the path of totality. After driving through town and not seeing an obvious public restroom, we parked at South Rigby Park by about 9:45. There were a few thousand people there, but it was next to the Rigby Rodeo Grounds, and not crowded. There were lots of dogs, mountains of food, and more photography equipment than is probably in the Kodak Museum.

At about 10:05 the moon began to move over the sun. At first it looked like a small bite had been taken out of the sun but the dark spot steadily grew large. I was surprised that there was no noticeable decrease in light until near the end of the process, although the color of the light began to be whiter and wintery. By about 11:20 the sun was just a crescent and the air was very noticeably colder. Right on time, at 11:33 there was a flash of white light and then darkness. The sun was completely obliterated by the moon. Surrounding the sun was the corona, a very white, almost cloudy protrusions of varying shapes and sizes from the sun that ringed the moon. It was a cool event, but not life altering or he most momentous event in one’s life as some speakers on radio had said. The crowd ooed and awed, but no wild shouting or emotional outbursts. The dogs did not seem perturbed.

It was over quickly, 2 minutes and 17 seconds, but it seemed quicker. The sun’s partial reappearance was marked by a flash of white light, that was a signal to put the glasses back on, and quickly the sun appeared as a small crescent. It took almost 1.5 hrs. for the sun to fully reappear.

The crowd quickly thinned out, and the highway adjoining the park, which had almost been deserted, quickly became a slow-moving parking lot.

Hoping to wait out the heavy traffic before starting our drive back to Salt Lake City we ate a picnic lunch at the Park. That probably was a mistake since when we did get on the road at 1:30, we quickly encountered heavy traffic, to the point of gridlock. I got off the main road to circumvent downtown Idaho Falls and the highway intersections. I took some back roads and encountered some traffic, but once south of Idaho Falls the only alternative to I-15was state route 97 which was a single lane gridlocked mess. I-15 quickly got very crowded to the point that there were several 5-10-minute stretches when traffic did not move at all. I took 3 hours to go 30 miles. Traffic lightened up after Pocatello, but after the I-15 84 interchange in Oregon there again was heavy traffic. The trip took 7 hours (twice as long as going up there) and we did not get back to Salt Lake until 8:30 and as a result my plans to have a night in Salt Lake City were dashed. We walked around the Mormon complex before it closed at 10 and then had difficulty finding a restaurant open at that hour. Fast food again.  

The Salt Lake Plaza Hotel was very nice and we used its shuttle to return to the airport in the morning. Uneventful flight home. A lot of time and effort to see the total solar eclipse, but it was worth seeing, once. I do not understand those people who chase these events all over the world.

Hood River

Days 18 and 19, June 23 and 24, 2017, Wedding and touring

I.                     June 23, the Wedding

This was the event that was the genesis of the trip, (much like the wedding in Georgia that was the genesis for the 2105 trip.) the wedding of Eric and Laura.

No breakfast at the Westcliff Lodge, but we walked around the spacious and beautiful grounds. It is set in the woods on a cliff overlooking the river.

Drove into town for breakfast at Bettie’s Place. Good food, healthy portions, nice service, but prices 10% higher than LA. However, there is no sales tax. Hood River is a small town, but there are no very few public parking lots and all the street parking in the downtown area is metered. $1 per hour, three hours max.

We walked around the town after eating. Very hot already. Cute downtown, but not much there. The main activity in town seems to be water recreation sports. There are almost constant easterly winds blowing through the gorge and when someone had the idea to bolt a sail to a surf board made Hood River the self proclaimed windsurfing capital of the world. Lots of older, early 19^th century buildings each with a plaque on it. Amazing how cheap in absolute dollars it was to build then, $17,500 for the library. Mailed a post card at the post office, built 1936, and looked at bicycle rentals. Drove down to the waterfront area which until recently seemed to be commercial and warehouse, cutting the people off from much of it. Now there are new parks, bikeways and several hotels and condo construction projects. Went to look for the wedding departure site and after several wrong turns we found it at the east end of town.

Back to the motel for some rest, but spent a few hours trying to do the paperwork and money transfer for mortgage loan for my son, but unsuccessful. Need to go to a BoA office, but none in this town and the FedEx office is not open on Saturday.

Back to the wedding departure site to board the bus for transportation to the wedding site which is in a very rural part of White Salmon, Washington. $1 toll to cross the river. Not too many bridges across the Columbia River. While parking we met another wedding guest. He told us that he was going to the bathroom and asked us to hold the bus. We tried to do that, but after 5 minutes the wedding planner was adamant that the bus leave. I was worried about him, but he made it to the wedding, I assume in his own car since that was the only bus from that site.

Wedding was at an event site, The Tin Roof Barn. Very nice, but hot under the sun. The wedding ceremony was outdoors. Maybe it was nerves, or maybe the heat got to her, but the bride asked her future husband to be her wife. She was unresponsive to the gentle urgings of the groom to say “husband”. The party was in a big barn. The food and the party were good. I did not know too many people and spent a fair amount of time speaking with a former LA Times reporter I recalled from the groom’s sister’s wedding, and a friend of the groom who is descended from Bolivian and Iranian parents. He and his girlfriend are lawyers in Seattle. He was the one we met in the parking lot at the hotel pick-up and somehow, he missed the bus when he went to the bathroom at Starbucks and had to make a purchase to use it. But he made it to the wedding. Also spoke at length to a couple from Bend that have a window shade business. They said business was good, but that Bend was getting too big and losing the environment that attracted them to the city in the first place.

Bit of a mix-up at the end of the party. There were two return buses, one to town and the first one to the hotel parking lot. I, and some others did not know that or missed the announcement so we missed the bus that was going to the parking lot. When we got on the second bus the bus driver was clearly annoyed about having to swing by the hotel. I doubt that there was Uber there. Long Day.

II.                   June 24 The Touring

Still full from the wedding dinner so a minimal breakfast of apples and bananas. Drove to the visitor’s center to get information on bicycle routes, rentals and other things to do. The staff was very helpful.

Drove into downtown to do a bike rental. Karen decided that cycling was not her idea of fun, especially since she would have to ride through town and up a steep series of switchbacks to get to the bicycle trail. So, it was just me replicating my usual Saturday morning bike ride. The bike shop attendant was very friendly, but surprisingly not knowledgeable about the Columbia River Highway trail that the visitor center staff had proposed. So, armed with my map and lots of water I descended through town, across the Hood River and up the switchbacks to the Highway. The park visitor center there had big signs pronouncing that this was a fee area. I went into the center and asked how to pay the fee. The male ranger politely informed me that no fee was needed if I did not have a car. However, a female clerk strongly suggested that I make a $5 donation since she informed me that the state parks received no state funding. I kicked in $1 since I had already paid the $5 fee several times on this trip.

The highway is a scenic stretch of the original 1916 Columbia River highway. This stretch was abandoned in 1954 with the opening of I-84, its tunnels backfilled and the roadway deteriorated into an overgrown footpath. Pictures at the visitor center showed the history. However, in 2000 the route was restored (the tunnels are better than in their original condition, now lined and lighted) and repaved as a motorized free recreation route. It is very pretty with lots of greenery and breathtaking views of the river and gorge. But very little of the 5.6-mile route is level. So, while the elevation from the park visitor center to the trail high point was only 450 feet, (in addition to the 400 feet on the switchbacks from the town to the trailhead.) I suspect that there was at least another 200 ft. in up and down elevation. Fortunately, the rented bike’s gears were very good and I ran through many of them. So, while the up hills were a struggle with waves of heat rolling up from the asphalt trail, the down hills were a reward. I met some other guests from the wedding who were walking the route which gave me an excuse to stop during which we conversed. I passed through two restored tunnels, the Snowbound inscription (party was stranded in a snowstorm in 1921 with some deaths) and Chicken Charlie Island (no explanation)

At the end of the route I road another mile down a road to the very small town of Mosier. Had some ice cream and read emails to get out of the heat.

I picked up Karen in town and we drove off to visit part of the “Fruit Loop”. This area of Oregon is a major producer of apples, pears, cherries, grapes and of course wine.  Good volcanic soil and pure glacier water make for abundant harvests. There were lots of outlets along the trail with fruits, ice cream, baked goods and wineries. We had some of all. Also walked through a lavender field. All this was done under the looming presence of snow covered Mt. Hood. Toward the end we stopped at the Cathedral Ridge Winery. I think this was the same place we stopped during our 2014 trip.  It was crowded so we sat outside with our wine looking at snow covered Mt. Adams.

For dinner, we walked over to the Columbia Gorge Hotel. This seems to be the grand dame hotel of the gorge with unbeatable gorge views and a view of a 208-ft. waterfall on the river. Nice, intimate, romantic dinner.  

Columbia River Gorge

Day 17, June 22, 2017 Traversing the Columbia River Gorge

We spent June 14-21 in Rochester. We went to my son’s and daughter-in-law’s medical residency graduations, watched the grandson for several days and took him out to playgrounds and for ice cream. We returned to Portland and the same hotel on the evening of the 21st tired after the cross-country trip and the 3-hour time zone change.

On the 22d we started the day with an early morning swim in the hotel pool and then had a nice big buffet breakfast at the hotel. I received a scare when I went out to load the car. During our absence, the Portland area apparently had some big rain storms such that an island in the river was flooded. Closer to us, I saw that a large branch from a tree we parked the car under had broken off and landed 10 feet from the car. A few more feet and it would have been a major inconvenience.

We got on the road before 10 am and traveled east up the Gorge starting on the Washington side. Crossed back to Oregon east of the airport and after a brief stretch on I-84 we exited on to historic route 30. This was the first paved road in the Columbia River Gorge and it was the first built in the Gorge for auto sightseeing. It was built from 1913 to1922 and has several tunnels and a few dozen bridges. It follows a serpentine route that was designed to have no incline greater than 5 degrees to accommodate the Model Ts of that era. Now the road is just a scenic byway, albeit the oldest one in the US, having been supplanted by I-84, that bisects the National Scenic Area which is lined with state parks and waterfalls.

Long ago most of the Pacific northwest was covered my massive lava flows. During the last ice age, there were massive ice dams which when they melted resulted in torrential water flows that carved out the Columbia River Gorge. It is the only sea level passage through the Cascade Mountains and was used by Lewis and Clark to float down to the Pacific. The Oregon pioneers followed that trail. However, because the surrounding cliffs were not eroded, there are many waterfalls throughout the gorge.

We drove through the small town of Troutdale which is the western terminus of US highway 30, formally known as the Columbia River Scenic Highway and the Scenic Highway, Not much there except for many recreation stores. Its biggest draw is the art resort McMenamius, formerly the County Poor Farm. Our first stop was at a small overlook at the Portland Women's Forum View Point, that gave us a spectacular view up the Gorge. We took a few pictures there and then resumed our drive east on route 30. Two miles east of Corbett we took a fork to Larch Mountain Road. This was a 14-mile detour that toward the end climbed steeply. After parking, $5 fee, we took the Sherrard Point trail. It was less than 1/2amile, but quite steep. However, the view from the top rewarded the effort. We could clearly see 5 peaks, Rainier, St. Helens and Adams to the north, and Hood and Jefferson to the south. St. Helens was the shortest and had a flat top courtesy of its blow out in 1980.  After hiking back down to the parking lot we walked a short way on the Larch Mt. trail. This is a long trail that eventually gets to Multnomah Falls. A couple (young) passed us on this trail and we later saw them when we were hiking the lower trail to the Falls. On the ride down the Larch road we picked up 9 miles in electricity.

Our next stop was the Vista House at Crown Point. Sitting atop a 730-ft. bluff this two-tiered octagonal structure was completed in 1916. It was built as a way station for travelers on route 30. The architect, Edgar Lazarus was the brother of Emma Lazarus, she of poetry on the Statute of Liberty. The rotunda has pictures of the gorge and the highway. The House offers spectacular30 miles views of the Gorge.  

Next stop was Bridal Veil Falls. There are lots of falls along this route and we just picked a few to stop at. This was a tall, narrow, falls. We hiked a short trail down to the base of the falls. Standing there it was easy to see why the falls was given its name. There was a large mist and a strong wind that blew my hat off. We kept our parking space and took a .5miletrail to the base of Multnomah Falls. This is the granddaddy falls in the gorge, falling 620 ft. in two sections. It is the second highest year-round falls in the US. The view from the bottom of the Falls is great. We hiked a short trail to a bridge. Nice views of the gorge from the top and the trail.

After hiking down, we had a late lunch in Multnomah Falls Lodge. Might be an interesting place to stay, but we only ate in the bar area. Vaulted ceilings, stone fireplaces and some exquisite views of the Falls. Lots of draft beer choices.

Hiked back to the car beating the setting sun. Drove to our hotel, the Westcliff Lodge, that was just west of Hood River. Beautiful grounds and an expansive room with a large balcony. Managed to find an outside electrical outlet to charge up the car. We ate dinner at a wine room restaurant next to the hotel. There was live music and it was crowded. A local couple invited us to share their table. They are semi retirees who moved there to enjoy the wind driven water sports in the gorge of which there are many.

Long, tiring day.

Portland

Day 8 June 13 Portland

The day started well with a very good breakfast and then a 10-minute shuttle ride by the hotel to the Portland light rail vehicle system. $2.50 for an all-day senior pass. We got off at a downtown station after about a 35-minute ride and walked west. Passed the old, impressive Portland Center for the Performing Arts and the Congregationalist Church. The latter building was erected in1882. It has tall spires and stain glass windows with an exterior of rough cut lumber.

We went into the Oregon Historical Society. The tall entry way had large murals of Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail. The permanent exhibit is “Oregon My Oregon” which is an exhibit that follows the state’s story from prehistoric times to the present. Very entertaining.

Walked west to Park Ave. It has a broad medium with lots of statutes (no confederates). Passed on the Portland Art Museum since: there were other things to see; it was expensive, $24 and I really did not want to look at art.  Took the trolley one stop to Pioneer Square and checked out the Pioneer Courthouse. Walked over to Kenny and Zuke’s Deli for a late lunch. Good pastrami, but not as good as Langers Deli. Then went over to the main Powell’s book store. It was amazing. It covers an entire blockhead are sooo many books, it is almost overwhelming.

Tired from walking we boarded the center city loop trolley. Passed under the aerial tram and went along the waterfront park. The trolley crossed over to east Portland and went by the sports venues.

Took the light rail back to the hotel. We called the hotel for a pick up, but they then forgot about us so we waited a while before calling them again. Ate dinner at the hotel. (that is Teddy Roosevelt below on Park Ave)

Salem to Portland

Day 7 June 12, 2016 Salem to Portland

Not able to charge up the car, but the breakfast was good. Long telephone call with son in India so did not get an early start.

Not a long drive to Portland up I-5. The first interesting thing we saw was an aerial tram system soring over the freeway up to the top of a hill. I did not recall it from my prior trips to Portland. It carries people up to a medical complex.

Our first planned stop was the Japanese Garden. To get there we had to take the 405.Not as congested as the one in Southern California. Lots of street detours getting there, but we were lucky to get a parking space.

The Garden claims to be the most authentic Japanese Garden outside of Japan. Not cheap to enter.  It is a very serene setting and incredibly well maintained. Very nice place to go. There are five different garden styles represented in the Garden: Strolling Pond; (my favorite) Tea; Natural Garden; Sand and Stone; and Flat. We jumped on a tour by a volunteer, who was knowledgeable, but did not project her voice.

After spending about 2 hours in the Garden we descended to the International Rose Test Garden.

Three terraced gardens containing 10,000 rose bushes and 400 varieties of roses set on 4 acres. Many of the roses were in full bloom (The prior week was the contest) and it was a riot of color. From the east side of the Garden we go a nice view of the downtown skyline. In the distance, we could see the snow-covered Mt. Hood, a presence that would be with us for many days during our stay in northern Oregon.

We then drove east, across the Willamette River to get to the Hawthorne District. This is an area in the southeast quadrant of the city that attracts a bohemian crowd. Lots of bookstores, coffeehouses, taverns, restaurants, antique stores and boutiques. We walked around for a while. Went into a Powell’s satellite bookstore and purchased several books. Ended up in the same hat store that I visited during my 2014 visit and purchased some hats. We ate an early dinner at a sushi restaurant and then had a pint of ice cream at a Whole Foods type market for dessert.

Then drove up to our hotel that was located a short distance west of the airport and almost on the banks of the Columbia River, the Oxford Suites Hotel. By coincidence it was the same hotel I stayed at during my 2014 visit. It was selected because: it was close to the airport; had an airport shuttle; and was willing to allow us to park our car there free during our side trip to Rochester. It was a nice place. Large room, evening snacks and drinks, good Internet and a very good breakfast.

Ashland to Salem

Day 6 June 11, 2017 Ashland to Salem

Again, we ate breakfast in the cramped motel lobby, this time in the presence of a young family also from Southern California.

We got out on the road by about 9:30 and began the long drive north on I-5. We were not sure where we going to spend the night, but the first intended stop was the Silver Falls State Park east of Salem.

However, before we arrived there we passed up many interesting stops. The Creamery was again closed, this time because it was Sunday. Hikes either along the Rogue River valley or the Table Rock looked attractive. And I would have liked to visit Jacksonville, a gold rush era town or Grant’s Pass, a national historic distract with the Rogue River flowing through it. And we sailed right past Eugene. All will have to wait for another trip. 

We arrived at the park about 1:45 and had a picnic lunch. The Park is hidden amid old growth Douglas fir in the foothills of the Cascades and is the largest state park in Oregon. After entering the park, we spent almost 4 hours wandering through and even behind several large waterfalls, as well as hiking around the park. Silver Falls at 177 ft. is the largest, but there were a dozen other falls of over 100 ft. The hiking trails were very well maintained and the greenery was awesome. But the highlight of the park and the day are its waterfalls. Some of the trails took us behind the falls where you looked into a cascade of water.

We were on the day use side. If I had done my homework I would have sought to reserve one of the many cabins that are scattered throughout the park.

We then drove to Salem, the state capital, and while doing that made a reservation at a motel outside of the downtown area. La Quinta Suites. Not able to charge the car and overpriced, but a very good breakfast. We drove into downtown looking for some dinner and activity. Downtown Salem was incredibly empty, albeit on a Sunday evening. Most of the restaurants were closed and not much to do. After walking for a bit, we found a cider bar that had a dance floor and salsa dancing. Had a flight and some drinks. The proprietress, whose day job is as an environmental scientist with the state, told us about her experience as a wine maker. We ordered dinner from a local restaurant and took a walk around the downtown including a walk in a park along the Willamette River.

Oregon Shakespeare Festivel

Day 5 June 10 Ashland and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival

A two-play day. Great seats for the afternoon performance, but toward the back for the evening performance. The breakfast in the cramped lobby of the Roadway Inn was ample, but that was all.

We planned to start the day with a visit to the Art Museum on the Southern Utah University campus, but it was closed for a reception. Took a short walk around the campus.

Then drove into town and parked at a 4-hour lot. Picked up our tickets at the box office and as we were walking around the three theatres complex the skies opened again so we retreated to a local brewery for an early lunch prior to the first play. The flights of beer were very good, but they lost our food order and did not bring it until after an hour had passed and we had to leave for the first play. The waiter seemed upset with us that we did not accept the food and offered no consideration for the delay. As a result, think I was a little tipsy going into the play.

The play, Mojada, A Medea in Los Angeles, was a modern take-off on the Greek play Madoc. Jason (yes, he of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece) abandoning his first wife with whom he had two children for a politically advantageous union. The spurned wife kills the new wife and, to especially hurt Jason, also kills herself, and his, children. A major act of rage and desperation.

This play was set in modern Los Angeles and the characters were immigrants. Halfway through the play I thought it was about immigrant abuses and rights, but then it worked its way back to the original. Still a very powerful play about the painful experiences of being an immigrant in America. I wonder how we as a country have gotten to a place where many Americans want to undervalue or deny our layered history? Where does the intense pressure to conform come from and why does it overshadow the opportunity to welcome what can be rich cultural differences? What are we afraid of?

A very powerful play and performances, especially by the female lead. Modern language so I did not have to fight threw Shakespearian language. After the performance, she participated in a discussion group that lasted over an hour. Nice activity, but it cost us a parking ticket as we exceeded the4 hour limit by a wide margin.  However not as high as California penalties and we dropped off the check in the City Hall drop box later that evening.

Still raining so we went back to the motel and ate and drank some more of the prior day’s purchases.

The evening play was a reproduction of the movie Shakespeare in Love. I recall very much enjoying that movie, but I did not enjoy the play as much. It was long and had, for me, difficult language. Nice to see how Shakespeare allegedly got through his writer’s block. He was waiting for inspiration to strike, hoping it will hit him like a bolt of lightning, as he was struggling to write a single word.  All this in the context of gender politics in a decidedly sexist world whose monarch is one of the most powerful women in history. What I think that the play teaches him and us is that the best and most profound inspiration is to be found in the people around you and their unique stories. That is a useful reminder.

After the play in the lobby we by chance met Mr. Amberge in the lobby. He was a well-loved sixth grade drama teacher for my three oldest boys who produced very high-level Shakespeare performances by the students. He did not really remember me, but he recalled the boys and the visit with David in May 2014.

Then we went back to the motel and recharged the car.

Crater Lake to Ashland

Day 4 June 9, 2017 Crater Lake to Ashland

It was cool and overcast when we awoke so, we hung out in the Great Hall for a few hours enjoying the fireplace and the surroundings and reading the paper and emails. The internet was spotty, but no urgency. Breakfast consisted of some fruit and cheese that we had been hauling around and hotel drinks.

The Lodge was opened in 1915 shortly after the area was declared a National Park. It closed in the 1990s for major renovation. It is open only from May to October and hard to get reservations. The Great Hall has a massive stone fireplace and there are additional fireplaces in the Lobby and dining room. The back of the Lodge has a breathtaking view of the Lake. Rocking chairs on the large back porch offer a relaxing, and in my two experiences a chilly, view of Crater Lake’s deep blue waters.

The Lake was formed when the top of a volcano imploded and the resulting crater gradually filled with water. I think it is the deepest lake in the continental US. It is replenished solely by rain and snowmelt, so it is clean and clear. However, about a century ago it was stocked with two varieties of fish. (The Ranger conceded that was a mistake.) It is so large that it creates its own mini climate

We had a lengthy conversation with a tall female hiker. She has been hiking portions of the Pacific Crest Trail which runs through Crater Lake Park, although not close to the Lodge (it also runs through Lassen, although this time of year it was snow covered there.), but doing it “backwards”, from the north rather than the typical south to north route. She was not staying in the Lodge, but was there to get the free coffee and out of the cold.  She had hiked several h hundred miles of the Trail and was thinking of returning to her husband in Seattle. The Trail runs through the Park, but not very close to the Lodge. I could not figure out where she had spent the night or how she had gotten to the Lodge so early since the nearest campgrounds in the Park were several miles away and she did not appear to have a car.  She spoke very disparagingly of the woman who’s hiking the trail had been the subject of a book and movie (“Wild”) staring Reese Witherspoon) claiming that she had hiked less than half the trail and had failed to properly understand what such a hike required, e.g., bought too big a pack and then overloaded it.

After checking out and loading up the car, we took a hike around the rim road, now closed to auto traffic and not open all around the Lake due to snow. It was intermittently sunny, but brisk. The road we were walking on frequently had steep and tall walls of snow lining it. We could take several side trips to the lake’s edge over the snow and were rewarded with breathtaking views of the Lake and Wizard Island. We walked a few miles until we came to a road repair crew. One member was holding a large stop sign even though there was no vehicular traffic. We could have gone beyond them, but instead we turned around and then drove down the mountain to the Visitor Center.

At the Visitor’s Center, we watched a movie and wandered through the gift shop. One of the Rangers was very talkative. I purchased a book on lodges in the national parks. Never found the charging station.

We drove west on highway 62 descending through beautiful green forest. We passed through some very small towns but could not find a grocery to purchase a picnic lunch. Finally, we went into a park/marina and purchased and ate lunch by the water.  

Made a side trip to a small, relatively new, winery off route 227. Tasted our flight of Oregon wines and then purchased a couple of bottles and a corkscrew. We attempted to go to a noted cheese shop, the Creamery, in Crown Point, a very non-descript town, but we just missed closing time.

We arrived at our motel in Ashland about 6. We stayed about 2 miles from the center of town at the Roadway Inn. Nothing special, but at our request we were given a room at the end on the first floor so we could charge up the car from in the room.  I replenished our food supply from a local supermarket. Turkey and cheese lettuce wraps in the room, along with our newly purchased wine for dinner avoiding a rainstorm. 

Lava Beds National Monument Day 3 June 8

Day 3 June 8


Alturas in far northeast CA. to Crater Lake, OR by way of Lava Beds National Monument

Alturas is a small town, but with about 2500 population and a regional high school (the Braves and lots of signs congratulating the recent graduating class) it seems to be a regional hub for the local agricultural industry, lots of cattle. The population seemed to be all white, but we did not go to the local Thai restaurant

Awoke to two vastly different, but discouraging events. The lessor, but of greater significance to me was that the car would not recharge, but later learned that the problem was the power supply at the Rim Rock Hotel was not adequate to charge up our electric car. So much for getting charged up every night. The greater event was James Comey's testimony before Congress. Nothing materially new or a departure from his prior news accounts or the earlier released prepared statement, but it reaffirmed the ethical morass our President has lead the country into. Fortunately, it was done on east coast time so we could watch it and get out and going at a reasonable time.

 We found a Chevy dealership on Main street in town to check out the car charging situation. I spoke with the service manager and explained the charging problem. She confessed that she had never seen a Chevy Volt, ("we mainly sell trucks") that they had never had one in stock, let alone sold one and were not certified to work on that model. But she was willing to try to help so I pulled in and plugged in. Everything worked and charging commenced. The problem apparently was the Rim Rock motel's electrical system. Relief, but could not stay around to get a meaningful charge because they did not have a super charger.

Off to breakfast at the Wagon Wheel. It was reasonably crowded and the waitresses seemed to know most of the patrons.  They were very friendly and a few stopped to speak with us, where were we from, where were we going, how did we like the town, etc. Prices were low and the portions large, but it is not a good idea to have chicken fried steak as part of a breakfast.

 Took off for the Lava Beds National Monument, about a 1.5-hour drive through some very wooded, scenic and desolate country. Very little up there except forests and as we approached the Monument the landscape became volcanic, lots of black rock fields.

The Monument is set in a forbidding land scape that looks very foreign to this urbanite. It sits on top of a shield volcano that has been active for 500,000 years. You probably have not heard of it because its eruptions from hundreds of surface vents are gentle rather than explosive and rather than creating a volcanic mountain, such what we just visited at Lassen Volcanic National Park, what is left are cinder cones, deep chasms and more then 450 lava tubes. That results in a low, gently-sloping shield-like profile.

Interesting history here. The Modoc Indians inhabited the area before the arrival of the Euro-Americans after the Civil War. The white settlers claimed the “empty” land, conflicts ensued and escalated and violence resulted. The Modoc were forced into a signing a treaty that moved them on to the Klamath Reservation in Oregon that was already inhabited by two other tribes. That proved untenable and the tribe rebelled. The warriors fled to Captain Jack’s Stronghold, a natural fortress of the lava beds and held off several thousand troops under General Sherman. After about a year of fighting the tribe was defeated and its remaining member exiled to a reservation in Oklahoma. That was the last major Indian war in the northwest and the only major Indian war fought in California.

 The other item of historical interest is that this Monument is very close to Tule Lake, which was the site of one of the WWII concentration camps used to confine Japanese Americans. It was reserved for internees who were considered the most dangerous and held all the internees who refused to positively respond to the 27 point “loyalty” questionnaire distributed in 1943.

When I approached the Ranger desk I discovered that I had lost my senior parks admission card. I do not know if I left it in the motel or it dropped out of my wallet, perhaps when I was changing in the Volcanic National Park, but in any event, it was gone. The young Ranger looked at me and said he believed me, I guess my appearance confirmed my age, so he let us in. They gave us each a big flashlight. Karen purchased her own senior card at the end of our visit to the Monument.

We first went to the Mushpot tube. That is the only one which is lighted and has a paved path. About 800 ft. in length, it was not too difficult. It was cool in the tube and there were only a few places requiring bending. We then drove out on Cave Loop Road to Upper Sentinel, which connected to Lower Sentinel. Together they were about 3800 ft.  If the flashlights were turned off it was very, very dark in the tube. The footing was uneven and the ceilings were covered with lots of bumps and protrusions, so progress was slow, but no stalagmites. It took us about 30 minutes to traverse that tubes and we did not have to retrace our steps. That was a least challenging tube, so emboldened we next went to Sunshine tube, which is rated moderately challenging. This was much shorter, about 800 ft. and had three openings to the sky so although the terrain was more difficult, it was not too forbidding. Then we went to Golden Dome tube. This was also rated moderately challenging, but it was 2200 ft. and no skylights. It was difficult and dark. On the return trip, we had difficulty finding the way back. We took a few seemingly wrong turns and it would have been easy to panic in there. But we saw the lights of some incoming visitors and finally made our way out.   

That was enough tubing for the day, so we drove out the north entrance and quickly passed into Oregon. We skirted around Klamuth Falls and shortly thereafter were caught in a torrential downpour that necessitated pulling off the road for a few minutes. When we turned onto the road for Crater Lake Park we entered an incredibly green and lush forest.

 As the road climbed he tress became thicker and taller and we road along a roaring creek. We arrived at the park entrance after the ranger station was closed and began a seven mile climb to the Lodge and the edge of the crater.   

 I think that the entryway and Great Hall in the Lodge are awe inspiring. Soaring ceilings held up by tree trunks with large windows overlooking the lake and large comfy chairs and two large fireplaces make for a nice way to spend an evening. Our room on the first floor was large, but as in all rooms at the Lodge, no TV. (That was fine.) Alas unlike during my prior visit I was not permitted to charge up the car at the store’s loading dock after hours. Instead I was directed to a charging station seven miles below in the Park’s village.

The first time I look over the cusp of the caldron at Crater Lake takes my breath away every time I experience that. The blue water, mists over the lake and alternating clouds and sunshine make for a magical vista. Lots of snow fields on the slopes surrounding the Lake. All this can be viewed form rocking chairs on the wide porch.

We took a brief walk before cold and rain drove us indoors. We had a wonderful dinner at the Lodge restaurant. That is not to be missed. Our service staff was from Macadonia and Ohio. 

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Day 2, June 7, Lassen Volcanic National Park

Got a late start and did not even eat breakfast. The latter was a mistake. Most of the delay was due to a lengthy phone call with son Jason. He is good.

We drove east over what I thought would be secondary and back roads on a route shorter and more scenic than the freeway. It was shorter. However, this is a very rural and undeveloped area and as we pushed deeper into the woods the pavement initially gave way to gravel and then to dirt amidst increasing concern about the reliability of the map and the impact on the car before we rejoined blacktop. It was only 45 miles to the park’s northern entrance, but it took an hour to get there.  The road going through the park was closed near the southern entrance due to the large snowfall this year which is why I was going north.  That meant we did not get to see the hydrothermal areas.

Most of the park will not be open until July this year due to the large snowfall, but that means lots of water for LA and the Central valley farms.

At the northern entrance we sailed right in waving the Senior National Park card and parked at the closed Visitors center. Not many visitors. Took a leisurely 1.75 mile walk around Manzanita Lake. Very peaceful. Bigly trees, lots of green, many birds, superb views of snow covered Lassen Peak and a shimming lake. Encouraged by our success, we then set off on the 4-mile trail (r/t) to Crag’s Lake. This required more effort. A gradual incline became a steeper switchback laced trail halfway up which in total rose about 1300 ft. up to 7500 ft. elevation. Lots of more bigly trees and good views many of which still had large snow accumulations. While steep in some places, the trail was well maintained and easy to traverse. The alpine lake at the end of trail was at the base of landslides that were labeled as Chaos Jumbles. They were formed from erosion of the Chaos Crags which are lava plugs pushed up more than 1000 years ago. Within the Jumbles were small coniferous trees that constitute the Dwarf Forest. Almost two hours up and an hour down, so it was too late to see the Lava Beds Monument that day.

New plan, rather than stop over for the night in Klamath Falls after the Lava Beds, we looked for lodging in northeastern CA. Very little there. Aside from the mountains, the countryside is primarily employed as hay and cattle farms. Way more cattle than people up there We travelled through some very small, no stop light towns without any success, or restaurants, so we decided to go a small bit out of the way to The Rim Rock Motel in Alturas in Modoc county, population about 5,000. That town is a small regional center. It had a high school and a locally owned non-profit movie theater (no showings that night).

We drove the short distance into town for dinner at an Italian restaurant. No problem parking. Our waitress actually moved into the town, albeit 30 years ago with her daughters (no mention of the husband/father) and she said, like many others in the town, she worked multiple jobs. She spoke highly of the town, but conceded that the vacant storefronts were a problem and indicative of decline. Based on her recommendation we had the spaghetti specials and some extra meatballs. Nice craft beer.

The friendly clerk at the motel provided an extension cord to plug in from an outlet in the utility closet to charge up the car, but alas it did not work. The charging unit did not work even when I plugged it into an outlet in our room, so I feared that my charging unit was broken and despaired of replacing it on the trip.  Comey testifies tomorrow, so there will be a late start.         

Day 1, June 6, 2017 From Hermosa Beach to Red Bluff

As most Californians know, it is a long state and up the middle, on the drive on I-5 through the Central Valley, is a long, boring, sleep-inducing, highway hypnotizing slog. 

We started late, not until about 10 am. Post retirement, my sense of urgency has slowly drained away. Late, whatever. Even at that hour the 405 through west side LA was congested, but once we cleared the Sepulveda Pass and entered the Valley I could put it on cruise control at an arbitrary 72 mph. That, plus the climb into the area of the Angeles National Forest drained the battery after 38 miles. This trip will devastate the average miles per gallon for the car, but it could not be done in an all-electric vehicle.

After we came down from the Grapevine and passed the 99 I-5 split we entered agricultural lands as far as the eye could see broken only by patches of land on the west side of the freeway that are without access to water and thus brown and desolate. I imagine that is what most of the Central Valley would look like without the Central Water Project and the California Aqueduct. Sometimes gov’t does good things, a fact that based on voting results many Central Valley residents seem to overlook.

As we motored through the southern part of the Valley, (my definition, south of Sacramento) we observed some dairy farms, more than a few citrus orchards, some horses and cattle farms, signs for unseen towns, occasional fruit stands and gasoline station, (but nary an EV charging station). However, the most ubiquitous sight was nut trees, I think overwhelmingly almonds. They stretch forever and their output reaches around the world. When we were in spice bazars Turkey last year they were selling California almonds. I even saw them in a market in Katmandu, Nepal last year.

The undifferentiated scenery and the straight, flat road challenged my ability to stay alert. Raucous, downloaded 60s music, interspersed by news reports highlighting the latest indignities (or triumphs depending on your persuasion or loyalties) emanating from our national capital helped to keep me awake. Until we approached Sacramento, where the scenery and road changes there were only a few stops for gasoline, restroom breaks, stretching of legs and the now expected checking of the phone. On the plus side, at the last of the rest stops we reserved a modest motel room in Red Bluff, which was as far as I expected to be able to travel before dark and was a convenient gateway into Lassen Volcanic National Park. I am still amazed that I can make such reservations so easily on the phone via the Internet.  Lunch was at a non-descript burger joint off the freeway, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It was very hot, up to 100 degrees as we powered through the Valley so we hit the climate control buttons on the dash.

Approaching Stockton, we spied a Ghirardelli Chocolate factory outlet. That warranted a break. The outlet store smelled wonderful. The firm goes back over 150 years and the process of making the chocolate began when a clerk noticed the cocoa melting in the heat. Ate some samples and ice cream, and bought some discounted Christmas candy and a large dark chocolate bar. The prices were not much better than the retail store process, unless you bought double digit pounds of chocolate. Too much anticipated heat in the car for that.

After that it was non-stop to Red Bluff, rolling past the skyline of Sacramento, the hulking Sleep Train Arena, formerly Arco Arena, changing crop patterns including an increasing number of vineyards and a spreading sunset to the west.

After about 525 miles we exited at Red Bluff as dusk was descending and easily found our motel. The proprietor was a pleasant Indian-American who seemed interested in our prior trips to India, although he was not from the regions we visited. He had a very bad and pessimistic opinion of the chances for peace in Kashmir deriding both the peoples of the area and the national armies.  I charged the car up at an outlet running the Coke machine, but the owner asked for a few bucks compensation.

We did not go into downtown Red Bluff. We were told that there was not much there, but instead walked over to a local mall and ate in a pizza shop which looked as if it had been devastated by a large party. Good salad bar and some sandwiches. Walked back to our basic, but functional 2d floor room to get some sleep and an early start on the trip to Lassen Volcanic Park.