The Bluest Water

Crater Lake and Wizard Island

[Truth be told, I write this blog post from Louisville as we made it home safely after 9 weeks on the road with beautiful sights, entertaining adventures, and visits with wonderful friends and family, plus some new acquaintances and definitely some stories. I’m hoping to finish out the blog posts of our time on the road this week, before we head off to new adventures in New Zealand!]

Oregon is a beautiful state, really no matter where you look. The coast, the inland areas, even Portland has a definite charm to it, and its urban growth boundaries ensure that you can be out of the city in no time. With all of this beauty I had high hopes for Crater Lake, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. It’s an amazingly beautiful place!

We arrived in Crater Lake National Park the morning of October 18 and our first sighting of the lake happened at North Junction. The sense of anticipation as we climbed the slight hill to the overlook was palpable. I had heard so much about this lake but had never seen it for myself. The lake was so blue, so clear, so big, it was hard not to stare. It’s on the site of a former volcano that erupted a long time ago, creating this large crater that was sealed and started collecting water. Even today, the lake is only fed by precipitation and a small around of runoff from the crater walls, maintaining its clarity.

The hike to Watchman Peak

We drove to the Watchman overlook for closer views of the larger land mass in the lake, Wizard Island. Impressed by what we saw, and the allure of seeing more, we hiked the 1.6 miles roundtrip to the top of Watchman Peak for stunning views of the lake and the surrounding areas, including Mt. Shasta in northern California. I had heard the lake described by plenty of people that I truly respect, including my dad, but no descriptions do it justice. The blue color of the water is almost indescribable.

We visited the Steel Visitor’s Center for a National Parks passport cancellation stamp, then ventured to the Phantom Ship overlook for a closer look at the smaller land mass in the lake. It’s called Phantom Ship because from certain distances and at certain angles the island isn’t visible. Kind of a cool disappearing act for such a large area of land. Another interesting feature of the lake is the Old Man of the Lake, an ancient hemlock tree trunk over 30′ long that has been floating upright and moving around in the lake for over 100 years. Definitely an interesting story worth reading here. We didn’t actually see the Old Man but the intrigue certainly kept us looking.

The Pinnacles

A drive out to the Pinnacles and a 2mile hike returned us to the area right around the lake just as the sun was setting. Adam hopped out of the car along Dutton Ridge and captured what I think are the best sunset photos of our trip, quite a statement among the beautiful sunsets out west. After gazing at the colorful, quickly changing sky for a while, we found a picnic table to cook dinner in the dark, then began our journey out of Crater Lake National Park. We spent that evening in Grants Pass, Oregon with a beautiful crescent moon and the Milky Way very visible.

Sunset on Dutton Ridge

The next day we crossed the border into California on 199, passing easily through the Agriculture Inspection station and finding our way through beautiful redwoods to Redwood National Park. A drive along Howland Hill Road offered up close viewing of the beautiful, stately trees, and we opened the sunroof to get a better look at their towering majesty. We hiked the Stout Grove Trail, short in distance but impressive with large trees. Looking straight up became a pastime until I thought my neck might not recover.

Giant redwood trees

We passed through more beautiful redwoods on our way to the Newton Drury Scenic Parkway, stopping at the Klamath River overlook which was just fogging over as we climbed the hill. We saw a herd of elk grazing as we passed Prairie Creek, then made our way to a few breweries for some samples. We shared a porter at the Redwood Curtain Brewery in Arcata and then ventured to Eureka and the Lost Coast Brewery for pints of 8Ball Stout and an Apricot Wheat and some fish tacos. Our last stop of the night was very informational, as the bartender at Eel River Brewery shared some of her favorite breweries along the west coast.

The next morning the smell of warm pastries greeted us early at Loleta Bakery in Loleta, CA where my eyes grew bigger than my stomach (and our budget). We shared a cheese danish and some coffee, but the beautiful scones, cookies, bread, cakes, and pies on display had me hungry for more. We spent a few hours blogging and reading while charging our electronics and talking to some locals about their brewery suggestions. We even met a gentleman who grew up not far from Louisville in Kentucky.

Wow – the Dyerville Giant

Driving south we explored Humboldt Redwoods State Park and its highlights of the Avenue of the Giants, Founders Grove, dedicated to those who fought originally to preserve the redwoods, and the Dyerville Giant, a redwood tree that fell in 1991 with a big bang, weighing over 1 million pounds at 370 feet tall and 16 feet in diameter. Apparently residents nearby to the tree thought there had been a train crash when they heard the noise of the fall. These trees are beautiful and tall, elegant in their life over thousands of years and certainly inspiring.

A camera self-timer moment gone awry

That afternoon we continued south and found Highway 1, which follows almost the whole California coast. Reaching the ocean again was magnificent and made me smile as we sailed down the windy, narrow, cliff side road (I was honestly glad that Adam was driving). We stopped in Fort Bragg to visit North Coast Brewing Co, home of Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, and sampled a few of their tasty other selections.  We continued down the coast on The 1, pausing to overlook the ocean as the sun set on the horizon. After a quick sunset kiss we hopped back in the car to escape the wind, and journeyed south to Jenner, where we headed inland across 116 to Santa Rosa and the Russian River Brewpub. It was definitely a popular spot on a Saturday night so we shared a porter and headed on to San Francisco!

The northern California coast

A camera self-timer moment gone awry

Crater Lake and Wizard Island

For my dad

Founders Tree

Giant redwood trees

Highway 1

Highway 1!

I’m so tiny in comparison

Redwood National Park (see Adam?)

Sunset in California

Sunset on Dutton Ridge

Sunset on Dutton Ridge

Sunset on Dutton Ridge

The hike to Watchman Peak

The northern California coast

The Pinnacles

Wow – the Dyerville Giant

Portland brewery fun

Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area

After making our way down Highway 101 on the west side of Washington, mostly in the rain, we arrived safe and sound in Portland, Oregon on October 12 at the home of Jamie and Phil, wonderful friends who took us in for the weekend. They share our love of interesting beer, so Saturday, after watching some football (it starts early on the west coast!) we visited a few breweries.

Our 9 beer tastes at Upright Brewery

At the HUB on Friday night the bartender recommended we try Upright Brewery where we made our own table out of a beer barrel and sampled all 9 of their beers (sample size, not pints) including a tasty hopless lemon grass concoction. We then made our way downtown to a Deschutes Brewpub location, with a roaring fireplace, tasty dinner, and more new beer. Just down the street was an REI location, so Adam wandered for a while, actually making a purchase this visit. We then headed out to the Rock Creek McMenamins, a really cool tavern that was built out of timbers from old barns, one dating back to the late 1800s. They had live music, a patio, and a dark beer that Adam couldn’t see through, his favorite.

Old Salmon River Trail

On Sunday Phil made us a tasty brunch at home and I got to watch a bit more football, no Bengals, however. The rain was holding off so the four of us packed the car and headed towards Mount Hood, stopping first at the Old Salmon River Trail for a really nice wooded hike along the Salmon River. Phil and Adam talked fly fishing while Jamie, Stuie, and I caught up on the river bank. We then ventured further up the mountain to the Mt Hood lodge, Timberline. Most of the mountain was hidden in fog but we enjoyed a beer at the Rams Head, then made our way back down to Government Camp and the Mt Hood Brewing Co. for beer and pizza. A tasty end to a fun day outside.

Monday was a day of errands like mailing things and picking up supplies. A trip to Portand wouldn’t be complete without a stop at Voodoo Doughnut for some maple bacon doughy love. Tasty! I also tried an Oreo peanut butter doughnut which was fabulous too. It’s a good thing Adam doesn’t like sweets too much, or his fingers might have disappeared.

The smell of beer brewing drew us in to Widmer Brewery during happy hour. We shared a pint of their signature Hefeweizen and a cup of beer cheese soup, both perfect on a rainy afternoon. Later for dinner, Phil made a super tasty loaded grilled cheese and tomato basil soup and we watched The Hunger Games movie and did some laundry.

A tricky wave got me

It was hard to say goodbye to Jamie and Phil after such a fun, relaxing weekend, but Tuesday we headed to the Oregon coast and our first stop of Cannon Beach. We walked along the beach near Haystack Rock, dipping our toes (and sometimes our knees, unexpectedly) in the cold ocean water. The clouds overhead eventually dropped some rain, so we tucked into the Ecola Fish Market for some homemade clam chowder (with hot sauce, just as Adam likes it).

Driving south on Highway 101 the rain was on and off, so we stopped a few places but just drove by others including Oswald West State Park which had been recommended to us. We did stop at Three Arch Rock in Oceanside, then made an accidental loop back to Tillamook where we sampled some cheese at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company. We managed to catch a great view of the sunset over the ocean in the Pelican Breweryparking lot in Pacific City (see the link for a cool picture of the parking lot location), then headed inside to try their beer wares. We camped that night at the free Castle Rock campground in Suislaw National Forest, an unusual set up with one large tent area separated from the parking area.

Pelican Brewery parking lot

Wednesday brought beautiful coastal view points including a stop at Boiler Bay where the big waves crashed and sprayed multiple stories in the air. We ate our sandwiches in the car, much to the chagrin of the inquisitive sea gulls waiting patiently for crumbs. We also visited the Yaquina Head Lighthouseand saw dozens of birds in their nests on the sea stacks just off the coast. The wind didn’t stop the rocks from applauding on Cobble Beach, a unique beach feature that was hard to miss (as the water recedes from each wave, it ripples the large pebbles on the beach, creating a sound much like applause).

Cobble Beach

The Oregon coast is definitely beautiful and unique, so we stopped at Rogue Ale’s Brewers on the Bay for a taste of their Double Chocolate Stout, Baltic Porter, Mocha Porter, Smoke Ale, Chipotle Ale, and Shakes Ale, just a few of their selections on tap. Rogue also brews a Maple Bacon Ale, in coordination with Voodoo Doughnut, that apparently is tasty when used in pancake batter instead of water. I’ll have to try that sometime soon as the thought of maple and bacon flavors already in my pancakes sounds fabulous to me.

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach

We then traveled inland to Eugene and Ninkasi Brewing Company, I think my favorite so far on the trip. Arriving at the tasting room we met Nikos, co-owner, and James, marketing director, who were staffing the TR that night so their staff could all hang out together. Seems like a really neat operation which has grown tremendously in just the last 7 years. They have some really cool metal work, all handmade by their friend and employee, on the beer taps, bar, and outdoor patio area. They also gave us a prototype of their soon-to-be-produced Ninkasi bottle opener which is super cool, plus stickers, info, and a parking lot to sleep in. Definitely a great stop and worth the trip to Eugene.

We got some car errands done in Eugene, then headed for Crater Lake National Park, definitely a favorite on the trip. Check our next post for our thoughts on Crater Lake!

A tricky wave got me

Boiler Bay

Boiler Bay

Cobble Beach

Voodoo Doughnut!

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach

Mt. Hood in the clouds

Old Salmon River Trail

Our 9 beer tastes at Upright Brewery

Pelican Brewery parking lot

Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area