by Joni Hauck
(NOTE: Clicking on most photos will show larger view.)

Oregon

Saturday, July 3rd

Crater Lake to Roseburg, Oregon

How many of you have heard of the National Park named Crater Lake? Located in south central Oregon, this natural gem is worth the drive. Thanks to 17 years of determined effort by William Gladstone Steel, Crater Lake became a National Park in 1902. The story goes that young William, while reading the newspaper his lunch was wrapped in, was so taken by an article about Crater Lake that he vowed he would go there some day. We stopped at the lodge and visitors center to grt our berrings. What a beautiful place. It looked like a giant ski lodge

Crater Lake, the only National Park in Oregon, was formed by volcanic activity on Mt. Mazama. In simple terms, a violent explosion occurred causing the top of the mountain to blow off. Eventually the ash settled leaving a huge hole. Known as a caldera, the hole filled up with rain and snow melt over the years creating the deepest lake in the United States (7th largest in the World). The 1,932 foot deep lake contains the purest and clearest water in the country.

Crater Lake appears magical and indeed the Indians believed the lake was formed after a war between chiefs. The chief of the below world, angry when a tribal princess refused to marry him, set the mountain on fire. The chief of the above world, joined by all the spirits of the Earth and sky, defended the princess and the resulting earthquakes, landslides and fire created the lake.

The crystal blue water in the six-mile wide picturesque lake is surrounded by snow covered mountains. Today, with clouds overhead, the lake appeared a deep blue. We were told the lake changes color as it absorbs light and appears the most brilliant color on a clear morning when the caldera walls are reflected on the lake's surface.

The average snowfall at Crater Lake is 530 inches per year. However, last year a 10-year record 650 inches covered the area, so even though we visited in July, more than half the rim trail was closed. In fact, 24 inches still remained in many areas and we felt immersed in a July winter wonderland.

We stopped for lunch at the least crowded place we could find. Since only a portion of the rim trail was open and all the picnic areas were still under snow, a rock wall on the rim served as our lunch spot. Our sandwich rolls were stale, but we barely noticed as we ate slowly while taking in the wonder of the ever changing lake. Never have we enjoyed better surroundings for eating a turkey sandwich. Before long, we were joined by Buckeye Biker, a handsome young man, stationed in Wyoming who pulled up on his motorcycle. Originally from Ohio, he struck up a conversation upon observing Fred's Penn State hat and sweatshirt. BB was in the middle of a 7-day ride of the scenic northwest and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself.

The only hiking trail open was on the north side of the lake. Because of the high sides around the lake, this is the only trail where you can actually touch the water. The hike down was an easy 35 minute walk. However, we got our work-out for the day on the hike back up. On every switchback during the 700 ft. rise in elevation, the view of the lake changed. We used the opportunity to stop and snap photos as a chance to catch our breath. As we ascended the top, we turned for one last look at this exquisite panorama. It was easy to see why the Indians held Crater Lake sacred.

Well, it finally happened. We got a speeding a ticket. Guess who was driving at the time? Fred has given me the new name of Leadfoot Linda. That nasty cop said I was going 73 mph, but I swear I was not going any faster than 65. However, the speed limit was 55, so BUSTED! This is the first ticket I have ever received and it ruined my joy of driving. I hate going the speed limit on wide open country roads. These back roads of Oregon were meant for cruising!

We finally (it takes forever to get somewhere at 55 mph) arrived at Watson Falls, the next stop on our scenic tour. Every forest area we have been privileged to visit boasts its own personality. Watson Falls was no exception and on this hike into the woods a surreal scene surprised us. Both sides of the path were littered with huge boulders and every single one appeared to be covered with moss. The moss seemed to change colors as the shadows of the sun played off it. A fallen tree along the path had rapidly decomposed and when I scraped my foot across its soft trunk, the bark crumbled into mulch. The path, only wide enough for two people, gently wound through the bright green woodland and crossed over the creek. Standing on the bridge, the falls echoed loudly. The water cascading over the falls made a deafening sound. The falls were encased in a rock wall amphitheater causing the sound of the rushing water to reverberate off the wall. We stood together on the bridge and took in the beauty of the falls. It felt as if we were in a rain forest; everything was moist and green.

Our hotel in Roseburg was a 1 Star and Fred was wondering how I got that one past him. I had gone on a "stay as cheap as possible binge" back in March when I was booking the hotels for our one-night stops. After all, for only one night, how bad can it be? However, I have to admit I was secretly a little nervous about this one even as I reassured Fred that it would be fine. As we pulled into the parking lot a huge Remodeling sign greeted us and Fred gave me the "look". The office was torn apart and temporarily located in one of the rooms. Uh-oh, what did I get us into this time.

Well fortunately for me, half the rooms had already been remodeled and our room was gorgeous. It even included a Lazy Boy (and I don't mean Fred). This was one of the nicest rooms for the money so far.


Sunday, July 4th

Golf in Bandon, Oregon

Bandon is an adorable coastal town. Small but with everything that is needed. During the two mile drive back to the Bandon Dunes Clubhouse, we were delighted to see a deer in the woods. The woods were covered with purple spiky flowers and a bridge crossed over two lilly ponds.

Our day on the golf course was wonderful. Bandon Dunes is a new course that is touted as the Pebble Beach of the north and it did not disappoint. Designed by architect David McLay Kidd, it was obvious he had used the land in the best possible way. He designed the course in the old Scottish tradition and made the owner agree up front that there would be ""No real estate, no golf carts, no clubhouse on the beach." The course strongly encourages caddies, and I felt our round would be enhanced with the presence of someone who knew the course.

Our caddie Ed, a 46 year old father of 5 daughters, had previously owned his own roofing company. One spring, he just couldn't face it anymore, sold all his equipment and became a caddy. (His wife teaches school and supported him all the way)

I felt like I was on tour. I figure Ed saved me at least 6 strokes with his great advice, calming influence, and green reading ability. I enjoyed my experience at Bandon Dunes from my drive on the 1st tee to my last putt on 18.

As we walked up to putt on hole #1 the grass on the dunes behind the green rippled gently in the breeze. My anticipation of playing this course was turned into down-right enthusiasm on the first green. As I was lining up my putt, I glanced around and couldn't believe the gorgeous view. Several holes of the links style course were visible with the Pacific Ocean as a perfect back drop. From the tee box on #2 the view was even better. On #3 which was elevated still higher, Ed took us up to the back tees for a sweeping panorama of the entire course.

Hole #16, Bandon Dunes signature hole, parallels the unspoiled beach and ocean. The tee box is set up so that you have to hit over a ravine. If you don't make it, your ball rolls into a gaping chasm. However, there is also scruffy stuff in the middle of the fairway and if you are not dead accurate, you are severely punished as I was. Fred and I both hit what appeared to be gorgeous tee shots, but both ended up in the tall grass. It took me two to get out, even though Ed advised me to take a drop. Meanwhile, Fred was over along the right side having his own fun.

The best way for me to describe the course is to quote David,the architect "From the moment I stepped out on these wild, wind-shaped sand dunes, I knew this would be the opportunity of a lifetime. ...I imagined the routing having the structure of a symphony-a strong start, a sense of anticipation, small crescendos and an incredible finishing sequence along the Pacific." Let me say, the man kept his word and the course was perfect.

We were staying overnight at the clubhouse which had just opened 3 days earlier. I think they were in a hurry to open it because our room was large but very sparcely decorated. We didn't care because the view from our balcony was spectacular. We were overlooking the course with the ocean as a backdrop. Amazing!

The club lounge seemed cold and sterile so we headed into Bandon to check out a small town 4th of July celebration. We just missed the fish fry in the park. The fireman had the road blocked and using their helmets, were collecting for the fireworks. We went to the Arcade, a local bar, and had a blast. Jim, the old timer, drinks his beer mixed with tomato juice. His weather-lined neck shows how much time he spends outdoors on his ranch. Bob Southerland, who used to be a local and now lives in Roseburg, was in town for the holiday. Bob teaches school and collects autographs. He had an entire book full. He took our picture with a polaroid and made us sign it. We were there longer than planned.

The entertainment for the evening was a country (what else)guitar player who walked around the bar belting out local favorites. He must have been somewhat of a local celebrity because his most ardent fans, the local teenage girls, waited outside the bar for an autograph. They were thrilled when we were able to have them pose with the singer for a picture. When the fireworks started, everyone went outside and watched the display over the ocean.

Lloyds another tavern up the street, had a band from Las Vegas. Everyone was walking the 1/2 block and splitting their time between the two clubs. You could have a open tab at both bars. Of course we ended up not paying for most of our drinks, another example of small town hospitality.


Monday, July 5th

Bandon to Newport, Oregon

After a breakfast in the club house dining room that was tasty, but took a long time to be served, we headed out. On our drive up the Oregon coast we stopped at several Oregon sights.

At the Oregon Dunes State Park, we took what we thought was going to be a short walk, but turned out to be about 3 miles. The vegetation growing on the dunes was so thick in places that if not for the trail, we would have been lost. The trail was a combination of open dunes, green trees and plants plus ocean shore. At the parking area souveniers were being sold out of the back of a van. For some reason Fred had to buy a Smoket the Bear hand puppet. I have to admit it was very cute. We decided Smokeypuppet would be our mascot through the rest of the NAtional Parks.

Oregon people live simple lives but seem to be very content. They enjoy camping, fishing and hiking, so northwest Oregon is the place to live. The ocean drive alternated between forest and shoreline views. At one point a turn-out was lined up for two miles with campers of all shapes and sizes. Every one of them had a gorgeous ocean view and most of the license plates were from Oregon.

I was starving so we stopped for lunch in Florence. We ate sitting along the dock watching the boats in the harbor. The food was just ok, but the service was slow. SLow service here didn't matter. It wa a very peaceful relaxing setting.

The Sea Lion Caves, a highly advertised attraction was our next stop. Hundreds of sea lions were sunning on the rocks, barking at each other with every lazy move of a flipper. We found the cave even more interesting than the sea lions. With its high sloping sides and stone formations, the inside of the cave resembled an old cathedral. One side of the cave had a view of the ocean and more sea lions while the other side had a picture window view of an Oregon lighthouse.

Our first B&B of the trip was in the coastal town of Newport. The Green Gables Bed and Breakfast, painted white with green and rose accents is a charming Victorian house located 2 blocks from the beach. We felt immediately at home as we were greeted by our hostesses, Sue and Nell. They had two dogs and a gentle sweet Burmese kitty named Mocha. We fell in love with Mocha-a cat who likes to be held.

Our spacious and private room on the third floor had everything we needed. Two easy chairs, a microwave, fridge, TV and VCR gave us all the comforts of home. The ceiling which angled to follow the roof lines added to the coziness. Plush burgandy robes hanging in the closest and the promise of coffee waiting at the door in the morning had me feeling quite content.

The day had been clear with a perfectly blue sky. We walked through town, took a quick look at the bay and lighthouse, and headed out to the beach to watch the sunset. We picked our spot and enjoyed just sitting and talking while we watched the ocean and the sun. It was a tranquil evening and at the beginning the sunset did not cooperate. Just as the sun should have been emitting brilliant colors, it slipped beind a dark band that went all the way along the horizon. But right before the sun disappeared it made a triumphant return. We commented that we have seen many beautiful sunsets but the ones we see in our backyard are the among the best w. (Is there a lesson somewhere in that statement?)


Tuesday, July 6th

Newport, Oregon

Sue and Nell give their guests the choice of eating downstairs or breakfast in their room. We choose to eat in our room this first morning and Sue brought a wonderful breakfast of eggs fritatta with broccoli and asparagus plus an assortment of fruit cut into unique shapes. Mocha was standing beside Sue when I went to the door to get the tray so I asked if Mocha could come up to our room.

We spent most of the morning in our room, reading, catching up on the computer and fighting over whose turn it was to hold Mocha. With Mocha sitting in my lap purring as I worked on the journal, I was so content that if I could purr, I would have joined her. We loved having Mocha visit us.

Unfortunately it was time to do laundry again. The Newport Launderma was an interesting place. It had been years since either of us had to do wash at the laundromat. There were at least 30 washers and dryers, but only 4 wheelie carts to use to transfer laundry from washer to dryer. It reminded me of the Friends episode with Rachael and Ross in the laundromat. The people who had been lucky enough to snag carts were guarding them with all the fire of a mother bear protecting her cub. I swear I heard one lady growl as I moved toward her cart.

After our experience in the laundromat, we needed some exercise. The Oregon coastline in Newport has the distinction of being flanked by a lighthouse on each side. The day was slightly cloudy, perfect weather to run, and run we did, toward the lighthouse way down on the point. As the land turned towards the sea, the beach disappeared so we hit the wall, so to speak. A huge cliff wall stopped our progress to the lighthouse on the point. As if in a relay race, we touched the wall and turned around. Shortly after turning around, I stopped to walk but Fred kept running. He felt as if he could run all day. Sometimes running feels like that.

When we got back the the Green Gables, Sue and Nell had just returned from getting a new kitten. They had driven 8 hours to get a certain Burmese and she was adorable. The kitten, Coco, put the dogs in their place right away. Mocha wanted nothing to do with the kitten. It was fun to hold the baby as she nuzzled up at your neck and purred.


Wednesday, July 7th

Newport to Beaverton, Oregon

Happy Birthday Dad!!! 66 years young!!!! Take care of yourself, eat right and exercise so you are around for many more birthdays.

We chose to have our breakfast of delicious pancakes (Nell's secret recipe), whipped cream, and strawberries downstairs with Nell and Sue. Mocha was a bit upset by the new addition so Fred and I took turns holding Mocha and the kitten. They are both so adorable.

Except for the great breakfast and holding the kitties, our morning was not going well. Our computer would not turn on, in fact the keyboard would not respond at all and we were totally freaked out at the prospect of losing all our information. Also, Fred's credit card was missing. We searched high and low and concluded we had left it at Rogue's last night or it had fallen out of his pocket. Nell was kind enough to call Rogue's but the manager was in the middle of paperwork and said to call back in an hour. Sue suggested we take our computer to J&J and gave us directions.

After our good byes to Nell, Sue and all the animals, we headed out. Driving through Newport the first thing that strikes you are the murals painted over many of the blank walls. They all depict some aspect of ocean life. It is a wondeful and inexpensive way to add color and life to otherwise drab surroundings.

First stop was Rogue's for some personal persuasion to check for the credit card. I knew it just had to be there and hallelujah they finally found it tucked under the cash register. I was forcing myself to put out major positive good vibes that the computer problem would be just as easy.

At J&J Computer of Newport, it took Roger less than 1 minute to get the computer going. After stopping back to let Sue and Nell know everything was fixed, we headed up the coast.

We did not get very far before our first stop. The Yaquina Head Lighthouse, the one we could see from the beach the day before, was only a 3 mile drive. We spent over an hour exploring the lighthouse which was built in 1872 and the coastal tidal pool which was artificially created. The Bureau of Land Management, known as BLM, had done an exquisite job with the area. As we carefully stepped over and among the rocks, intriguing plant life and star fish required a closer look. Lots of families were also exploring and it was neat to see the excitement on the faces of the children as they discovered ocean life in these little pools of water.

After driving for another three hours with a brief lunch stop at Wendy's, we arrived in Beaverton, a suburb just outside of Portland. They say first impressions are lasting impressions. Our first impression of the Aloha Junction, our second B&B, did not meet our expectations. The brochure gave me visions of a restored farmhouse in the middle of nowhere on 2 tranquil acres of flowers and gardens. I had imagined sitting on our private patio, reading and catching up on e-mail. In reality, the house was located just off a busy highway alongside run down houses with junk in the yards. The patio backdrop view was a huge electrical transformer.

Inside the house was lovely. Everything was decorated in floral with wonderful victorian accents. The innkeeper, Sandra, had added lovely touches. Our room looked like it was from a magazine. The color scheme of lavender and green was carried out in the bold flowered wallpaper, lace coverlet, plump pillows on the bed and fabric covered lamp shades and hat boxes. A tray on the bed added to the decorator look with two wine goblets and flowers. A candle burning in the bath illuminated the old fashioned claw foot tub.

Everything appeared perfect, but unlike at the Green Gables, we did not feel at home. Maybe it had to do with the fact that our room was on the main floor located just off the kitchen and living room. We felt that everything we said would be heard and that was confirmed when the next guest arrived. He was a motor mouth and we could hear every word he was saying as he was greeted by Sandra. So much for peace and quiet relaxation!


Thursday, July 8th

Columbia River-Oregon

During a wonderful breakfast of hash browns made with potatoes straight from the garden, zucchini casserole (yes, Fred did like it) and melon with yogurt pudding, we chatted with the other guests. David and Bonnie, from Seattle, had both recently turned 50, but neither looked a day older than 40. Bonnie was retired and David was planning to retire from Microsoft in 2 years. David was quite the talker, so we learned a lot about their lives during breakfast.

Since our plans to relax around the B&B did not quite work out, we opted to head north through Portland to the Columbia River. Our first stop was the Vista House, built in the early 1900's. It is perched high atop a hill with a sweeping view of the Columbia River Gorge.

We took the old highway which gave us the opportunity to photograph several waterfalls. The first, Latourell Falls was a single thin stream of water flowing over the rock. Bridal Veil Falls, reached by a one half mile walk down hill flowed as two cascades over the rocks. Next, we hiked the 1/4 mile straight up to Wahkeena Falls but discovered the view from the bottom was actually better. A sign from Wahkeena Falls pointed to a one half mile trail to Multnomah Falls, the largest in Oregon. As we were walking along, a father and daughter passed us eating ice cream cones. When we reached the end of the trail, Fred nick named Multnomah Falls the Disney Land Falls. There was a snack bar, visitors center and crowds of people. The falls did make a stunning display but we opted to forgo the hike up in favor of returning to Portland.

Our goal in Portland was to experience some of the Micro Breweries. Our first stop, the Lucky Labrador had good tasting beer and cool t-shirts. The friendly bartender/owner gave us all kinds of ideas on Micro Brews to visit in Seattle plus tips on fun bars around the Single A ball stadium in Portland. We have been without our baseball fix so we took in a minor league game. The Civic Stadium in Portland is home of the Colorado Rockies single A team. The baseball was so-so. The fun part was watching the little boy in the row in front of us eating his blue cotton candy. He certainly was enjoying it to the fullest.

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