Open Road

Crater Lake

July 7, 2017 uberoldnoob

Up early and off to Crater Lake. I took US 97 south to Bend, Oregon. Made a quick stop at the Walmart to pick up a few supplies.

Chips, dogs and beer for dinner. Also picked up wine, bread, tea, a long handled lighter, mixed nuts and a couple of other things that I can’t remember at the moment. I also picked up more ice. Note to extended travelers: get a good cooler, otherwise you will be buying ice on a daily basis.

Let me bust on Oregon for a minute, Michael and Cutter will know where I’m going with this. First, you can’t pump your own gas. When you get out and start to work the pump like you do in every other State in the Union (except NJ, or so I’ve been told) you will be told you can’t do that. Why? Something about safety and jobs. I guess the rest of us are paupers and run with scissors. I hate to ask what else you can’t do in this state. The other item of contention is: the 55 mph speed limit. You can be on a highway in Washington doing 70 and then cross the line and the speed limit drops to 55. This is in the middle of nowhere. Same road, no changes other than the state line. At those speeds I’m surprised that they don’t make everyone wear a helmet and 3 point harness. Rant off.

As soon as I got to Crater Lake I headed to the only open campground in the park, Mazama Village. July 4th and there is still snow in the campground. Claimed my spot and headed for the rim.

Apparently they had a butt load of snow this year. This is the drive up.

This is the view from Rim Village. There were a lot of people here so I decided to take the trail up to Garfield Peak.

Got up to where I was huffing and puffing and found out that the trail is blocked by snow.

It was still worth the hike.

This is the view from the trail.

The hike back down. Doesn’t look steep at all at this angle.

After the hike back down I wanted to take a trip over to Cleetwood Cove Trail. It is the only access down to the lake. You can also take a trip out to Wizard Island. A buddy of mine suggested a trip out to the island. (Len) Unfortunately it was mobbed; did I mention it was the 4th of July? Anyway, it was reservations only, no walk-on’s. So I drove on around the East rim as far as I could go. A sign said the road was closed 9 miles ahead.

That is a big ass snow blower. After getting all of the touristy stuff done I headed back to the camp site.

My 4th of July dinner. Yes, that is a Budweiser. I thought it an appropriate addition. After dinner, I settled down with a good book, but it was very buggy. This was the first time this trip I needed to break out the bug spray: Repel sportsman max with 40% deet. It worked pretty well. What’s a little bug spray cologne after four days in the woods without a shower? Tomorrow is a drive day with a hotel stay in the cards. It’s pretty bad when you offend yourself.

Following are a few shots along the trail. Enjoy.

Mt. Hood

July 6, 2017 uberoldnoob

Next stop, Mt. Hood, Oregon.

Found Sundance Espresso in Yakima, Wa. Stopped here to catch up and plan. This is a nice clean place with a friendly staff. It has a nice large dining area that is comfortable for setting up shop. The only complaint I have, and this is for all coffee shop owner/operators, could someone please come up with a quieter blender for all of the fancy hootie hoo drinkers out there. Damn those blenders are irritating! Rant off.

Still two hours away. It sure looks much closer than that. It ended up being 2.5 hours. Awesome view for the drive though.

Stopped at a war monument along the way designed after Stonehenge. This was a very cool monument. Each stone had a plaque dedicated to each soldier from the county who had died in service to our country. You can see Mt. Hood in the background.

Here’s a fashion statement you won’t see on just anyone. Only you old folks that need readers will get it. I’m trying to see Google maps while I drive, but still need sunglasses. For all you young people – bite me – your time will come.

Crossing the river into Oregon.

Wind turbines are everywhere. I get clean energy and am a fan – no pun intended – but I wonder about the trade off. It really kills the scenic beauty of an area. Like I said, these things are everywhere and it is difficult to get a good picture without a windmill in it. Seems like there is always a trade-off.

I finally made it to Mt. Hood. Notice the ski lift on the far left. Let me back up; my mother spent a great deal of time here when she was younger and living in Oregon. She said I should stay at the Timberline Lodge if I had a chance. I called ahead and due to the long weekend, it was full. That was just as well as the cheapest rooms started at $260. I would have had to decline regardless, a little pricey for my budget. This is the view from the lodge. I arrived late and started scrambling to find a campsite.

My plan was to find a campsite and explore the area the next day. Unfortunately, Mt. Hood has become way too touristy for me. They had summer skiing and everything was crowded. I went to four different campgrounds before finding one with an opening. This is Frog Lake, $24 a night with a nice little lake. Lots of families – and kids – but it had three open sites; I took #1. (The semi-colons are for Paul and Michael) The sites are clean and well used. I settled in for dinner, some wine, a cigar and a good book. Due to the crowds, I decided to push on to Crater Lake in the morning. (Sorry mom).

Mt. Rainier day 2

July 3, 2017 uberoldnoob

Hiked up to base camp today. This hike let me know just how out of shape I am. Fat, out of shape and older… Lots of huffing and puffing. It is a 3.1 mile ascent with a 2000′ elevation gain. Back in the day…sigh. Anyway, the view from here is spectacular. I passed several hikers/skiers who lug their gear up to about 10,000′ and then ski down to where I am standing in the above photo. I know the picture is dark, but the sun and snow played hell with the camera; and I could’t change either the sun or mountain. In case anyone cares, I am using a FujiFilm Finepix S1000 with a tripod. That’s how I’m getting all of these pictures with me in them. It’s also why they are all from a lower angle.

Here is a picture of some skiers making their way down the mountain.

Here is a picture of their gear. Ignore the pretty girl in the background.

Two headed back down. They said it took them two hours to ski down. they said they take breaks to savior the moment. The guy in the orange pants also had a camera drone so he could film their decent. Out of all of their gear he said that the drone was the heaviest. To be young and in great shape again.

Base camp is also where hikers begin their ascent. Here is a group on their way to base 2. They will begin their final ascent in the morning, usually leaving around 3 or 4 am before the snow gets too soft and dangerous.

Lunch at the top. Mixed nuts with raisins added. Also known as trail mix or if you want to go old school, Gorp (sp). There are lots of ways to make it, dried fruit, chocolate etc. Everyone seems to have their favorite. This is how I prefer mine.

Catching Up

June 29, 2017 uberoldnoob

Sitting in Miss Kitty’s Coffee Cafe in Great Falls Montana.

Going to do a little bit of a picture dump so I don’t get too far behind.

Camp last night was in Lewis and Clark NF outside of Stanford Montana.

The campground had great potential but was unkempt and overgrown. The campground is called Dry Wolf and is split by a nice creek. Unfortunately it was so overgrown it was hard to get to. The campground itself is 22 miles down a dirt road through some nice farmland.

These cows were interested in my truck.

These wanted to stay in the roadway and really didn’t care.

Coffee Stop

June 26, 2017 uberoldnoob

Corner Coffee in Grand Forks North Dakota. Excellent place to sit with a cup of coffee and catch up.

Day Three and Four

June 26, 2017 uberoldnoob

The last two days I have been visiting an old Navy buddy who I haven’t seen since 1988. He lives in Thief River Falls Minnesota, population 8900. This is is the view from his mail box towards town.

This is the other direction. Today we are in Grand Forks ND so I can have access to wifi. Drinking an excellent cup of coffee at Corner Coffee and catching up with email. Heading either West or North tomorrow; not sure which way the wind will take me, stay tuned.