Road Trip to Oregon and back, Jan. 2024Viewing this with a cell phone? Try Landscape Mode. |
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Burney Falls, California Burney Falls is practically right on the Pacific Crest Trail (mile 1420) but in 2011 when Jack and the Kiwis passed through here, they were on a mission to rack up miles and so they didn't take the side trail to the falls. Now he (and Barb) were back, 13 years later. |
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We left Encinitas on January 9th at 11 am. Spent the night in San Luis Obispo and headed off route to Santa Cruz. First stop was visiting our friends Curtis and Maryanne. Great to see them again. It always seems like ages ago that we connected. They live in the mountains above Santa Cruz in a town called Corralitos. |
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Then it was over the bridge. Did you know there is a really nice viewpoint on the North side? Watch for the turnoff. |
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We got off the main highway (101) a few times to catch the grandeur of the redwoods. This area is near Leggett CA |
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Even the rest areas were 5 stars up here, with trails into the woods |
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In Brookings, Oregon, we visited the family of the late lifeguard captain Gardner Stevens. Jack worked with him for 20 years and knows the family well. We spent two nights at Melissa and Steves beautiful home high up on a hill, just North of town. Peggy at 94 was staying in town at an independent / assisted living facility. |
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| Crazy lush and wet up here. Something we are not used to. Brookings is considered in Oregon's "Banana Belt" -- a bit more temperate than most other parts of the state in winter but they get their share of rain, about 80-90 inches per year. (we get 10-12 down here). | |||
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| Then, up the coast about 60 miles to a lunch stop in Port Orford with our friends Peter and Lana. They are related to a good friend Susi Graff and put Jack up for a night while he was on his Canada to Mexico bike trip back in 2017. After lunch, we would drive on in a huge rainstorm to Roseburg where Jacks brother Joe and his wife Kathy live. | |||
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Joe and Jack. He is a very talented musician and is well known in the county. |
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| After two nights in Roseburg we made a turn around and started heading home. Snow had fallen at the higher elevations and we were fortunate to get over the Siskiyou summit at 4300 ft. We had some great views of Mt. Shasta on the way south. | |||
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The next big stop was Burney Falls, near Mt. Shasta. No one on the trails but us! |
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| Caverns have always fascinated us and in this one area of the state there are a number of them, mostly private. We chose three to tour: Mercer Caverns, Moaning Caverns, and Black Chasm. Barb brought her miners helmet? - Nope, just a souvineer that one could buy in the gift shop. All the caverns were well lit. | |||
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| One gets a good workout in these caverns. Moaning Cavern has a really long spiral staircase (shown with 144 steps) that will take you an additional 100 feet below the surface.. And, there is no elevator at the bottom to get back up. All three were quite different and interesting. Cave people come from far and wide to visit Black Chasm Cavern because it has a very prolific formation of Helictite crystals. This cavern was designated a National Natural Landmark because of its profuse displays of these translucent crystals (image below). | |||
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The tours lasted about 45 min each and entry fees were reasonable. |
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| The final big stop on this trip was Yosemite. We only stopped for a day (Jan 19th) but with fresh snow, it was a beautiful place... AND not the crowds that one would find in summer. | |||
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We hiked up the Mist Trail toward the base of Half Dome and got within 3/10 of a mile to Vernal Falls where we had to turn back because of very icy conditions (and a closed gate). If you have been on this trail, the stretch ahead is where the "mist" can drench you, and it was now icing up on the narrow pathway. Still a fun hike though. If you get the chance to visit Yosemite in the winter, do it! You not only get an entirely different perspective but very few visitors as well. We spent the evening in Visalia and arrived home the following day. |
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Links: Main Page, Eclipse Road Trip, Eclipse Movie, Bear Movie |
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