The record setting heat in Redding (109°), seeing the majestic Lassen Peak for the first time, hiking the infamous Bumpass Hell trail, seeing Mt. Shasta without the snow, Crater Lake, the roaring Rogue River, the record setting heat in Medford, OR (108°), the seaside resort of Crescent City, camping at Mill Creek Campground, hiking Damnation Trail, staying and driving through Santa Cruz, taking a "spur" to Big Sur and then back up and over to Gilroy.
BUMPASS HELL TRAIL (08/14/08)
We pulled into the holy city of Redding to check into our hotel, dump our gear and then head out on SR 44 to drive 44 miles to Lassen Volcanic Park. HOT! HOT! HOT! Our drive to Lassen was scenic. We drove around clockwise around the park. There was some road construction going on causing delays on our way around the park.
Bumpass Hell trail. A short hike of a little over 3 miles. A very easy hike. Just bring a bottle of water.
Lassen Volcanic National Park's version of Yellowstone.
The Dead Pool. This is an "extinct" hot spring.
Lassen Peak. The hike to the summit from the trailhead is only 2 miles one way. Maybe some day, Pam and I will stand on its summit.MT. SHASTA (08/15/08)
Mt. Shasta on the right. We drove around the Mt. Shasta area looking for ideal places to camp. Couldn't find any, because many were full or were not ideal enough. So we drove out on SR 89 and not much luck there either. After stopping in town to get a cup of coffe, we decided it was best to go to Crater Lake as a consolation and make it a highlight for Pam's special day.
Weed, CA. I couldn't resist stopping at the Weed offramp to get a photo of the city limit sign of the holy city of Weed. What a name for a town.CRATER LAKE (08/15/08)
Crater Lake. We get there around mid-afternoon. We took I-5 north just short of Ashland and headed east on Highway 66 to Klamath Falls and Klamath Lake and then took Highway 62 into the Crater Lake. After stopping at the gift shop, we drove around the lake, stopping here and there to take a few pictures and gaze at this natural wonder.
Wizard Island.
Two beautiful sights to behold!
Valley shot from the Crater Lake drive. I wonder what peak that is?
Phantom Ship.After Crater Lake, we stopped to see the lava tubes on the Rogue River and then it was Medford. We drove around the town looking for good places to stay and wound up staying at the Rogue River Inn. The city planners and the civil engineers must have been at odds with each other, because it was like driving in a maze from the highway to the hotel. The next morning, I'll be damned that every turn I took to exit the parking lot was a dead end. I eventually followed a garbage truck to get the heck out of there. We headed up north to Grants Pass and took Highway 199 and headed west and south to California and the holy city of Crescent City.
MILL CREEK CAMPGROUND (08/16/08-08/17/08)
Campsite #101 at Mill Creek south of Crescent City, CA. Our camp was completely inside a fire-gutted redwood.DAMNATION TRAIL (08/16/07)
The redwoods along Damnation Trail took your mind off the descent. If only BFI and Poles at Crystal Cove State Park were this beautiful.
The end of the descent of Damnation Trail.
Driftwood wedged between the rocks.
The spectacular ocean views at the end of Damnation Trail.
The window. Don't know what kind of bones those are in the lower right of the picture.
Pam, the Treehugger.
Strenuous trail? Really? Yes, it was! Well, actually not that bad. The giant redwoods took our minds off the hike as we took in our surroundings.Our final night at the camp was eventful. We heard what sounded like a bird but it could have been a raptor from Jurassic Park. Eerie sound. Elk maybe? But we didn't hear any other noise but for the strange sound. We don't know what it was that made that strange noise. Then the rains came and the thunder.
That morning, it was still sprinkling. We canceled our breakfast. Was looking forward to the bacon, eggs, and, of course, rice! We broke camp and headed south.
THE COAST (08/18/08)
Please, no tsunami now. We see numerous signs like these on our way to Eureka. In some areas, you can see new growth of trees: Evidence of a tsunami many years ago.We made our way down the coast and stopped in San Rafael to stay for the night before deciding to head into San Francisco for the next two days.
SAN FRANCISCO (08/19/08)
We checked into another hotel near Fisherman's Wharf and unloaded our stuff before walking down to the Wharf. Pam wanted to stop by the Patagonia store just to say she was there. The store is a converted garage with all the latest gear from Patagonia. I resisted the tempation to purchase a down sweater that was so lightweight and less bulky than a regular down jacket. But at $200, I will wait until a sale.
The food and service at Bubba Gump's for lunch was superb.We decided to take a cable car to downtown Frisco. I had never ridden in a cable car and I had no idea it costs $5.00 ONE WAY to ride. I thought you see the cable car, hop on and get off wherever and whenever you wanted to. We get to downtown and we start walking around and Pam gets a little anxious with all the drifters and peddlers about. It was getting close to sundown so it was best we head back to the Wharf. The line for the cable car was too long so we decided to hoof it up the steep hills of Frisco. We boarded the cable car for a little ways and got off and finished our "hike" down to the pier. We went to Ghirardelli's for some free chocolate and indulged ourselves in some ice cream.
SAN FRANCISCO PART II (08/21/08)
We drove to San Francisco Park via Haight/Ashbury.
What a name for an eatery in San Francisco. We ate at a cafe directly across the street since it had more of an organic menu selection.
How about Luv and Haight? What is so mystical about this place. We stopped in a shop to pass the time. Bought some stuff (nope no drug paraphernalia) and walked down a couple of blocks along Haight.
That "flower" place in Golden Gate Park. Pam and I had never been there. Of course, I would never have gone had it not been for Pam. The orchids were a sight to behold. Orchid pictures? Maybe I will post at a later time.
Japanese Tea Garden. Structures such as these were erected to represent huge guardians.
This is a better angle of what I was talking about. If you let your eyes get blurry you will be able to make out the helmet, eyes, and mouth.SANTA CRUZ (08/21/08)
After leaving Frisco, we headed down south to Santa Cruz via Half Moon Bay and the coast. We stayed at one of the hotels along Highway 1.
Santa Cruz. Pam saw this sign and saw a connection to the CD we were listening to during our trip. The Food Bin was loaded with all kinds of organic foods. The Herb Room had all kinds of organic and herbal remedies.
The other side of the sign.HOMEWARD BOUND (08/22/08)
We left Santa Cruz to head down to Big Sur before heading back north the way we came. We reached Watsonville and headed east towards Gilroy. We were trying to find a vegetable stand to get some of that infamous Gilroy garlic. All hopes faded until we were east of town and found a stand that had braided garlic bundle.
Wherever I may roam...
