'19 California/Oregon Trip - Day 8

The odometer on the rental car read 1,812 miles as we pulled into the Reno airport this morning.

With a 10:30am flight departure, we slept in to 6am and were a little more lazy than Day 1.  With over a million flight miles, air travel is old hat to me, but stressful for Audra.  She would be happier with a nice RV Motorhome, traveling the country.... not having to mess with airports and hotels.  It was a great trip with very little drama, but I will have to agree with her on the RV thing for next trip!

Yep... as I expected, we are flying home to some fresh snow.  Black Forest got 10".  Promptly, I stoked the fire... and WE WERE TRULY HOME!

This vacation accomplished the mission..... We forgot about work and other stuff in life and escaped mentally and emotionally.  We are both eager to get home, but also have a desire for the trip to continue.

So... where next?  Spring Break might find us in the Desert Southwest somewhere....   But summer of 2020 is our Re'Do of the Alaska Trip Fail from 2017.

Anyway....  Livin Life Large and Lovin God for the Opportunity!    4LGO!

'19 California/Oregon Trip - Day 7

This trip continues to deliver and offer nice surprises.  Leaving Klamath Falls, we headed due south to check out the Lava Beds National Monument (which we discovered last night looking at maps).  The monument is just across the state line in California, south of the Tule Lake National Wildlife refuge, where we saw a Bald Eagle. The Beds offer world class cave exploration, but we only had time to enjoy the views from the road and experience the visitors center.  Its amazing where trees can grow!

Today was mostly mileage crunching, as we headed back to Reno for the night, but another nice surprise was driving the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway.  Exploring it the middle of the week in October offered us, a near private experience.  For two hours, we only saw a truck and two cars.

Views of Mount Shasta were spectacular!  At 14,179, the mountain is imposing when viewed from 2-3k feet.

Arriving in Reno we were treated to an upgraded suite in the Luxury Tower of the Atlantis Casino Hotel.  We aren't gamblers, so we stayed in the room watching the Astros get pummeled by the Nationals in game #2.

Tomorrow morning we fly home.....  Snow storm is hitting Colorado, so it might be an interesting drive from DIA to the house.

'19 California/Oregon Trip - Day 6

We left the window of our hotel room open all night and the crashing waves pounding against the rocks sang us to sleep.  An extra blanket on the bed kept us warm and we slept deep until 6am.  The first cup of coffee was in bed, but the second found its way in our hands as we walked the beach with the first rays of light pushing through the fog.  Despite the chill of the morning, flip-flops were held and our toes enjoyed the cold, wet sand.  It was a spectacular morning with the fresh smell of the ocean imprinting on our minds as we walked hand in hand.  Bandon, Oregon, will be revisited again in the future.

It was easy to loiter around the beach, but we had 200 miles to drive to get to Crater Lake and another 55 miles after that to Klamath Falls for our overnight, hotel room.  The drive was routed through small county roads and the combination red Alder, big leaf Maple and Aspen at the peak of fall color was fantastic.

Finally we arrived in Crater Lake National Park.  The road around the rim was closed due to a recent snow, but we were allowed to drive to the top.  Words just can't explain the views, so thankfully there are pics to tell the story.

Tomorrow we drive down through northern California to Reno.

'19 California/Oregon Trip - Day 5

After experiencing the Giant Sequoia, General Sherman, Audra and I honestly thought the Redwood National Park would be a bit of a let-down.  Boy were we wrong.  Sure the Gen. Sherman is the largest tree on the planet by mass, it is only 275 feet tall.  The tallest Redwood, called the Hyperion Tree, is 380 feet tall.... over 100 feet taller than the Sequoias.  While hiking the 1.6 mile Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail Loop through dozens of trees, most of which were between 300-350 feet tall, we were humbled.

Once we crossed the state line into Oregon, the coastal views ramped up a notch.  It was both our opinion that southern Oregon is far better than northern California.  We only drove about 200 miles today, but it was a long day.... as every turn in the road offered stunning sights that required us to pull over.  Probably not surprising, but we collectively shot over 400 photos today.

The big surprise of the day for Audra was my sneakiness in reserving a cliff side room, right on the Pacific Ocean.  After a Dinner of fresh Crab and Clams, we sat and watched the sun dip below the western horizon.  The bottom photo is our Hotel.

Tomorrow is Crater Lake!

'19 California/Oregon Trip - Day 4

We knew we would drive through wine country, but once we viewed the maps this morning, Audra was really excited to learn that we would be driving a portion of the Russian River Valley, a hot-spot for Pinot Noir production.  Most of the vines had been picked and some of the grape leaves were already turning bright yellow and red, for fabulous fall colors.

Certainly the highlight of the day was the drive up Highway 1 along the Pacific coastline.  Around every corner, the sights were breathtaking and we found ourselves pulling over, and breathing in the fresh ocean air more than we had planned.  When the road deviated inland, the trees and canopies made us feel like we were in a fantasy movie.

At a well positioned parking lot and restrooms, the beach was easily accessible.  Audra and I walked the beach, dipping our toes in the cold Pacific water.

Northern California is know world-wide as a Bigfoot hotspot.  Driving through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, I made the comment to Audra.... Holy cow is this Bigfoot country!  It was dark and thick and mossy!  Then a mile down the road we drove around a corner and the Legend of Big Foot Store popped out.

Once arriving in Eureka for the night, we treated ourselves to dock-side, fresh seafood.

'19 California/Oregon Trip - Day 3

Day 3 offered Audra the most anticipated experience of the trip, the giant Sequoia trees.  She loves trees and the opportunity to wrap her arms around the largest in the world...... Yeah!  Over all of our travel the past 25 years, the giants of the forest were one of the top 3 most impacting experiences we have had yet.  Highly, highly recommended!

We did have a HUGE surprise with the discovery of Mora Rock.  As we pulled into the parking lot, the stairs appeared to simply turn around the side for a view of the canyon below.  WE HAD NO IDEA, ....what we were getting ourselves into.  The hike seemed near vertical at times and we regularly had to stop to catch our breath and muster the courage to keep going up.  In one pic below, you will have to look closely to find Audra.

After Sequoia National Park, it was a travel-transition day, as we left the mountains and made our way toward the coast for our eventual drive up Highway 1.  Vacaville offered a nice room, with a big TV to watch Game 6 between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros.  The H-Town Boys did not disappoint with Jose Altuve bombing a ninth inning homer to win the game!  The Astros are headed to the World Series!

There isn't enough room to truly reveal all the outstanding photography, so you are only getting a few of the best.....

'19 California/Oregon Trip - Day 2

Coffee is probably far too important to Audra and I.  In the remote places we go, we are normally choosing between a cabin or local motel.  That means no room service with fancy brewed java.  We have learned some lessons over the years of travel and we have adapted....  A couple of stainless mugs, a compact heating element, Starbucks Via Instant Coffee and real half & half....   Delicious!

Today we drove just short of 300 miles from Mammoth Lakes to Three Rivers, by way of Yosemite National Park.  It was a driving tour of great diversity.  At the heights, we were at 9,943 over Tioga Pass with massive patches of snow from last year and the low was 278 feet just outside of Fresno with the citrus orchards and massive vineyards.  Changing over 9,500 vertical feet in just over 6 hours is probably the most we have ever experienced.

Audra is a HUGE fan of the massive trees.  The largest we have seen is the Jeffery Pine.  Some of the trunks are the diameter of a vehicle and they can grow over 150 ft tall.  This tree also produces the largest pine cones we have ever seen.  One we found was over 8" in length.

Yosemite NP is spectacular.  Everywhere you turn, the sights are breathtaking.  One of the most memorable moments was watching the climbers on El Capitan.  (Below shows a climber, tiny... in the middle of the pic.)

And oh how lovely is the price of fuel in California!  Thank God our "4-banger" Toyota is averaging 36.4mpg so far!!!

Tomorrow is Sequoia National Park!!!