Swimming in a Volcano

On Friday we continued our road trip about an hour and a half south to Crater Lake. It was James’ idea to visit here and we had an excellent day. We came in through the north entrance of the National Park and went to Cleetwood Cove where we bought tickets for the five hour boat trip to Wizard Island. First we had to descend on a steep path into the crater which took about half an hour. This of course worried me because I realised that I would have to climb back up at the end of the day!

The very friendly park ranger on the boat pointed out all of the features of the lake including the hard ignaeous rock which stood out on the slopes, the landslides and the colours of the rocks and plants. About seven and a half thousand years ago Mount Mazuma grew, erupted, collapsed, and then the caldera filled with rainwater and snow melt. Or as our park ranger explained, it “Grew, blew, fell and filled.” It is truly amazing that such a beautiful and peaceful place has been formed by violent eruptions. 

Wizard Island was formed by a later, smaller eruption and rises in the lake with a crater on the top, and we were dropped off there to spend three hours exploring. We headed up through the trees to the crater, a hot and steep forty-five minutes walk. I tried to think cool and breathed through my nose and took lots of sips of water, and it actually worked; I got to the top without stopping and we were rewarded by fantastic views around the lake. I felt quite stupefied by the beauty of the place. 

When we got back down to the jetty we decided to go for a swim in the lake. The water was very clear and very cold, but it was great fun to be swimming in a volcano!
The boat collected us got the last part of the tour around the lake, which was very entertaining. I managed the walk back up the crater to the car park surprisingly well and it only took us thirty-five minutes - the park ranger had estimated forty-five minutes so I was well chuffed. My secret was to walk quite slowly - the path was all uphill of course - but not to stop for a rest.
After our amazing day, we still had to drive ninety minutes to our next destination of Ashland. We had dinner at the very welcoming Annie’s Creek Restaurant before leaving the National Park. We arrived in Ashland at half past ten at night, and were pleased with our spacious and smart room at the Bard’s Inn Hotel. I had to take a shower before bed because my hair was full of volcano dust. 

Oregon Coast

Before we set off on Thursday morning we had a walk around the Oregon Gardens which give our hotel its name and I was so glad that we did. It’s a beautifully designed and maintained, with different areas such as water gardens, a market garden, and all sorts of gorgeous flowers.
The next destination on our road trip was further south to the Steamboat Inn on the North Umpqua River. However we decided to take a detour west to the beautiful Oregon coast on the way, which added another couple of hours to the journey. 
We reached the coast at the bustling little fishing port of Newport, where we had a walk and had lunch at a waterfront seafood restaurant. I had fish tacos which are very popular here, and they were lovely. I may try to recreate them at home. We also bought a box of cherries from a roadside stall which we consumed during the rest of our travels. 
The busy road south along the coast passed a series of long, white sand beaches. We stopped at one of them and walked along beside the deep blue Pacific Ocean in the warm breeze with the white-capped waves breaking on the sand. 
We had coffee in the little touristy town of Florence before setting off east and away from the coast. The rural roads were much quieter I’m glad to say, and we listened to Country music on 101 on the radio. There was a catchy song called “Greatest Love Story” by Lanco which I really liked; it ends with a cliffhanger marriage proposal. We noticed quite a lot of large birds of prey circling over the fields and forests. We arrived at the hotel to find that it’s a delightful fine dining sort of place; a very picturesque wooden cabin style hotel with fairy lights strung on the trees in the garden. The dinner was fantastic, the best of the holiday so far. Given the location, it’s also a fishing hotel decorated with many fishing accoutrements, and when we strolled down to the river bank after dinner we saw two fisherman casting their lines in the twilight. We finished the day sitting outside in the warm evening, having drinks in the garden. 

Sunny at Silver Falls State Park

On Wednesday we visited Silver Falls State Park to walk the Trail of Ten Falls. It was spectacular.
The waterfalls were all different, and all stunning. Some slid at great speed down the rocks, others spilled over cliffs and dropped from a great height. You could walk underneath several of them and it was amazing looking out at the blue sky from behind the crashing water. 
The trail was mostly in dappled shade which was just as well because it was another hot day. James found some salmonberries growing by the side of the path which we ate, and we also tasted some Oregon Wood Sorrel which has a sharp citrus taste. It was an excellent walk.
As we passed through Silverton on our way back to the hotel I noticed a sign which said “45 degrees - halfway between the North Pole and the Equator.”
Back at the hotel we relaxed (and I swam) at the open air pool, it was great fun. In the evening we listened to an excellent musician singing Country music in the bar. 

Columbia Gorge and Mount Hood Loop

We had heard that this three hour round trip drive would take us past some beautiful places, so we decided to devote Tuesday to the trip, stopping wherever took our fancy and going on at least one of the many possible hikes. 

Our first stop was at Multnomah Falls. This high waterfall was impressive but I didn’t think that it warranted the vast crowds that thronged around it, perhaps because it was situated only about fifty feet from the busy main road. So we jumped back in the car quick smart and continued to the village of Cascade Locks, right on the banks of the mighty Columbia River. This was much quieter and therefore more to our taste. We went for a stroll along the banks of the river and arrived at the jetty for boat tours just in time to board the attractive sternwheeler “Columbia Gorge” which was about to set off on an hour long cruise. This took us under the Bridge of the Gods and up to the Bonneville Dam. Both of these things (and the locks which preceded the dam) made a huge difference to travelling in the area, because in the 19th century the pioneers on the Oregon trail had a terrible time getting past the rapids which used to be here; they had to take their boats and all their possessions out of the river and drag them on land past the dangerous parts. It was back breaking work. 

They wouldn’t recognise the wide river now, flowing along majestically with Oregon on one side and Washington State on the other. 

Back on the road again, we soon turned south towards Mount Hood. How stunning it is, rising up from the green forest all white and snowy. The countryside became much more agricultural with lots of orchards and vineyards. We stopped at the Hood River Ranger Station where the rangers were really helpful and informative, and gave us a detailed information sheet on our trail of choice - Mirror Lake. 

But before we set off we stopped for lunch at a little village, the strangely named Government Camp, after a troop of soldiers who became stranded there in the mid 19th century by the weather had to abandon their supplies. I was astounded to find that it is a ski village complete with Swiss style chalets; it seemed so out of place in the middle of the forest in summer. And what is more, it was in full swing because Mount Hood has enough snow for summer skiing so there were people walking about with skis! We had lunch in a lovely restaurant where I had a slice of yummy Huckleberry pie. 

We then parked the car at the trailhead for Mirror Lake, which is a glacial lake which has great views of Mount Hood. It’s a short (forty minutes) but steep hike through the woods up to the lake. It was well worth it; the lake is perfectly round and surrounded by forest, and Mount Hood can be see reflected in its surface. I went in for a paddle and nearly had my toe nibbled by a crayfish (or crawfish as they are called here!)

It was then time to start heading south, a couple of hours drive to our next destination of Silverton. It’s a while since I booked all of our hotels for this road trip so each one is a surprise! The Oregon Garden Resort is a bit like an old-fashioned country club with extensive gardens. It reminds me of the hotel in the film “Dirty Dancing” but sadly there is no Patrick Swayze. 

Mount St Helens 38 years on

I can remember the news coverage of the massive volcanic eruption of Mount St Helens very well. It was in May 1980 and, while an eruption was known to be imminent, nobody expected the whole side of the mountain to explode, which is exactly what happened. Sadly this led to some loss of life, although fortunately the majority of people nearby had been evacuated in time.

On Monday James and I made the two hour trip from Portland into Washington State to see Mount St Helens at first hand. We were absolutely amazed by what we saw. Even after thirty eight years, the trees which were scattered like nine pins over the hillside are still lying there, and the slopes of the mountain are still covered with ash. However there is also lots of new growth of trees and bushes, and the wildflowers are bright reds and purples. You can still see the huge hollow of the explosion on the side of the mountain. The crater is full of snow with a new glacier forming.  James and I walked the Boundary Trail, an undulating 10 km round trip, which had fantastic views of the mountain and the surrounding devastation caused by the eruption. When the explosion happened, the blast rolled over the ridge within two minutes like a rollercoaster of destruction. James extended his walk up to Harry’s Ridge, from where he could see over into Spirit Lake.
It was a really good hike and we both loved it. Before we left the car park at the visitors’ centre we both made use of the portable toilets which were called “Honey Buckets.” Without going into any details, they were not aptly named.
On our way back to Portland, we passed a motel called Mount St Helens. Their sign added “Hope you had a blast!" 

Unusually warm in Portland

Another early start on Sunday, this time very early, and we caught the 8 a.m. flight from San Francisco to Portland in Oregon. We were pleased to be able to check into our hotel room straight away, and by late morning we were strolling around downtown Portland. We went to the bustling Sunday street market by the river and listened to a jazz quartet as we sipped cool drinks. It was very hot and sunny (30 degrees) and we decided to hire bikes and go for an eleven mile riverside cycle. I was enticed into this venture by the fact that it was a very flat circuit. All started well, in fact I was in tremendously good spirits as we pedalled along the urban but attractive cycleway. However as the miles went on I became increasingly hot and tired. With hindsight, this was probably exacerbated by the eight hour time difference between Scotland and the west coast of America, and by the short and broken sleeps I had had over the previous twenty-four hours. James couldn’t hide his despair at my frequent rest stops. The hot breeze felt like a hairdryer blowing on my forearms and face as I slogged along. However I did manage to complete the cycle, which gave me some satisfaction, and James treated me to a delicious smoothie in a smart wee café. When we returned the bikes, the owner of the bike shop told us that it is unusually warm for Portland. By dinner time we were both so tired that we could hardly keep our eyes open, and it was so good to get to bed!

San Francisco

James and I were up early on Saturday morning for our flights to Heathrow and then on to San Francisco. All went smoothly. We enjoyed the delights of the British Airways lounges, and our carefully chosen seats upstairs on the A380 ensured that we were in a row of only two seats, so we didn’t have to climb over anyone when we wanted to go for a little stroll or to the toilet. We were plied with several airline meals and were even given choc ices. Keen to meet my fitness targets, I did some surreptitious jogging at the back of the plane during the ten hour flight. I needn’t have bothered though, because when we arrived at San Francisco we found that our airport hotel was right on the bay front, so after checking in we were able to go for a very pleasant sunset walk along the waterfront path. Since my watch had skipped backwards eight hours to San Francisco local time, I could easily have met my targets on the hour long walk. The views towards the airport and the city beyond were lovely in the gentle evening glow, with the sky lit up in pink, blue and gold.