Welcome to the Northwest Adventure circa 2019. I took a Month to travel from Arizona, up the California coast, through Oregon and Washington. Next we’ll visit Glacier Park, Waterton Park (Canada) and the Tetons. You’ll see lots of wildlife, historic hotels, hiking above treeline, climbing and white water kayaking.
I started by driving straight through to Morro bay on the Pacific coast. It is a small remnant of a fishing port. It is a great sea side town that was not crowded at all. The main street in town is about 8 or so blocks long with most shops, restaurants and hotels on the water front. I took a harbor cruise on the bay to see the famous sea otters that live there. It was an interesting affair, a pontoon boat converted to a tiki cruise but it was cool. I had a nice Mai Tai while watching the otters. The first otter is eating a clam that is on his belly. Later you can cruise over to the beach area about a mile away where the otters live. They are in the water basically 24 hrs a day and to sleep they roll up in the kelp and sack out so they don’t drift off. In the other direction is the surf beach and the appropriate sea gulls and mist. The jetty you are on here is made from rock blasted from the Morro rock. They removed 1/3 of the rock to make the harbor more protected.
https://youtu.be/IDvIlq-m8OU?list=PL2EpLfq1ZGzcooddbAPWMf8Ii1whIzaY3The next morning I got up early and it was foggy, not the kind I see in San Diego. It was really dense. Given the Maine like conditions I decided to visit Hearst castle in the morning and hope for a warmer afternoon later. This was my 3 rd visit in 40 years and I took the architecture tour. You could see how the ‘style’ changes from 1920 to the 1940s. It started with Spanish/Moorish style to gothic and then victorian. The outdoor pool was the third on the spot, he enlarged it twice. It is all kind of pieced together in a very eclectic way. He would mix ancient Greek vases with a newly made pillar on top of a base from some German castle. It really looked quite nice. I love the alabaster lamp shades around the indoor pool. I finished about 1:00 and it was now hot. So a ½ an hour drive brought me back to the wonderfully cool town. I spent the rest of the day watching the surfers, otters and birds. The sea food was as fresh as could be. In the early morning I saw fishermen unloading last nights catch to be delivered to the restaurants. I had some really good calamari on the water front.
https://youtu.be/U8UPpCok-YU?list=PL2EpLfq1ZGzcooddbAPWMf8Ii1whIzaY3Up and moving the next morning, we only have 7 days to get to Olympic national park. But a morning drive up the California coast is a treat. I stopped to watch some elephant seals lounging in the waves. They also seem to like to act up!
https://youtu.be/qFNvLgd8B1E?list=PL2EpLfq1ZGzcooddbAPWMf8Ii1whIzaY3The drive was great as the fog was on and off the whole drive. I stopped at a few overlooks and just listened to the surf crashing on the rocks. I got to Monterrey without a speeding ticket but it was quite overcast and being lunch hour was ‘congested’. I was going to stay in Santa Cruz for the night so after a quick bite to eat I drove up there. I used to go there in the 70s and 80s so I was looking forward to it. But it was HOT and the boardwalk was over run, soooo. A command decision was made, being that many wonderful things are ahead and no reason to support the crowd base here and we’re pushing on. I did get some kite time though.
https://youtu.be/Jr83f96YXzQ?list=PL2EpLfq1ZGzcooddbAPWMf8Ii1whIzaY3 After driving til 10:00 and a sleep in Ureka, I asked but still can’t pronounce it, I made it to Crater lake Oregon. I was immediately inundated by the BUGS, of the VW kind. While I was eating lunch at the picnic ground about a dozen or so of them swarmed in. The waterfalls were running well and I always stop for them. I stayed at the lodge and loved it. You will learn I am an avid fan of the historic park hotels and lodges. I compare the architecture and history to find out why are they here. Each hotel has a different story to tell. I thought the lobby area was very Frank Loyd Wright and it was very inviting. The veranda is facing great for the sunset and you can eat dinner right there if you want. I went looking for sunsets and drove over to the east side. The colors were great and I did get a nice moon shot. After the twilight arrived I also arrived on the veranda, now ½ occupied, and enjoyed an adult beverage before dinner. The squirrels always are looking at me where ever I go, I didn’t even have a pack on! I did see a little eagle in a tree on the way north.
https://youtu.be/2h8IHp0U468?list=PL2EpLfq1ZGzcooddbAPWMf8Ii1whIzaY3Spent the morning driving around the East side of the lake and enjoying the excelant weather. The next stop - timberline lodge at Mt Hood. It’s a mountain my wife and I climbed a few times back in the 70s. I love the lodge, it was built in the late 1030s and was one of the first lodges built with fire sprinklers included. They cut grooves in the beams and laid the piping throughout the structure. I like the ‘mine’ timber look they did in the lower floor. The whole thing is done with mortise and tenon and whittled pegs. The cougar carving was meant for the dinning room but the designer though a more peaceful animal was needed in the dinning room. All the stairways have carved animal fennals, 22 different ones.
The next day the weather turned for the worse, not heavy rain but dizzley. I headed to the Columbia gorge to see the wind surfers and kite boarder on the Columbia river. There was no wind and the weather was not going to get the activities going so I drove up to Ocean Shores Washington to get close to Port Townsend where I was visiting a friend. The sun was out at the beach which meant more kite time. After visiting my friend I caught the ferry over to the mainland and headed for Glacier park. The ferry ride at sunset was nice. I was planning on spending two days each in the Olympics and North Cascades but the forecast was for 3 days of rain. So off I go, the extra days will be spent in Canada which I missed last trip. Finally arrived in Glacier park and saw my first sunset on lake McDonald for the year.
https://youtu.be/dAXUNJaUPww?list=PL2EpLfq1ZGzcooddbAPWMf8Ii1whIzaY3Well I hope you kept up on the first week of the trip. That concludes the sight seeing portion of the trip. The next three weeks will involve the hiking, climbing and the animal stalking I came for. These clips are short and for those that did not get enough there are long clips of these ones. They should be up before the next edition of the blog. I decided this year to make shorties that are less that a minute long. The regular clips run between 5 and 10 min.
Hope you’ve enjoyed the trip so far, come along on the next portion.
