Exploring Crater Lake

We are having a great time visiting Amanda and Pete and we're going to be very sad to leave them on Thursday!  Hopefully we will see them this fall.

On Sunday, Jeremiah and I went with Amanda to church.  It was really neat to see where they go to church.  Isaac was way too fussy that morning so Bessie stayed home with him. Bessie went to church last week, and really enjoyed Amanda and Pete's church!!

On Sunday afternoon we ventured up to Crater Lake.  It was a beautiful drive and there were a lot of people there.  All was going well until Bessie realized we were going to have to drive up the side of a mountain with a huge drop-off to get to the top.  I wasn't in the car with her but from what I understand she kept trying to get out of the car!  Dad refused to stop and let her out though!  Amanda had forgotten just how steep and windy the road was as well as the sheer drop-off the cliffs.  I had to admit, my heart was in my throat a couple of times.  Once we got up to the rim the drive around the rim was beautiful!  We were able to drive all the way around since they had just opened up the entire road in the last week or so.  I guess we went at the right time!  Jeremiah really wanted to go down into the lake but fortunately we were able to prevent that from happening!  Bessie was nervous during the drive but was very happy that she did it when all was said and done.

Crater Lake was formed after an ancient volcano collapsed.  The volcano erupted around 7,700 years ago and was forty-two times as strong as Mt. St. Helens in 1980.  The lake basin or crater was formed after the collapse of the crater.  The crater fills with around 4.6 trillion gallons of rainfall and snowmelt.  That is the only water that is in the lake.  It is the seventh deepest lake in the world at 1,932 feet.  There is a road through the mountains around Crater Lake called the Rim Road.  It is stunningly beautiful and scary and heartstopping all at the same time.  

Tonight we went to The Creamery here in Klamath Falls.  We were able to sit outside and it was beautiful!  Sitting outside is nice because we don't have to worry how much noise we make!

We are leaving on Thursday and we will miss our time here with Amanda and Pete.  I am really looking forward to going home though and I know James misses us terribly!  Please pray for safe travels!

Crescent City Beach and Lake of the Woods

A couple of days ago we went to the beach.  Amanda, Bessie, the two kids, and me.  We had so much fun we decided to stay for two nights instead of one.  We stayed at the Curly Redwood Lodge, which was like a 1950s motor inn.  All of the wood in it was made from just one redwood tree.  The beach we went to was Crescent City Beach in Crescent City, CA.  This beach is right on the other side of the Redwoods.  Crescent City was one of the cities that was hit with a tsunami as a result of the earthquake that hit Japan back in March.  It should be noted here that Bessie woke up several times each night thinking she heard the tsunami sirens!  The fishing industry there was hit very hard and there was parts of the harbor that were destroyed.  We went to Ocean World and Jeremiah even pet a shark!


We also visited the Redwood Forest and saw the huge Redwood trees.  These trees were massive and I'll post some pictures.  


We went to one of the Redwood State Parks near Crescent City, California.  There is also a Redwood National Park, but we opted for the state park.  The redwoods date back about 240 million years.  They are Sierra Redwoods and are the largest trees in the world.  Most of the trees are between 250 and 300 feet tall.  The tallest is about 325 feet high.  The diameters can be thirty feet and the circumferences can be over ninety-four feet.  The forests are magical, very quiet, and  woodsy smelling.  It almost feels like a mythical place, as the trees are so tall, they don't seem real.  It's also eerily quiet.  It's truly an amazing place.

After we left Crescent City we made our way to Lake of the Woods where we had lunch.  There was a beautiful view of Mount Mclaughlin.  This post isn't filled with humor because we're tired today!  We only have 5 days left with Amanda and Pete and we will miss them!!!!!  Tomorrow we head to Crater Lake!

Lava beds, Decontamination, Revolution Church, Heart Stopping Roads!!

July 18, 2011

Hi All:

It's been a few days since we have blogged so we have some catching up to do!!  On Saturday, we went to Lava Beds National Monument in Tulelake, California.  The lava beds were formed by volcanic eruptions at the Medicine Lake Shield Volcano.  The landscape created by the volcanoes is very rugged and is dotted with cinder cones, lava flows, spatter cones, lava tube caves, and pit craters.  1872-1873 were the years the Modoc Indians took advantage of the lava flows during the war.  They were led by Captain Jack, and they sought refuge in Captain Jack's stronghold, which was a lava fortress.  From this stronghold, a group of fifty men and their families managed to hold off nearly 1,000 U.S. Army forces.  They were able to do that for about five months.  This land was very important culturally to the Modoc Indians, and was worth it for them to fight for it.  The battle was bloody for both sides, and the end result was typical of what happened to many Native American settlements.  The Modocs eventually were defeated.  That's the very short version of the story.

The day was fun for us, especially Meredith and Jeremiah.  They wanted to go in the caves, as did everyone but Bessie.  However, since they had both been in the Mark Twain Cave in Missouri, they had to be decontaminated before they could go in.  White Nose Disease, which has killed many bats across the United States, has not yet reached California, so anyone visiting the California caves has to be decontaminated if they've visited affected caves.

 Decontamination Complete!

Pete, Amanda, and Jeremiah in one of the Lava Bed Caves

Gary and Jeremiah picking up a lava rock

Amanda and Isaac enjoying the Lava Beds

 Lava Rock from Lava Beds National Monument

We stopped at a Dairy Bar in Merrill, Oregon on the way  back.  We passed up one of the local delicacies, Gizzards, in favor of creamies.  It was a fun day.

On Sunday, Amanda, Jeremiah, and I went to her church.  It's called Revolution Church, and it's a new church.  The pastor was powerful and on fire, and I enjoyed every second.  I'm so happy that she and Pete have found such a nice church home.

Today Amanda had to work and Pete was sleeping from being on call last night so we decided to go to Lake of the Woods.  It never rains in the high desert of southern Oregon, however it was pouring when we got there so we decided to drive over the mountains to Ashland for lunch.  When I say over the mountain, I mean that.  Elevation 4,500 feet, straight down, no guardrails, my heart was in my throat.  People actually live there, couldn't imagine it.  When I saw the sign for school bus stop, I really freaked!!  I think when I retire, I'll get a job driving a school bus on Route 66 in Oregon.

We are having a great time  It's supposed to rain tomorrow so we are not sure what we'll do, but Wednesday we are headed for the beach!!

We appreciate everyone's support and prayers for this incredible journey!!

Talk to you soon - Bessie

We Didn't Bust, We Made It!

 Pictures from I-70 in Utah

Train tunnel

Sign on US 50 a.k.a. "The Loneliest Road in America"

Our motel was a casino in Ely, Nevada but we didn't stay in the building where the casino was.

Still smiling on day 10!

Outside our motel.

One of the very few signs on US 50 in Nevada.

Thunder Mountain in California

There was much rejoicing when we saw the sign for Klamath Falls!!!

After a beautiful ride through Colorado and an equally pretty ride through Utah, we came to Nevada.  We traveled the Loneliest Road in America and I don't care if I ever do again.  It actually made me a little uneasy because there was almost no one else around.  At one point there was 120 miles between service stations!  I don't want to insult anybody but it wasn't my favorite state.

Route 50 is called the loneliest road in America.  In fact, we figured there are probably tee shirts that say: "I survived the loneliest road in America!"  However, there are no stores on the road, so nowhere to buy a tee shirt!!  The road stretches for about 350 miles.  It begins at the Utah-Nevada border and ends at the Nevada-California border.  It is an old Pony Express route.  The longest distance between services is about 120 miles, between Delta, Utah and Ely, Nevada.  We were fortunate to find a hotel room in Ely, complete with slot machines in the lobby.

We were surprised when we crossed the border into California.   There were what appeared to be toll booths, but they were actually inspection stations.  When you enter California, you have to declare any raw fruits and vegetables you had.  They don't want anything to contaminate their crops.  We declared the one apple that we had and they sent us on our way.  I'm sure they looked at the back seat, and saw this woman who by now looked old and haggard and two little kids, two adults in the front, and a back full of luggage and felt very sorry for us.  We are ready to be in Klamath Falls!!

Here we are looking out Amanda's window and we can see the snow-capped mountains that surround Crater Lake.  We are tired but we are here.  We are so happy to be able to spend 2 weeks with Amanda, Pete, and their dog Sam.  They have a beautiful house with a terrific view.  We also found a new great store, Fred Meyer!  I love it!!  I will post some pictures from our ride but beware it's all mountains of dirt and desert.  We are wondering why Nevada is called the Silver State and not the dirt state, if you know please tell me because there is an awful lot of dirt there as well as casinos (which are built on piles of dirt).

Left Lane Joe

Snow in July along I-70 in Colorado

The view coming out of the Eisenhower Tunnel

Good thing there are a lot of runaway truck ramps!

Signs along the way remind the truckers just how steep and long some of these hills are!

One of the ski areas - Vail, I think

 Jeremiah's favorite part, the tunnels!

 Coming into the Colorado high desert

I have never been as happy to see my dad as I was today when we picked him up at the Denver Airport!  I only had to drive for and hour and half, it was so nice!  I'll tell you what, when we picked Left Lane Joe up, we got on I-70 in Denver and were in Utah by late afternoon!  Left Lane Joe moves on the highway!

We saw some beautiful sights today as we passed through the Colorado Rockies and the Eisenhower Tunnel and into Utah.  There is so much open space out here.  We saw some famous ski areas such as Breckinridge and Vail.  We also saw some of the mining that goes on out here.  We were able to see some of the destruction from the Colorado wildfires a few years ago as well as a very high Colorado River!

We are beginning to realize just how big our country really is.  We are now in some very vast country out here in Utah.  You can see storms coming for miles over the desert and it's just amazing.  I'll be posting some pictures of some of our adventures today.

Pictures

Molly Brown's House

Pony Express Highway Statue

Geographical Center of the US Monument

More highway pictures

Colorado Mountain Watch

We sped through Kansas all day anticipating the Colorado Mountains.  It was strange though, when we got to Colorado we found it to be even flatter than Kansas.  We thought we might have gone the wrong way at first!  Last night we stayed in Marysville, Kansas on Highway 36 which we found out to be the Pony Express Highway as well as part of the Oregon Trail.  This was very exciting considering we never made it to Fort Riley to see Bessie's Roxaboxen.  We were just too tired.  Today we drove the rest of the way through Kansas and passed the Geographical Center of the continental United States.

Tomorrow we pick up my dad and I couldn't be happier to give up the driving.  I drove every mile of this trip so far and I'm tired!

We got into Colorado just in time for some horrible weather.  We had thunderstorms all around us, which we could see coming for miles.  There were even tornadoes just north and east of us.  Bessie was surprisingly doing alright.  I guess she's so tired she didn't even know what was going on.

Three more days until Oregon!!!!

Day of Travel

Today we resumed our journey.  We were supposed to go to Ft. Riley where Bessie lived for a few years but we didn't end up making it.  It was just too far out of the way.  Tomorrow we will arrive in Denver where we will pick up Left Lane Joe (my dad).  I have to say I'm really happy to give up some of the driving!  I didn't take any pictures today.  We did see some historical sights and will post more about that tomorrow.  Kansas is much different than I was expecting!  We haven't seen any wheat, sunflowers, or bluffs, all of which we thought were plentiful here.  Also, it's not nearly as flat as we expected.  The hills roll kind of like a roller coaster and Jeremiah had a lot of fun riding up and down them today!

I am very disappointed about not going to Fort Riley. My Roxaboxen was there.  It was a bluff in back of our apartment building.  Friends and I spent hours playing on that bluff.  That bluff was a school on some days, a horse ranch on other days, and a forest on yet other days.  I have very fond memories of it and I just wanted to see it.  Maybe next summer.  My husband says it's probably all built up and maybe I would have been disappointed.  For now, it remains a wonderful place in my memory.

We ended up on Route 36 in northern Kansas.  It was very pretty with fields of wheat against a beautiful blue sky.  But I didn't see any bluffs!!  Route 36 is the original Pony Express Highway.  The geographic center of the lower forty-eight states is on this highway, near Lebanon.

Route 36 in Marysville, Kansas is the Pony Express Memorial Highway, because it follows the original route of the Pony Express route.  The Pony Express was a mail delivery system.  Riders rode horses from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California, delivering mail.  Every ten to fifteen miles, there was a station, where the rider changed horses.  After about seventy-five miles, the rider handed his mail sack over to another rider.

Rest Day

Today we decided to stay in Missouri for another night.  We are in the town of Hannibal, MO which is Mark Twain's hometown.  This morning Jeremiah and I went to Mark Twain's Cave.  I was a little claustrophobic at first but was okay after a few minutes.  I was listening to the stories and couldn't believe that parents let their children wander around the caves completely unsupervised back in his day!  Children would get lost and people would have to go searching.  Jeremiah had a blast!  He kept telling the guide that he found new secret passageways!  After the cave tour we went back to the motel and picked up Bessie and Isaac.  We then went on a trolley tour of Hannibal.  Our trolley driver was named Maudene and she was worth the whole trip right there.  She was a trip!  She was driving the trolley, answering her cell phone, talking on a microphone and remember everything all at the same time.  We were driving over curbs and up and down hills.  We then found a candy store of course and are looking forward to digging into that after dinner.