Thursday, May 31, 2012

Columbia River Gorge - Vista House

  Vista House, pictured below, is located at Crown Point on the historic Columbia River Highway 30. I struck up a conversation with the volunteer docent. It was dedicated in 1918. The then governor of Oregon had a summer home nearby. As he related to me, the ladies after bouncing around in their "tin Lizzie's" needed a rest stop. He told me wait until you see the number of stalls and urinals in the bathroom. Keep in mind that at that time there were only one thousand registered cars in Oregon. There were 10 stalls and as many urinals. Carol told me the ladies room was as generous with the facilities. The lower level was done completely in beautiful white marble and was spotless.



 Two interior pictures follow. The first shows the marble and the second the dome ceiling.



Inside the gift shop there were several items from the period when Vista House was built. Carol especially liked the Indian artifact. I liked the detail on the dress.





 I took several pictures from this vantage point of the Columbia River below. These two are representative of the vistas afforded us.

 



While we were taking pictures, I opened the rear hatch so our "boys" could get fresh air.  Pillo is on the left and is a pure Chihuahua. Gizmo, our rescue, is on the right. The local vet says he is about 85% Yorkie. I must say they traveled well and were well behaved in all the hotels.



Sunday, May 27, 2012

West Coast Lighthouses

My main reason for this trip was to see the Columbia River Gorge. Carol, during the planning process, mentioned she would love to see Redwood Trees. Hence the trip was designed around those two items. Obviously, I love lighthouses. I wanted to see at least one lighthouse in each of the west coast states.

Below is Battery Point (Crescent City) Lighthouse in California. It can be reached at low tide by walking across the exposed sand and rocks to the path that is visible in the picture. We did do this and we did take the tour. I did climb up into the lantern room but could not go out as the railings are being restored. Carol opted to remain below as the final ascent was up a straight metal ladder attached to the wall.


 There is a second lighthouse near Crescent City and on a clear day can be viewed by walking out St. George Point. From this point the St. George Reef Lighthouse may be viewed. I caught a very brief glimpse and before I could focus my camera the fog rolled back towards shore. It is located just beyond the middle of the two rock outcroppings in the picture below.


The first light that we visited in Oregon was Cape Blanco Lighthouse towering above the westernmost point in Oregon. It is the oldest standing lighthouse on the Oregon Coast. We were slightly delayed  as we had to wait for several cows to walk off the road. 


There was a quaint little gift shop  and a wall mural of the Oregon lights.



 Second was the Coquille River Lighthouse in Bullards Beach Park, two miles north of Bandon on the north bank of the Coquille River. It was decommissioned in 1939 and restored in 1979 as an interpretive center. A solar powered system operates the light atop the 40 foot tower.




The next light that we visited was Umpqua River Lighthouse. An earlier structure was the first sited light in Oregon. It fell into the river in 1861 when sand eroded under the foundation. The current structure with a 65 foot tower overlooks sand dunes from 165 foot elevation on the south side of the bay. This is identical to Heceta Head Light. There is a very nice museum on the grounds with a gift shop. The museum is free and very nice. We spent some time in the museum. The lady in the gift shop was very knowledgeable and we talked to her for awhile.



Two views of the Umpqua River Lighthouse.




 Following is a picture of the Keepers Quarters for the Heceta Head Lighthouse. Unfortunately the Heceta Head Lighthouse was completely covered by what looked like a heavy canvas shroud. I surmise that it is being sandblasted and the old paint contains lead. It was very crowded there and I opted not to make the long walk to see it.


 The last lighthouse that we saw in Oregon was Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. This is the second oldest standing lighthouse on the Oregon Coast. Located on the north end of the Yaquina Bay Bridge. In original service only from 1871 to 1874 when it was obsoleted by the brighter Yaquina Head Lighthouse. It was re-lit and recognized as a private aid to navigation by the U. S. Coast Guard in 1996.



 I wanted to see at least one light in Washington State and we visited North Head Lighthouse located two miles North of the mouth of the Columbia River and now located in Cape Disappointment State Park. Construction began in 1896 and was lit for the first time May 16, 1898. A $10.00 fee was required to park in this park.





As you can see it was foggy and cold with a strong breeze off the Pacific. I had met my goal for seeing at least one lighthouse in each state and we left to find our hotel in Hood River, Oregon to begin our visit to the Columbia River Gorge.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Sampling of the North California Coast

 We drove up the Northern California Coast and we were treated to wonderful views of the Pacific Ocean. I grew up in New England and was used to wonderful coastal views. The west coast has also been blessed with great coastal views. These are just a sampling. There were many times that we wanted to stop for pictures but there was no safe place to do so.



















Redwoods -Trees of Mystery

 Our waiter also suggested that we go to the Trees of Mystery, a private attraction based on the Redwood Trees. The senior price of admission was $11.00 each. It consisted of a .4 mile walk up and around a path through the forest.



Following are a few pictures taken during the walk. Following is a group called the Cathedral. This site has been a popular location for weddings and appropriate music was piped into this area.



 The size of these trees just amazed me.





 When we reached the top of the trail we hopped on a gondola car for a ride through and over the redwood forest. The views were breathtaking. Each couple had their own car as there were not many people waiting.







 Once we descended on the gondola there was a second .4 mile trail leading back to the  starting point. Along the way we saw more trees and several newsy tidbits of information.








There were also many carvings that had been created by local artisans using chain saws. By this time, I admit, I was running out of energy and did not take as many pictures of the carvings as Carol did. 



 I realize that there has been a time gap in the writings that I planned and intend to complete regarding this trip. I ran into a medical problem that way laid me for a few days. We determined it best that we slow down and rest whenever possible. I now plan to "catch up".






Thursday, May 17, 2012

Redwoods Stout Grove

 We arrived in Cresent City, California for the purpose of seeing Redwood trees. We went to the Super 8 Motel, one that I had personally called to alert them that we would need a pet friendly room. They had no record of the call and no room. They offered this horrible room and said the dogs could not be left in the room or the car on there property unattended. I found another hotel, but because of this hotel's policy I had to pay for the first night even thought I did not stay. I would not like to say that I will  avoid all Super 8's in the future but they will always be my last choice. We stayed in The Anchor Inn and were quite happy.

 I had a complete misconception about the Redwood trees. I saw in my research that there was a Redwood National Park and a Redwood State Park and that would be where the trees would be seen. They are every where, along side the highways, and near viewing pull offs. That first night our waiter urged us to go to the Stout Grove. He gave us a map and the next morning off we went. The Stout Grove got its name from Mrs. Stout who donated the 44 acre site in memory of her husband and to preserve this grove of trees. Jay, our waiter neglected to tell me that the "road" if you will was nothing more than a dirt path just barely one vehicle wide. Following are a few pictures taken in this grove. The very last picture shows the "road"













Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Mariposa


While we were visiting Yosemite, we stayed at the Mariposa Lodge. Mariposa is a very quaint village about 2200 feet above sea level. The staff there were very accommodating and even hosed the Yosemite dust off my car. One of the great benifits of staying there was we could walk to a very nice restaurant, and a good breakfast cafe. It was nice after negotiating the curvy narrow mountain roads that I did not have to drive to dinner. We also visited a nice gift shop in town.



 Following is a picture of there main strret through town.


The lodge was surrounded by flowers of all types. These caught my eye.



Saturday, May 12, 2012

Yosemite National Park


 We stayed in Mariposa, California a quaint little village about 27 miles from the entrance to Yosemite National Park. When I made the reservation the receptionist told me that I would love the ride as it was quite beautiful. She was right. While we both took many pictures, the few following are just a small sample of the majestic scenery that nature provided. The first picture is of the Bridal Veil falls. The second picture was taken near the bottom of the falls and the spray was being carried on the breeze. It was a bit of an uphill trek to get there and it was well worth it. My clothes did get damp but dried by the time I arrived back in the parking lot.




The following picture was taken a bit down stream from the base of the falls.



 The next three pictures are just a sampling of the sights that are abundant in this spectacular national park.





The road that we used to enter the park took us through the mountains leading into the entrance. Mid way we had to wait as a one lane detour required that traffic had to be stopped to allow the other side access. The reason was that a massive slide had occurred and wiped out about 200 feet of roadway. A one lane bridge was constructed over the Merced  River and a short one lane road built to go beyond the slide and then a second one lane bridge to put us back on the main road. The forces of that slide must have been massive as we could see the twisted and mangled guard rail jutting out of the stone and gravel in several places. We both were awed by the vistas that we were exposed too.