Lava Beds National Monument: Journey into darkness

I woke up to the chilliest temperatures so far on my trip...mid-20s! As usual, it really didn't bother me...I just wore a cover shirt. Besides, I would be spending a couple hours driving to my fun destination of the day... Lava Beds National Monument. By the time I reached the park, it had warmed up to the mid-60s. Before exploring the caves...actually the lava tubes...visitors have to check in at the visitor center to insure all clothing and equipment has been disinfected properly. That's to avoid the spread of white-nose syndrome, which can infect bats, including those residing in the caves at the park.

I had three easy caves in my list today, and I started with Paradise Alleys. By easy, I mean no major stooping or crawling, with fairly well defined paths, and pretty short distance wise. I wore a light cave helmet with headlamp and gloves, and carried a small, but bright flashlight.

The Ovis Cave was right next to Paradise Alleys. It was named after discoverers in the 1890s found it contained 36 bighorn skulls. I know, weird.

By now, I had worked up an appetite, so I had my lunch behind the visitor center under a massive juniper tree. I had never seen one so big! I also noticed what appeared to be mistletoe growing on one of the branches.

The final cave I explored was called Blue Grotto, named for the blue-gray color of the rocks within. This cave had a nice sturdy staircase at its entrance...not that it was that easy once inside. This was the largest cave of the three, with lots of side paths to explore. Because it was so dark inside the caves, photography was definitely at a minimal. It was fun walking around the dark, though.

So, tomorrow it begins. I'll be attending the first of THREE Five for Fighting concerts, starting in Redding, CA. The last time I saw John Ondrasik perform with his string quartet, it was January of this year. It seems so long ago! I can't wait to experience the magic again!

A walk in the park until...BEARS!

Because I got to bed so late last night...1:00 am...I hit the road later than I wanted to. I had a 2 1/2 hour drive to my destination of the day, Lassen Volcanic National Park. Negotiating the windy CA Hwy 32, then the Warner Valley gravel road in the park was a bit time consuming. But, once I was there, any existing worries fell away...at least at first. My plan was to hike to Devil's Kitchen, but I didn't think I had the time to do it justice, so I opted for the shorter Boiling Springs Lake Trail instead. Little did I know, my choice would prove to be the more exciting one.

The first part of the trail had a series of wooden boardwalks through meadowlands, changing over to dirt trails and forest. It was so peaceful and picturesque.

As I walked, I constantly scanned my surroundings, looking for photo opportunities. I especially keep my eye out for animals of all kinds...I like taking pictures of critters! Suddenly, I noticed some movement among the trees ahead of me...BEAR! TWO BEARS! A momma black bear and her cub were ambling along about 50 yards ahead of me! Now, I didn't have any bear spray with me, not that I needed it at the moment. I quietly backtracked down the trail and took some video, waiting for them to walk away from my position. Here are a couple of screen grabs of the momma...with her red-brown fur, she's also known as a cinnamon bear.

That's the first time I've ever seen a black bear with a cub. Too bad I didn't get any video or pics of the cub...I was too excited and cautious of attracting unwanted attention. After thinking they moved away from me, I continued walking up the trail...only to see them again exactly where I wanted to go! I then had the idea of making my presence known. Walking on dry branches, they made loud, snapping sounds. The momma bear quickly looked in my direction...and ran away with her cub close behind her! Well, that worked like a charm! When I finally reached Boiling Springs Lake, I got some cool pics of its geothermal features.

There were redwood trees scattered among the Douglas firs and cedars. I always like to bond with the ancient giants. The lichens seemed to enjoy growing on the trees in this forest. As I glanced up, the skies seemed so blue! As I glanced down, the Douglas squirrel seemed so...squirrelly!

During my return trip to the trail head, I encountered some people walking in the opposite direction. I warned them to keep their eyes open for bears. I'll have to return to Lassen in the future to check out Devil's Kitchen...and maybe see more bears?

Surviving my first dive bar

I got back rather late from the SYML concert last night, so I'm doing this post the next day. I left Klamath Falls and headed south to Sacramento. I had a long drive ahead of me with no sightseeing planned...just driving. After crossing the Oregon-California border, I stopped briefly at the California State Agriculture checkpoint. I declared my two pieces of sliced apple...I was allowed to keep them...and I continued on my way.  I stopped in Redding for lunch at MOD Pizza, and picked up food for my future picnic lunches at Trader Joe's.

About 5 1/2 hours later, I arrived in Sacramento. First, I checked out the venue for the night's SYML show... Holy Diver. I guess part of the name came from the fact that it's a dive bar. Even though they do drink there, I don't think the disreputable part of the definition fits. At least I hoped not! Still, I admit I was a bit leery when I saw the building.

My hotel check-in did not go smoothly, although it started out on the right foot. The guy at the check-in desk said he was upgrading me to a SUITE because someone was too impatient and didn't want to wait. I'm thinking the suite wasn't cleaned yet, so they offered my room instead. One's loss is my gain! Things then went downhill when I was told they didn't have any parking left and I would have to park in a public lot around the block! Not good! I was going to leave to park my car, when I asked if I could unload my things first...my car was in the driveway. Then, a female employee told me there was a parking space available! Sure enough, there was one space left. It was pretty tight, but I made it work...I unloaded my stuff before backing it into the space.

After freshening up and eating dinner in my room, I prepared to walk the half mile to Holy Diver. I didn't even consider driving, since doing so would result in the loss of the parking space. As I exited the hotel, I looked into the parking garage and saw a few open spaces! I immediately moved my car to a more spacious...i.e. less tight...space. It only took about 15 minutes to walk to the club. Once there, I was told it was okay to wait inside the bar for the music hall upstairs to open. As I waited, I could hear Brian Fennell...SYML is his musical alter ego...doing his soundcheck. He performed a few songs, which was very nice to hear! When the music stopped, I waited and hoped I would see him before the show. And, my wish came true! Brian was very happy to see me, and we chatted a bit. He introduced me to his two roadies and his keyboard player, Pete, who was accompanying Brian on his current tour.

While waiting for the fun to begin, I hung out with a nice middle-aged couple from Sacramento. Talking to them helped make the time go by faster. When doors opened, I got a spot right in front of the stage. The opening act was a band from Ontario, Canada called Dizzy.

I hate to say it, but I just about fell asleep. The band fit into my category of "pulling teeth" as in listening to them is like pulling teeth...just not my thing. The music and singing was repetitious, the songs sounded very similar and the lead singer had her eyes closed almost the whole time. I couldn't wait for them to get done and Brian to hit the stage. It was well worth the wait! Brian was awesome, as usual! And, his new songs were great, too!

After the show, I hung out and waited for the admiring SYML fans, old and new, to meet Brian and have their time with him. I checked out the merch table and bought a nice SYML tour shirt with a tiger on it. When the crowd cleared out, and went over to Brian to praise him on another great concert. I got my photo with him, said my goodbyes and walked back to the hotel.

I got back after 10:30 pm, and after the long drive and four hours on my feet, I was ready to call it a day. Well, I ended up hitting the sack at 1:00 am anyway, catching up on internet stuff. I would pay for that the next day.

Blue (water) day at Crater Lake

It was a bit chilly this morning when I left Bend, OR. I must be used to it because low 30s didn't feel all that cold to me. On the other hand, I start feeling hot when the temps hit 70s! When I arrived at my destination of the day, Crater Lake National Park, it was downright pleasant...sunny and mid-50s. And, there was (thankfully) no sign of that smoke I experienced yesterday. I soon discovered there were so few visitors...at least traveling along the east Rim Drive...it felt like I had the whole park to myself! My first view of the lake from Merriam Point seemed almost surreal in the morning sun. That dormant cone is known as Wizard Island.

As I drove along the Rim Drive, I stopped at the many overlooks to take photos and just drink in the view. One thing I noticed almost immediately...it was SO QUIET! Not even the sound of birds chirping, or the wind blowing. Just silence. Amazing.

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States. And, why is the water so blue? Apparently, all the other colors of the spectrum are just absorbed by the lake's deep waters. As I continued around the rim, the angle of the sun brought out the colors of the surrounding volcanic terrain. With the addition of the smooth surface of the water, it made for some beautiful reflections. The little island is called the Phantom Ship and it literally looks like it's levitating!

After a quick sushi picnic lunch, I headed over to check out The Pinnacles. These unusual chinney-like formations are called fossil fumaroles, created when hot volcanic gases rose up through the ash and solidified it. It was an easy walk along the overlook trail, where I not only saw many pinnacles, but also a cheeky golden-mantled ground squirrel with a nut in its mouth.

Tomorrow, I travel to Sacramento for the first of four concerts I'll be attending. I can't wait to see Brian Fennell again...he goes by the name SYML, which means simple in Welsh. Oh, I forgot to mention for those who are interested...tonight I'm staying at my third hotel on this trip with the dreaded half pillows. Thank goodness for my own king-sized pillow!

Balancing rocks and falling water

I forgot to mention in yesterday's blog post that my Outback reached 100,000 miles on the odometer. In a little over four years! That's what happens when you take long road trips! I left Portland, OR this morning traveling on US 26 through Mt Hood National Forest and the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. The sky soon took on a smoky haze due to prescribed burning...it was not pleasant to drive through! Thankfully, when I got to Cove Palisades State Park, I left the worst of it behind. Driving along the Crooked River, crossing over a narrow bridge that took me to an even narrower bridge over the Deschutes River, I continued on in my quest for the very unusual.

As the paved road ended, I had a moment of uncertainty...was I going the right way? It's tough when Google Maps Streetview doesn't go everywhere. I continued on the gravel road a short way and there it was...the little turnoff that I was looking for! The trail head for Balancing Rocks! These cool geologic wonders were formed by different volcanic eruptions, with erosion doing the rest. The softer stuff underneath wore away, leaving the more durable rocks above seemingly balancing and teetering precariously.

That's Mt Jefferson that you can barely see through the haze. After I was done admiring the rocks, I returned to Cove Palisades State Park for a leisurely picnic lunch. There were some pretty nice views there, too.

In the afternoon, I drove down to Bend to visit one of their most popular tourist attractions... Tumalo Falls. I had to negotiate an even longer...and rougher...gravel road to reach the falls. I took in the best view of the falls right off the parking lot, then hiked the 1/4 mile trail to the top. As I walked along the trail, my eagle eyes spotted a tiny, furry sentinel perched on a tree stump and surveying the gorge below. I'm pretty sure it was a golden-mantled ground squirrel.

Before leaving the vicinity of the falls, I spotted a bit of fall color. Not much, but it was pretty nonetheless.

After driving up and down the gravel road, my car was now covered with dust...I mean totally! Using my trusty GPS, I found a car wash, which turned out to be exactly what I needed...inexpensive and automatic. Tomorrow, I'll continue my theme of enjoying nature's beauty as I travel south to California.

Time to hit the road again!

I'm taking my road trip a little later than usual this fall. At first, it was because I kinda had to...earlier vacation slots were already taken up at work. But, it soon worked out for the better because of a short Five for Fighting string quartet tour in October. I certainly can't miss that, right? Then, I added two more days to my time off to attend a SYML concert...one of my other favorite artists. So, I'll be going to a total of four shows this month. Of course, my road trip will be much, much more than going to musical concerts. Many park visits, checking out unique scenery and museums!

I made sure to play with my cat Hoshi before I left home this morning. I wasn't able to properly say goodbye to her because she promptly hid when I started loading the last of my stuff in the car. I think Hoshi thought she would also be going in the car and to the vet! I didn't leave home too early because I didn't want to get caught in Seattle rush hour traffic. I dropped in Uwajimaya in Bellevue to grab something for lunch, plus more food for tomorrow's meals, and road trip snacks.

After a couple more hours of driving, I took in a brief visit to Columbia Springs in Vancouver, WA. This facility serves as a community environmental center and also contains a trout fish hatchery. After spending a good part of my day driving, it was nice to stretch my legs and snap a few photos.

Tonight, I'm spending the night in Portland, OR, but I won't be traveling TOO far tomorrow.  I'll be doing a little hiking and checking out some cool natural sights. Time to get this show started...