Into the Woods

Phase two of our epic trip was a journey to the Redwood National Park. This area of extreme northwest California has many state and national forests. The Redwood National Park is more a collection of these forests/parks as opposed to a discrete park.

There are many trails and dirt roads to hike/drive. Due to time constrains, we desided to stay on main routes. U.S. 101 winds through this area, so you can take in much of the views from the car. We did take a scenic route (Newton B. Drury Scenic Pkwy). Along this parkway, we happened upon the Big Tree Wayside.





















This picture shows the Big Tree. We were not disappointed. The paper sign, in front of the tree, states that this tree is 287 feet tall and has a circumference is 68 feet. This tree is approximately 1,500 years old!

The Crater Lake Adventure

Ever been to a caldera? Well, we have! The closest, and most scenic caldera to us is Crater Lake National Park. As our regular readers know we visited Crater Lake two weekends ago (remember this?). Here are some pictures of the Crater Lake area.

Some background... The caldera formed nearly 8,000 years ago when the volcano, Mount Mazama, erupted. The eruption emptied most of the magma chamber, which caused the great collapse forming the caldera. Centuries of rain and snow helped to fill in the caldera with water - forming Crater lake.
















To the north of Crater Lake is the Pumice Desert. Mount Mazama ejected hot ash over this area, probably killing all the indiganous life. Thousands of years later the area still as yet to fully recover. Most of the areas to the west and south of Crater Lake have fully restored pine forests, but not this area. Few trees and vegetation have returned.

The steep edges of the crater.




























In the background you can see Wizard Island. This cinder cone volcano formed after Mount Mazama blew and collapsed.





















Seven miles from the crater, these interesting formations were created. Volcanic vents formed in the ash deposits. The super-heated gas melted parts of the ash to form pillars. The rest of the ash was eroded away to leave these mostly hollow tubes.
















Native American tales tell of crayfish monsters grabbing gazers of the lake and pulling them in. We can see were the tale may have originated - one could get lost taking in the sites and inadvertently take one too many steps towards the lake. If you ever go, be careful of the edges.

Take a Hike!

No, not you. But that is exactly what we did a few weeks ago. We decided to start taking advantage of some of the free outdoor activities that are so abundant in and around the Portland area. For our first hike we decided to try the Tualatin Hills Nature Park for two reasons. 1) it was listed as a beginner hike in "100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington" and 2) the park is a short light rail ride from our home. There are several trails throughout the 219 acre nature park and in two hours we were able to walk quite a few of the trails. We walked among some extremely tall trees and ancient looking large ferns. There was a small creek or stream, and a pretty nice sized lily pond. The park was not without wildlife; we spotted a couple woodpeckers, half a dozen chipmunks, a couple of snakes, and a very cute little squirrel enjoying his (or her) lunch. For the most part I like nature but if the nature is comprised of a spider dangling over the pathway I discovered I'm not such a big fan. You will be happy to know that I conjured my courage and was able to continue along the path. We easily spent a couple of hours wondering around the park and taking in all the naturey nature. There were a few trails we didn't explore and we plan to head back again soon. Below you will find some more pictures of our nature outing including one of that cute little squirrel.