So we loaded up the car and headed south. We only had a couple of goals in mind and the rest of the (4) days we were going to "wing it". What an awesome time we had.
Our destination and home base for Saturday and Sunday was to be Mt. Shasta. We had a nice drive down I-5, taking the scenic route off of the freeway whenever the chance arose. I got to see several of the roads that we always pass by and I always say "I wonder where that road goes".
We got to the hotel Saturday afternoon, checked in and then headed to The Black Bear Diner for dinner....yum. After dinner we still had some daylight left so we turned on the GPS and headed for Siskyou Lake. Below is one of Lorelei's shots that she got near the lake. As usual she finds the cool stuff! As always click on the picture to enlarge.
Lorelei's find:
We watched the sun set over the lake:
On Sunday we got up and headed for Shasta Dam. Now I didn't realize that Shasta Dam was about 50 miles from the town of Mt. Shasta! So about half way there we just decided to turn off the highway and see other sights. We wound up down by the river and had these views all to ourselves. I think this is the Sacramento River.
Again, Lorelei's handiwork:
Below: Long story on this shot, but the short story is, Lorelei got it! I have been planning this shot in my mind for years, but she beat me to it!(Of course it was that highly skilled photography tour guide that got her in the right position at the right time correct?)
So we had a great time hiking around by the river. We picked blackberries and ate a snack and then we were back on the road. We continued on north and stopped in the town of Dunsmuir for lunch at a great little burger joint. Then again we needed to decide what to do? We had passed the turn to Castle Crags State Park a few miles back, so we decided to go check it out.
At the booth of the ranger station we began talking to the nice gentleman who asked if we were going to go for a hike? No says we, we were just passing by and we wanted to take some pictures. Well says he, if you go into the park I have to charge you eight dollars (as I begin reaching for my wallet) but he continues, I can tell you where you can get some better pictures, outside the park. So the adventuresome, do it yourself , wanting to go and find my own pictures, side of me keeps reaching for my wallet. Finally the guy gives me this look that said "I know what I'm talking about, just keep your money and listen to me please". Okay, so we drive out of the park and onto this narrow mountain road. 3-1/2 miles up and turn around and WOW the guy did know what he was talking about.
We got out the camera gear and Lorelei and I had a BLAST for about an hour. We talked about exposure, depth of field and HDR (high dynamic range). Below are a couple of shots that we came away with. You can find more on SmugMug.
By now it was getting to be late afternoon, so we headed back to Mt. Shasta. A quick stop by the hotel room and we took off walking to town. It was approaching 5:00 p.m. and most of the shops were closing up, but we strolled up and down main street and then back to a pizza place near the hotel. We had a great salad and pizza and by the time we were done recapping the great day we just had, it was approaching 8:00!
On Monday one of our goals for the trip was to ride the jet boats in Grants Pass. After breakfast a quick call to the jet boat company assured us a spot on the 2:00 trip.
We had a leisurely 100 mile drive to Grants Pass, so we took a couple of side trips along the way.
The jet boat trip was awesome! We got soaked and it was a challenge keeping the camera dry.
We left the jet boats and headed across to the coast (ok it was kind of down and over, there is no easy way to the coast from Grants Pass). After about an hour I made some reference to California, and Lorelei says we aren't in CA. Hmmm......says I, then what about that sign right there???? We were getting hungry because we had only snacked since breakfast but we still had some miles to make, so we pressed on through the redwoods (although I REALLY wanted to stop) and on into Brookings OR where we found a Subway.
Back on the road we nearly flattened a skateboarder who decided jumping the stairs at the local Holiday Inn out onto Hwy 101 would be kind of cool!
We continued north, our destination for the night was Gold Beach, however it wasn't long until another road leading to the ocean was calling our name. We had this beach nearly all to ourselves and we spent the evening walking and exploring the tide pools.
Below: our view from the room.
Tuesday the 16th was our last day of this trip and we still had about 250 miles of sight seeing to do. We stopped in Port Orford which has a very interesting "port". Seems that they decided to build this giant flat area on the leeward side of some rocks out in the ocean and then just lift the boats in and out of the water as needed. So it's about 40 feet down to the water and all the boats are dry docked until they need go fishing. So Lorelei is over on the seawall getting the picture below:
And I say to her "Hun, you need to see this" she says "I'm busy", I say "no hun you REALLY need to see this" so she walks my way and says "OH MY is that safe?"
We spent the rest of the day casually driving north along the coast. We stopped for dinner at our favorite fish and chips place in Lincoln City and then home around 7:30 in the evening. It was one of the most relaxing vacations we have taken. Great weather, greater scenery and even greater company.
Trip stats:
Total Miles- 968
Moving Avg-48.2 MPH
Moving Time- 20.06 Hrs
Max. Speed 84.3 MPH (?? the GPS must have malfunctioned)
You can see all the pictures from the trip HERE
Some of you have expressed interest in the pictures we take. The best results in obtaining the high resolution files, is to go to SmugMug and open the picture. Down at the bottom of the page you can select the picture size. If you haven't already, choose "O" for Original. The picture will open full size, you can then "right click" and "save as" there you have it, a full size copy of the file.
That's about all for now!
Glynn Jr.
