Trip to Oregon June 26-July 8, 2014
We arrive in Solvang on our way to Klamath Falls Oregon. Our first vacation since John's retirement. Yeah!
Just one night here at Worldmark Solvang.

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We're hungry so we BBQ up a steak on the balcony.
Then John goes walking through town and visits a local brewery. In the morning we have breakfast at the Solvang Restaurant. John has Aebleskivers, a traditional Danish breakfast food.
We make it to the coast and Hiway 1. Yippee! We're ready for a relaxing and scenic drive up to Big Sur for lunch.

We stop at a local beach for a break and buy some strawberries from a local vendor to munch on for a snack.
One of many views along the coast.
Nice!

Perched on the edge of the continent, high above the Pacific, watched over by the majestic Santa Lucia Mountains sits Nepenthe Restaurant. This Mecca of poets, artists, travelers and vagabonds has served guests for sixty years, opening for business on April 24, 1949 (two months before John was born).

Sitting on the terrace, enjoying an Ambrosia Burger is a quintessential California experience.

Is the $16.75 burger worth the view?

 
After a nice visit with long time friends Jerry and Reba Whiles at their new home in Manteca and a nights rest, we head North and stop to visit a couple historic sites in Sacramento.

First, we tour the Governor's Mansion built in 1877. Many California Governors lived here including Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Governors no longer live here, but it is quite a neat old building.
Then the Leland Stanford home also built in late 1800s. The Stanfords eventually donated the home for homeless or troubled girls before it became a museum and then a historic site.
On the road again. You can see Mt. Shasta for miles before going past it.
On our first day at Worldmark in Klamath Falls Evelyn takes a rest day. This is the view from our condo balcony.

John is itching to go motorcycle riding, so he heads off to ride a 200 mile loop to Grants Pass and back.
A stop in Medford for refreshment.
Getting off the freeway I follow the Rogue River.
This is typical scenery. Nice riding!
And then I find "my road". Winds through the forest near the Lake of the Woods Resort.
After John's quick early morning motorcycle ride around town, we take the van to the Lava Beds, just over the border into California.

Yes, we get in free with our senior pass :)
Lots of lava tube tunnels. This one was lighted, but you have to borrow a hard hat and flashlight from the visitor center to visit the others. Some were over a mile long. Constant 55 degrees in the tunnels. If Evelyn had to duck at places, John practically had to crawl.
Large lava bed
We took a hike through a lava bed to a place where the local Modoc Indians held their last stand against the troops. The nearby lake was drained for farmland in the late 1800s and the Indians were removed to reservations in Oregon. One Indian called "Captain Jack" returned to his homeland with about 60 warriors and they held off about 600 soldiers for 5 months before being defeated. They hid in the many caves.
Watch out for volcanic bombs!

 

 

We survived and then returned to the resort to watch movies and play cards.
Tuesday July 1. A gorgeous summer day. Next to the lake the gnats are thick. No worries, I outsmart them.

Often times when riding I have a specific destination and time frame. Then there are these side roads I would love to explore if I had the time.  Today I ride Hiway 140 with time to explore those roads.
Hmm, I wonder what this park is like?
A dirt road takes me here. I eventually find a few picnic tables, but not a soul around. Very peaceful!

I take a lot of videos with my new GoPro camera. I hope to edit and attach later.
Back on the Hiway, I turn off to explore Odessa Park.
I stop at The Lake in the Woods for refreshment and to enjoy the lake. Those two ducks practically attacked me for my potato chips!

I ride back to the resort and Evelyn and I enjoy the meeting at the Kingdom Hall in Klamath Falls.

Tomorrow -- Crater Lake.
Today is the big ride to Crater Lake. Evelyn will take the van and go to the lake later. She will return to Klamath Falls and John will head North to Redmond for the night for an extended ride.

Before getting to the lake John stops for lunch at this picnic area.

It is impressive how the forest looks so healthy. Very few dead trees.
On arriving at the lake John is taking pictures when Evelyn appears! We are both amazed we ran into each other. So Evelyn follows John as we drive around the lake.
Vidae Falls
Lots of places to stop and see the Lake from different angles.
Phantom Ship island
At times the rim road around the Lake is closed even in July from heavy snow pack. Road open this time. I got Evelyn with a snowball.

We say goodbye until tomorrow.

Not long after John leaves the park from the North entrance on his way to Redmond, he rides into a thunderstorm and gets pounded with hail and then mushy rain. He had to pull off the road and stand under a pine tree until the storm mostly passed. The rest of the ride was not fun being soaked and riding through drizzle. Yuck!

But the next day is gorgeous. Warm and sunny. John decides to turn off Hiway 97 on the way back South to Klamath Falls onto Hiway 31, to see the Oregon Outback. On this 80 or so mile detour he encounters heavily forested area, flat prairie land and even marsh land. Very enjoyable. A little anxiety since no cell coverage and only saw a few cars the whole way.
30 miles from Klamath I stop for a rest and find a neat Logging Museum. Acres of old logging equipment.
Steam tractors and all kinds of ingenious equipment to move the heavy logs and transport them.
Back at our resort, Evelyn and John take a walk to see the Falls of Klamath Falls. Noisy, but not exactly Niagara. More like rapids.
Tomorrow we leave Oregon. Time for one more ride. 25 miles from our resort is the Lake in the Woods. It is 4th of July and the Lake is packed. The large parking lot was full, but they let me in on the bike. I have lunch and spend a couple hours soaking in the beautiful surroundings. Evelyn is relaxing, watching movies and reading.

I really enjoyed riding Southern Oregon. I put well over 800 miles on this trip in Oregon on the bike.
On the way home we stop at the Automobile Museum in Sacramento.
Evelyn's favorite car. '59 Pink Caddie
Ready for a Sunday drive!
This was a welcome sight on a hot Sacramento day. John's sister, Jean and her husband Bob are the best hosts! They sure know how to treat weary travelers!
Jean kindly takes us on a tour of Sacramento. She arranges a private tour of The Cathedral, and then we tour the Capital building, and in Old Sacramento--a history museum and the train museum. Great time.
We were impressed by this carving in the Capital building. Carved out of a single piece of granite from the same quarry as that used by Michelangelo. This carving is of Christopher Columbus and Queen Isabella..
This locomotive at the museum is massive! Weighs well over a million pounds. Huge!

Now it is time to get home.........

The End, until next trip..........