Mt. Shasta, California!

Visited Oct. 26-27, 2021

 

By Janell

 

 

 

That's right, California ! We're almost "home"! 

By "home", I mean Sacramento. I was born and raised in Sacramento; Marty grew up here from age five; and much of our family is here; so we still think of it as home. 

As Marty mentioned in the last post, we'll be in California, (primarily Sacramento) for much of the next three months. We will not be doing a post for the time we spend in Sacramento. Our time here will be spent with family rather than sightseeing. 

That said, we will continue going back in time with flash-back posts of our previous adventures as time permits.

Now, back to the adventure at hand. About an hour after crossing the Oregon/California border, we found ourselves in the city of Mt. Shasta, where we would spend two nights. 

 

 Approaching Mt. Shasta

 

Mt. Shasta (the mountain, not the city) has an elevation of 14,179'. It is the second highest peak in the Cascade range and the fifth highest in the state.

Just around the corner from our RV park was Mt. Shasta City Park, where one can see the headwaters of the Sacramento River. In other words, it's where the Sacramento River begins. 

These facts about the Sacramento River are straight from a sign at Mt. Shasta City Park:

The Sacramento River is the largest river in California. It begins near Mt. Shasta and winds its way through the Sacramento Valley for approximately 400 miles before reaching the Delta and finally enters the Pacific Ocean through the Golden Gate.

The watershed covers 27,500 square miles - about 17% of the state's land area. It spreads out over 20 counties and has a population of over 2 million people - most living on the valley floor.

It carries over 30% of the state's surface runoff and provides water to both northern and southern California.

The Sacramento Valley is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the nation, producing large quantities of rice, fruits, nuts, alfalfa, grain, and tomatoes.

So, after all of that build up, I'll bet you expected something bigger than this. But this is it folks - the start of the Sacramento River. The headwaters emerge from the side of Big Springs Hill in Mt. Shasta City Park. 

For a little better perspective on the headwaters, and some soothing sound effects, check out this short video.

After viewing the headwaters we walked around the park for a bit. There were a few little bridges like this one on a meandering path back and forth across the "river".

Now, that's a BIG tree!

We took the above picture of Marty and the tree before we even saw this guy (below), but I leave you to compare and contrast the two.

In the park we stumbled upon an abandoned playground with some "skinny clown swing sets" (I learned the name of them from Google). They don't make them like this any more -- thank goodness! If not quite the makings of nightmares, it's at least fodder for Stephen King.

In 1995 two friends, Bruce Dean and Bob Manley, both from Mt. Shasta, started the Black Bear Diner. They started with just the one diner right here in Mt. Shasta, but now there are 144 diners in 14 states.

We've dined at a handful of Black Bear Diners over the years; not all of our experiences with BBDs have been good, as can be the case with a franchise system. We'd heard that this original location was a good one, and so on the morning of our departure from Mt. Shasta we stopped in for breakfast. Our source was correct. The food was hot and tasty, and the service was spot on!

If you look closely at the photo above, you can see a bit of Mt. Shasta (the mountain) to the left of the BBD sign. 

We didn't get the story on this bus that drove into Mt. Shasta City Park ahead of us; but it may be a local touring company and those are the headwaters painted on the side. Okay, I may be reaching, but we did see a second bus with a similar paint job in Mt. Shasta. 

This was taken not long after our Black Bear Diner breakfast. The skies had cleared, and it promised to be a beautiful day in Mt. Shasta.

If you look back to the photo of the Black Bear Diner sign, you can see that the sky at that time was hazy and gray. So you see, things do look brighter after a good breakfast! 

Bend, Oregon

Visited October 14 - 25, 2021

By Marty 

Bend was a blast!  Bend was our last "real" stop before heading back to California to hibernate in Sacramento through mid winter.  

Bend wraps up the "mountain states" phase of our itinerary that started back in April with the Grand Canyon.  What a blast the past seven months have been! But after 27 months since starting this adventure our energy level is running low. Having a travel day every 5-7 days, investigating and then exploring each new locale takes time and effort (I am NOT complaining mind you; we are so fortunate!)  A hiatus will be a nice chance to chill a bit and get caught up with friends and family.

When we land in Sacramento (Cal Expo has an RV park with a really great monthly rate) we'll finish planning the final phase of our big adventure. We have 18 states left to visit*. In late January we'll head toward Kansas by way of Arizona and New Mexico (looping south of the Rockies to avoid any late winter weather) and head due east from there. Once we hit salt water we'll drive north a wee bit and then make a left turn, heading west to explore the remaining few states. We'll be back in Livermore and sleeping in our sticks and bricks home on November 1st of next year!

 *Editors note: you would think that we only have eight remaining state from looking at the "states we have visited so far" photo in the right margin. In addition to the eight blanks on the map there are ten additional states in the eastern US that we only transited through which still require real exploration.

Now, let's talk about Bend....

What a lovely community and area Bend is! So much beauty and outdoor activities at your doorstep. It's easy to see why so many Californians have moved to Bend to work or retire. In fact, while in Bend Janell and I visited with three different couples from our way back days who have retired in Bend. It has been really great to reconnect with friends and family as we make our way around the country.

In the heart of Bend is Pilot Butte from which you have a 360 degree view of Bend and the surrounding terrain. On this day the visibility was great, offering a crisp view of the Sisters (north, middle, south) and Broken Top peaks.

We also got a nice view of the Sisters and Broken Top from our table at Three Creeks Brewery in the cute town of Sisters.  What an impressive carving!

The Deschutes River runs through the heart of Bend. There is a great hiking trail running along both sides of the river.  Janell and Cheryl are strolling ahead in this photo.

The Deschutes River in Bend

 

Forty miles south of Bend is the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Newberry Volcano is the largest volcano in the Cascades volcanic arc and covers an area the size of Rhode Island (1,200 sq. mi)

From the US Geological Survey:

"Unlike familiar cone-shaped Cascades volcanoes, Newberry was built into the shape of a broad shield by repeated eruptions over the past 400,000 years. Throughout its eruptive history, Newberry has produced ash and tephra, pyroclastic flows, and lava flows that range in composition from basalt to rhyolite. About 75,000 years ago a major explosive eruption and collapse event created a large volcanic depression at its summit that now hosts two caldera lakes. Newberry last erupted about 1,300 years ago, and present-day hot springs and geologically young lava flows indicate that it is still an active volcano."

And this from the US National Forest Service:

Although commonly referred to as Newberry Crater, the "crater" is in fact a caldera formed when the overlying rocks collapse when a magma chamber is emptied. The caldera stretches across 17 square miles in the heart of the volcano. The 1,200 square mile volcano remains very active to this day. Newberry is both seismically and geothermally active. Geologists believe the caldera sits over a shallow magma body only 2 to 5 kilometers deep. Visitors see numerous cinder cones and vents (over 400 throughout the area), miles of basalt flows, as well as rhyolite flows of obsidian.

This is a small portion of the "Big Obsidian Flow", the youngest lava flow in Oregon (1,200 years ago) made up of obsidian (black glass) and pumice. This obsidian flow is one of the largest in the world.

 

 

 

There is a one mile trail that winds through a portion of the Big Obsidian Flow. From this vantage point on the trail you can see Paulina Peak in the distance.

After our up close and personal obsidian trail hike we drove to the top of Paulina Peak for a birds eye view of the caldera. Below is Paulina Lake, one of two lakes in the caldera (East Lake being the other).

The large blob is the Big Obsidian Flow. The gray material is pumice and the black is obsidian. East Lake is in the distance.  The caldera is quite large.

Color me pensive

Paulina Falls near the outflow of Paulina Lake.

 

Smith Rock State Park is about an hour north of Bend. What a gem it is!  It's been described as a piece of Utah dropped into central Oregon.

 

 

 

We were not deterred by the name of this hike. Well, maybe a little... We were told that it was amazing and it truly was!

 

 

 

Smith Rock is a mecca for sport climbing. There are over 1,500 routes on only 650 acres of land. We saw over two dozen climbers as we made our way around the rock.

If you want to know more about Smith Rock and the attraction to climbers, knock yourself out:

Why Every Sport Climber Needs to Visit Smith Rock State Park

 

 

 

 

 The view from part way up the south side

 

 

 

 

 The Sisters are visible to the southwest.

 

How cool is that?  It looks like something Walt Disney would have a hand in (I'm thinking Thunder Mountain...)

A view of Monkey Face from above. Monkey Face is a 350' tall tower and the most prominent landmark in Smith Rock SP. We were trying to figure out the appropriate vantage point from which the "monkey face" is most visible. We kinda/sorta saw the monkey face from here, but were we ever wrong!

This is from mountainproject.com about Monkey Face:

 

This prominent tower is one the best known features at Smith rock. It's aesthetic beauty is enhanced by the historical ascents and world famous routes on its clean faces. Monkey face still holds some of the hardest climbs in the world as well as a plethora of classic trad and sport lines. It's most famous route, Just Do It 5.14c is still a test piece route for aspiring hardmen/women.

I call this "Janell in the Rock"

On our descent now and viewing from the east.  More like a monkey face for sure, but....

A couple of climbers on Monkey Face with the Sisters in the background. I use an iPhone for our photos. I was wishing I had something with greater zoom capability on this shot.

Now THAT'S a monkey face!

Crooked River winds through the park

 

Our friends Danny and Cheryl took us for a hike along Fall River.  The headwaters are just a short distance from here where the water flows magically out of the largely volcanic soil and rock hillside.

The beavers got here before we did.

The beavers have been quite active along the river. We never saw one (darn) but by the freshness of the chewed tree trunk I'd say we just missed 'em!

Drake Park along the Deschutes River in the Old Bend Neighborhood

How did I make it this far without telling you that Bend is VERY well regarded by the craft beer crowd. There are over 20 breweries in Bend, which works out to one brewery for every 5,000 Bend citizens.  Hmmm, where to retire, where to retire....

At Boneyard we each had five beers!  (they were four ounces each, but it was fun to try five different IPA's)

For those of you keeping score I made it to five breweries in the 12 days we were in Bend.  So many breweries...so little time...

You're familiar with Tarantino's film "Reservoir Dogs" right?   But do you know about his little known sequel "Brewery Dogs"?

The beautiful and not to be missed Tumalo Falls. In season the masses come to view this beauty. On a Monday in late October we had the Falls and trail practically to ourselves!

The Falls can be viewed practically from the parking lot but a beautiful trail follows Tumalo Creek upstream for quite some distance.  We hiked about four miles round trip. Great hike!

Next stop, California!

 I Love Lucy: California here I come!