Short drive North

We decided to do a long weekend North of Vegas, an area we haven’t explored since we first moved here. Our destination was Alamo Nevada, with old central Nevada towns dating back to the late 1800’s. We were surprised to actually see some wildlife that we hadn’t seen since my brother, Jerry, lived in Cheyenne Wyoming. Antelope were everywhere!

There are towns we have visited before that are within an hour East and West of Alamo. We didn’t remember how much of a mining town Pioche was. It very much reminded us of Virginia City. There are mining relics everywhere, and the buildings in town very much have that 1800’s feel. The arial tramway that hauled the ore down from the mines to the smelters still snakes its way through town.

Before leaving the county seat and heading to Caliente, we stopped at the Lincoln County Courthouse. The county seat moved as the new hot mineral loads were discovered. Crystal Springs was the first in 1866, followed by Hiko in 1867 and finally Pioche in 1871, all of which towns we visited in our journey. The current courthouse was built in 1938.

The original Lincoln County Courthouse in Pioche was built in 1871. It was early on dubbed with the nickname “Million Dollar Courthouse”, even though it didn’t cost that to build. People thought the actual $75,000 cost was outrageous given its small size, so they gave it that nickname to show their disgust.

Panaca was founded in 1864 by the Mormons – it is only 80 miles due West of Cedar City – at the time, some of the group apparently went South to St. George and the rest headed this way. The characteristic streets, wide enough for a horse drawn carriage to make a U-turn, make Panaca’s origin clear. Back in the mining days, the need for fuel for the smelters was so intense that outside Panaca in 1867, charcoal kilns were built to convert the nearby Pinion Pines into smelter fuel.

Not far out of Panaca was Cathedral Gorge State Park. We wormed our way to the base of the cliffs, and found that in between these spires were water worn paths. We ventured into several, able to poke our heads 30 or 40 feet inside. It was awesome and magical.

Finally, we made our way to Rachel Nevada. Located on the Extraterrestrial Highway, named in part because it is allegedly the most desolate stretch of highway in the US. But it is also named that as it runs alongside the infamous Area 51. We were able to find the South entrance to Area 51 out in the middle of the desert. While there were no cameras or guards, it was very clear that public access was not welcome.

We came to Rachel 20 years ago, and checked out the Little A`Le`Inn. We saw it this time, but chose not to venture inside this time. We did manage to find something we missed 20 years ago. Just outside Rachel stands a black mailbox with no buildings in sight. Apparently, believers leave mail in the black mailbox hoping that visiting UFO pilots and crew will pick up the mail. We didn’t see any responding mail inside the box however.

On our way back to Alamo the night before we departed, we stumbled on the Oak Springs Trilobite Area, managed by the BLM. 500 million years ago this area was a lake bed, and shale deposits abounded. Trilobites, a group of extinct arthropods, flourished in these wet, boggy areas, and their bodies got trapped in the hardening shale. Because nobody else was there, we took our time searching for the best fossil to bring home – allowed based on the signage.

Talk to you soon.

Finally home

Well, the fires continue to wreak havoc. While we weren’t going to head home for 3 more days, we were thrown out of Twin Lakes Campground. Apparently, all National Forest managed lands were being closed at 5 PM today because of all the fires in California. So, some scrambled calls got us a place to park tonight, in Ridgecrest. The Woman did her homework on Google and learned that there was another National Natural Landmark not terribly far from there.

Trona Pinnacles National Natural Landmark contains over 500 tufa spires, some rising well over 100 feet above the bed of the Searles Dry Lake Basin. The pinnacles themselves are composed primarily of calcium carbonate, also known as Tufa. The Trona Pinnacles were designated a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1968 to preserve one of North America’s most outstanding examples of tufa tower formation.

Next stop is Vegas – back to the oppressive heat!

Talk to you soon.

Dang fires!

We got totally lucky with this call. Had we gone to South Lake Tahoe, we would have been caught up the middle of the mandatory evacuation mess that occurred due to the Caldor fire. Who knows how long it would have taken for us to get out in all the crazy traffic? I would rather be chilling in my lawn chair, looking at Mammoth Mountain and the Inyo National Forest, which is not burning.

We got to celebrate our anniversary in Mammoth California. We headed up to Mammoth Ski Resort and road the gondola to the top. The views from the top were breathtaking, a nice way to spend our anniversary. For our anniversary dinner, we considered heading to the Mammoth Brewery, but we decided to just have a nice quiet dinner in the coach.

On the way back from our gondola adventure we stumbled across the Mammoth Earthquake Fault. Geologists believe this feature was not caused by a single earthquake, but was rather a system of fractures formed by a series of strong earthquakes in the Inyo Craters and Inyo Domes centuries ago. It was a short hike, but an impressive reward.

The Woman had discovered that the PCT ran right though Mammoth, however, the only access points were within Devils Postpile National Monument. We had been here long ago with the kids, but since we had been there before, the implanted a shuttle system that we weren’t interested in using. Being turned away at the entrance station, we were pretty bummed out.

However, a local suggested that the entrance station wasn’t manned until 7 AM. So, we headed out early and managed to find the two areas within the Monument where the PCT was accessible. The Woman had some unexpected energy, and we managed to take on over 6 miles of the Trail we had never done before. All in all, it was a great revisit of the Monument.

Talk to you soon.

Fun stop

We learned that our Harvest Host membership included the Shasta Brewing Company in the town with the best name ever – and totally appropriate for California – Weed! We spent the night at the brewery, and made sure to take advantage of their product in the onsite alehouse. As you can see, I couldn’t resist the logo shirt.

Nearby was a National Natural Landmark that we had never been to before, so we couldn’t resist a visit. Although they were open for tours, we didn’t feel comfortable venturing inside. Besides, they didn’t allow dogs, and Kona had joined us on today’s adventures, so we just checked out the area.

The Woman found where the Pacific Crest Trail passed nearby and, of course, we had to head there. We found a couple of things we had not discovered before. The signage indicated that the PCT here was crossing over private land, and that because of this, you were required to stay on the trail. In addition, we found a PCT Hiker Log – two of them actually. The Woman knew of these, and we spent a few minutes checking out who had signed the log most recently.

Talk to you soon.

Continuing home

Heading on from Redding, we headed toward Chico. We moseyed around Paradise that had been fire devastated a couple of years ago. Even though there was very little evidence of burned buildings or trees, there were still a lot of mail boxes on streets where there was no home to receive the mail.

We were supposed to head next to South Lake Tahoe. But, because the Caldor fire was heading toward South Lake Tahoe, and many highways in the area we would have to drive were closed, we decided to head to Carson City instead. Despite the detour, we headed to Soda Springs and another crossing of the Pacific Crest Trail. Because of the air quality do to the fires, we decided not to het out of our vehicle and hike in the smoke.

Despite our passion, we had never visited the Whispering Giant in our current home state. On the way to Carson City, we managed to find Wa-Pai-Shone in Idlewild Park in Reno. While we had been in Reno many times, we had never managed to see this Whispering Giant sculpted by Peter Wolf Toth.

We also had fun in that Idlewild Park hosts Food Truck Friday. Each Friday during the summer, a vast number of food trucks show up to entertain the locals. We didn’t sample any, but did enjoy the spectacle.

Talk to you soon.

Continuing our way to Vegas

Although we had been there before, how could you miss a chance to visit Crater Lake National Park. We learned that the PCT actually ran through the park. On the first day we dedicated our time to circling the lake on the rim road. Just about every pull out was awesome! We literally circled the lake and saw it from every direction. We even chose to return the next morning to see what the lake looked like in the morning. Sadly, the lake cruises were not running – you could only go in the lodge with a mask if you were staying there – the Covid impact was huge.

We did find both the spots where the PCT crossed roads in the park. The Woman interpreted what she read as that the PCT ran around the lake. However, it turns out that the PCT goes nowhere the lake. What she read was that most hikers on the PCT choose to hike around the lake, even though that is not the actual PCT. One through hiker that we bumped into at the junction of the PCT and the Rim Trail that goes around the lake. He said that few, if any, through hikers actually follow the PCT through Crater Lake NP – they just routinely divert to the Rim Trail, and meet back at the PCT later.

After Crater Lake we headed to Chiloquin Oregon. In Chiloquin is Train Mountain. In 1987, Quentin Breen decided to build 7 ½ inch gauge track so enthusiasts could display miniature rail engines and cars that were still big enough to ride. After he passed, the enterprise became a non-profit organization with members keeping and expanding the original mission. Today, the site has over 36 miles of track which allows the old white guys to literally play with their trains by driving them daily! We went on a ride and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next we headed to Redding, not for any particular reason but it was in the right direction and about the right distance. As we approached Redding, we caught sight of Lake Shasta. A decade or two ago we visited Lake Shasta, formed by the Sacramento River and the Shasta Dam. At the time we visited, it was impressive, in a lot of ways like Lake Mead. However, today it looks far more dismal than Lake Mead, if that is even possible.

Talk to you soon.

Making our way back to Vegas

As we left the Seattle area, we hugged the Columbia River Gorge just to take in the views. We had already visited Multnomah Falls years ago, so we settled for a drive by view. In Hood River, we checked out the Hood River Hotel, built as a wooden hotel in 1912 – later a brick addition expanded the original many times. We visited the historic depot of the Hood River Railway and saw some of the original wooden cars. Lastly, we visited the Columbia Gorge Hotel, built as a luxury retreat in 1921. We got a bonus when we discovered that Wah Gwin Gwin Falls (also known as Lullaby Falls) is on the hotel’s property – one we had not previously seen. Wah Gwin Gwin means rushing waters in native tongue.

We headed to Cascade Locks. Built in 1878, the locks bypassed the rapids on the Columbia River at this point, allowing better riverboat travel. Built in the 1930’s, the Bonneville Dam raised the level of the river sufficiently that the locks were no longer needed. However, the lock foundations are still where they stood when opened.

One of the reasons we headed here is that the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the Columbia River here. We hiked the trail both North and South for several miles, and paid the toll to drive across the Bridge of the Gods, opened in 1925 to allow Oregonians to visit Washington without having to travel to the Pacific. A campground for PCT through hikers was established near the Cascade Locks. We checked there each day to see how many through hikers there were, and there were a lot. Sadly, we missed by a day or so Pacific Crest Trail Days in Cascade Locks. As we hiked other sections of the PCT in the next few days, we heard Trail Angels mention that PCT Day in Cascade Locks had depleted the number of through hikers they would see.

We then headed to Sisters Oregon, a personal favorite location. The PCT travels North/South just about 15 miles West of Sisters. So, we caught the Volcanic Loop Scenic Highway and managed to find two places where the PCT crossed highways. Not to mention, but we hiked both North and South from each of these crossings. We did tend to avoid the sections of the PCT that went directly across lava flows – yuck!

Talk to you soon.

One last family fling

 

Before we left town, we headed to downtown Seattle for one last family fling. We headed to Pier 55, and boarded our ship for our hour-long harbor cruise. Again, the weather was perfect, and the views of the ship yards and downtown Seattle were spectacular!

Right next to Pier 55 is The Frankfurter – recommended highly by the narrator of our harbor cruise. Nick had been saying over and over how he wanted to get a Seattle Dog while he was in town. The locals didn’t seem to know what we were talking about, and we learned that the locals refer to them more as Seattle Style Crème Cheese Dogs. They are a hearty skin on dog smothered with crème cheese, and all kinds of grilled peppers and onions – yum!

We headed back to Pike Place Market to grab some lunch, and so Nick and Val could see the infamous gum wall. We learned that Pike Place is the oldest continuously operating farmers market in the US, having started in 1907.However, the gum wall is a far more recent addition. Thousands of visitors have deposited gum wads all over this wall. As we left, we learned that the market is happy to supply you with needed materials – a gumball machine stands at the foot of the alley!

We learned that the very first Starbucks coffee shop opened across the street from Pike Place Market. It was 1970 and the beginning of history. You can get some coffee at pretty much every food venue in Pike Place Market, and you can get it pretty much immediately. But if you would rather stand in a line that winds halfway down the street, you can get a cup of coffee from the first Starbuck ever.

Next, we made our way to Pier 59 and the Seattle Aquarium. There we defied CDC recommendations and mingled in large crowds indoors – we were masked of course, but the CDC still frowns on our actions. The Aquarium was well done, and we got to see lots of marine life. The best were the animals we had seen so predominantly when we were in Siberia, like Puffins and Guillemots – it really brought back some really nice memories.

Well, our week with the family had to end sometime, and we will make our way back to Vegas. However, the images of Seattle will be planted in our minds for some time to come.

Talk to you soon.

The fun goes on

Nick and Val had never been to Mount Rainier National Park, so we decided a road trip was in order. I thought that I had understood that seeing Mount Rainier was as rare as seeing Denali, but it turns out I was incorrect. On just about every day, we have been here we have gotten some misty views of the peak. But today was spectacular – absolutely clear as a bell!

Crystal Mountain Ski Resort is just outside the National Park. However, from the top of the ski runs, you get an awesome view of the National Park and the mountain. Fortunately, they have a gondola that services the ski hill in the winter that they open to tourists in the summer. We could not have picked a better day even if we were clairvoyant.

When we stopped in Yakima Washington to visit the Woman’s friend Annie, we had stayed in an RV park in Naches WA. Naches is where the Schneider Springs Fire has erupted, and is currently engulfing over 4,000 acres, although Annie and Rocky in Yakima are out of harms way. But from the top of Crystal Mountain, we could see why the reports we are hearing daily is that the fire is uncontained.

When driving from Yakima to Redmond we went through Chinook Pass, specifically because we knew that the Pacific Crest Trail wandered through that pass, and there was a parking lot at the pass. Sadly, we went through on a weekend and there was no chance of parking a motorhome with a towed vehicle. Luckily the pass was only about 10 miles from the entrance road to Crystal Mountain, so we made a side trip to give the Woman her needed PCT boost of adrenaline.

We rented a car so we could get all of us in and made a road trip to Leavenworth Washington. Founded in 1892 as a result of the construction of the Great Northern Railroad. Originally a lumber town, it turned to tourism in the 60’s and essentially recreated a Bavarian Alps village. We walked all over town, took in the Alpine structures, visited a few shops and had Bratwurst and Bavarian beer for lunch. Fun was had by all!

On the way back to Redmond we went through Stevens Pass.

Googling the drive and things to see, the Woman had learned that the PCT passed through the town. So, we did the only logical thing – found a couple of underpasses that crossed the highway and began our search. It didn’t take long at all to find the trail on the North side of the highway, but I have to admit we never did find the trail on the South side.

Not too far further along US Highway 2 we came upon an information sign for Deception Falls. We didn’t know how far it would be to hike to, but figured we would give it a go. It turned out that you could hear the falls from the parking lot, and the stroll to get there was only a few hundred yards. The falls, made by Deception Creek, weren’t the most impressive falls we’ve seen by a bunch, but for next to no invested effort, they were a pleasant addition to our road trip!

Talk to you soon.

More family time

Just for the fun of it, we grabbed a ferry to Vashon Island. It was only a short ferry ride, but the experience was what we were interested in. We had big hopes of seeing some whales on the way, but didn’t even see any dolphins. But the breeze was nice, and the views of Puget Sound were awesome, even if the trip was uneventful.

We cruised the island and marveled at the real estate prices – immense! We hit a few shops, and then we stumbled on a light house we had never been to. Point Robinson Lighthouse was built in 1884 to help the ever-growing maritime traffic in Puget Sound. We had seen this before, but it was cool to see that you could stay overnight at the lighthouse keeper’s house. There were actually 2 units here you could stay in.

Karen and Albert are moving to a more suburban setting in the Seattle area, the town of Mukilteo. We stopped by to look at her new apartment complex, and grab some lunch at a very well-known and highly popular restaurant on the water, Ivars. Only a block from the restaurant stood the Mukilteo Light. Built in 1905 it served much the same purpose as the Point Robinson Lighthouse.

That night we headed to T Mobile Park to watch the Seattle Mariners play the Tampa Bay Rays. The Park was fabulous except that it was packed – here’s us in front of Ken Griffey Jr. Sadly, I learned about the new extra innings rule recently implemented by MLB. If teams are tied at the end of the 9^th inning, each team goes into the 10^th inning with one of their men on 2^nd base. This is the stupidest rule I have ever heard of – baseball is dead to me!

Talk to you soon.

Family time!

We took advantage of spending family time with Karen and Albert. Nick and Valerie took a week off from work and flew to Seattle to join us in fun and games. Our first stop for fun and games was the infamous Seattle Space Needle. We hopped right into the elevator and headed right up to the observation deck.

Built as an attraction for the 1962 World’s Fair held in Seattle, this 605-foot observation deck was state of the art at the time it was built. The space age theme is everywhere in the structure, as Yuri Gagarin had just successfully been the first human in space in April 12, 1961. Since then, many much taller structures have been built, many of which we have visited. It turns out that now, even the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas is taller than the Space Needle.

We then headed to the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum. Born in Tacoma in 1941, Dale Chihuly became world famous as a glass sculptor, and ultimately chose to locate his biggest collection of work in his home state. Although many might think he had a special relationship with Las Vegas due to all his works located there, his heart was always housed in Washington.

We next hit the Museum of Pop Culture. The Museum is housed in one of the buildings originally built for the World’s Fair, and contains displays focused on popular cultural exhibits. There were lots of guitars played by famous bands and individual artists. We breezed through an exhibit of dresses and clothing from famous Disney films, which Karen totally loved. It was nice that Chris Cornell, guitarist and lead vocalist for Soundgarden and Audioslave, gave us a warm welcome at the entrance.

We hopped on the Seattle Monorail, also built for the 1962 World’s Fair, and wended our way to Pike Place. Although all of us except Nick and Val have been here before, you can never get to much of this multilevel building full of interesting shops and restaurants. Only here can you see 50-pound salmon flying through the air as the are thrown by the guys working the iced display cases to the sellers working the crowds. Somewhere new to all of us was lunch at Lowell’s. Opened in 1957, great food is coupled with outstanding views of Puget Sound and all the activities going on there.

Despite what we have always believed, apparently it isn’t totally impossible to catch a glimpse of Mount Rainier. It seemed like most everywhere we went today – including from the top of the Space Needle – we caught some really clear and beautiful views of the mountain. While hidden much of the time by clouds, Karen tells us that views like these are not as rare as I had believed.

Talk to you soon.