Alaska Sunday XVII

Trip Log - Part II

May 31 - June 12

The second installment of the trip log of 'The Drive from Texas to Alaska and Back'.

As mentioned previously, this log does not contain too much commentary. It is mainly sequential locations, dates, mileage traveled, photographs showing the trip progress, and how the landscape changed. The Alaska Trip Log is divided into two week intervals (parts) and I am posting it on consecutive Sundays. Past and future posts of Alaska Sunday (apart from the trip log) will have more detailed information, and more photos of each specific area. A small number of the photographs were previously posted when describing specific locations. Most are new photos not previously seen.


We resume our trip after staying 4 nights camped at the mouth of the beautiful Klamath River. We had originally planned to stay here just 1 night, but plans change. Our only goal for this trip was 'to wade in the Arctic Ocean' and tentatively 'to return home by Sept 1st'. As you can see from the Part I trip log last Sunday, this was a magical area with the color of the Pacific and the beautiful drives through the giant Coastal Redwoods and drives along the cliffs on one lane dirt "roads?" overlooking the Pacific with it's wildlife, ocean views, and a profusion of wild flowers.

So, we'll finish May and on to the month of June.........

Be sure to click on the photographs for full screen views.

One last photo before we leave California. After we returned home, I was lamenting the fact that I did not have a photo of a Douglas Iris from the trip. Martha informed me that she had found one on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean and photographed it. Sure enough, buried in the 18,000 photos was this beauty. Thank you Martha.

Douglas Iris
Also known as:
'Thompson's Iris' on the CA-OR Border

Click here for more information on this rare and interesting plant.

5/31 Klamath, CA to Union Creek, OR 219 mi

Crater Lake - Early Summer
Not your typical photo of Crater Lake

The road to the visitor's center had just been opened by snowplows through snow 10 feet deep in places. As you can see from the photo, some of the lake's surface was frozen. The lake has only been frozen over completely twice. Click here to see an article on its history of freezing. Most of the campgrounds and RV parks in the Cascade Range were not open for camping this 'early' in the year due to the deep snow. WOW, all that snow and to think it was 105^oF when we crossed the desert just a week ago.


6/1 Union Creek, OR to Fairview (Portland), OR 272 mi

Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Oregon
Abstract Beauty in a Stark, Harsh Environment

Click here for info on Newberry NM.


6/2 through 6/4 Day Trips out of Fairview, OR 488 mi

Columbia River Gorge
Martha held the umbrella while I made the shot. Team Photo.


Mount Rainier, Washington


Just in time for the Portland Rose Festival
Washington Park, Portland, Oregon

6/5 Fairview (Portland),Oregon to Hammond (Astoria),Oregon 75 mi

Ft. Clatsop National Monument, Oregon
Where Lewis & Clark spent the winter of 1805-1806

Near the mouth of the Columbia River at the Pacific Ocean
Martha is pointing to the Pacific
Click here for information on the site.
I know it's not a beautiful scenic photo, but it had always been a dream of mine since I was a child to see where they found their goal and where they camped during this hard winter.


6/6 Day Trips 60 mi
Columbia River, Pacific Beach, Lewis and Clark sites.

Cape Disappointment, WA
Lighthouse

The lighthouse is visible on a small headland, just inside the mouth of the Columbia River which makes a sharp right hand turn, after entering the mouth of the river. This small spit of land juts out into the Columbia from McKenzie Head. It is part of Ft. Canby State Park. There is a lighthouse (North Head Lighthouse) across McKenzie Head on the Pacific side (no photo).

Looking back across the Columbia River toward Clatsop Spit in Oregon.
Click here for information.

Map of the Entrance to the Columbia River

6/7 Hammond, OR to Port Angeles, WA 550 mi (long day)

Oyster Shells

Now I know where those sacks of oyster shells, at the Farm Store, come from.
This was one of many 25' high mountains of shells near Aberdeen, WA.


6/8 Day Trip to Hoh Rain Forest 160 mi round trip

This is where Martha found her big tree.

Sitka Spruce
Rain Forest Monarch

6/9 Port Angeles, Washington by Ferry to Victoria, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada
25 car miles, 30 miles by Ferry (MV Coho) to 'Ft. Victoria RV Park'

Looking back to Washington in the Rain
Ferry Crossing - On the Strait of Juan de Fuca

6/9 Day trip to the beautiful Butchart Gardens 25 mi

6/10 Day trip to Witty's Lagoon Regional Park, Vancouver Island 25 mi

We had a great day at Witty's Lagoon and walked down to the beach. We could see across the Strait, with cruise ships navigating the strait, and the majestic Olympic Range rising above the clouds. Lots more about Vancouver Island can be seen at the excellent site of Island Rambles. Click here.

View Across the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Olympic Range

6/11 Toured the beautiful city of Victoria and visited Sidney to pick up Ferry tickets. 50 mi.

6/12 Rest Day. Martha did laundry, cooked a nice lunch at the camper, and took a nap.
I organized photos, burned DVD's, answered e-mails, and also took a nap.
It was a beautiful RV Park and nice to have a rest day. For dinner, there was a five star restaurant just down the road.

That's all for Part II of the log.
5173 miles to date.

Part I of the Trip Log is here.

If you are enjoying the log and/or the photographs, leave a comment.

Also, please let me know your favorite photo.

Next Sunday, back to the Mainland.

Thanks to Martha for keeping such good records.

Photography by Troy and Martha

Lewis and Clark Bridge

Across the Columbia River


The Lewis and Clark Bridge, which is a cantilever type, spans the Columbia River between Longview, Washington and Rainier, Oregon. It is the only bridge spanning the river between Portland and Astoria, Oregon, and is located 66 miles (106 km) from the Pacific Ocean. This photo was taken from the west along U.S. Highway 30.

Lewis and Clark Bridge

The bridge was open on March 29, 1930 as a privately owned bridge named the Longview Bridge. The $5.8 million cost was recovered by tolls, $1.00 for cars and $.10 for pedestrians. At the time it was the longest and highest cantilever bridge in the United States. The state of Washington purchased the bridge in 1947 and the tolls were removed in 1965 after the bridge was paid for. In 1980 the bridge was rededicated as the Lewis and Clark Bridge in honor of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The deck was replaced in 2003–04 at a cost of $29.2 million.

View of Bridge Construction from Inside
Martha shot this through the front windshield.
Remember in an earlier post, the moral to the story was,
"Keep the Front Windshield Clean"

The bridge is 8,288 ft. (2.5 km) long with 210 ft. (64 m) of vertical clearance. The main span is 1200 ft. (366 m) long and the top of the bridge is 340 ft. (104 m) above the river. It was designed by Joseph Strauss, engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge.

For a sense of scale and perspective, notice the large red cargo ship on the Columbia River and the herd of Black Angus cows in the pasture.

River Traffic at the Port of Longview and Bridge

Map showing the location of the Lewis and Clark Bridge, Longview, and Columbia River.

Topo Map

Have you ever crossed this bridge?
Have you ever crossed this river? Where?
Leave a comment.


For more Bridges, head over to Runes TX-Blog

Photos by Martha
Map by Troy
.

Vermillion Cliffs and Victim

V.

Victim of Time and Ravages by the Elements
(Click on the photographs for best viewing)
by Martha

You know how Martha likes B/W. I think she did a good job on the B/W,
considering it was heavy overcast with rain and not much contrast.

It was photographed at
Newberry National Volcanic Monument
Deschutes National Forest
Oregon

In November of 1990, Newberry National Volcanic Monument was created within the boundaries of Deschutes National Forest. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service, this monument provides a unique opportunity to view the Lava Lands of central Oregon.

Newberry National Volcanic National Monument includes 50,000+ acres of lakes, lava flows, and spectacular geologic features in central Oregon. The highest point within the Monument is the summit Paulina Peak (7,985 ft.), showcasing views of the Oregon Cascades and across the High Desert. The summit area of Newberry Volcano holds two sparkling alpine lakes full of trout and salmon.

Vermillion Cliffs
by Troy

The above photo is a composite of two photographs to produce the panorama. Notice Highway 89A in the bottom right hand corner for perspective and scale. This route by the cliffs is the only east route of get to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

The Vermilion Cliffs are the second "step" up in the five-step Grand Staircase of the Colorado Plateau. Reddish or vermilion-colored cliffs are found along U.S. Highway 89 and U.S. Highway 89A near Kanab, Utah (and near Navajo Bridge in Arizona).

We stopped at Navajo Bridge to photograph the rafts on their way down the river. We were also looking for the California condor. They had been seen in this region. We didn’t see one here but we did see and photograph one on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was a small dot on the photo, but we did get a look with our binoculars.

The Cliffs extend from a location near Page, Arizona and west for a considerable distance, in both Arizona and Utah. 112,500 acres (455 km²) of the region were designated as the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness in 1984, and an even greater area was proclaimed Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in 2000. Famous locations in the cliff area include Lee's Ferry, Glen Canyon (a national recreational area), The Wave, Coyote Buttes, and others.

The cliffs sat astride an important route from Utah to Arizona used by settlers during the 19th Century. The area was thoroughly explored by the Mormon pioneer and missionary Jacob Hamblin who started a ranch at the base of the cliffs in House Rock Valley. Modern U.S. Highway 89A basically follows the old wagon route past the cliffs through House Rock Valley and up the Kaibab Plateau to Jacob Lake.

The Vermilion Cliffs are made up of deposited silt and desert dunes, cemented by infiltrated carbonates and intensely colored by red iron oxide and other minerals, particularly bluish manganese. In the spring, after a good winter rain, the valley between Highway 89 and the Vermilion Cliffs will be covered with a carpet of desert mallow and other spring flowers.

To play, visit ABC Wednesday, mrsnesbitt's place. Click here.

Troy and Martha

Columbia River

Sky Watch Friday

Rain over the Columbia River

Columbia River
Vista House on the view point to the right

Click on the photograph for better viewing and
click on the links to learn more about this region and some of its history

This is one of my favorite spots in the Pacific Northwest. I can just imagine Lewis and Clark viewing the mighty Columbia River.

The expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark is one of my favorite historical subjects.

The Columbia River (known as Wimahl or Big River to the Chinook-speaking natives who live on its lowermost reaches) is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It is named after the Columbia Rediviva, the first ship from the western world known to have traveled up the river. It stretches from the Canadian province of British Columbia through the U.S. state of Washington, forming much of the border between Washington and Oregon before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The river is 1,243 miles (2,000 km) long, and its drainage basin is 258,000 square miles (670,000 km²).

Measured by the volume of its flow, the Columbia is the largest river flowing into the Pacific from North America and is the fourth-largest river in the United States. The river's heavy flow, and its large elevation drop over a relatively short distance, gives it tremendous potential for the generation of electricity. It is the largest hydroelectric power producing river in North America with fourteen hydroelectric dams in the United States and Canada.

The Columbia and its tributaries are home to numerous anadromous fish, which migrate between small fresh water tributaries of the river and the Pacific Ocean. These fish—especially the various species of salmon—have been a vital part of the river's ecology and the local economy for thousands of years.

Volcanic activity in the region has been traced to 40 million years ago, in the Eocene era, forming much of the landscape traversed by the Columbia. In the Pleistocene era (the last ice age, two million to 700,000 years ago), the river broke through the Cascade Range, forming the Columbia River Gorge.

The river and its drainage basin experienced some of the world’s greatest known floods toward the end of the last ice age. The periodic rupturing of ice dams at Glacial Lake Missoula resulted in discharge rates ten times the combined flow of all the rivers of the world. This happened as many as forty times over a thousand-year period.

Water levels during the Missoula Floods have been estimated at 1,250 feet (380 m) at the Wallula Gap, 830 feet (250 m) at Bonneville Dam, and 400 feet (120 m) over modern Portland, Oregon. The floods' periodic inundation of the lower Columbia River Plateau deposited rich lake sediments, establishing the fertility that supports extensive agriculture in the modern era. They also formed many unusual geological features, such as the channeled scablands of eastern Washington.

A mountain on the north side of the Columbia River Gorge, likely a result of the Cascadia earthquake in 1700, in an event known as the Bonneville Slide. The resulting land bridge blocked the river until rising waters tunneled through and finally washed away the sediment. In 1980, the eruption of Mount St. Helens deposited large amounts of sediment in the lower Columbia, temporarily reducing the depth of the shipping channel by 25 feet (7.6 m)

I hope you have enjoyed this piece of history and geology of the area.

To participate in Sky Watch Friday visit Wiggers World.

Troy and Martha