It’s morning and we’re in mourning. Our last day in the USA and we are in Redding, California. Only a few hours drive to San Francisco airport. We have most of the day as the rental doesn’t have to be returned until 5pm.

I hadn’t realised when booking the return flight what the signficance of the day would be. In New Zealand [and nearly every other country] we place the day before the month and year so it would 11/9. But not in the USA it’s 9/11. And of course there was the time zone, lose a day gain a day, when flying. Just hope the security is not going to be too paranoid, although that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Our stay at Cottage Grove on Tuesday was very pleasant, hotel in 14 acres of gardens. There were lots of covered bridges in the area which we visited. On arrival at Village Green Resort the receptionist asked if we’d like to upgrade for an additional $7. Silly not to. It saved us over $100 and included breakfast, 2 mains and a bottle of wine with dinner.

We had to make alternative travel plans on Wednesday. There was a large forest fire which closed a main road to Crater Lake. Luckily I’d seen a sign the day before telling traffic to detour. Now when you want to find out anything do not rely on the radio, there’s no news or information! Don’t bother visiting the Forest Ranger HQ they know nothing, even when it’s their forest burning less than 100 miles away. The receptionist at the hotel new nothing about it either, but she did phone the highway control who did know the road we wanted to go on was closed! The detour of an extra 50 miles wasn’t bad.

Crater Lake is worth visiting and we would have detoured any amount of distance to get there. We have been here before but actually staying at the lodge was a new experience and worth the extra money. It is perched on the rim of the caldera, Crater Lake is a “very” large volcano. Shelley was disappointed that the restaurant had run out of berry cobbler dessert. She had been going on and on about how she was going to have berry cobbler at Crater Lake after our meal there last time. Luckily our dinner last night had dessert. Thank goodness for 3 profiteroles stuffed with cookies, ice cream and topped off with cream. A cholesterol nightmare but Shelley was very contented.

Coming down into California the temperature kept rising and the haze from forest fires was worsening. The lakes appeared to be very low. When we arrived at the hotel in Redding the carpark was full of fire trucks. They have been staying most of the season in hotels around Redding fighting the 400 or so fires in the area. They were drawing water from the lakes to fight the fires that’s why they were nearly dry.

Well that’s it, only about 14 hours before boarding our flight home and the end of a wonderful vacation traveling nearly 9000 miles [14400 kms].

Crater Lake

Covered Bridge

Arch, John Day Fossil Beds, Oregon

Horses and Mt. Hood, Oregon

Nice view in Oregon

Stayed last night in a small town called Prineville, Oregon.

Saturday we had a nice drive from the Oregon coast to The Dalles which is a town on the Columbia River. It must get depressing with the amount of fog that rolls in along the California, Oregon coast.

We stopped in Portland for an hour or two. Thought this is a lovely city. Travelled along the beautiful bush clad hills skirting the Columbia. Lots of scenic vistas and waterfalls. The scenery changed dramatically when we arrived at The Dalles. It transformed into rolling hills and no trees.

Stayed in a really nice motel called the Cousins. Very farm orientated in the reception / dining area. The sounds of mooing cows, crowing roosters, tractors in the dining room. They also have a small saloon where you can eat small buckets of complimentary “real” peanuts and throw the husks on the floor. Happy hour was pretty good as well, oyster shooters for $1.50 each.

Sunday unfortunately was another cloudless day and hot!! We had a long day driving from the The Dalles to Prineville via the John Day Fossil Beds. There are actually thousands of acres where fossils literally fall out of eroded cliffs or are dug up by amateur or professional paleontologists. Some of the lands are protected under the National Parks, no touching or removal of anything on pain of severe fines. But some areas are open to the public. One place is a town called Fossil, appropriately named. Just behind the High School, and that’s not easy to find in this very small town, is a place you can chip away at some rocks and expose leaf and insect fossils millions of years old. It’s not that difficult because I managed to do it. I should add there’s a $3 donation to the school for this activity, small price to pay for a great souvenir.

The scenery in the John Day area is wonderful, from the river, tall crumbling cliffs, barren land to the spectacular Painted Hills which have reds, blacks, white and greens oozing out of them. All this area was and still is being formed by volcanic activity. Mt St Helens isn’t far to the north and Mt Hood’s shadow followed us for quite a distance.

I have to add that I tried a beer last night that I’m still not sure if I like or dislike, but it’s different. Budweiser and Clamato. Basically beer and tomato juice in the same can!!! Unusual to say the least, would I have it again? Probably not.

We also had dinner in a diner last night and our server would have to have been the oldest employee in the USA. But she was good and entertaining. Mind you, there were a lot of years of experience there.

We’re off to The Dalles, on the banks of the Columbia River, via Portland this morning.

From our entry back to the States we stayed at beautiful Lake Crecent in the Olympic NP. The Lodge was a little run down but the scenery and food certainly made up for it. Bambies were grazing right outside our room.

Down the west coast of Washington, still in the Olympic NP, we visited tidal pools with large starfish and sea anemone and lots of driftwood. Not really wood but huge trees.

Must tell you that we visited a very nice restaurant in Dungeness. Cannot go to this area of Washington without having the crab. And very, very nice it was!!!!

Off to Mt Rainier, no clouds and it could be seen for miles. A really beautiful mountain and National Park. Lots of wild flowers, waterfalls and glaciers. Could have stayed here for days but we had other plans. Mt St Helens was a spectacular scene of devastation, even after 28 years. Trees snapped and twisted like match sticks lying in the direction of the blast. Still a little eerie and thankfully the mountain behaved herself while we were there.

Our accommodation was rather rustic in the shadow of Mt St Helens, no power, but propane lighting and heat. The cabin even had a propane fridge and a herd of elk as neighbours.

We drove along the Columbia River to where it meets the Pacific Ocean and crossed the 4 mile Astoria Bridge. There is a reconstructed fort just outside Astoria called Clatsop, very well done with authentic displays and people in period costume. Down the rugged Oregon coast to Pacific City and a wonderful cabin at Cabin Kiwanda RV Resort.

Bambies Lake Crecent

Mt Rainier

Mt St Helens

Astoria Bridge

On Sunday we drove down to Port Alberni. They had a salmon festival on which we didn’t really think was very entertaining. Big salmon cookout, weighing in the caught fish and karaoke.
Stayed at a lovely b & b called Cedar Woods in the town. Very knowledgeable hosts who suggested we visit a number of places. We are going to have to come back to Vancouver Island!!!
One place we did have time to visit was Stamp Falls Park. Beautiful waterfalls in a small canyon. Walk past the sign below the falls that reads “Do not go past this point” and you come to a fairly safe deep water hole. Jump in and you’re swimming with huge salmon for free! The river flow can be quite swift at times and the rocks slippery. The water was clear but the salmon were so fast they were difficult to photograph. It was fun just watching them leaping out of the water.
There are fish ladders installed to make it easier for the salmon to climb the falls and there were lots of salmon waiting their turn to make that journey.
Black bears are quite often seen at low tide near town but bears haven’t been accommodating on this trip so we didn’t see any!!

Yesterday we drove down to Victoria where we caught a whale watching cruise [Springtide tours]. Traveled just over an hour up past the San Juan Islands where we spotted a transient pod of Orca. There were 6 killer whales including a 2 day old calf. We stayed with them for about an hour before we had to head back to port via seabird and seal colonies. Very experienced crew and knowledgeable, not only of whales but the area as well. The bear watching out fit we went on could take a few pointers from them.

Must also mention a small town called Coombes. It is famous for a building that has a fantastic food market. But on the roof live goats. The roof is soil and grass with shelter for them. An unusual sight but very popular with the tourists, including these two!

Catching a ferry back to the USA this morning.

orca

Orca spy hopping

Shelley watching the salmon

Baby fish

Well!!
A little bit of a disappointment to say the least! Major anti-climax!
We went on a grizzly bear safari yesterday. Had booked with Hurricane Jack but because of circumstances beyound his control we were placed in the care of Discovery Marine Safaries. I think I would have been happier with Jack.
Left the dock at 1pm returning at 9pm. Traveled from Campbell River on Vancouver Island to the Orford River [2 hour trip] in The Bute Inlet on Mainland BC, Canada. Two boats, very comfortable, with 11 people on each. Our skipper, although quite young, was very responsible. Traveling to Orford River we passed some spectacular water features that occur because of the narrow channels, strong tidal currents and underwater rocks. Huge whirlpools, that just get bigger depending on the tide and standing waves.

On arrival at the river we were met by three grizzlys at the estuary, very promising. On landing we were met by 2 members of the local tribe [they have the rights] who ferried us around in 2 small buses between viewing platforms and areas where smaller rivers met we could stand on rocky / sandy beaches waiting to view these huge animals. We waited and waited, moving on only to wait some more.

Well we better head back as our 3 hours on the mainland was nearly up. Just about to arrive at our departure point when a juvenile [about 3 years old] walked out of the bush in front of our bus. My god Americans are loud and that probably didn’t help at our other viewing areas, they can’t shut up!!! No matter how many times they were told. Shut up, you’ll scare it away. Another thing, no flash photography, so they were flashing away! The bear was walking toward the bus, stopped directly in front, then it decided to take to the bush circling around us. We all clambered out of the safety of the bus to stand on the road waiting for it to reappear. I should say safety was paramount at all times and at no time were we put in danger. The guide had a loaded gun whenever we left the bus.
It did come out again behind the bus, gave us a cursory glance then ambled off.
I had come to see grizzlys eating salmon, I’d seen grizzlys before and closer. We were both pissed off.

Realisation set in on our trip back to Campbell River, these “are” wild animals. They don’t have a set timetable when to appear. We were fortunate to see them at all, the scenery was beautiful, it really wasn’t that bad a day.

I must add that our 3 night stay at Herons Landing has been great, wonderful breakfast and huge suite. More of an apartment really.

Grizzly

Grizzly off bus

We had an early start yesterday morning to catch the ferry from Vancouver to Vancouver Island. It took 2 hours and even though the weather was overcast the sea was calm. Drove up to Campbell River, lots of warnings about wandering wildlife on the roads. There are 4 to 8 vehicle accidents an hour in Canada due to animals on the road. Here they have an Elk fence both sides of the freeway to prevent wandering animals.
Campbell River is larger than I thought and I’m sure there’s something in the water!! Or it maybe the long winters and a lack of vitamin d. Some people are just vacant, the lights on but no one’s home!!!

Went fishing this morning on Discovery Pier. Hire a rod, buy a day licence and catch some kelp. Snagged a few, the adrenalin runs, reel in a big piece of kelp! A young guy next to me screamed that he had a salmon, only to find out he was snagged on something big. Good fun though. Someone this morning had caught an 18lb salmon. Over 30 lb are common but not this morning.

Just returned from our Adventure with the Salmon!!!!!!
Destiny River Adventures were & are fantastic!!! From the greeting, outfitting, professionalism, knowledgeable guide they are great. Made you feel at ease, even though it wasn’t a major white water excursion.
We drifted through a canyon where there were lots of silver darts beneath the surface of the Campbell River. Onwards over some minor rapids to an area where I could jump in. Wait for that exhilarating thrill when cold water comes in contact with the male anatomy, nothing!!! It wasn’t that cold OR was it the anticipation of seeing the salmon. BOTH!
In and out of the water 3 times in 2 hours and not even a shiver! I was wearing a half a wet suit.

I would love to say I have plenty of fantastic photos [used an underwater digital camera] only to be so excited by the number and size of the salmon I accidentally turned off the camera. I thought I was still taking photos, happily clicking away. Dick head!!!! I think I had one of those vacant moments!!!
Been there, done that, even bought the t shirt!

I must admit seeing an animal / fish in their natural environment is very special. But I still like to see salmon on my dinner plate!!

Swimming with the salmon!!

Shelley loving the experience

Leaving Walla Walla we drove through lots of orchards [not many vineyards] to a lovely Bavarian, yes Bavarian town in the Mountains of Washington. Hanging baskets, murals, bavarian buildings and food. I’ll spare you the photo of me eating a bratwurst. Delicious as it was!

Yesterday we drove through more orchards past a city called Wenatchee, the apple capital of the world, and it probably is. Apples, pears and lots of other fruit. We literally drove for hours past these orchards. Finally arrived at a western town by the name of Winthrop. It’s in the Methow Valley at the base of the Cascade Mountains. Stayed in a cute little cabin on the banks of the Methow River, we didn’t want to leave!

Today we drove over the Cascades, couldn’t see much. You’ll be pleased to know it does rain here! On the Western side of the mountains it cleared up. Had an easy transit through the Canadian border and decided to proceed onto Vancouver. Lovely city but the drivers seemed eratic. Drove around for a while then onto our hotel at Tsawwassen, small town by the BC ferry terminal. Had a nice surprise when we checked as I was their special guest. An upgrade to a suite. Far to large for 2, not complaining though, especially the spa bath with its own rubber ducky. There is also a seperate bathroom, 2 large tv’s. Unfortunately the fridge was empty and we had to stock that. There was a goody bag of fruit, cookies etc which Shelley confiscated. Not a bad day as Shelley received a very good review for her latest release, Assasin. The hotel restaurant is very good. Finally some food like home.

Have to get up early to catch the ferry to Vancouver Island, 2 hour trip.

Shelley at the hitching post, Winthrop

I'm a surprised guest

Enjoying a bubble bath with friend!

In Walla Walla, Washington, sounds Australian, but it’s native American. A wine growing area so Shelley may wish to visit some vineyards today on the way to Leavenworth.

Had a beautiful drive through the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway yesterday. Hells Canyon is the deepest in North America, not as impressive as some we’ve seen. Joseph is a really nice small town along the way with impressive Wallowa Lake nearby. The Wallowa region is compared to the Swiss countryside and rightly so with lush green pastures and magnificent mountains.

Had lunch in Joseph, which in hindsight we thought wasn’t necessary [following photo tells the story].
Managed to fit in a really nice Mexican meal last night, oh, and a couple margaritas to wash it down.
Not much to write about really, except I did buy some shoes in Joseph. There is a very good store that caters mainly to the fly fisher people. They have these sandals that have interchangeable soles. So now I can use the same shoes to travel to golf, change the soles to sprigs and play golf in them.

See yah.

new sandals

small sandwich

A door stop, book ends or a sandwich. They don’t appear to know small!!!

Wallowa County

We’re in Halfway, a lovely little town in Eastern Oregon on the Hells Canyon Scenic Highway. The people are so friendly, it’s like how communities used to be, don’t lock your car or house. Mind you, without being to rude, it is “halfway” to nowhere.

After my last post we went out for dinner in Jackson, but on the way we had to stop in at the Million Dollar Bar. Saddles for bar stools, great once our bums and thighs became accustomed. Next day we drove to Hagerman, another fossil site. They have found lots here including many horses, but not as we know them, much smaller.
Our dinner last night was far too much, but couldn’t complain about service or price. US$16 for a huge T bone steak and $11.95 for cod [4 fillets!!!].

Today we’ve driven to Halfway via Ontario [not Canada but Oregon] where we stopped for breakfast. Very exciting as a local Mexican fast food joint had smoke billowing out of its roof. State Troopers, ambulance, firefighters were all promptly on the scene. Seemed to be under control so I bought a Lotto ticket. At the time we were next door at the gas station filling up. Just clocked over 5000 miles today.
We also visited Baker City, they were having a farmers market so we stopped. In actual fact it was an exhibition of old cars, even modified golf carts, a lot of time and money spent on them.
Just outside Baker City is the main interpretive site for the Oregon Trail. The pioneers came across from the east in wagon trains to settle the West. 121 days to travel 1900 miles, 1 in 10 died. Must have been hell.
The interpretive centre was fantastic, from actual wagons to the displays and dioramas. A must see. It was far too hot to walk the 2 miles to see the actual wagon ruts, we may see some later. When we got back to the car the temperature was 102f. It’s a bugger when at home it’s winter and raining!!!!!

Just showed a Canadian, staying where we are, our photos. He was envious that we saw a grizzly in Yellowstone. He must be over 50 and has never seen one!!!!

saddle bar stools

Shelley sitting on the saddle stools in Jackson, Wyoming

Bull Moose in Teton

Had to put another photo of the bull moose!!

Oregon Trail

Oregon trail wagons

Last night, Tuesday, we went to the rodeo. Great fun. Very professional. It only lasted 2 hours but there was bareback, saddle, bull riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, roping and there were kids chasing calves that had ribbons on their tails. There were also clowns. The cowboys and girls travel anywhere up to 48 hours to compete at the Cody Nite Rodeo.

We drove into Yellowstone from Cody where we passed a large meadow full of fire trucks, tents, porta loos, and firemen to fight the forest fire on the border of the park. We later found out that they are going to let it burn out naturally, unless it posses a risk to the Park or buildings. It was exactly 20 years ago to the day that a huge forest fire decimated Yellowstone, over one million acres of forest destroyed. The re growth is very slow. Luckily the wind was kind and it hasn’t affected our stay in Yellowstone.

We’ve seen bison, lots of bison [no threat of extinction there] to the extent that they roam across the road holding up traffic. They are not tame, each year a number of stupid tourists get the ultimate close up and are gored in the process. We saw a fox, coyote, badger, bald eagles/osprey, trout, bambies and tourists. We did see a grizzly bear that was sleeping off its meal of bison. That carcass was about 20 metres from the bear which was hidden by long grass. Every now and then it would stick its head up and did get up and wander around for a few seconds before laying down again. There must have been about 40 cars parked along the verge of the road trying to take photos. Waste of time as the bear was more than 200 metres from the road. The Park rangers were trying to keep the traffic moving but sightings are rare so everyone wanted to see. They have their own policing within the National Park service and watch out if you exceed the speed limit. Besides, if you travel too fast you’ll miss the scenery and wildlife.

After an early start we revisited the grizzly site and the bear was ripping apart the carcass for breakfast. Much more impressive than the previous day. We also heard wolves but didn’t see them. We drove around Yellowstone and saw Old Fathful being faithful, doing geyser things. We didn’t see much wildlife until we were about to exit Teton National Park where a bull moose was grazing in a creek. We’re at Jackson Hole tonight. It’s touristy and expensive. Imagine Queenstown meets Rotorua.

Bear Feeding At Yellowstone

Moose in Teton National Park