Redwoods Nat'l Park, Ca. August 29 & 30

Ocean and earth is home to a forest of giants.  This Park is a nursery for the world's tallest things.  They only grow here because because of the moderate, almost Mediterranean climate.  They don't have to protect themselves from nature's extreme temperatures, so they can grow to enormous proportions.  These Coast Redwoods grow up to 370 ft. or more.  Their grow to 22 ft. in diameter and are 2000 years old.  This is not the prettiest park we have seen, but it may be the most impressive.  We travelled more than 180 miles out of the park and we saw Redwoods the whole way.  Amazing that a giant can grow from a seed as small as a tomato seed!  Recent studies suggest that rising, global temperatures are changing regional fog patterns, which are necessary for their growth.  A long-term decrease in fog would severely impact the coast redwoods' ability to outlast periods of extreme drought.  A single old-growth coast redwood tree consumes up to 500 gallons of water a day!  From October through April, a high pressure area sitting atop the North Pacific drives a series of winter storms onshore, dumping the majority of 60-80 inches of annual rain over the region.  There is more about this but I don't want to write a book.  We are headed for San Francisco and will see you all there.

Redwoods

Stewart State Park, OR August 27 & 28

Well, this is farewell to Oregon.  We had a great last 2 days here.  Yesterday was a laid back, biking, walking, reading day.  The weather was beautiful.  Today was overcast with a few raindrops.  High of 62.  We explored the park and outlying area.  We visited a fish hatchery where the salmon are raised to be big guys.  We watched some rafters on the river freeze to death.  Then for supper we found a little cafe in the park that had chicken and ribs and also a cute little country band.  That was so much fun! 
We saw some of the most beautiful and largest pine trees.  So many different varieties. Surrounded by mountains, meadows and lakes and bordered by ocean beaches makes this one of our most memorable experiences.  We will forever remember this area with profound fondness.  We love you Oregon!

Stewart State Park, OR

Crater Lake Nat'l Park, Oregon August 25 & 26

Wow! We arrived at Diamond Lake campground which is a very popular place for boating and fishing. We did not have reservations here and were a little nervous that we wouldn't be able to get in. They had one lot left for our size rig and it was perfect! It was a big lot overlooking Diamond Lake and we fell in love with the area. The smell of pine was wonderful and we couldn't get enough of it, along with the pure spring water that everyone tried to gather in their containers. I kept filling my water bottles and took some with us. The temperature was 98 degrees when we arrived, but it was not humid so it wasn't too hot. The temp. went down to 55 degrees when we woke up the next morning and it only got to 66 for the high. We drove to Crater which was breathtakingly beautiful! We had a clear day to see the park and it was spectacular. There aren't enough poetic words in the English language to describe this lake. It is another volcanic mountain. So much mass blew out of the cone that the mountain had no support and it collapsed. As the volcanic activity subsided water began to collect. Springs, rain and snow began to fill the caldera. As the lake deepened and widened, evaporation and seepage balanced the incoming flow. The depth now varies less than three feel annually in this, the Nations deepest lake. The color is so blue, that is doesn't look real. The maximum lake depth is 2000 ft. The width is 6 miles in this lovely 183,224 acre park. We drove the rim and had a picnic overlooking one of the scenic overviews. It was a great day! Love G.&S

Sunset Bay Campground, Oregon August 24

This was not one of our best days. We got up to get ready to leave and I had left the ignition on in the car and you know what that means. George charged the battery and on our way to Crater, we took a curve too fast and everything fell out of the refrigerator and last but not least, I lost the binocular case that carried my daughters expensive binoculars. Oh hell, life happens, even when you are living your dream, right? But, I would say that with everything we have seen and done on this trip, that is just a little glitch.
We arrived at the camp and saw some beautiful things. We visited a Botonical garden that was out of this world. And then we saw an island with so many seals and sea lions we couldn't believe it. If you see a picture of a big rock with black bumps on it, those are our seals. Cute, huh? This is a beautiful area. Still a little chilly, but their Fall comes early to these parts. I miss the Fall season back in Ohio, so I guess I have to come to Oregon to see Fall.

Crater Lake Nat'l Park