Vynsane's Travelogue: Pacific Northwest Edition

[vynsane]

So, another year, another roadtrip. This time, our (second) annual roadtrip took us on a loop around the Pacific Northwest. We flew into Portland, OR and headed for the coast from there, driving at least two-thirds of the way down before heading inland for Crater Lake. We then drove across the state and into Idaho, staying in Boise for a night, then a yurt in the Idaho City backcountry at an elevation of about 6,500 feet. From there, we entered Montana and visited Big Hole National Battlefield, stayed at a ranch outside of Dillon, MT and then drove north to Glacier National Park where we slept in a Tipi. We then drove across the plains of eastern Washington state to get to Seattle, then up to the Olympic National Forest with a stop in Forks, WA for my "Twilight Mom" wife. We then drove south towards Mt. St. Helen's and back to Portland for our flight home. All in all, 16 days and ~3000 (I think) miles.

My 4000 pictures from last time pales in comparison to this year - I took ~12,000 pictures. I've been going through them and have started posting them to flickr. Some of you may have seen them, but I'll post a smattering of them here as I post over there. I will also be adding them as albums by city/area to the collection "Pacific Northwest Roadtrip" and as albums by state to the collection "50 States".

We hit the Portland Farmer's Saturday Market at Portland State University the first morning


Onions by vynsane, on Flickr


Berry Vendor by vynsane, on Flickr

and then walked around town a bit on our way to the Saturday/Sunday Market on the bank of the Willamette River


right of way by vynsane, on Flickr


Silverman by vynsane, on Flickr

Of course, we ran into a bunch of superheroes on our way to Voodoo Doughnut, because Portland.


Stay Weird, Portland by vynsane, on Flickr


Signs by vynsane, on Flickr


Selections by vynsane, on Flickr

We finished the day with a hike down the Wildwood Trail in Macleay Park to the abandoned "witch house" (former ranger station/bathroom).


Wildwood Trail, Macleay Park by vynsane, on Flickr


Wildwood Trail, Macleay Park by vynsane, on Flickr


Wildwood Trail, Macleay Park by vynsane, on Flickr


Wildwood Trail, Macleay Park by vynsane, on Flickr


Wildwood Trail, Macleay Park by vynsane, on Flickr

[vynsane]

The next day we drove east to Multnomah Falls, a 620' waterfall touted as the tallest in Oregon. The falls are divided into an upper (542') and lower (69') drop with a 9' elevation drop between the two. There are multiple vantage points along the trail to the top, including the footbridge that spans the lower falls.


Multnomah Falls by vynsane, on Flickr


Multnomah Falls from the I-84 parking lot by vynsane, on Flickr


Multnomah Falls by vynsane, on Flickr


cloud claw by vynsane, on Flickr


Trees, Multnomah Falls Trail by vynsane, on Flickr


Top of Multnomah Falls by vynsane, on Flickr


Columbia River, OR/WA by vynsane, on Flickr

[vynsane]

No comments, anyone?

After Multnomah Falls we drove back through Portland on our way up the Columbia River towards Astoria, OR which is the northern-most point in the state. On our way we got a good view of the south-west side of Mt. St. Helen's:


Mt. St. Helen's by vynsane, on Flickr

before arriving at Astoria, where we climbed the Astoria Column:


Astoria Column, Astoria, OR by vynsane, on Flickr


Astoria, OR by vynsane, on Flickr

We ate dinner at a small pub in Seaside, OR, and afterwards I saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time in my life.


U Street Pub & Eatery by vynsane, on Flickr


Tsunami Evacuation Route by vynsane, on Flickr

They're a little flippant about the whole Tsunami thing...


That's more like it by vynsane, on Flickr


Ocean Mist by vynsane, on Flickr


Cormorants by vynsane, on Flickr

[Mantisking]

No comments, anyone?

Too stunned to say anything.

[vynsane]

HA! Thanks. In that case...

We stayed in a nice little updated classic motor inn in Manzanita, OR - the Spindrift Inn. It has a central courtyard that all the rooms have access to, where the owners have planted a well planned out garden. You can tell the owners have poured their heart and soul into the place.


Spindrift Inn sign by vynsane, on Flickr


Spindrift Inn central courtyard by vynsane, on Flickr


Daisies by vynsane, on Flickr


Flowers by vynsane, on Flickr

That morning I finished off all the leftover doughnuts from Voodoo Doughnut then we headed slightly north to Cannon Beach in order to see Haystack Rock. It was incredibly foggy when we got there but it cleared up later. The sea life clinging to these rocks was visible at low tide, and it was amazing.


Misty Morning at Haystack Rock by vynsane, on Flickr


Misty Morning at Haystack Rock by vynsane, on Flickr


Muscles by vynsane, on Flickr


Sea Stars by vynsane, on Flickr


Alien Ravine by vynsane, on Flickr


Lined Shore Crab by vynsane, on Flickr


Needles in the surf by vynsane, on Flickr


Haystack Rock and Needles by vynsane, on Flickr


Haystack Rock and Needles by vynsane, on Flickr


Haystack Rock and Needles by vynsane, on Flickr

And here's a great picture of the sea stars that my daughter took!


Orange P. ochraceus Sea Star by vynsane, on Flickr

[vynsane]

After Cannon Beach, we drove down the coast to Seaside, OR to see Cape Meares Lighthouse. On the way, I had to pull over to the side of the road because of this view:


shrouded by vynsane, on Flickr

Once we got to the lighthouse, there was a short hike along some seaside cliffs


Seacave by vynsane, on Flickr


Cape Meares Lighthouse by vynsane, on Flickr

From the lighthouse, you could see the Pacific Ocean for miles. The closest rock formations are known as Pillar Rock and Pyramid Rock


Pillar Rock and Pyramid Rock by vynsane, on Flickr

The next closest is Three Arch Rocks


Three Arch Rocks National Wildlife Refuge by vynsane, on Flickr


After that, we continued on to Depoe Bay, the self-proclaimed "smallest bay in the world" for some whale-watching (as well as harbor seal watching):


Oh! A human! I wish I had my camera... by vynsane, on Flickr


Thar she blows by vynsane, on Flickr

That was the best pic I could get of the Gray Whale. We saw it a few times, and this was the closest it got to the boat.

[SpaceViking]

No comments, anyone?

Too stunned to say anything.

Yes. These are great. Thanks for sharing.

It's nice to see that Seaside hasn't changed all that much in the years (decades? has it been that long?) since I visited. Seaside was my first ocean fishing experience. Thanks for triggering the memories!

[vynsane]

^ Thanks for the kind words, and glad you could revisit some old haunts through my pictures!

[Mantisking]

After Cannon Beach, we drove down the coast to Seaside, OR to see Cape Meares Lighthouse. On the way, I had to pull over to the side of the road because of this view:


shrouded by vynsane, on Flickr.

This? This is a fantastic picture.

[brickarmor]

You lucky devil. My wife and I took a 3 week trip through Oregon and Washington many summers ago. It remains my standard for happiness. I am not a photographer, and I select a few photos here almost at random. Enjoy the rest of your trip! And go to Crater Lake, it's worth the drive.

[vynsane]

This? This is a fantastic picture.

Thanks! Yeah, it was quite a sight.

^ Nice! We did go to Crater Lake - we're actually back home now for about two weeks, I just haven't gotten through all my pics yet.

[StClair]

I love the Haystack Rock pics and "Shrouded". Great photo's.

[vynsane]

^ Thank you!

Following the whalewatching tour we drove a bit back up the coast to have dinner at Mo's, a local seafood chain, in Taft Historic District of Lincoln City, OR.


Monstrous Driftwood by vynsane, on Flickr


winding shoreline by vynsane, on Flickr

There were a lot of people hanging out on one side of the Siletz Bay inlet while on the other side there was obviously some grouping of some kind of animal, but even with my 200mm zoom I couldn't exactly make out what they were.


stay on your side by vynsane, on Flickr

It was only after I had dumped the card for the day that we found out it was a group of easily 100 Seals or Sea Lions!


Sea Lion Point by vynsane, on Flickr

From there we drove back down the coast to catch a glimpse of Cape Foulweather, which is a volcanic basalt outcropping on the coast with a precipice about 500' above sea level, overlooking the town of Otter Rock.


Southward view of Otter Rock, OR from Cape Foulweather by vynsane, on Flickr


remnants by vynsane, on Flickr


steep by vynsane, on Flickr

We then drove to the other side of Otter Rock, OR to see the Devil's Punch Bowl, a sea cave that had collapsed and caused a large circular formation where the tides will fill up then drain out.


Devil's Punch Bowl, low tide by vynsane, on Flickr


Devil's Punch Bowl and Gull Rock by vynsane, on Flickr


Pacific Ocean from Devil's Punch Bowl by vynsane, on Flickr


Gull Rock mono by vynsane, on Flickr


pacific by vynsane, on Flickr


Yaquina Head Lighthouse by vynsane, on Flickr

As we were soon to head away from the coast, I had to get a shot of one of these signs that we saw all along the journey thus far:


Tsunami Hazard Zone by vynsane, on Flickr

The designer of that one has a sick, twisted sense of humor, to show the poor guy scrambling up a sheer rock face in a vain attempt to escape doom.

[Brickbuilder0937]

I really like that Otter Rock view, I set it as my desktop wallpaper.

[vynsane]

^ Awesome, thanks!

[vynsane]

The next morning we woke up in Florence, OR and drove south a bit to Sandland Adventures for a pretty awesome ride on a sandrail over the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.


rad ride by vynsane, on Flickr


Oregon Dunes by vynsane, on Flickr


Oregon Dunes by vynsane, on Flickr

Afterward, we headed back up the coast to the Sea Lion Caves, one of the largest natural sea caves in the world, renowned for the Stellar Sea Lions that use it as a hang-out. There are two viewing areas - one inside the cave and one about 300' above the shoreline that looks down upon a rocky outcropping they use for sunbathing.


Sea Lion Caves by vynsane, on Flickr


Sea Lion Caves by vynsane, on Flickr


Sea Lion Caves by vynsane, on Flickr

There are also plenty more shoreline vistas to be seen from both inside the cave at the northern entrance, as well as to the south from the overlook deck.


Shoreline, Heceta Head Lighthouse by vynsane, on Flickr


Heceta Head Lighthouse mono by vynsane, on Flickr


slice by vynsane, on Flickr

striation by vynsane, on Flickr

[vynsane]

After the Sea Lion Caves, we returned to Oregon Dunes to hike to the shore on the John Dellenback Dunes Trail. I was incorrect in associating the last pic with the Sea Lion Caves, it is definitely part of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, taken from an observation deck where we met some friendly Park Rangers that helped my daughter get her first Junior Ranger badge of the trip.

We had a quick picnic lunch at one of the tables provided along the upper trail, and had a visitor in the form of a Steller's Jay, who swooped down onto the table to look for anything we dropped the second our feet hit the trail proper.

Steller's Jay by vynsane, on Flickr


dune grass by vynsane, on Flickr


dune flowers by vynsane, on Flickr


dotted dunes by vynsane, on Flickr


voracious by vynsane, on Flickr


beauty amidst the bramble by vynsane, on Flickr


dune path by vynsane, on Flickr

At this point we headed inland to our next stop at Crater Lake. On the way, right off Rt. 38 (Umpqua Highway) is a Roosevelt Elk viewing area. We spent a great deal of time at the viewing area, seeing a large herd of about 40 elk from quite a distance. After we decided to leave the area, we rounded a bend and noticed a car pulled off the side and the people were outside, looking to the right of the road. There we saw another, smaller, herd which was much closer:


Roosevelt Elk by vynsane, on Flickr

Roosevelt Elk by vynsane, on Flickr

We also saw many points along the drive where it looked like they had given the sides of the mountains and hills a buzzcut:

strip logging by vynsane, on Flickr

[Katra]

I've been watching your trip report with interest. I live in Springfield OR and have spent a lot of time on the Oregon coast. I was particularly glad to see the pics of live sea stars - this spring the news was full of how most of them were dying of some disease.

[quote="vynsane"] I was incorrect in associating the last pic with the Sea Lion Caves, it is definitely part of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, taken from an observation deck where we met some friendly Park Rangers that helped my daughter get her first Junior Ranger badge of the trip.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/oTy8UN][img]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5561/150 ... d98c_z.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/oTy8UN]striation[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/people/43266097@N03/]vynsane[/url], on Flickr[/quote]

Presuming you meant this picture it was taken from the side of the highway about a mile south of Sea Lion Caves. (Just before the road goes inland from the beach.) Not a part of Oregon Dunes.

[vynsane]

Hi, Katra, thanks for the info - looking at Google Maps, it looks like you're correct, the inlet lines up with what appears to be Quarry Creek that feeds into Lily Lake. I've repositioned the geotag on that pic. It's been hard to place some of these!

[vynsane]

We got to our motel outside of Crater Lake late that night


office by vynsane, on Flickr

And headed out early the next morning in order to hike down Cleetwood Trail, the only legal access to the water level, to make the first boat tour of the day. The early morning was rather hazy from a distant wildfire, so the earlier pictures have a pretty ethereal quality to them.

One of two islands inside the caldera lake, Wizard Island is the only geologic formation large and safe enough to allow hiking. It is a cinder cone resultant of volcanic activity inside the lake some time after the caldera was initially formed by a massive eruption about 7,700 years ago.


Wizard Island by vynsane, on Flickr

As we were making our way down the trail, we saw another group of hikers exploring off-trail. They probably weren't supposed to do that, but it made for some cool shots that really evoke a sense of scale. The top of Mount Scott is visible just beyond the rim of the caldera:


precipice II by vynsane, on Flickr

Basically, everything was blue that morning:


blue by vynsane, on Flickr


hazy reflection by vynsane, on Flickr

The clarity, as well as the color, of the water was astounding. The waters of Crater Lake are some of the purest because of the absence of pollutants. Clarity readings from a Secchi disk have consistently been in the high-20 meter to mid-30 meter (80 to 115-foot) range, which is very clear for any natural body of water. In 1997, scientists recorded a record clarity of 43.3 m (142 ft).


clarity by vynsane, on Flickr


cobalt by vynsane, on Flickr