Time to complete the Bucket List

We only popped out for the day. Three hundred miles later we returned. There is very little within a short distance in the USA. Our journey was to Crater Lake in the southern-central part of Oregon. Someone we met when in Romania suggested we visit the lake when in the States, and it did not disappoint.

The first view of the lake in all its glory is breathtaking. So are some of its walking trails, at least in the physical sense with its steep inclines. However, today was scheduled for admiring the lake rather than incorporating a workout.

The lake is situated in a volcanic depression, called a caldera. The depression formed 7,700 years ago when a 12,000 ft volcano, Mount Manama, erupted.

The oral traditions of local tribes parallel known geological details today, indicating that tribal ancestors witnessed the eruption. The area became a ritual site for the tribes and this remains today.

In the late 1800s European gold prospectors came across the lake and several names were given to it, until 1869 when a group of explorers called it Crater Lake. A later visitor in 1885, William Gladstone Steel, recognised its importance and campaigned to protect it. In 1902 his efforts paid off with the creation of the Crater Lake National Park. Entrance today to this extremely large site is $25, which covers visits for a week.

Streams do not run into the lake. It has been filled by centuries of rain and snow. (Forty-four feet of snow falls in the area each year.) Rain and snow, balanced with evaporation and seepage, maintains a constant level of water. The water is said to be so pure that clarity has been recorded 140 feet down from the surface. The lake is almost 2,000 feet deep and the maximum width is 6 miles. The drive around is 33 miles with plenty of stopping points.

Visitors can take a 2 hour boat ride around the lake’s only island, Wizard Island, accessed by a trail the equivalent of 65 flights of stairs down… and up! The boat trip is very popular and was sold out by the time we arrived there.

What is striking is the beautiful blue colouring, and the weather today could not have been better – clear, about 70F, with a gentle breeze. Life exists in the lake. A submersible found thick mats of bacteria thriving in the absence of light, and thick bands of moss stretching around the edges to a depth of 400 feet. The lake has also been stocked with rainbow trout and Kokanee salmon.

So why was our trip out so long today? Crater Lake was a considerable distance from our hotel but I thought it would be a good idea to take in the Klamath Lake. A mere 60 mile detour, but it too was worth it.

Tomorrow we leave for Eureka on the California coast, driving down the scenic highway 101.

Copyright: words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

We hugged the Pacific shoreline a little longer this morning to enjoy the views before we headed to the Interstate 5 Highway to break the back of our 300 mile journey from Depoe Bay to Medford at the southern end of Oregon State.

One hundred and sixteen junctions of the Interstate may seem daunting, but they did go fairly quickly and we passed the time being intrigued by some of the place names we saw along the way. These included the town of Drain (named after politician Charles Drain who donated land for the railroad in 1871. Current population 1,000); Wilbur (which brought back childhood memories of a pig in the wonderful book Charlotte’s Web); Hardscrabble Creek (a once popular area for early Indian tribes including Cheyenne and Sioux), and the unfortunate Jump Off Joe Creek (which refers to an accident of a young trapper in the 1830s). It was surprising how many National Park areas we passed through and the amount of greenery, especially trees in this logging region.

To add some inspiration at the end of this long trip we headed to Jacksonville. Not the well known town in Florida, but Oregon. This developed following the discovery of gold deposits in 1851. But when the gold ran out in the 1860s so did the economy. Today, this is designated a National Historic District. Some 100 of the original buildings remain, although most along the main strip are rather touristy in their content.

Jacksonville buildings are preserved as part of this National Historic District

The City Hall

We did, however, have our best meal yet in this town. An eclectic menu but, for once, not a chip, burger or battered fish in sight.

Then it was off to our hotel. We wondered why this is the first residence providing earplugs. We are based right next to a lorry/trailer park. Rather than Sleepless in Seattle, we are hoping we will not be Sleepless in Medford tonight.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

It was a change of scenery today as we continued our journey south some 100 miles to Depoe Bay on the Pacific Ocean. Busy towns gave way to wine growing regions, logging, hills, coastal views and, bizarrely, a full-size car hanging in a tree.

En route we passed through McMinnville which proudly stated on a road sign that its population was 33,810. It struck me that it must be somebody’s job to raise or lower that figure on quite a regular basis. The town is the home of fine wines, the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, and an annual UFO festival. It would have been interesting to stop, but alas Depoe Bay was awaiting us.

First thing to hit us upon arrival at Depoe Bay was the sea mist, looking like a cotton wool blanket over our hotel, which is situated a short distance from, what is claimed to be, the smallest harbour in the world.

Depoe Bay, the mist and its small harbour

The next thing we noticed was that this is a tsunami zone. Just 30-70 miles off this shoreline lies the Cascadia Subduction Zone, one of the largest active faults in North America. As our room overlooks the sea we would not have a chance if an earthquake happened and the resulting tsunami did arrive, so I think we would just have to enjoy (to our surprise) the secluded hot tub and champagne that awaited our arrival at our hotel, The Channel Inn.

A stroll along the coast soon revealed this is a whale watching region, the Gray whale breaching and blowing as it feeds on Mysid shrimp found at the edge of kelp beds along the shoreline. We took advantage of one of the many hour-long whale watching sailings. Well it was more of a very enjoyable boat ride for although the crew worked hard to get near to the whale these mammals teased us with just puffs of water. That is until we were about to dock and a huge Gray whale welcomed us back ashore. It was a lovely boat ride on calm seas, beautiful sunshine and a mild breeze. It could not have been much better.

So now for the hot tub and that Champagne, while we watch the whales and boats come and go. But we must keep a clear head. Tomorrow we travel 300 miles south along the coast and inland to Medford.

Copyright: words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

We went on the Portland downtown walking tour today which started in Pioneer Courthouse Square.

As our guide said, Portland, the city of roses, is not very innovative in naming its places so, Pioneer Courthouse Square was in front of, you’ve guessed it, the Pioneer Courthouse.

The Square has been a controversial issue in Portland and had only finally been built in the 1980s with the help of public donations. Those donating had their names immortalised on the floor of the square in the bricks.

Unlike most cities in the United States, the blocks of Portland are small so walking from 1st to 10th is not too arduous. The centre of the downtown area was moved from beside the Willamette River, further south and at that time the sidewalks were altered so that they were wider. This gives Portland a feeling of not being crowded even though there were many locals and tourist in the downtown area. Compared to London, it was pleasant not having to dodge around people.

As part of a regeneration plan for the city, builders are charged a 2% levy to support the arts, which has resulted in many sculptures being erected on buildings and along the streets.

We visited the Portland Centre for performing arts, the Oregon Historical Society and the City Hall. In the middle of the downtown area near City Hall are park areas which were originally separated so that the women had a park and the men had a park for recreational purposes. The reason for this was that in 1800 there were 12 men to each woman so this gave the women a bit of breathing space from male harassment.

Around the downtown area are themed litter bins with even a litter bin that has a solar panel to help recycle the trash that is put in it. There were charging points for electric and hybrid cars which were free to charge if you paid to park there.

The area by the river is now the Tom McCall Waterfront Park with the original buildings (that were occupied when the river was used for commerce) having been knocked down. Between 1st Avenue and the waterfront park is Portland’s, and probably the world’s, smallest official National Park which is literally a few feet across called the Mill Ends Park.

Portland downtown is nice and worth visiting although it does seem to have a very high number of homeless people on the streets. The city also stretches across the river and the total population is circa 650,000.

For those who saw the recent BBC show by Louis Theroux about polyamory, our walking tour guide was surprised that Portland was such a hotspot and thought that this was more likely to be practiced down the coast in Los Angeles or San Francisco. We were kept well away from the strip clubs, mentioned yesterday, on this tour. In fact the town has a very pleasant look and feel about it. There is also quite a lot to do on the outskirts, but we must move on. Tomorrow we are on the road again on our way to Depoe Bay on the Pacific Coast.

Rather than drive a direct route from Mount Rainier to Portland, some 135 miles, we decided to take in some scenery on the way. The Windy Ridge Viewpoint sounded attractive and seemed around half way to our destination. What we did not anticipate was that this site was up some very long and windy roads taking us a good few hours to reach. But the journey was worth it.

Windy Ridge has an elevation of 4,200 feet above sea level and looks out over the devastation caused by Mount St Helen’s volcanic eruption on 18 May 1980. The north face of the mountain collapsed sending searing avalanches of hot rock, gas, pumice and ash, killing everything in its path up to 17 miles from its centre. An estimated 520 million tons of ash spilled out from the volcano, enough to cover a football field 150 miles high. An ash cloud circled the globe for 15 days. Homes, bridges and roads were destroyed. Towns further afield were instantly put into darkness, and people lost their lives including David Johnston, a geological survey volcanologist who continued to take readings of the activity seven miles away at his observation post. Following the disaster and in recognition of his dedication an area was named after him, Johnston Ridge.

The Mount St Helen’s National Volcanic Monument, in which Windy Ridge stands, was established by Ronald Reagan in 1982 as a place for research, education and recreation as a result of the devastation caused. Today much of the land has been left as it stood after the eruption, while other areas are gradually being replanted. What surprised researchers was how nature has managed to re-establish itself. Some of the evergreen trees managed to survive having been buried under snow. Its Meta Lake was covered in ice at the time which protected its ecosystem. On slopes facing away from the eruption some plants and animals were protected by ridges and snow, all of which helped recolonise the landscape.

Our many photos taken today show some of that devastation as well as breathtaking views, making the extremely long detour (doubling our mileage) a trip worth taking.

Tonight we are in Portland and getting ready for a walking tour of the town in the morning.

Copyright: words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

We walked with giants today or at least under them at the Mount Rainier National Park. The 1.2 mile Grove of the Patriarchs’ trail leads visitors through one of the least arduous walks within the park. Giant trees, many 250 feet tall and some considered to be 1000 years old, tower above hikers. The tallest include Douglas Firs (named after Scottish botanist and plant hunter David Douglas); the Western Hemlock conifer; Red Elder with its attractive ash grey bark; and Cedars. Adding to the attractiveness of this trail is the crystal clear mountain waters of the Ohanapecosh river. Again we will let the photos do the talking.

Incredibly tall trees, and …

Mount Rainier National Park is huge, comprising almost 400 square miles, 97% officially classed as wilderness. Visitors can drive through the park (a $30 car charge lasts a week), call off at various visitors’ centres, picnic, stop off for photo opportunities at designated areas and trek along the many trails designed for all levels of fitness, including mountain climbing. The glacier-covered Mount is actually a volcano and when covered in cloud or not, offers many opportunities for photographers.

Tomorrow we head 150 miles to Portland. All I know about it comes from Louis Theroux’s TV programme last week where he focused on polyamory. I shall let you look that up, but basically the consensual sharing of partners. It seems Portland is the capital of this way of life, and also is said to have the largest number of strip clubs per capita in the country.

It is not everyday you meet someone who has climbed to the summit of Mount Everest. And it is even more rare to meet the climber who holds the Guinness World Record for climbing Everest in the fastest time. So one can appreciate how rarer still it is to have met the man who has also climbed Everest 15 times. Nepalese Sherpa Lhakpa Gelu broke the record in 2003, climbing the south side.

We had spent the morning driving 94 miles from Seattle to the Mount Rainier National Park to spend a couple of nights close by at a really nice wooden lodge with all mod cons. We decided to drop in at a local restaurant and upon leaving enquired why there were references to climbing Mount Everest and various clothing and equipment. It was then that the quiet and unassuming restaurateur told us that he had climbed Everest. When I asked how long it had taken, he was exacting with his timing – 10 hours, 56 minutes and 46 seconds. Lhakpa Gelu now lives in the US, keen that his children grew up with a good education. The life of a Sherpa is dangerous, and the more climbs that are carried out, the greater the dangers. It was an incredible chance meeting and without taking the opportunity to speak with others one never knows what interesting encounters one can have.

Our afternoon was spent in paradise. This could mean anything in this state with cannabis and marijuana being legal but actually, for us, it involved a visit to an area within the Mount Rainier National Park, named Paradise. And if this really is paradise there are parts of it I could happily spend an eternity in. Walking amongst wildflowers, looking at the incredible mountainous views and watching wildlife we had not seen before (including golden mantled ground squirrel, marmot and ptarmigan) were favourites. But if paradise is so darned hilly I want escalators added. Huffing and puffing up the mountainside only to climb down before going up again was not the gentle three hour stroll I was anticipating… but the views were incredible. We shall share some of the photos with you.

Our timing coincided with an abundance of wild plants in flower

Tomorrow we spend more time in this beautiful park.

Copyright: words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

Our main focus today was the Pike Place Market, about 10 minutes walk from our hotel and close to the waters edge of Elliott Bay. We had booked a culinary walking tour, which we find is a good way not only to learn about local cuisine, but also cultural and historic aspects. It is also good to meet tourists from other countries, and on this occasion there were 16 of us from different parts of America and from Holland.

Our introduction to the day was quite a shock. Our meeting point at Post Alley was in the middle of ‘Gum Wall’. This comprised two walls of the alley being covered in various colours of chewing and bubble gum. Whilst colourful from a distance, close up was the ugly truth of how it was formed.

We were told that the concept of sticking used gum to this wall started in the 1990s when patrons of the market theatre, in this stretch of Post Alley, were asked not to bring gum inside the building. Hence, they stuck the offending items on the wall outside before entering. A trend started for this behaviour. Coins were even placed on the top of each piece of gum at one stage to add a shiny finish, before someone came along and prised off the ‘lolly’. Attempts have been made to remove the offending items over the years, but as soon as the gum is removed, more gum is placed. It is now considered a tourist attraction.

Having come to terms with this, we headed with our food guide Joseph to a variety of food companies, mostly long-established family businesses. The market itself has quite a history having been in continuous operation since 1907 and in 1971 the seven-acre site was given official recognition and protection as a place of historical standing. Some changes have been made over the years, and especially to the wooden flooring which was becoming dangerously worn. To address this, sponsors were called upon to help replace the flooring with tiles. Each tile under the feet of today’s visitors has a sponsor’s name on it. Bizarrely, as John looked down he saw a sponsor with the same surname as his. What were the chances of this, especially for quite an unusual name?

We walked on, and found out that more than 300 companies and stall holders work out of this site. We tasted food from just a few each, it seems, has an interesting history. These included an 80 year old fish company whose owner set up the idea of ‘the flying fish’ whereby he threw fish through the air to a colleague at another part of the stall to speed up the sales transaction. We witnessed this today and by lunchtime there were so many onlookers that customers would find it hard to purchase. It was great for marketing, but we doubted the actual benefit for sales.

We watched cheese being made in big ‘baths’ at Beecher’s where we were able to taste 2 day old cheese curds; an 18 month aged hard cheese with a nice nutty flavour, and a really nice cheese sauce with pasta. The crowds lining up to purchase the cheese even at 10 am stretched right up the street, and this seemed to be typical of many of the most respected stall holders. The line outside Pike Place Chowder having clam chowder as one of its most popular dishes, stretched up the road and around the corner.

Starbucks too was popular with its shop in the marketplace considered its first outlet, but we were told this was in fact its fourth, but hey, who wants to disappoint the happy tourists taking their selfies outside?

My favourite of the day was Chuckar Cherries, whose owner inherited 8,000 cherry trees. Having such a number there was a need to find a way to preserve the fruit, but the aim was to do this without additives. A way was found, and today the company provides so many lovely and unusual cherry products many coated in chocolate, some with nuts, and with wine. From having a simple but quickly perishable fruit the company has developed an interesting and unusual range. Sadly it is not available in the UK, so we will just have to enjoy them while we are here!

Tomorrow we hit the road, heading to Mount Rainier.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2019

We were up early this morning mainly due to the effects of -8 hours time difference.

As we are in the home town of the US aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, we had booked a Boeing Factory tour to the nearby Paine Field. The tour consists of firstly visiting the ‘Future of Flight’ building next to the Boeing facility and then going with a guide to the largest building by volume in the world, where four types of Boeing aircraft are assembled.

The ‘Future of Flight’ exhibition tracks Boeing’s roots from 1916 all the way through to their more recent space work.

We then went on the 11am tour with 49 other people in our coach and another coach with the same number. We did not expect that the Boeing Factory tour would be so popular with more than 100 people going on just the 11am tour in two groups. Tours ran through the day.

Unfortunately, for health and safety reasons, Boeing does not allow any personal items such a phones and cameras to be taken on the tour so no pictures.

We visited the B767 and B747 assembly lines first. To get there, we all got off the bus at one end of the assembly building and walked through part of the many miles of tunnels Boeing has underneath and then went up in a lift to a viewing gallery overlooking the assembly line.

The B747-8 and B767 aircraft are now only made in freighter configuration which is no doubt very useful for one of Seattle’s other major residents, Amazon.

We then got back on the coach to travel to the far end of the world’s biggest building by volume, to visit the B787 and B777 assembly lines. Our guide extolled the environmental virtues of the B787, Boeing’s aircraft made of composite materials rather than aluminium, and we saw some freighter versions of the B777 on the assembly line.

Our guide had mentioned that Boeing was currently testing the new B777x and we were lucky enough that it was on the Paine Field runway right outside the Future of Flight building when we got back from the tour.

I bet some of you are wondering what our Boeing guide said about the recently grounded B737 Max aircraft. For those unaware of the story, the ‘Max’ is a new version of the very successful B737 aircraft for which Boeing currently has hundreds of orders but tragically two have crashed over the last few years and the aircraft type is currently grounded by the US Federal Aviation Authority.

Our guide, right at the beginning, said that there may be some things he was not allowed to talk about, so he didn’t. The only thing he said about the Max was that it was not assembled at this facility but at Renton, nearby.

If you are in Seattle, the Boeing Factory tour is worth going on and we were informed that it started when the first aircraft was made in 1916.

In the afternoon we walked to Chihuly Gardens next to the Space Needle viewing platform. We had heard of Dale Chihuly because of his exhibition of glassworks currently running at Kew Gardens (until 27 October). As we were in Seattle it would be an opportunity to see some of his diverse fine artworks at his own venue. These are exhibited both inside the buildings and in the gardens. Highly complex procedures are used to create his works, and it is testament to his skill and creativity that his glass installations are exhibited in more than 200 museums worldwide. We will let a few photos do the talking.

And we could not go to these gardens without visiting the viewing decks of the Space Needle. Built in the 1960s, it was well worth the visit as it gave quite a different impression of Seattle. From the ground the view is of busy roads, high buildings and ongoing construction, but from the tower much water can be seen at Lake Union and Elliott Bay, and there is much more greenery than imagined at street level.

Tomorrow we go on the ‘Food Tour’ around Pikes Place Market to sample the best of Seattle’s cuisine.

Copyright: Words and photos John Cruse

He’s a little shy but we felt it is an appropriate time to introduce everyone to Little Ted. He’s been travelling with us for four years and always gets into our photos, but to date he has been low key when it comes to social media. The thing is, he made such a hit with the BA staff today that we thought it was time to introduce him and share the photos with you.

The crew on the flight from Heathrow to Seattle were so taken by him that they took him to visit the cockpit and meet the Captain and First Officer, tour the First Class lounge and they even made a Superhero Ted outfit for him while he was away from us. They also showered him with a range of gifts and gave him his own travelling logbook.

I was a big hit with Customer Services Manager Shelagh

This is me with Simon and Nichola. We are on first names you know

Time to take control of the controls

I am now the proud owner of my Skyflyers logbook and 100 years BA celebration badge. Even my mum and dad don’t have these

So what did Little Ted make of all this fuss? He confided: “I had a super time away from my parents. I think I should travel First Class in future. The BA staff have given me a taste for it.”

Will you grace our travel blog with your presence in future LT? “Hmmm, that depends on what exciting plans my parents have for me. I am new to this social media thing, so it also depends on how many ‘likes’ I get for my appearance today. Do you think they will like me mom?” I’m sure they will love you Little Ted. Goodness, we haven’t even reached the US and he is taking on Americanisms.

Meanwhile his mum and dad had a good trip out, despite the threatened strikes and are much looking forward to their days in Seattle before heading to the west coast and south to San Francisco.

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2019