Rocky Goes to Alaska

Day 98, 31 August 2015

Bellingham, WA

So what do you do in Bellingham, Washington when it’s raining? Why go to the Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro, of course, and sample their brews, as well as have a scrumptious lunch. We also drove around town to explore the waterfront and lake areas. And, when the rain slowed down, we even hiked around Whatcom Falls Park. It was a nice relaxing day to take it easy and provision at the Safeway.

Brews and lunch at Boundary Bay

Rainy waterfront

Whatcom Falls hike

Whatcom Falls trail

Whatcom Falls

Day 99, 1 September 2015

Bellingham, WA to Puyallup, WA 127 miles

We got a little further south in the rain.

Day 100, 2 September 2015

Puyallup to Mt Ranier National Park 141 miles

Bright sunny morning gave us some optimism, thinking that our trek to Mt Ranier might have some clear views, and since the route was a National Scenic Byway, we did enjoy the drive. But the fog, clouds, and rain on our way to the Sunrise Visitors Center put a damper on our enthusiasm. We drove to Sunrise, since it is at the highest elevation (6400 ft) that one can drive into the park in hopes to see Mt Ranier. Visibility there was basically zero. We continued into the park, though, to see Tipsoo Lake and hiked up to the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail that crosses the road at Chinook Pass, albeit some light drizzle. The PCNST is over 3000 miles long and stretches from Mexico to Canada. We continued through the park towards Paradise and, to our surprise and delight, the sun peeked through, the clouds moved past the mountain, and there she was – Mt Ranier - reminiscent of trying to see Denali in Alaska. The Paradise Visitors Center is very nice, with several displays of the active volcanoes in the Cascades (of which Mt Ranier is one). Mt Ranier has 25 glaciers, not bad for an active volcano. This park was established in 1899. It was the fifth national park in the US. Al was here in the 80s, and the trail to the ice caves from Paradise was awesome. Alas, the ice caves are now gone, due to the retraction of the glaciers. We spent the night in the Cougar Rock Campground in the National Park, with a view of Mt Ranier through the trees.

Road to Mt Rainier

Some nice cliffs seen out the rainy windshield

More nice scenery along the way

Falls only trickling due to severe drought

Very foggy view of mountains

Hiking a tiny part of the Pacific Crest Trail

Pacific Crest Trail crossing the park road

White River gets its color from the sediment

View of Mount Rainier from Cougar Rock Campground

Day 101, 3 September 2015

Mt Ranier National Park, WA to Culver, OR 326 miles

From Mt Ranier, we headed to Mt St Helens. This mountain is also an active volcano which was quite active during 2004-2008, and particularly in May of 1980 when it blew its top and side, destroying everything in its path from Spirit Lake down for miles. Today, the vegetation is a bare remnant of what is typically the flora around. They established a National Volcanic Monument in 1982, after the big blow, in order to preserve the remnants and the process of reclamation to learn about the way things grow back. From there, we headed south into Oregon, through the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Byway and then south towards Bend, OR. The forestation disappears and the desert begins once one heads east and south. Amazing the difference in the scenery. From Mountains and Douglas Firs to brown grass and rolling hills, somewhat like the brown grass and rolling hills of California in the summer. We passed through several small communities, with hillside homes, the Deschutes River flowing through, and rafters heading downstream through the rapids – it’s actually a state recreation area.

Columbia River

Columbia River Gorge

Crossing the Bridge of the Gods

What Mt St Helens looks like today

Visitor Center trail at Mt St Helens

Day 102, 4 September 2015

Culver to Crater Lake National Park 152 miles

We discovered Smith Rock State Park – a rock climbing paradise, with lots of trails to explore. Several climbing groups were preparing to scale different routes. The north entrance to Crater Lake National Park was open, after recently being closed for a forest fire. Scorched trees and earth were evidence of the fire. Crater Lake was formed when the mountain blew its top about 7700 years ago, leaving a huge, deep crater, then filled with water from rain and snow. It’s the deepest lake in the US, and supposedly, the cleanest. Rim Drive is a 33-mile road that encircles the lake. It’s very scenic, in both directions. We took the West Rim along the narrow, winding road without a guardrail, and a very steep drop off. Funny how it gets cloudy and rainy when we tour parks. But the view was still great. We saw Discovery Point, where a gold prospector stumbled across what he called “Deep Blue Lake.” The Watchman Overlook offers a great view of Wizard Island, a volcano inside the volcano, that erupted out of the lake about 7300 years ago. We also took the East Rim as far as the Pinnacles spur. The spires left after the ash eroded were formed by volcanic gases rising up through a layer of ash, cementing the ash into rock. On the way was the “Phantom Ship, “ an island resembling a small sailboat, although it’s 16 stories high, made of erosion-resistant lava over 400,000 years ago – this is the oldest exposed rock in the crater. The rain changed to snow. We camped inside the park at Mazama Village. We called for a reservation earlier in the day and were told that all the electric hookups were reserved. When we arrived at the end of the day, we discovered that some of those sites were indeed available, and we got one – at half price, since we were card-carrying seniors. Sometimes it’s nice to be a little older.