Collier Logging Museum

On Monday we visited the logging museum at Collier Memorial State Park, about 30 miles north of Klamath Falls.

This is an outdoor museum that displays antique logging equipment from 1880 to current. There is also a pioneer village with nine log cabins that were relocated to the site.

It was a beautiful day for a walking tour of the museum in the forested foothills of Crater Lake.

Critters Among Us

A friendly bat chose our rear sunscreen for his roost.

This gopher snake preferred the cool shade under
our gas grill propane bottle.

This doe likes to hang around and sometimes taste our flowers.

This elegant Blazing Star wild flower sprouted
within eight feet of our hummingbird feeder.



A Mountain of Glass

Not far from where we live is a little known geologic formation called Little Glass Mountain. This mountain is accessible by traveling about 20 miles of California back roads, some gravel, through the Modoc and Klamath National Forests. Little Glass Mountain is not really that little. Just over a thousand years ago lava oozed from the Medicine Lake Volcano forming this mountain almost 8,000 feet tall. As lava moved slowly down slope, it built up a spectacular high flow front of broken obsidian and pumice. Glass flows are an uncommon and intriguing phenomena. As pictures commonly cannot show we stood in amazement looking at more obsidian than we had ever seen in our lifetime, in fact more than we ever thought existed on the planet. This place must be a geologists dream come true.

The one mile trail head begins at the edge of a Forest Road
The flow is thick, nearly 100 feet high.

The summit of Little Glass Mountain in the background. 



The black glass is obsidian and the grey rock is pumice. We stayed on the trail for safety, since the glass is as sharp as razors.



Red hues are the result of weathering or oxidation during eruption.



A large chip out of an even larger obsidian boulder

Virginia had a hard time not over collecting rocks.
Her nickname was Lucy (The Long Trailer).

Obsidian mounds piled up as if by African termites.

We ended our tour with a late lunch at Medicine Lake
inside the caldera of the same name.

Oregon Coastal Loop Trip - Columbia River Gorge

After driving through Portland we started our tour of the Gorge driving east. The Vista House on Crown Point was built in 1918 as a rest stop for travelers on the old Columbia River Gorge Highway.

It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. At 733 feet above the river it provides one of the best views of the River Gorge.
The inside of the dome was painted to simulate marble and bronze. The Rotunda is surfaced in rare Alaskan Marble.

View of the Gorge from Vista House

We drove up a spur road to Larch Mountain, elevation 4,055. After hiking the last half mile to the top at Sherrard Point, we had views of five Cascade Mountains; St. Helens, Rainier, Adams, Hood and Jefferson.

View of Mt. Hood from Sherrard Point 
on Larch Mountain

One of the main attractions of the Gorge is its scores of cascading waterfalls. Many can be viewed from the river road while others require a hike.

Latourell Falls

Wahkeena Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Horsetail Falls

We spent a few hours touring the Bonneville Dam and Locks. There are two powerhouses on this dam, the south one completed in 1938 and the north one completed in 1982. There are two fish ladders with

underwater viewing windows. We also took a drive through the volunteer campground located on an island. We noticed they had seven very nice full hook up pads. This may be an opportunity to consider for the future.


Parts of the Columbia River Gorge can receive consistent 30 mph winds for days on end. That's why windsurfers and kiteboarders gather here.

On our second day in the Gorge we took a Fruit Loop side trip in the scenic Hood River Valley. The Fruit Loop took us by 35 miles of orchards and over 30 farms. Some farms let you pick your own.

The Hood River Valley produces Anjou, Bosc, Comice, and Bartlett pears, as well as apples and peaches, and a full assortment of berries. We hit peach season dead on but were a little early for the pears.

Panoramic view of the Hood River Valley
with orchards and Mt. Hood in the background.

The Dalles Lock and Dam

We turned south from the Gorge at The Dalles and returned to our home base at Tulelake via US 97. We stopped for a picnic lunch at Peter Skene Ogden State Park and viewed side by side the historic and the new bridge over the Crooked River Gorge.
This concluded a fabulous ten day loop tour.

Oregon Coastal Loop Trip - Mt. St. Helens

Many of us remember the eruption of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980. It is a 52 mile drive from Interstate 5 to the end of the scenic road and the world renowned Johnston Ridge Observatory. We spent an entire day stopping at all four visitor centers, picnicking and hiking.



Trees splintered by THE BLAST

Coldwater Lake
Created by the eruption.

Oregon Coastal Loop Trip - Astoria

Friday midday, after securing the last available ($$$) room in Seaside, we drove up to Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, about five miles south of Astoria. Our first stop was at Fort Clatsop where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark spent the winter of 1805-06. The Corps of Discovery was an expedition sent out by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the Missouri River and establish the most direct water route to the Pacific Ocean.

We explored the Fort exhibit and visitor center and watched an orientation film titled "A Clatsop Winter Tale". The Corps saw only six days of sun during their Fort Clatsop stay, sure glad our day was sunny.

On a tall hill in the heart of downtown Astoria sits the Astoria Column. Erected in 1926 to commemorate the exploration and settlement of the Pacific Northwest. This concrete column at 125 feet tall stands high above the Columbia River. The 164 step spiral staircase takes you to a 360 degree panoramic view. Vincent Astor, great grandson of John Jacob Astor, along with the Great Northern Railroad, commissioned this monument.

View from the top of the Astoria Column

The wreck of the Peter Iredale at Fort Stevens State Park is a 278 foot sailing vessel that ran aground in 1906. This is one of over 2,000 ship wrecks at the treacherous mouth of the Columbia River.

The Columbia River Maritime Museum is located in downtown Astoria, right on the Columbia River. The museum focuses on exploration, salmon fishing, the shipping industry and the Coast Guard.

We saw many historic Coast Guard and fishing vessels. Galleries highlight fur trading, fishing on the Columbia, and discuss the Columbia's reputation as the graveyard of the Pacific.We also explored the

Lightship Columbia, the last seagoing lighthouse to serve on the west coast. A lightship is a floating lighthouse that remains anchored in one place to mark the entrance of a dangerous river. This Lightship was in service from 1951 to 1979. We really enjoyed this museum spending an entire morning there.

Oregon Coastal Loop Trip - Lighthouses

One thing we found true traveling the Oregon Coast is you are always on your way to a lighthouse. Here are pictures of our favorites.

Coquille River Lighthouse
Bandon

Umpqua River Lighthouse
Reedsport

Heceta Head Lighthouse
Florence

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse
Newport

Yaquina Head Lighthouse
Newport

Cape Meares Lighthouse
Oceanside

Favorite sunset view