Lake Siskiyou, Layfayette, then home

  Lovely Mt. Shasta

Near our campsite at Lake Siskiyou

We arrived back in California under rainy skies, although they were just local showers. Driving down Highway 97 through Weed, we caught our first glimpses of the beautiful, majestic Mt. Shasta, which has long been a beacon of "home" as we traveled south from northern vacations. That glorious sight means "you're almost home" to us!

We enjoyed our overnight stay at Lake Siskiyou campground, near the base of Mt. Shasta. The campground had nearly emptied out, as it was the 5th of July when we arrived, so we enjoyed quiet walks down to the lake, and stood quietly watching a family of young deer meander through the underbrush.

At one point in our walk, Sascha stood stock still, not even her tail quivering, as she and a young buck with velvety antlers just appearing gave each other the eye for several moments. Sascha sat down, looking intently at the buck, and after the buck seemed to regard her as "safe", he bounded away.

In the morning we headed south on Highway 5 and arrived in Lafayette, in the suburbs of the Bay Area, around 4pm, and had a wonderful evening with Joyce's brother and his family. Declan is about to embark on EMT training, so we were lucky to find him at home, and Aislinn is home from her first year at Georgetown University. It was great to be with the whole family, to catch up on family news and enjoy a great dinner with them.

Tuesday morning we left their home at 8:45 for the very last leg of our long journey, destination HOME at last! We stopped by Allyson's home for a couple of hours to get hugs from our family, and then headed home for the first time in eight amazing weeks.

We had missed our grandkids so much that the first thing we wanted to do was have a sleepover with our little girls! We enjoyed a fun evening of hot dogs and a tea party, followed by a movie and a huge bubble bath, and this morning a trip to the zoo together. It's great to be home after nearly 11,000 miles!!

The RV is empty, laundry almost done, and Sascha has remembered all her old haunts, especially curling up on the back of Bill's big leather chair for naps. We have been so blessed to see so many things and enjoy the company of people so dear to us across Canada and back! God is so good! Thanks for your interest and prayers for safe travels.

Sascha and this young buck gave each other the eye

Dragonflies at rest on a reed in the lake shallows

Last sighting of Mt. Shasta on a glorious morning

The lake waters are VERY low

Joyce's brother Al at his home in Lafayette

Al's wife Meg, daughter Aislinn and son Declan

...and home again to a tea party with our little granddaughters: Payton, 11, Cece, almost 3, and Gigi, 4

With Matt and Kimberly at Crater Lake over the 4th of July

 We had a great day hanging out with Matt & Kimberly enjoying the rim drive around Crater Lake. We stopped at the Lodge (built circa 1915) to wander through the great room out to the deck, lined with old rocking chairs, where we enjoyed our first view of the lake.
Even in the hot dry weather, the meadows were full of color from the wildflowers in bloom, and the stops we made to see the lake from many vantage points netted us several hundred photos.
We took a short hike out to the pinnacles to see the fantastic shapes of towers of hardened ash. After the largest volcano in North American history erupted, the ash settled and hardened in air vents from the magma flows and created surreal views, some of which looked like castles clinging to the nearly vertical hillside.
We finished up our tour with visits to Vidae Falls, with thousands of wildflower blooms that flourished in the spray from the falls, and to Annie Springs, where we re-filled all our water bottles with the freshest, purest, coldest water in the mountains.
"Home" again to the RV park, we celebrated the 4th quietly, watching fireworks in the distance as we watched the embers dance in our campfire, the last of our long journey.

 

 

One of the most photogenic sites in the world - Crater Lake National Park

The Three Sisters - North, Middle and South

 There are almost no words needed - or fully able - to describe the amazing beauty of Crater Lake. Every stop we made on our drive south along the West Rim provided yet another breathtaking view, and although there are thousands of tourists in the park this weekend, it was easy to find places to enjoy the unparalleled beauty of this place.
We're settled in to a small resort in Ft Klamath, awaiting the arrival of Matt & Kimberly; we plan a traditional cook-out of hamburgers and s'mores over the open fire at dusk. Meanwhile, sitting outside in the warm, sunny evening, we watched an eagle fly directly overhead. The fragrance of the huge pine trees will combine with our campfire tonight, and we'll sleep well as we dream of hiking in Crater Lake Park tomorrow!

Wildflowers blooming in the arid climate

One of the most spectacular places on earth!

So many cliff-side viewing spots

Picture perfect day! There were no special lenses, trick photography or photoshopping...it really is this blue!

Looking toward the East Rim

Sweet deer in the meadow of wildflowers

Out back of beyond

Jupiter in close alignment with Venus - did you see it?

A man, a river, and a hot day...Bill in the Spokane River

 Our trek homeward included a night in Coeur d'Alene with its beautiful lake, fed by the crystal clear Spokane River. I swam in the campground pool, and Bill opted to swim in the river the next day. Our neighbors were intrigued when we came out at dusk with binoculars and camera to view the alignment of Jupiter and Venus, a once in a lifetime occurrence. Our clear skies gave us a great way to see it, but our equipment wasn't powerful enough to see Jupiter's rings or moons.

Dust devils everywhere in eastern Washington

The first view Lewis & Clark had of the mighty Columbia

Hood River Park's great campground

 Driving from Coeur d'Alene to Walla Walla, we were struck by the drought conditions west of the Rockies. Everywhere we looked, we saw dust devils whirling through parched fields. Only in the river bottoms was there anything green and flourishing. Cattle huddled under shade trees to stay out of the 100 degree heat, and horses lazily flicked flies with their tails.
We found a lovely Army Corps of Engineers campground on the Hood River and spent a quiet night watching the sun set as tugs maneuvered grain barges on the far side of the river.
Morning found us crossing the great Columbia River that separates Washington and Oregon. We've been following the Lewis & Clark trail from South Dakota westward, recalling the stories of the Native Americans that helped them find their way from river to river, where the good portages were, where the mountain passes were easiest, and showing them how to survive in this inhospitable land. They must have rejoiced to see their first glimpse of the Columbia, knowing they had forged a path for future adventurers and settlers!
The northeastern quadrant of Oregon is high desert, but Highway 97 affords spectacular views of the mountain ranges to the west. We've seen them from Hwy 5 and from the air, but this was the first time to see Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson on the western horizon, a majestic sight!
North of Bend, Oregon, Highway 97 becomes much more heavily traveled, with commercial interests lining the road on either side, construction underway to widen and improve the road, and vacationers heading both north and south for the 4th of July holiday weekend. We stopped at a roadside stand and picked up fresh fruit and veggies for our weekend at Crater Lake, and found a Trader Joe's (our favorite!) to stock up on other groceries.
We missed my nephew and his wife by a day (they left for Chicago yesterday), so we're camped at a high-end resort in town (they have pavers at each site instead of plain old asphalt), with great trees, lots of room between RVs, and a laundry, where I'm doing our last loads before heading home.
We decided to take advantage of Bend's dog-friendly atmosphere and eat out, a delicious seafood dinner at Anthony's on the Deschutes River. The sun set and a wonderful cooling breeze came up - a lovely evening.
We're excited to spend a weekend with Matt & Kim, and Monday evening with my brother Al and his family in the Bay Area, and then HOME at last on Tuesday!

Sunset on the Hood River; moving huge grain barges downriver

Eastern Oregon (I'm a sucker for canyon highways!)

First view of misty Mt. Hood

Mt. Jefferson from the east

Evening in Bend on the Deschutes River

Many Glaciers

 We "broke camp" early - 7:30am - and headed up to Babb and on into Many Glaciers Hotel for breakfast. This wonderful hotel is celebrating its centennial, and still going strong as an outpost for tourists seeking a bit of the genteel lifestyle. We wandered through the hotel, snapping pictures at the phenomenal views outside every window, and enjoyed a lovely breakfast seated by large picture windows overlooking the lake.
It was a calm, quiet morning, and every view we had was of mountains reflected in alpine lakes.

 Wildflowers abound at this time of year, and the morning light was simply spectacular.
We drove around the southern perimeter of Glacier National Park, enjoying the views as we climbed through hairpin turns and descended into lovely valleys.
We arrived at the West Glacier entrance to the park, and the western terminus of Going to the Sun Road, around lunchtime, so we ambled up the road, stopping to photograph tumbling turquoise waters, mountain waterfalls and elusive bears, before stopping for a lakeside lunch.

One of the few remaining glaciers

 Bidding the park a fond farewell, we made our way south on the east side of Flathead Lake, with its beautiful vistas, homesteads with cherry orchards, and pine forests right down to the water line. A gorgeous afternoon, and a quiet campground tonight to rest up and savor all the sights we've seen. God is good!!
Now heading south and west...and on our way home with special visits with family along the way.

Many Glaciers Hotel

Morning reflections on a peaceful lake

Many Glaciers Hotel with many glaciers in the background

wild snapdragon...just one of many beautiful wildflowers!

Lake McDonald - peaceful and calm