Salem Weekend: Silver Falls State Park

Sunday, September 1, 2019, Silver Falls State Park, Silverton, Oregon

On my weekend trip to Oregon in 2019, I took the day to go to Silver Falls State Park, and hike the Canyon Trail, also know as the Trail of 10 Falls.  This park is such a gem in the Oregon Parks System!

The park was once the site of Silver Falls City, which was located at the top of South Falls.  The community was largely a logging community, but after the land was cleared of timber, a local entrepreneur sold admissions to the falls area and hosted events where cars were pushed over the falls, and a daredevil even rode over the largest falls in a canoe in 1928.  His name was “Daredevil Al” Faussett, and yes, he survived the 177 foot drop.  That has all been cleaned up now.

In 1926, there was a campaign to give Silver Falls National Park status, but it was not approved, due to all the ugly stumps and mess left from its logging days, not to mention the carcasses of cars that were no doubt left at the base of the falls.  Instead, in 1935, Present Roosevelt named it a Recreational Demonstration Area, and the Civilian Conservation Corps moved in to build facilities, clean up debris, build trails and widen some of the trails behind the waterfalls.  Yes, the trails behind the waterfalls already existed, because the area was formed with basalt over sandstone, and the softer sandstone eroded over time, both to create the canyon, and to erode the narrow pathways behind some of the falls.

When you hike the Canyon Trail, you will pass 10 different waterfalls; you can walk behind some of the waterfalls for a stunning view!  On the 7 mile hike, you pass South Falls, Lower South Falls, Lower North Falls, Double Falls, Drake Falls, Middle North Falls, Winter Falls, Twin Falls, North Falls and Upper North Falls.  Winter Falls is at the end of a half mile spur trail off the main trail and Double Falls is on a 0.1 mile spur trail.  When I was there in early September, it was pretty dry from the summer weather; I would love to go back in the spring when the waterfalls are at their peak flow!

I was there on a Sunday, on Labor Day weekend, and the park was packed.  Next time I would go on a weekday if I could, and I would definitely camp in the campground there. I think that would be so much fun!

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you which waterfall is in which photo, but enjoy!

Retirement Diaries 2024: Back in Minnesota

After three weeks in Washington and Oregon, I’m back in Minnesota.  I had so much fun, seeing friends, visiting my favorite places, and getting in plenty of beach time. 

The weather is so much better than when I left!  Instead of lows of 7 degrees and snow on the ground, the weather has been mostly sunny and in the 50s and 60s since I got back.  Until today at least; it’s raining now and it is supposed to rain off and on until Monday.  There are worse things in life.

The grass is green from the recent rains, and once the rain stops I’m going to be getting out into the yard to work on pruning and trimming back the dead foliage.  The lilac bushes are starting to leaf out, so there will soon be the sweet smell of lilacs blooming!

Cora and Yellow were of course happy to see me, and have forgiven me for being away.  It is so nice to see how bonded they are; they regularly snuggle and sleep in the same puff, even though they have lots of options.  At the moment, I can hear Yellow snoring in the other room; they really have a good life!

Mom was kind enough to think of me when she went to the library book sale for the next town up the road, and she got me some books on the Civil War.  She’s always so thoughtful!  There is also an upcoming book sale at our town library, so I’ll be helping move books from storage next week to get ready for it.  I’ll be considered the young person with the strong back among the other volunteers I’m sure.  It reminds me of helping mom to purge her books before the move last year.  That was a lot of boxes of books!

On my way home from Washington, I spent a couple of days on the Oregon coast, camping, looking for agates and just enjoying the beach.  I did get rained on a little, but it was pretty good weather for the most part!  After I left the coast, I spent a few days getting home, doing a little bit of sightseeing on the way.  A winery along the Columbia River Gorge, and a few museums in Montana and North Dakota.  After leaving Oregon, it got too cold for camping, so I splurged on a few nights of hotels.

Along the way I had a few lovely chats with people I met on the beach, at the winery, or in the restaurant bars – I like sitting at the bar when I’m dining alone, it just invites more social interaction.

Of course, now that I’m back I’ll be able to write more regularly again.  Not much driving to interfere with my downtime!

I hope everyone is well – and enjoying spring!

Retirement Diaries: A Full Cup

I’ve been in Washington nine days, and what a whirlwind they have been!

I have spent my nine days visiting the places that bring me joy and peace.  I have spent some days at the beach, and gone to visit some of my favorite nearby towns.  I have poked around in shops that I love, and gone to restaurants old and new.  I have taken walks on some of my favorite trails and in the parks, and watched the sunset over the water.

I have spent the nine days visiting friends who are dear to me, catching up, laughing, hearing stories of joy and hardships, and sharing my own.  I have reconnected with people I have missed terribly.  There is something so powerful about being able to connect in person with friends who I usually only get to talk on the phone with or text.

I do love my home state and miss it, but it is my people that I miss the most.  Seeing them has filled my cup!  I feel so blessed! 

Lassen Volcanic National Park Getaway

Sunday, July 14, 2019 to Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Lassen Volcanic National Park, Shingletown, California

During the summer of 2019 I headed back down to California to go to Lassen Volcanic National Park.  It had been on my bucket list for a while, but I was able to score a reservation at one of the cabins in the Manzanita Campground in the park.  A trip was born!

We headed to Lassen on Sunday morning, from Weed, California; the drive was a little less than 2 hours and the weather was beautiful!  Once we were in the park, we checked out the Loomis Museum at the north end of the park.  The museum has exhibits on the types of volcanoes in the park, the eruption in 1915, and the animals in the park.  It was a relaxed afternoon, just checking things out.  The kids got Junior Ranger booklets to fill out to get their Junior Ranger badges.

Lassen Peak

We checked in to the Manzanita Campground, the park’s largest campground.  The first night, we had a tent site.  The sites are large and open, you can see all your neighbors, and tents and RVs are largely mixed together.  It is a great campground; it was warm during the day, but it did get cold at night.  Maybe best of all, the bugs weren’t bothersome!  We checked out Manzanita Lake; one day it would be fun to canoe or stand-up-paddleboard on the lake.  The lake is right on the edge of the campground.

The campground also has a general store, with souvenirs, grocery items, ice cream and even beer and wine.  I got a t-shirt, an enamel mug and a bottle of wine to share.  The wine is long gone, but I still have the shirt and the mug!  That evening we made steak and corn on the cob over the fire, and had smores too!  It was a wonderful, peaceful evening around the fire, chatting and watching the crackling fire.

Saturday morning dawned sunny and bright, and we made breakfast on the camp stove.  We didn’t want to dawdle, so there would be plenty of time for exploring!

We decided to start at the south end of the park and work our way back up to the north end, where the campground is located.  We started at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center and checked out the exhibits, and of course I got my Passport stamp!

We checked out the thermal features and walked part of the boardwalk.  Unfortunately, the boardwalk that goes to Bumpass Hell (yes, that is actually the name) was closed for trail rehabilitation when we were there.  I will have to go back to see it!  There are mudpots, where boiling mud bubbles and lets off steam.  It isn’t as spectacular as the geysers of Yellowstone National Park, but it is still a cool natural feature to check out!

Lassen Boardwalk

Lassen Mudpots

Me Lassen National Park

I loved all the Bristlecone pine trees that were growing in the area, and we stopped at a couple of overlooks and trailheads to check out the views and the landscape.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

We wanted to do a hike, but not one that was too difficult, so we hiked the King’s Creek Trail.  This trail is 2.3 miles round trip, although you can connect with other trails for a much longer hike.  Although the hike starts at approximately 7,300 feet in elevation, the trail itself has about 700 feet of elevation change over the course of the trail.  This is one that starts by going down, so you have to go back up a little at the end!  All that said, it is a beautiful hike, through grassy meadows with a creek crossing over a log bridge.

King’s Creek

King’s Creek Meadow

Lassen NP

The trail takes you down a hill, and the waterfall is right next to the trail, giving you nice views of the cascade.  It’s beautiful!

King’s Creek Falls

That evening, we had a reservation for a one bedroom camping cabin.  The bedroom had two twin bunk beds, and the outer room had a queen futon.  So the cabin could sleep six!  There was also a table and two chairs, a heater/AC unit and a lantern.  It was a nice setup! 

That evening we had another nice meal over the campfire, and enjoyed sitting around the fire talking and drinking wine.  It was peaceful, and quieter in the cabin section of the campground.

Lassen Cabin

 

Lassen Chipmunk

The last morning that we were there we went to an interpretive talk about the pioneers who traveled through what is now the park to reach the lush farmland in Western California.  The rangers spoke about the pioneers methods of transportation, how to cook over a fire, and what it was like to travel so many miles in a covered wagon.  The kids finished their booklets and earned their Junior Ranger badges. 

We did a little more hiking, and checked out the huge rocks near the trail.  It was a wonderful end to a nice trip.  One day I’ll make it back to Lassen to check out more of the park.

 

 

 

 

Lassen Volcanic NP History

Lassen Volcanic National Park is located in northern California, and its mountains are part of the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest.  This park is unique in that it is one of the few places in the world where visitors can see all four types of volcanoes; Composite Volcanoes, Lava Domes, Cinder Cones and Shield Volcanoes.  Lassen Peak, the mountain for which the park is named, is the largest plug dome volcano in the world (plug domes are a type of lava dome).  The park also contains thermal features similar to those made famous by Yellowstone National Park, including mudpots and fumaroles.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Human habitation in the area began thousands of years ago, and four tribes lived and traveled in areas of the park.  The Atsugewi, Yana, Yahi and Mountain Maidu all made use of park areas seasonally for hunting and gathering.  They continue to use these areas today to preserve traditions and celebrate their history.  White settlers first entered the area in the 1830s, and Peter Lassen, a Danish blacksmith, settled in the area.  The Nobles Emigrant Trail then was established through the park area, leading settlers to the Sacramento Valley further west.

Lassen’s claim to fame is that it is one of the few volcanoes in the United States to have erupted in recent history.  Lassen Peak began erupting in 1914, and continued off and on with eruptions both large and small until 1921. Thankfully, monitoring of the volcano had already begun and people living in the area had a warning prior to the eruption.  No one was injured or killed, although some homes and buildings were destroyed.  Prior to that, the most recent eruption in the park was the Cinder Cone, which erupted between 1630 and 1670 (mostly likely 1666, according to tree ring analysis).  The area had been designated as a Forest Preserve in the late 1800s, and then Lassen Peak and Cinder Cone were designated as two separate National Monuments in 1907.  The eruption led to the park’s designation as a National Park on August 9, 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson.

Today the park has a lot to see and do; visitors can hike, snowshoe and ski in the winter, camp, and see wildlife.  There are hiking trails up the mountains, in the wilderness, past waterfalls, and boardwalks built around the thermal features.  Manzanita Lake in the northern section of the park has a large campground, a museum and a store.  The southern section of the park has a fairly new Visitor’s Center.  Sadly, some areas of the park were significantly damaged by a fire in 2021, but many sections of the park have reopened since that time.

I spent three days and two nights camping there in 2019; one night in a tent and one in a camping cabin.  I had a great time, and will tell you about my visit next!

Lassen NP

 

Siskiyou County California Hiking (part 2)

Root Creek Trail – Castle Crag’s State Park
November 10, 2018

Castle Crags State Park is a gem that I would like to visit again.  There is a campground and hiking trails, along with views of the Sacramento River.  The Castle Crags themselves are 6000 foot tall granite spires that are over 170 million years old!  The way that they jut out is pretty incredible to see.  There is a short quarter-mile trail leading to Vista Point, and spectacular views of the Castle Crags and Mount Shasta. 

From Vista Point we also hiked the 3.1 mile long out and back Root Creek Trail.  It is an easy trail with a view of Root Creek at the end, and some old mining or logging equipment that was left behind.

Sadly, in 1853, a rumor got started that the Castle Crags area had a successful gold mine.  So many hopeful prospectors clogged up the area and littered the Sacramento River with their debris.  Unfortunately this led to a failure of the fall salmon run the next year, and the Okwanuchu Shasta, Wintu, Achumawi and Modoc people who lived in the area were starved to death by the hundreds that winter.  This led several Modocs to steal flour from the white settlers, and the conflict escalated into the Battle of the Crags in 1855.  Modoc Chief Dorcas Della was killed.  All that bloodshed, and the gold miners left shortly after, because they didn’t find any gold.

Living Memorial Sculpture Garden, Siskiyou County, CA
November 24, 2018

This sculpture garden is located near Weed, California.  It was created in 1988 by a group of veterans, and is maintained with an agreement with the USDA Forest Service.  It honors veterans from all wars with a memorial wall, a Hot LZ wall and sculpture garden.  If you don’t know the terminology, Hot LZ stands for Hot Landing Zone.  However, the wall honors all veterans, not just pilots, and new names are added twice a year.  The garden contains about a dozen sculptures by Dennis Smith, a Marine Corps Sergeant during the Vietnam War.  It is peaceful to walk among the sculptures while you reflect upon the sacrifices made by these courageous men and women.

There is also a beautiful view of Mount Shasta at the Living Memorial.  Of course, there aren’t a lot of places in Siskiyou County where there isn’t a stunning view of the mountain.

 

Pluto’s Cave, Klamath National Forest, Siskiyou County, CA
November 24, 2018

Pluto’s Cave is a partially collapsed lava tube in Siskiyou County north of Weed, California.  The lava flowed from a vent about 8 miles northeast of the cave about 190,000 years ago.  This makes Pluto’s Cave a really old lava tube, as most of them don’t last this long, geologically speaking.  The semi-arid climate of northern California slows erosion.  Pluto’s Cave has a large diameter for a lava tube also, larger than many of the caves on the Hawaiian islands. 

It is a 0.3 mile hike from the parking lot, although honestly it didn’t feel that long.  Once there, explorers can venture about 1200 feet into the cave.  We went in late November, over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, and it was still warm enough that I had to shed some layers!  It was neat to be able to see the evidence of the lava flow, and explore the lava rock in the cave.  This hike was definitely a hit with the kids and the short hike and the size of the cave meant that it didn’t take too much time to visit and see the cave. 

 

Retirement Diaries 2024: Michigan

Since the weather has been so warm and snow-free, Mom and I took a week and headed over to Michigan to see some of the family.  We drove over on Thursday, because we couldn’t leave earlier in the week and miss our book clubs!  We are staying with my aunt, uncle and cousin, in their little hometown near Kalamazoo.

The drive was easy, and we didn’t even have terrible traffic when we were skirting the edges of Chicago!  I say that and will now probably be cursed the next time I drive through Chicago.

So far we have gone to a couple of vintage/antique/thrift shops, checked out a bin store (it was meh…), watched Oppenheimer, worked on a puzzle, taken a couple walks through the neighborhood and eaten some great food.  We also had lunch with another aunt, uncle and cousin!  That was fun!

We even had a little jewelry making workshop!  Mom showed us all how to make some heart earrings for Valentine’s Day.

Today we went to a high school play (my uncle’s coworker was performing).  There were five short productions and then the main one-act play.  The shorts were written, cast, rehearsed and performed for the first time, all within 24 hours!  They were very creative and funny; it was clear these kids worked very hard.

There is more fun on the agenda for the rest of the week.  The Superbowl coming right up, more thrift and antique shops, a rock shop, rock hounding and more great food.  Who knows – maybe we will even find a giant statue on the way!?  For the Super Bowl, I have to root for the Chiefs, because they are the only team that has an animal mascot.  Yes, I looked up the mascots in order to make my choice.

It’s been nice to get away and have some family time. 

Siskiyou County California Hiking

In November and December 2018 I spent some time in Weed, California, and had an opportunity to sightsee in Siskiyou County.  There are certainly some gems here and I would like to see more!  Most of these hikes were with kids, or we were limited on time because the kids were in school, so they were easy enough to do with little ones.

Lake Siskiyou Trail – 6.8 miles
October 18, 2018

The Lake Siskiyou Trail is a flat, easy trail that goes around Lake Siskiyou, a reservoir near the city of Mount Shasta.  You can do the entire trip around the lake for 6.8 miles, or you can do an out and back as far as you want.  The day I was there, we went a couple of miles on the trail, seeing a variety of easy terrain and the Wagon Creek Bridge.  I saw a Great Egret and got some nice photos of him (or her)!  The weather was beautiful, I was wearing shorts on a mid-October day!  If you want to hike here, keep in mind that the bridges over a couple of creeks are removed in the winter, so you can’t walk around the whole lake in winter.

Bonus: Near Lake Siskiyou is the Berryvale Post Office, a historic building that housed the Post Office from 1870 – 1887.  When I visited 5 years ago, they were in the process of restoration; maybe now the restoration is finished.

Hedge Creek Falls, Dunsmuir CA – 1 mile
October 20, 2018

This waterfall just outside of the city of Dunsmuir, California can be seen with a short out and back hike.  The trail has a couple of switchbacks down the hill through the woods.  It is a half mile to the waterfall, which can vary significantly in water flow depending on the time of the year.  I was there in mid-October, and there wasn’t a lot of water flowing.  It is fun to be able to walk behind the waterfall though!  You can also continue your hike a little ways more to get a peek-a-boo view of the Sacramento River, which Hedge Creek flows into.

Fun fact!  On October 25, 1879, Charles Bolton, better known by his outlaw name of Black Bolt, robbed the stagecoach traveling between Roseburg, Oregon and Redding, California.  He is known to have holed up behind Hedge Creek Falls before the robbery.

Dunsmuir is also a cute historic town with several historic buildings dating to the late 1800s.  I didn’t get to spend any time there (because reasons), but I would love to check it out more.

Spring Hill Trail
November 1, 2018

The Spring Hill Trail is a 2.6 round trip mile hike up Spring Hill.  There are switchbacks, and peek a boo views of Mount Shasta on the trail, but you are greeted with a beautiful view of the mountain from the top!  I hiked this trail as I was getting over a bad cold, so it felt a little difficult at the time.  It is an out and back trail, so what you go up you then get to go down!  It was certainly a fun hike!

The city of Mount Shasta is a cute little town with several historic buildings and a thriving downtown with shops and restaurants.  It was a fun little town to check out; I would love to go back and see more.

 

 

 

Circus Trip 2018: Yosemite NP

Day 90, Saturday, October 13, 2018
Yosemite National Park, Mariposa, California

I’ll say right up front that I need to see more of Yosemite.  My visit was too short, and too emotional to really do justice to it.

That morning I woke up in Bridgeport, California at my campsite at the little marina there.  It was cold (about 17 degrees or so), so I decided to get breakfast out, and went to the Bridgeport Inn for corned beef hash and coffee.  I’m not ordinarily a coffee drinker but I needed a warmup that day!  The Inn was built in 1877 as the Leavitt House, and has a hotel, restaurant and bar.  Mark Twain stayed here at some point.  The food was good, and warmed me up, but soon it was time to get on my way.

I headed west over Tioga Pass and soon was in the line to enter Yosemite Park.  I was so excited to see it!  This is one of the National Parks that has been on my bucket list for a while.

Sadly, when I headed into the park, I started to feel a heavy weight in my heart.  I had long wanted to visit Yosemite, but it had been a dream I had with my ex-husband when we were married.  In fact, when we separated, we had a trip planned to Yosemite, and I ended up canceling.  He went with his dad, and I didn’t go, because we were having so many problems.  We ended our marriage shortly after that.  I always thought it would feel amazing to finally visit, but it was quite the opposite.  It was like all the grief I had been holding in for a few years at that point finally came tumbling out.

I parked at a lake on the pass and sat next to the beautiful water.  People were all around, but no one really noticed me.  I sobbed.  I thought maybe once I had it out of my system, I could go on, but I kept starting to cry again after that first time.  I finally decided I wasn’t ready for Yosemite that day.  I didn’t go into the valley, or do much more than just drive through the park, sitting in my sadness.

I did get a stamp and a few postcards to commemorate the parts of the park that I did see, but I definitely need a do over.  It has now been almost 7 years since my divorce was final, which will be longer than I was married.  I think I’m ready now.

So after leaving Yosemite that day, I headed up to northern California to see the man I was dating at the time.  That relationship didn’t work out either, but for reasons unrelated to Yosemite.  That’s a long, sad story for another time, if I’m ever ready to tell it. 

I suppose I could call this day the last day of my big road trip, even though I spent close to a month in Northern California before I finally headed home to Washington.  But I wasn’t traveling all the time anymore, so it seemed the trip was at an end.  I saw parts of Northern California that I had never been to, but I also just relaxed.

All in all, I spent several months on the road that summer and fall.  If you remember back, I left home on July 16, and got back home on November 12, 2018.  It was the trip of a lifetime, and one that I would love to do again with a different itinerary.  It was exhilarating and fun, and sometimes sad and lonely.  I learned so much about bravery and courage, and feeling comfortable in my own skin.  I healed, and learned how to be alone.  It was everything I needed at the time. 

Now, 5 years later, I’m at at different place.  I’m retired, with the ability to pack up and take a trip when the mood strikes me.  And I do.  Life isn’t perfect, and I still have stories of sadness and hardship that I’m not quite ready to tell.  But life for the most part is good.  I have other tales to tell, and other road trips to take, and memories to make.  I hope you will continue to follow along.

 

Circus Trip 2018: Mono Lake

Day 89, Friday, October 12, 2018
Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, Lee Vining, California

After I visited Bodie, I wanted to see the tufa formations at Mono Lake.  If you have never heard of tufa towers, you are in for a treat!

In Mono Lake, there are freshwater springs beneath the surface of the lake that are rich in calcium.  This calcium rich spring water mixes with the lake water, which contains carbonates.  When the two combine, a chemical reaction creates calcium carbonate, otherwise known as limestone.  Around the springs, the calcium carbonate becomes a solid, and over decades, forms a tower of limestone under the water.  So how are they visible at Mono Lake?

In 1941, water diversions began by the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, and the water levels in the lake fell dramatically.  The tufa towers have been exposed since that time; they no longer grow, and are now slowly eroding away.  Mono Lake is one of the unique places where these tufa towers can be seen!

The South Tufa Trail is about a mile long; it gave me a close up, spectacular view of these tufa towers.  They were so cool to see!  I stayed as the sun lowered in the sky, and captured some nice photos.  I also got to see big flocks of Yellow Headed Blackbirds and a few ducks.

 

On my way to camp for the night, I stopped to see the Mono Lake Historical Society Musuem, which is housed in the old Mono Lake Schoolhouse, and the Upside Down House, which was built by Nellie Bly O’Bryan.  Nellie Bly O’Bryan, not to be confused with the journalist Nellie Bly, was a silent film actress in the 1920s and 1930s.  After retiring from film in 1934, she moved to the Mono Lake area and became a State of California licensed mountain guide.  She also owned and operated a resort on Lundy Lake, near the east entrance of Yosemite National Park.  She built the Upside Down House by hand as a tourist attraction, where everything in the house is just that – upside down. 

Unfortunately, both the museum and house were both closed for the day (and probably season?), so I had to be content with taking photos outside in the fading light.  I would like to visit when they are open someday! 

That night I camped at a little marina that also had campsites.  It was $20 for the night, and had a beautiful view of the water in Bridgeport, California.  The only drawback was that it was COLD!  It got down to about 17 degrees that night!  But I was snug as a bug once I was layered up under all my blankets in the car bed.  That was the coldest night of my entire trip!