Up Through the Mountains

We settled some of our things into the new house but now we are on our way north to the Seattle area to be with Christina. 

Here are the highlights of our adventure north to Bremerton:

May 26

We left early in the morning and made our first stop at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.  Upon arrival, I realized that we might have picked a bad time to visit.  This land is reserved as a wetland...but there was NO water...anywhere!  They do say California is in a drought...I guess this is proof of that...so sad!

We had seen a junior conservationist program on the internet, but the woman at the visitor center knew nothing of this...so we decided to drive around the outskirts of the land to see what we might see.  The only animals we found were jack rabbits...A LOT of jack rabbits!  I hope that we were just there at the wrong time of the year.  The pictures shown on the internet show a variety of animals that would lose their habitat if this is a long term situation.

So...we got back on the road and we did not stop again until we reached Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.  This was after a drive through the valley.  It was amazing to be surrounded by mountains.  However, to us it was already quite mountainous...We are definitely not in Texas anymore!

Whiskeytown was once a boom town but it was later covered when the lake was formed for the recreation area.  There are still some sites still preserved.  One of these spots is the cemetery...quite unique as the family members are allowed to "decorate" the grave sites.  Most of the graves show signs of the interests of the deceased.  If someone liked to drink Coke...their grave site would have this on their marker or decorating their site.  A lot of wind chimes and other objects fill the space.

We did not stay at this location long because we were determined to make our way to the hotel before dark.  It seemed like a slow day of traveling but we had driven over 400 miles.  We were setting ourselves up for the next day's arrival in Bremerton.  Of course, there would be more stops along the way.

May 27

We were up early for a second day...we wanted to see the deepest lake in the United States found at Crater Lake National Park.  We started out so early that the visitor center would not open for over an hour after our arrival.  We were able to hike some trails and see glimpses of the lake.  Once we were able to find a park ranger we were ready to see the amazing sites of the lake.

Now...this is the end of May when we were here...snow was still on the ground and up the mountain.  BUT...there were ENORMOUS mosquitoes!  The biggest I have ever seen and they were attacking us...even when we were inside the van...coming at the windows!  It was crazy!

SO...after the sun came up we spent little time outside of the van in this park.  I know that sounds crazy but it is true.  I am so glad we were able to see the trails and the lake before the park was officially open.  We found a short path that was a mile loop.  It would take us to the "Lady of the Woods."  This was a carving done by a fellow park visitor back in 1917.  He was a doctor who had never tried sculpting before but was inspired by the rock he found.

We would not know until later that this sculpture is only viewed at this time of the year after the snow melt.  I do not think they would let us try our luck at artistry with one of their boulders today.

We did take a chance with our lives for a better view of the lake.  We were even able to see the Phantom Ship (an rock formation that is not always visible depending on the level of the lake but on a foggy morning looks like a ship) and Wizard's Island (a volcano inside a volcano).  Edward was ready to climb up the mountain so he could slide in the snow...I told him the mosquitoes would surely pick him up and take him away if we stayed out any longer!  We enjoyed the views as we drove on to our next stop.

Now...I have to say that many people think Edward is hyper...cannot concentrate for long...but he is also very smart.  The night before I had asked the clerk at the front desk which way would be the better path out of the park.  She told me what to do and I thought I understood her directions.  When we were leaving the park the next day we came to the "fork in the road" and I hesitated in which way to go...Edward insisted he knew which way to go...but I did not think he was right...we went the opposite direction.  I should have listened...we ended up on a very windy mountain road that was also riddled with detours and construction!


Our next stop was supposed to be Fort Vancouver National Park on the northern edge of Oregon and Washington.  Because of my wrong turn, we would not arrive until almost four in the afternoon (two hours later than planned!).

We arrived at what we thought was the visitor center and found out it was actually a separate museum dedicated to the history of flight.  We would have loved to have visited the museum (Pierson Air Museum) but the national park was our main goal.  It was a block down...and actual fort walls were still there to view with original buildings.  The ranger was so kind...he told us that he was closing the fort gates in an hour.  He encouraged us to go back to the air museum and look around and then come back.  I felt like I had run a marathon...we went back to see airplanes and other memorabilia.  A great open room full of things to view.  We tried our best to see everything in thirty minutes.

Then the race was on to return to the fort.  We arrived as the rangers were closing the buildings.  We were told to go one step ahead of the rangers so we could see as much as possible.  We found out at the end of our tour...if we had arrived earlier in the day the rangers were dressed in character and demonstrated how the fort worked when it was an active establishment.  One of the rangers (Ranger Gay) walked us out of the park sharing as much information as he could.  He was so kind and said he would have stayed longer if he did not have plans for the evening.  I hope we will be able to return to the park on another trip withe entire family.

Our last destination...Bremerton!  We would not arrive until after eight in the evening.  We were greeted with open arms and more importantly a late evening meal.  We had raced around all day and had little time for food.  I guess 500 miles of mountain roads was a little too much for one day.  But we made it!