Oregon Caves and Beyond

     From the Redwoods, we travelled north and then turned on US 199 at Crescent City. Now I thought that a US highway would be OK for my rig. Well, the GPS differed with me. Seems that there are stretches that total lengths of 60 feet or over are a bit too much and not recommended. With our tow vehicle attached, we are right at 60 feet. Portions of the road turned narrow and filled with tight winding curves. To top things off, there was very little shoulder and it dropped off to a very steep and deep cliff face. Needless to say it was a long 60 miles of white knuckle driving until we finally arrived at our stop for the day, Lone Mountain RV park near Cave Junction, Oregon. We knew it was going to be a short driving day and that we would arrive pretty early at our destination so we had called them and they were more than happy to let us check in early. The park is very nice with paved roads, level gravel pads, and nicely landscaped. They also have several camping TeePees out back. Now these aren't your average Boy Scout TeePee. They are very large and nicely furnished.

Outside view

Inside view

     They have a picnic table and grill also on the site with water and bathrooms nearby. All in a forest meadow setting. Unique and well done. 

     After setting up we drove off to our destination visit for the day, Oregon Caves National Monument. Tucked away far off the beaten path you drive and come to the Cave. You explore over 1/2 mile of twisting passageways. There are 500+ stair steps and the cave is quite damp. Cave temperature hovers around 40 degrees so it is also a bit chilly. There are several large rooms and many narrow passageways, some no more than 48 inches high. About as different as you can get from Carlsbad Caverns! You enter the cave through the original entrance discovered in 1874. Story has it that Elijah Davidson was hunting bear in the area and the bear went into the cave. Elijah's dog followed, hot on the bear's trail. He called to the dog but he didn't come out. After a bit, Elijah went in the opening and armed only with matches, began looking for his dog. About 4 matches into the search Elijah realized that he was out of matches! Suddenly in total darkness, he had to find his way out. Resourceful guy that he was, he followed the stream as it flowed out of the cave and eventually came out. Over the years the Park Service has built pathways through the cave so visitors don't have to trek through the stream, but the cave still seeps groundwater and you will get wet when you get a "cave kiss." There is evidence of people on tours in the early 1900's that took souvenirs or even wrote their names on the rock. The flow of water over the years has covered this vandalism with a thin layer of protection and now it is a part of the rock. In another 100 or so years the cave processes will completely obliterate the marks and it will be swallowed up into the cave. 

     What is interesting in the above photo--notice the two colors, brown and white, in the formations. The white is the original color of the formation. The brown is the result of human contamination (touching the rock or just the process of being in the cave oils and chemicals are released that stain the formations). There is one place on the tour that has never been touched by human hands (as it is too inaccessible ). It is pristine white and almost glows compared to the other formations. You exit the cave 220 feet above where you entered and can choose to walk back to the Visitors Center or continue on a short hike that takes you to the top of the ridge where the entire valley and surrounding mountains can be seen in a breathtaking vista. We took the hike!

     After our day exploring the caves we returned to the campground and packed up.  We left early the next morning and drove to Eugene, OR in final preparation for our arrival at our summer destination. We trusted our Good Sam directory and its ratings, and didn't check the campground reviews for the Park near Eugene or look at the campground on Google Earth, or we would have chosen something else. Seems that it went bankrupt several years back and was sold to a church. They are building a church and slowly demolishing the RV slots. They still have them but it is a nightmare getting in or out of the "park". So if you are traveling, River Life RV Resort is not RV friendly nor much of a Resort. If you want to see how the big "Rock Star" tour busses are made, you can tour the Marathon RV manufacturer in nearby Coburg, OR. They start with a Prevost chassis and build from there. After $1-2 million of work you can have a new motorhome!! No, we did not go there. Kind of like eating a steak dinner in front of a starving man. Why torture yourself??

     So we moved on to Depoe Bay and have set up at Sea & Sand RV Park. We will be here through mid September and will enjoy, once again, what the Oregon coast has to offer for the summer.

Redwoods National Park

     Let me start with blatantly plagiarizing from Barb's Facebook post. She sums up this visit quite well.

"My neck hurts! When we originally planned this trip, I almost skipped Redwood National Park, thinking "If you've seen one big tree, you've seen them all." I was wrong. After our trip through Sequoia National Park, I was very impressed by the size and age of the trees there. Today, we hiked one of many trails in the Redwood National Park area, and I was happy to be disproven by the Coast Redwoods. While both trees are considered redwoods, the Sequoia only grows on the Sierra range, while the Coast Redwoods only grow on the coast. The Sequoia can grow up to 311 feet high, 40 feet in diameter and live to 3,200 years. The Coast Redwood grows taller to nearly 380 feet, narrower to 22 feet in diameter, and does not live as long, living "only" to 2,000 years. Thus, my neck problem. I spent all day looking up at the trees hundreds of feet in the air! The fun part of our hike, however, was we were two of a limited number who could hike this trail, and with that quiet, we heard the trees "talk" as they swayed in the wind so high above us! Great day!"

     When she says "...heard the trees "talk" as they swayed" it was really amazing.  First a little background... The trail that we had chosen for that day was called Tall Trees Trail. It was accessed by permit only and only 50 permits are issued daily.  We didn't know how many folks would be waiting and wanting to go on this hike (and with our luck so far, they would be lined up out the door!!). We got up early and arrived at the Ranger station before they opened. We were first in line and got our permit. From the Ranger station we drove up the mountain to a gated trail off road. Part of our permit included the combination to the lock on the gate.

Unlocking the gate.

     We then drove down a pretty rugged logging trail road to the trailhead. We hiked down about 1.5 miles with a descent of approximately 775 feet. We then walked the 1 mile loop of the Redwood grove. The weather was such that there was a stiff breeze coming in from the ocean. This breeze is what caused the tall trees to sway and "talk." Sometimes it sounded like a squeaking door opening. Other times there were cracks and pops. Still other times, it sounded like someone rubbing their hand across an inflated balloon. The different sounds were quite unique and we felt wonder that we got to hear it. Nowhere else in our travels have we ever heard the forest talk like that.

Saving Barb from catastrophe! :)

Not as wide as a Sequoia but it is taller

     We also came across the elusive Banana Slug. This guy eats everything on the forest floor EXCEPT Redwood seeds. This means that he helps the Redwoods get a good start on life as they sprout from young seeds. They look remarkably like fallen leaves which are also yellow and long. You really had to keep a sharp eye out to find one.

     There is also a resident heard of Roosevelt Elk that inhabit the area. There are numerous "Watch for Elk" and "Elk Crossing" signs along the highway. We came across them in where else but a place called Elk Meadow.

    We took another hike called the Trillium Falls loop. The namesake falls are not overly dramatic like those in Yosemite, but it is a quaint little waterfall nestled in among the Coast Redwoods. Very serene and relaxing to sit and listen to.

Trillium Falls

     For all of you Star Wars fans, I read that George Lucas used locations in the Redwood National Park to represent the forest moon of Endor where the Ewoks lived.

I love how the light is captured filtering through the forest!

     Now I hope that this turns out. Below is a video file Barb shot that gives you a good idea just how big these trees really are (you should be able to double-click on the photo and the movie should play). You can't capture them in a single photo shot. They are too wide and too tall. If this turns out, you should see me at the bottom of an average Redwood tree as Barb pans skyward to the top of the canopy.

     We trooped out to a place called Fern Canyon. This was reached from another bumpy logging road with two stream crossings. Our Honda CR-V got to be a "Jeep for a day?" This canyon is back along a stream and stays relatively cool and humid, thus being able to grow some massive ferns all along the canyon walls.

All three of the above are from Fern Canyon

     So far we have hiked on trails south of our campground. Tomorrow we will find a couple north of us and check them out. Then, on Sunday, we pack up and head a little bit farther north and actually get into Oregon for a quick visit to the Oregon Caves National Monument.

Yosemite National Park

     For four days we visited Yosemite National Park. Our campground is in the town of Oakhurst, CA. While it is about 15 miles (via winding road) to the south gate of Yosemite, it takes us 1 1/2 hours to make the drive into Yosemite Valley! We thought of staying in the park, but even now all the campgrounds are booked! Wow, who knew??

     There is really not much to see on the drive in. There are several trailheads but we weren't interested in taking any of them. Going in to the Valley you are met with the icons that Yosemite is known for:  El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, and Half Dome.

Yosemite Falls

El Capitan

Half Dome

     El Capitan is "Ground Zero" for the hard core rock climber. We could only see one climber on our visit.

You couldn't even see the climber without binoculars 

Close up that shows the climber and his gear on the face!

     We decided to hike to Vernal Fall. The guidebook called it a "moderate" hike. Well, it seemed like it was straight uphill for 1 1/2 miles!! While a nice wide trail up to a bridge observation point, it was pretty strenuous. We stopped at the bottom of the fall and were soaked by the spray. I decided to brave the narrow granite steps for the last stretch. It was pretty challenging for someone who hasn't really trained for it. Taking frequent stops, I finally braved the final narrow pathway and arrived at the top of the falls!

Vernal Fall from the base

The beginning of the steps to the top

The last narrow approach to the top

Not nearly as impressive from the top!

Stellar's Jay visiting Barb

A rainbow greeted me on the way back down!

This water was snow just not too long ago and it IS COLD!

Snow Blower on steroids!!

     On another day we hiked out to Glacier Point. From here you can see a spectacular vista of the Yosemite Village and Vernal and Nevada Falls.

     The day before this picture, I hiked to the top of Vernal Fall. It took me a couple of hours to get there. There was another continuing trail that went further up to Nevada Falls. In the above photo (from Glacier Point) you can see how much further that hike was! Still, it was a breathtaking vista.

     We had a visitor from Germany volunteer to take our picture with Half Dome in the background. He took several shots from different angles. This is my favorite one.

     Side note... We have seen several of these camper vans in campgrounds. It has a kitchen, beds, storage, and can drive about anywhere you might want to go. You can hook it up at a campground, raise up the top (which provides a bed for some adventurous soul), and be relatively comfortable. Only in California and Nevada, and some international countries, it may spread and catch on across the country for the tourist on a budget.

This guy came up to see what we were up to. 

A Sequoia pine cone. Seed is about the size of an oat flake.

The tree next to me is a young Sequoia. Probably 50-80 years old!

And they get like this after 2,500-3,000 years. 

   

     Got this from the internet. Circa 1962 this was the Wawona Sequoia. You could drive through it and be amazed. Well, while this cutout of the tree was done about 80 years earlier, it weakened the tree and in 1969 the tree collapsed and fell.

     This is what the Wawona tree looks like now. It takes a lot of imagination to see it as it was. 

This is called the Clothespin Tree. 

     On the third day, we took the shuttle to Mariposa Grove. This hike took us to see the Sequoia grove in Yosemite. The photos above came from that hike. Upon returning to the shuttle stop, we took a quick tour of the Pioneer Village. Here they have displayed several old wagons that were used by tourists and park protectors during the late 19th and early 20th century.

     Imagine riding in this for two days, over rutted and rocky trails in order to get to the Yosemite Village!!

     Above is an old "Chuck Wagon". 

     There were several cabins and residences that were used throughout the history of the park and have been moved and restored. It was quite fascinating. 

     We now will make the trek a little further west and north and will soon visit Redwoods National Park. It will take a couple of days but should provide some great scenery.