Journals: Week 15 (July 23-29, 2007)
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DAY 102: Thursday,
July 26, 2007 (crescent city, CA)
Wow, I have a
lot of catching up to do (as usual when it's my turn to write!). I
have become an expert procrastinator, as if I wasn't one already. So
it is my job now to catch us up from Sunday morning, when Jonathan wrote his
last entry. Sunday was a pretty fun day. We did a little
shopping - I bought a wedding dress!!! (In addition to taking the
journey of a lifetime, we are also planning our wedding on the road.)
No, this is not at all easy. And yes, it can be very stressful,
especially when the website we are trying to order our invitations from
keeps losing the information we are typing! But sometimes, a wonderful
little detail falls right into place so nicely- like this dress. It is
simple and pretty and should be arriving at my mother's house in CT sometime
in early September. Let's everyone cross our fingers, please.
So after that, we hung
out at Whole Foods to do a little stocking up on some of our favorite
delicious goodies (fresh fruits and veggies, soymilk, cereal, and dark
chocolate to name a few). We had a Sushi King lunch, and headed to
Santa Cruz- which Jonathan already filled you in on (super crowded!!).
We made it back in time to call Jonathan's grandfather and wish him a very
happy birthday.
See,
fun day!
On Monday, we left San
Jose early to drive to Napa Valley, stopping on our way to have lunch with
my cousin Dean and his wife Katina. We met up with them in Sacramento,
where they live, at a Mexican place called Chevy's. Once again, we had
a really terrific time meeting up with some cousins! Jonathan and I
have such great cousins ~ everyone we stop and see, or catch a meal with, is
so nice and generous. We caught up on our respective "how we met"
stories, and got to know each other better as people, instead of distant
cousins of "so-and-so's husband's daughter's kids." Dean and Katina
gave us some great advice about going to some nice wineries in Napa Valley,
and suggested we get in touch with the rest of the Seattle crew (my other
cousins who live in Seattle) when we get closer to that area. We had a
great time, and once again, really appreciated being treated to a lovely
lunch. Thank you so much Dean and Katina!!
Afterward, we headed to
Napa Valley. This was a really beautiful drive. There are
rolling golden hills on all sides, dotted with dark green shrubs and tall,
skinny pine trees of some sort. It looks like a scene
out
of a Tuscany guide book. Jonathan, who has been to Italy before,
assures me this really does look a lot like Italy. Also in the
distance, on the tops of the golden hills, are those tall wind mill, energy
fan contraptions. With their blades spinning simultaneously, this was
a really cool sight. I tried to get some pictures, but think they were
mostly blurry. Oh well.
When we finally made it
to the Napa area, it was after 3pm, and we decided to set up camp instead of
barely making it to a winery in time to take a tour. We decided on
a campsite at the Spanish Flats Resort on Lake Berryessa. This is a really
neat lake. It is actually a man-made lake which covers an entire town-
literally!
Way back when, the townspeople decided to flood the town in order to use the water for
irrigation of the nearby fields (lots of agriculture here, especially
grapes!). Now there is a big, beautiful, crystal clear blue/green lake
on top of the town. I got to live out one of my life long fantasies
here: run off the end of a dock and jump into a lake! I know, it
doesn't sound like much,
but it's the little things, you know?
We met our campsite
neighbors, Oren and his son
Joshua, who invited us to go on their boat for a ride around the lake. "Boat ride?? SURE!!", we said. Joshua, who is
probably 12 years old, did the driving. And he really loved it when
the boat crashed into some waves waking from the other boats around us,
causing Jonathan and me to get a little soaked (we were sitting on the front
edge of the boat). This was great fun!! At night, they were also
kind enough to share their fire and s'mores with us. A boat ride AND
s'mores...all in one day?!? I know, it's crazy!
The next day, we packed
up the tent and drove out to the Sterling Winery. We took a gondola
ride from the parking lot up to the winery on the hill, and went on a self-guided tour.
They had 5 wines for sampling, and Jonathan, who's not much of a wine
drinker, liked one so much we had to
buy a bottle. The country-side here is just beautiful. The
weather was warm and
sunny, and the view from the terrace overlooking the
vineyards was really lovely. Our next stop was the V. Sattui Winery.
This one also offered wine tasting and cheese tasting, but we had already
had our fill of wines, so we wandered around the lush premises to take
pictures. We sampled some delicious white and red grapes right off the
vine! Some of them were sweet and good, some pretty sour and not so
good. But this was lots of fun, even for a non-drinker like Jonathan.
We headed to a local pizza place for lunch, and then it was off to Muir
Woods to feast our eyes on some Redwoods!
We heard about Muir Woods
from our friend Lynn in Gallup, NM. He said this was a really great
spot to visit. Jonathan's grandmother also confirmed this was a "do-not-miss"
place to see on our journey up the California coast. It is pretty
close to San Francisco, and we decided we would check it out and camp for
the night. For those of you who don't know, Muir Woods is a small
Redwood Forest park, very quiet with some very nice hiking trails.
This was our introduction to the Giant California Coastal Redwoods.
The Redwood Forest was
one of my top places, if not my top place to visit on this trip. I'm
not sure why exactly, but I have always wanted to stand in the ancient
Redwood forest, surrounded by these giant trees, and see what it smells
like. As soon as we got out of our car in the parking lot, I could
smell the dense, earthy, spicy smell of the forest- and it was WONDERFUL!
It is everything I imagined it would be. It was very shady and cool, quiet and damp. And because there has been so much fog around
this area the past few days, it is eerily like being in a Jurassic Park
movie. When the sun's rays cut through the fog, it is truly awesome.
The trees themselves are
unbelievable. I mean, you really can't believe how enormous they are,
even though they are right there and you are looking at them (kind of like
the Grand Canyon effect). I think we've been really ruined by TV and
movies, because everything real looks like it's fake- like it belongs on a
Star Wars movie set (you know, the one where they meet the Ewoks- which one is that
again?). The trees are so big, you can't see the tops of them.
You can drive cars through them and stand inside them with your
arms wide out and still not touch the edges. They look even bigger
when a person stands in front of one, giving some perspective. It
was definitely worth the drive to come here and see them. They are
marvelous!
After our two-mile hike
through Muir Woods, we went to nearby Stinson Beach (also at Lynn's
recommendation) and dipped our feet in the freezing cold Pacific ocean.
It has been quite cold and windy by the shore, so we have not gone swimming
in it. But Jonathan convinced me to at least roll up my jeans and get
my legs wet. I'm glad he did- it was fun! As it was getting late
and we still didn't have a place to stay for the night, we decided to get
going. We drove for a good hour and found a few places that were
a bit out of our price range. And then we bit the bullet, and did it.
Inspired by our Taos friends, Kristi and Jim, who had recently spent a night
in their car at a Wal-Mart, we decided to sleep in the van for the very first time on this trip.
And we did so, where else but in the local Wal-Mart parking lot in Santa
Rosa! We had heard from family
friends, Bobbi and George, that many RVers do this. Apparently, Wal-Mart
is pretty considerate of weary travelers, and they allow people to park in
the parking lot, use their water hook ups, and clean up in their bathrooms.
So that's just what we did. We found a cozy spot in between some RV's
and settled in for the night. No, this was not the least bit
comfortable, but it was free! So, it was doable, and we'll
probably do it again- though probably not very often.
The next day was a VERY
long driving day- one of the longest so far on this trip.
We planned
to drive all the way up the coast to the north west corner of California, to
a town called Crescent City, where we would stay at a KOA campground in the
middle of the Redwood Forest. And that is just what we did. We
drove through some very foggy but beautiful scenery on the coastal Highway
1 (very zig-zaggy, not for those with extreme motion sickness!). This
highway overlooks some of California's most beautiful beaches and a stunning
view of the Pacific Ocean. The water is a deep blue, and some of the sandy
beaches are black! I've seen white and pink beaches before, but never
black. They are amazing!
We finally made it to our
campsite at the KOA and snagged ourselves a really nice plot. We are
situated under a canopy of really beautiful, lush ferns and trees. It
is nice to once again have an inflatable mattress and sleeping bags, and of
course, a shower. We think this will be a really peaceful place to
rest, and see some amazing trees. We will be exploring the best and
brightest Redwood sites this area has to offer over the next few days, and
can't wait!! We will bring you all the descriptions and pictures when
we're through. Until then, we are sending love, peace and blessings to
all our family and friends!! ~E
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DAY 104: Saturday,
July 28, 2007 (crater Lake, OR)
I'm sitting here
in the KOA rec room (in Crescent City, CA) where they are just winding down an all-you-can-eat
pancake breakfast (for $3), of which Elena and I did not partake.
(Saving money and watching our figures, of course.) It's a little
after 10am here in Crescent City, CA, and we've already packed up our tent
and loaded up the van, and we are now just waiting for our laundry to be
done. We'll be heading out to Crater Lake, Oregon (correctly pronounced OR-e-gun,
not OR-i-gone). So we've got some time
this morning for a little journaling before we head out.
The
Redwood
National Park has lived up to its hype, at least for us. Thursday we
drove out to Lady Bird Johnson Grove, about 30 miles south of our campground
in Crescent City, where we trekked a short one-mile loop through the
Redwoods. We marveled at each tree we came upon as they each seemed to
be larger, wider, and taller than the last.
(The phrase, "This is
crazy!" was said many times by both of us as we passed trees that towered
above us, seeming like huge legs of giant creatures guarding the land.)
The path was wet and sometimes muddy as the area seems like a rain forest,
often misty and cool, requiring sweatshirts in the middle of the summer.
That particular day was mostly cloudy as it was often difficult to tell the
difference between fog and clouds. As with the Grand Canyon, it was
difficult to capture the moment with the camera, though not for a lack of
trying (as usual). One difference, however, is that we could touch
these trees that were right in front of us, capturing some perspective of
their massiveness by comparing their size to that of ourselves. (When
we were under the rim of the Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon, it was hard to
see "the forest through the trees," and when we were on the rim, there were
few focus points that could give us a sense of perspective of its
grandness.)
Of course,
while we're
trying to get all mystical with these natural wonders, we are only human
after all. And as humans, with our curiosities and lack of
self-discipline, we naturally got sucked into the snare of the tourist trap
that read, "Tour-Thru Tree." We HAD to see what THAT was all about,
right?! Four dollars later, we were driving our minivan through this
massive tree that was hollowed out for such purposes as this. Quoting
the brochure: "This privately owned tourist attraction was created for the
benefit of those people who desire the unique experience of driving through
a healthy, living Redwood tree." We didn't even KNOW that we desired
such an experience prior to having it, but I'm glad it was there for OUR
benefit!!! (For those who quest for knowledge and need to know such
things, the tree is approximately 725 years old and the "tunnel" was
completed in 1976. Before then, it had survived a fire due to its size
and was spared from logging back in 1967. It is 15 feet wide at its
base and 90 feet tall. The opening of the tunnel is 7'4'' wide and
9'6'' high.) So there you have it.
Yesterday we drove on a
beautiful loop, Route 199, with winding roads and huge Redwoods
lining them.
We found our way to Stout Memorial Grove, in Jedediah Smith Redwood State
Park (Jedediah was the first white man to explore the interior of northern
California in 1826), where we walked a short trail through the forest that
ended by a river with no bridge to cross it. The sun was coming out,
which was a change from the previous two days, warming up the air and
shining new light through the trees. We only saw a few people on this
trail, so most of our walking was done in peaceful silence. We
proceeded on to a very short trail called the Hiouchi Trail, which lead to a
rocky beach area along the Smith River. We saw people sunning
themselves on the rocks and others drifting around in rafts as the river
lazily carried them downstream. After sitting ourselves by the river for a
few minutes, we decided to go back to the van, change into our bathing suits
(in large outhouse-style restrooms,
not entirely free from smells that could
scare you straight!), and head back to the river for a refreshing, if not
too cool, swim. So this is what we did. After many anxious
moments standing in the water up to our thighs, fretting the impending
"freezing" rush of water on our upper torsos, I dove into the shallow
waters, followed a long 15 minutes later by Elena. Once all in, the
water was nice and wasn't freezing at all. The water truly was
shallow, as we were able to float on our stomachs and move along the river
with our hands on the river bed guiding the way. Also, the water was
colorless; it was as clear as a window as we could see the entire bottom
from the top. Elena commented that it would be nice if she could just
remember that the anxiety just prior to diving in is almost always worse
than then experience itself, not to mention that the experience is usually
quite nice. (I thought it was also a nice metaphor for life.)
After sunning on the
rocks, we drove back to our campsite and had our last supper here at the
KOA: vegetarian chili, grilled cheese sandwiches, potato chips (so much for
our figures!), and s'mores on the fire. Since about May 20, a little
over two months, I have continued a mostly vegetarian lifestyle ("mostly"
due to the 4 or 5 times I've had fish). I still have my share of
french fries and ice cream, so I wouldn't say I'm eating that much
healthier, but I'm impressed with myself (if I do say so myself), that I've
kept up with this eating change for as long as I have. Not that a
whopper with cheese doesn't sound delicious to me every now and then (like
right now and then again later!), but as I keep reminding myself, I'm still
full after every meal, so why not have a delicious and nutritious veggie
burger instead?! Yumbo!!! Such is my small contribution to help
cows, chickens, and pigs. (Is it time for lunch yet?!)
While Elena's checking
the laundry, I'd also like to remember a few little things about the trip,
as I read this years after we're done. First, I'd like to remember how
difficult it has been to actually remember all the things I'd like to write
in this journal! I often think of these great things I'd like to
write, mostly when I'm driving and not able to write. Of course, the
contents of my thoughts are always lyrical, poetic, and quite interesting
and funny as I recollect various experiences and feelings of the moment.
(You'll just have to trust me that they're all these things, for when I'm
finally able to write, the moments have usually long since passed - like a
whole day or two! - and the writing environment - like the rec room of a KOA
- also affects my ability to wax poetic, if not my ability to wax on or wax
off! Now THAT'S poetic!)
Anyway, I'd also like to
remember the various downloaded books we've listened to on the Ipod, though
by now I've forgotten where we were when we listened to them. Books
like "1984" by George Orwell, a classic that I never actually read when I
was likely supposed to read it in high school. It was published in
1948 (I think), and it was Orwell's vision of the future, one that was quite
bleak indeed. Of course, it's now 2007, and there are many differences
between Orwell's vision and today's reality. However, there were many
things that seemed eerily too familiar, like how the higher-ups in the book
view war, and how they relay their views to the general public. I'm
not too politically savvy, but even the possibility of similarities between
the book's politicians and our present-day ones seems scary and unfortunate.
We've also listened to "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd, a New
York Times bestseller that I would classify as an "Oprah-Pick" book, even if
it wasn't actually picked by Oprah. A fictional account of a
14-year-old girl's struggle
to
deal with her mother's death and her possible contribution to it, the book
takes place in the early 1960s in South Carolina as she and the others main
characters deal with racial injustices. What I liked about this book
is that it's told in the first person from the girl's perspective, and I
thought the reader did a great job with the reading of it.
As we were heading west
to California, then north along its pacific coast, we listened to, and just
finished, "Eat Pray Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert, a memoir that recounts the
author's spiritual quest following a major life crisis. She ends up
taking a year "off" from her life, traveling four months in Italy, four
months in India, and four months in Indonesia. She reads the book
herself and I think she did a nice job. The book itself is written
with much humor and charm as she describes her own process along her path to
be closer to God and make sense of her own life and relationships. A
nice "read" (or listen-to, as the case may be). I just remembered that
we also listened to "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" by
Malcolm Gladwell, which I think we listened to when we were in Kansas.
Mostly I liked his theories and ideas about first impressions and that first
instincts are often correct, though we just-as-often make decisions without
consulting these first impressions. Of course, first impressions
aren't always correct, and he goes into that as well. I liked the
social science aspect of the book and the psychology of marketing, which I
have always found interesting. (Like did you know that margarine
didn't really take off as a butter substitute until they colored it yellow,
so that it looked like butter, and wrapped it in foil?! Marketing
geniuses!!!) We also listened to a very quick book called "As A Man
Thinketh" by James Allen, the premise of which basically follows that of
"The Secret," except that this was originally written in 1970 (I think).
It didn't really offer anything new or exciting about taking responsibility
for one's own life or that we are the authors of our own destiny; it just
reaffirmed
the ideas we've already been thinking about.
On another note, we've
taken thousands of pictures and missed thousands more. I've tried to
balance just being in the moment and simply having the experience
with capturing the moment on film for fear of forgetting the
experience in the future. My memory isn't what it used to be (at
least, I don't think it is - I can't quite remember). So I try to
compensate by taking tons of pictures so that we (or I) can remember where
we were, what we did, and so forth. It is quite possible that I've
trained my mind in such a way that, because I know there will be
pictures, I don't have to actually store the specific experience in my mind.
So if I stop taking so many pictures, I wonder if my memory will improve,
knowing that I will only have IT to rely on instead, not a mass of pictures.
On the other hand, I also just want to take great pictures, which I admit
can get in the way of just being in the moment. We've been to so many
great places that are extremely picture-worthy, it's hard not to want to
"get it." I imagine I will continue to struggle with this as the trip
continues, and probably for a while after that too. I suppose there
are worse things to struggle over.
The laundry is almost
done and it's time to shut down the computer for now. We'll be
heading out to Crater Lake soon to experience (and attempt to digitally
capture, of course!) more natural wonders. Until then... ~J
|
DAY 105: Sunday,
July 29, 2007 (crater Lake, OR)
Today was a
wonderful day at Crater Lake! The sun was shining, and it was warm but
not too warm- just perfect to go exploring, do some hiking, and get our
first glimpses of the lake, itself. We started out by taking a drive
around the east rim of the crater (as suggested by our very animated park
ranger at the
"Ranger Talks" program last night). Apparently a lot of
tourists miss the beauty of this side of the crater because the western side
offers more views of the lake. However, the eastern side has many more
trails, peaks, meadows, falls, and other special treats to see (as well as
stunning views of the lake). So we went that-a-way!!
Our first stop on the
east rim drive was Castle Crest Trail. This is a really magnificent
hike through a meadow that lies in the midst of the forest. We walked
in through the pines and discovered an interpretive trail along a meandering
brook. Here there were fields of many varieties of beautiful meadow
flowers- bright pinks, yellows,
purples,
whites and even blues! Butterflies and bumble bees love this spot- and
it's easy to see why. This was a great place for pictures.
We moved on to Vidae
Falls- a short stop off the rim drive. Here we took some pictures, and
admired the way ancient glacial water seeps from out of the rocks- just
beautiful!! A nice woman took our picture for us, and we spent a
little time just lingering in the sun. But not for too long, because
we still hadn't seen the lake- and all the pictures and descriptions of it
we have seen and heard sounded amazing. Supposedly the deepest and
bluest lake in the U.S., we just had to see it!
So we headed to Sun Notch
Trail for the lake's unveiling. We walked up a relatively easy hill
with much anticipation- and of course our video camera. When we
reached the top of the hill, surely the deepest and bluest lake either of us
have ever seen spread out before us in all its glory. You cannot even
imagine the depths of the blue of this lake. We had seen pictures and
videos of it, but in person it is so totally different. I call it
"surrealean blue" because it is surreal how blue this blue is. Imagine
a very concentrated, bright, infinite blue- like a sapphire with light
shining
through it. And it extends so deep and is so beautiful that it hurts
(much like the Caribbean ocean). The lake is so deep (almost 2,000
feet), and the organisms living in the lake are so well dispersed that the
light from the sun can reach deeper than
in any lake in the country. And that is why it is so blue.
Around the edges of the crater, the water is pure turquoise- my favorite
color. It is utterly splendid and stunning- and quickly became one of
my favorite places (if not my favorite) that we have seen so far on this
trip.
What is really amazing
too, is the story about how the lake was made. The region used to be
covered with volcanoes, and over time they all grew into one very large
volcano (Mt. Mazama) standing approximately 12,000 feet above sea level.
Gradually, the magma chamber underneath the volcano began to empty as the
smaller volcanoes inside the larger one erupted many times. Eventually
as the magma chamber emptied underneath the massive mountain, the weight of
the volcano above it became too heavy, and it collapsed into the chamber.
What was left was a giant smoldering caldera (approximately 4X5 miles
long/wide). Over the course of tens of thousands of years, the crater
filled with water from melting glaciers (around the crater), snow, and rain,
and this water covered over the volcanoes inside of it. One volcano
can still be seen above the surface of the water- Wizard Island, which got
its name based on the fact that it looks like a wizard's hat. This
volcano, as well as some hidden underneath the water, are still active!
Because the water remains
undisturbed from outside sources (e.g., rivers, streams, etc.), and due to
it's origin, it is the purest, cleanest and, in my opinion, most beautiful
in the world. We couldn't take our eyes off of it, and Jonathan
couldn't resist the urge to take pictures from every angle. He kept
exclaiming, "Every scene is a perfect one for a picture!" I kept
exclaiming, "It's SO pretty!" How many times can you say how beautiful
or pretty something is?! But we kept saying it, over and over again.
After our first look,
we
continued on the east rim drive. We stopped at The Pinnacles Trail and
took our bikes out for a ride. This spot follows along a cliff path
overlooking strange formations made from volcanoes. They are basically
like giant straws (actually volcanic spires). These "chimneys" were
formed hot ash cooled after the volcano erupted. They are truly unique
and amazing. It had been a while since we had ridden our bikes; we
haven't gotten as much use out of them as we hoped when beginning this trip,
so it was nice to ride them, even if it was only for a brief trail ride.
After this, we stopped
for a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant (Annie's Creek Restaurant) and had
a nice buffet lunch. Then it was time to stop and relax a bit, and do
a little wedding planning. Have we mentioned how much fun wedding
planning is from the road?? Though it's not always easy to make plans
from the internet and our cell phones (which don't always get great
service), we are managing to take care of all the big stuff while traveling
and camping. Things are falling into place, and we think we might
actually pull this off! Of course, we have had lots of help, support,
and encouragement from family and friends all over the country, and for this
we are most grateful. So thank you all very much!!
The last stop on our tour
of the lake today was Watchman Peak. We hiked up a 420-foot trail to
the top of the peak for a really spectacular bird's eye view of the entire
crater. From this height, we also got to see a glorious sunset.
While waiting for the sun to sink, we met some kind folks from Michigan and
Arizona (who were also on the peak to "capture" the sunset- what a bunch of
shutter bugs we are!). We exchanged cameras to take pictures for each
other, and then watched the sun melt into the wall of clouds hovering over
the range of mountains
and volcanoes in the distance. The effect of
this sunset created a pink cast from the mountains down over the edge of the
lake, and a dusty rose that blended into lavender, leaving a smoky blue sky
above.
We began our climb down
the mountain as the giant orange full moon began to rise over the crater and
the magnificent, now navy blue, mirror lake below. We both realized
this night was the anniversary of our engagement one month ago, when the
"blue moon" hung in the sky above us. The view of this beautiful full
moon over the lake was just like heaven to me. As we watched the moon
slowly climbing higher over the lake, I counted stars and planets as they
started to pop out in the sky above us. And to the west behind us, we
could see the smoldering colors of the sunset growing deeper and more
intense- like a fire on the horizon. The sky has always intrigued and
fascinated me, and to see all of these things at the same time- the sunset
on fire blending into the turquoise sky above, blending into hazy blue,
purple sky with the moon rising on the other side, all of it dotted with
stars- was like a beautiful dream. I said to Jonathan, "these are all
of my favorite colors!" And I found myself saying this tiny prayer
over and over, "Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for this moment." It
was perfect.
This was one of the most
wonderful days so far on this trip (at least for me, but I think I speak for
Jonathan as well). I cannot wait to see what tomorrow has in store!
Sleep tight, everyone. ~ E
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