TR: Oregon Cascades and Coastline. Part 1
Road Trip, those words always perk me up. This trips theme turned out to have the lines from the Grateful Dead's “Trucking” running though it What a long strange trip its been fits in oh so many ways.
We started planning back in January just a month after our near disastrous blow out on I5. After Cat Scaling my rig and determining that I was too close to my tires 7500 load rating I decided on Steel 19.5 Rims from a specialty MFG Rickson rated at 5000 pounds per tire coupled with tired rated at 4850. I would have more load capacity than I was every going to need and was quoted 16-20 weeks for delivery. I placed the order on February 7th figuring that would be in plenty of time for our mid September trip. 24 weeks passed and no wheels, then 30 weeks and more excuses from Rickson about the delay..
Best thing I did was make the purchase from Cody at Les Schwab Livermore He kept me informed and pushed at the MFG. Well as it got down to trip time and still no wheels but many promises. Cody launched a back up plan and at no cost to me ordered a set of Vision Wheels and had them on hand encase my order did not show and to make sure my trip went off as planned
While the tire/ and wheel saga played out we put together our trip. Our initial plans changed when we took up Kayaking. So it was hiking with the dogs, Kayaking, Fly fishing and sightseeing with the bikes getting left at home. As I calculated the distances it also came into reality that the first day of our trip would coincide with my wife's 4 year old horses Mare Performance test in Lincoln CA ( judging suitability for elite mare breeding status) so we had to go there.
I hate planning on destinations but my wife likes having spots on the map so we split the trip in half and picked two camp spots going north and made reservations. Good thing too because everything ended up booked solid. Crater Lake National Park and LaPine State Park near Bend on the Deschutes River
Well the Monday before we were going to leave and the wheels were a no show. But they promised to air freight them out for Wednesday arrival...nope Wednesday came and no wheels. I drove thenow loaded rig over to Les Schwab and Cody applied my rim prepayment to the Vision 19.5 Wheels mounted and balanced 4 19.5 load range H tires which I gladly paid for, Canceled my imaginary rims and I was stress free and ready for the Highway. I cant thank Cody and Les Schwab enough for going above and beyond to ensure I had a safe trip.
So we rolled out in the pre dawn at 5:30 Saturday enroute to Lincoln NE of Sacramento in the Sierra Foothills
After we had crossed the Altamont we stopped for Coffee at the Black Bear Diner Central Valley town of Tracy
The sun came up just as we got back on the freeway
Around 8:30 we were at Rainbow Farms in Lincoln for The Hanovarian Society Mare Peformance testing and inspection
and here we stayed until 2pm
So after a very long 3 part judging process that included riding under saddle, the horse cantering down a chute with show jumps that it had to clear with no rider on board. And the a walk /trot in hand section to allow the judges to study the horses conformation the judges made their annoucement.
Needless to say we were very pleased at our horse Wyleigh getting awarded Top Mare of the inspection
So I played host while my wife and the trainers consumed many bottles of Champagne
At two we hit the road for one long push to Crater Lake in Oregon
cruising though the backroads on the way to hwy 99 then 5
one of the cool things about back roads is that you never know what you will find. We came around a bend and saw a handmade sign for hand made chocolates , we stopped Pumpkin Land Chocolate Co 12000 hwy 99 east in Red Bluff
oh and they were so good yes we bought a few bags. Driving and chocolates goes very well.
( this is what survived the trip)
Late afternoon
Lake Shasta is down to 23% of capacity due to the drought
Even in the drought of 91Mt Shasta still had Snow on the west side and the summit when I climbed it, but not this year brown all the way to the summit of14,179 feet
Just north of Mt Shasta we turned off hwy 5 to hwy 97 at Weed. It was very smoky due to all the wildfires in the surrounding areas. A day later a fire would sweep into town burning 100 homes and 8 businesses.
Getting late and we were hungry yet still many miles to go Ruth used Yelp to search for descent food ahead, We would reach Klamath Falls OR with about 30 minutes left before Wubbas BBQ on Buisness 89 closed so we phoned ahead with a take out order which we ate in the camper. It was simply awesome BBQ. The St Louis style ribs were juicy and just fell of the bone, the beans and coleslaw were just as good. Ruth had pulled pork and Brisket with onion rings...everything was mouth watering.
We rolled into Crater Lake and the Campground at 10:30pm ( we left the house at 5:30 am) and found our site tag on the check in window. The camps were full and there were only 6 late arrivals us being one. I pulled in leveled the rig and passed out. In the morning I found out that I missed scraping a tree with the TC by 4 inches. I will take a near miss any day.
it was brisk
Funny thing about parks, everyone clears out of the campground by midday Sunday
So we broke camp, and headed up to the crater, it was smoky. You could just see the 6 miles across to the other side
Clarks Nutcracker
In retrospect Crater Lake while beautiful is not our cup of tea as far as being able to do the things we like to do. It would have been better to stay just one night then head out the next evning instead of staying two nights, but who knew and we had already paid for it so..
In the morning we headed out to LaPine State Park south of Bend on the Deschutes River.
Full hook ups and quiet.
The river right behind our campsite with good hiking and a bit of fishing
The folks next to us turned us on to one of the coolest places on our whole trip
Hosmer lake on the Cascade Lakes Parkway. Actually I could have spent the entire trip in that area. So many lakes, trout streams, Boondocking areas, hiking trails, volcanic vistas.
Anyways it was about an hour drive from the campground so we drove on up and unloaded the Kayaks.
We paddled and fished the many fingers and two main lake bodies for over 5 hours. It was stunning with water so clear you could see the trout swimming 10 feet below. Ducks and hawks everywhere, Volcanoes rising above the trees.
I will let the photos speak
on the way back to LaPine it still get awesome
Stayed tuned for part two, The Sisters area then off to the coast at Coos Bay then down to play with the bull elk on the trails of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
We started planning back in January just a month after our near disastrous blow out on I5. After Cat Scaling my rig and determining that I was too close to my tires 7500 load rating I decided on Steel 19.5 Rims from a specialty MFG Rickson rated at 5000 pounds per tire coupled with tired rated at 4850. I would have more load capacity than I was every going to need and was quoted 16-20 weeks for delivery. I placed the order on February 7th figuring that would be in plenty of time for our mid September trip. 24 weeks passed and no wheels, then 30 weeks and more excuses from Rickson about the delay..
Best thing I did was make the purchase from Cody at Les Schwab Livermore He kept me informed and pushed at the MFG. Well as it got down to trip time and still no wheels but many promises. Cody launched a back up plan and at no cost to me ordered a set of Vision Wheels and had them on hand encase my order did not show and to make sure my trip went off as planned
While the tire/ and wheel saga played out we put together our trip. Our initial plans changed when we took up Kayaking. So it was hiking with the dogs, Kayaking, Fly fishing and sightseeing with the bikes getting left at home. As I calculated the distances it also came into reality that the first day of our trip would coincide with my wife's 4 year old horses Mare Performance test in Lincoln CA ( judging suitability for elite mare breeding status) so we had to go there.
I hate planning on destinations but my wife likes having spots on the map so we split the trip in half and picked two camp spots going north and made reservations. Good thing too because everything ended up booked solid. Crater Lake National Park and LaPine State Park near Bend on the Deschutes River
Well the Monday before we were going to leave and the wheels were a no show. But they promised to air freight them out for Wednesday arrival...nope Wednesday came and no wheels. I drove thenow loaded rig over to Les Schwab and Cody applied my rim prepayment to the Vision 19.5 Wheels mounted and balanced 4 19.5 load range H tires which I gladly paid for, Canceled my imaginary rims and I was stress free and ready for the Highway. I cant thank Cody and Les Schwab enough for going above and beyond to ensure I had a safe trip.
So we rolled out in the pre dawn at 5:30 Saturday enroute to Lincoln NE of Sacramento in the Sierra Foothills
After we had crossed the Altamont we stopped for Coffee at the Black Bear Diner Central Valley town of Tracy
The sun came up just as we got back on the freeway
Around 8:30 we were at Rainbow Farms in Lincoln for The Hanovarian Society Mare Peformance testing and inspection
and here we stayed until 2pm
So after a very long 3 part judging process that included riding under saddle, the horse cantering down a chute with show jumps that it had to clear with no rider on board. And the a walk /trot in hand section to allow the judges to study the horses conformation the judges made their annoucement.
Needless to say we were very pleased at our horse Wyleigh getting awarded Top Mare of the inspection
So I played host while my wife and the trainers consumed many bottles of Champagne
At two we hit the road for one long push to Crater Lake in Oregon
cruising though the backroads on the way to hwy 99 then 5
one of the cool things about back roads is that you never know what you will find. We came around a bend and saw a handmade sign for hand made chocolates , we stopped Pumpkin Land Chocolate Co 12000 hwy 99 east in Red Bluff
oh and they were so good yes we bought a few bags. Driving and chocolates goes very well.
( this is what survived the trip)
Late afternoon
Lake Shasta is down to 23% of capacity due to the drought
Even in the drought of 91Mt Shasta still had Snow on the west side and the summit when I climbed it, but not this year brown all the way to the summit of14,179 feet
Just north of Mt Shasta we turned off hwy 5 to hwy 97 at Weed. It was very smoky due to all the wildfires in the surrounding areas. A day later a fire would sweep into town burning 100 homes and 8 businesses.
Getting late and we were hungry yet still many miles to go Ruth used Yelp to search for descent food ahead, We would reach Klamath Falls OR with about 30 minutes left before Wubbas BBQ on Buisness 89 closed so we phoned ahead with a take out order which we ate in the camper. It was simply awesome BBQ. The St Louis style ribs were juicy and just fell of the bone, the beans and coleslaw were just as good. Ruth had pulled pork and Brisket with onion rings...everything was mouth watering.
We rolled into Crater Lake and the Campground at 10:30pm ( we left the house at 5:30 am) and found our site tag on the check in window. The camps were full and there were only 6 late arrivals us being one. I pulled in leveled the rig and passed out. In the morning I found out that I missed scraping a tree with the TC by 4 inches. I will take a near miss any day.
it was brisk
Funny thing about parks, everyone clears out of the campground by midday Sunday
So we broke camp, and headed up to the crater, it was smoky. You could just see the 6 miles across to the other side
Clarks Nutcracker
In retrospect Crater Lake while beautiful is not our cup of tea as far as being able to do the things we like to do. It would have been better to stay just one night then head out the next evning instead of staying two nights, but who knew and we had already paid for it so..
In the morning we headed out to LaPine State Park south of Bend on the Deschutes River.
Full hook ups and quiet.
The river right behind our campsite with good hiking and a bit of fishing
The folks next to us turned us on to one of the coolest places on our whole trip
Hosmer lake on the Cascade Lakes Parkway. Actually I could have spent the entire trip in that area. So many lakes, trout streams, Boondocking areas, hiking trails, volcanic vistas.
Anyways it was about an hour drive from the campground so we drove on up and unloaded the Kayaks.
We paddled and fished the many fingers and two main lake bodies for over 5 hours. It was stunning with water so clear you could see the trout swimming 10 feet below. Ducks and hawks everywhere, Volcanoes rising above the trees.
I will let the photos speak
on the way back to LaPine it still get awesome
Stayed tuned for part two, The Sisters area then off to the coast at Coos Bay then down to play with the bull elk on the trails of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
