Crater Lake and Portland again!

On my way out of California towards Oregon, I took the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway. A string of volcanic peaks lines the road; it brought back good memories of New Zealand, actually.

Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the US, famous for its still, deep blue waters. The caldera was formed 7,700 years ago after a volcanic eruption caused the summit of Mount Mazama to collapse on itself.

This formation is called the Phantom Ship. At 400,000 years, it's the oldest rock in the area --older even than the caldera walls.

Crater Lake is strictly rain and snow-fed; the evaporation cycle replaces the basin's water every 250 years.

Wizard Island, which is actually a separate volcano from the much-larger one encircling it. It erupted after Crater Lake had started to collect water.

Wow. That was nice. Glad I dropped by. Now on to Portland...
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Mount Cook. I must be getting close to Portland!

Voodoo Donuts, a Portland staple. Despite a long line-up snaking its way onto the sidewalk, Matt and I waited 30 minutes to sample one of these life-shortening beauties. 

In the end, I picked a Canadian-themed donut, with thick Maple icing and real, deep-fried bacon. Despite appearances, it was delicious.

Matt chose Cap'n Krunch Berries --he said it was only OK. There was an assortment of other breakfast cereal donuts: Froot Loops, Lucky Charms...

Just outside of Portland, Multnomah Falls are the tallest in Oregon at 611 feet. Benson Bridge was recently rebuilt after a falling boulder took a chunk out of it. For all future visitors, make sure to stop by in the late afternoon so that you don't face the sun.

Native American legend says that the falls were created to charm a princess who wanted a private place to bathe. This would be the spot!

That's it!  That's all for my Californian road trip. Two more 8-hour days of driving will bring me back to Canmore where my new apartment awaits. I'm so excited! I can't wait to put my clothes in actual DRAWERS (woohoo!), place my books on their shelves and have my own private bathroom. Yes!

You guys have been awesome. I've loved writing my blog and having you respond to it; it helped me feel connected to loved ones when I was traveling alone.

Take good care everyone,

xxx

Lassen Volcano and Mount Shasta

Ah. There she is. This is what I came here to see. Mount Lassen. A still-active volcano that is responsible for some pretty cool stuff here in Lassen Volcanic Park.

A lot of that cool stuff can be found at the colorfully-named Bumpass Hell (rhymes with ''compass'', not with ''ass''). 

A certain Mr. Kendall Bumpass (who might have been picked on in elementary school) discovered the area and unluckily needed to have his leg amputated after he broke through the thinly-crusted soil and suffered horrible burns. 

This is definitely one of the coolest, most bizarre things I've ever seen. The bright colors, caused by various microbes, lichens and mosses growing out of the sulfur-rich vents, freaked me right out. So much fun to photograph!

There's some good hiking in Lassen Volcanic Park, which I fully took advantage of.

Brokeoff Mountain (not Brokeback Mountain, as I kept calling it...)

Mount Lassen last erupted in 1915, spewing 30,000 feet of smoke and rock into the sky. Luckily, no one was killed (it was a rather uninhabited area at the time --and still is). 

Manzanita Lake

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On the way to my next spot, I stopped at a little-known state park, McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park. Within the park were the most beautiful waterfalls I've ever seen, Burney Falls.

Measuring 129 feet in height, the falls provide a constant flow, year-round, of 379 million liters PER DAY. Incredible. These are my favorite falls ever, more so than any Hawaiian ones I might have seen --and that's saying something.

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Shasta Mountain, looking fabulous below, is where I'll be heading next. It'll be my last Californian stop before visiting Oregon again on my journey back to Canmore.

Loving every sticker on this car.

A leisurely walk on the volcano is all I've got time for today.  It's so barren up here, like the moon... Or like Sudbury when I was growing up (it's since been greened-up).

Gorgeous Black Butte, a cinder cone formed about 10,000 years ago.

It rises almost 3,000 feet and I would have liked to climb it, but time was short today.

Mount Shasta has been revered for centuries by Native Americans and modern mystics alike. In 1987, 5000 mystics from around the world convened here for a mass World Peace meditation. They must have had their hands full during the Bush administrations. 

Mount Shasta is visible for more than 100 miles away. It stands alone on the horizon, unrivaled by other peaks. The volcano is dormant -- not yet extinct but not really active; its last eruption was 200-ish years ago.

It's only a few photos, but driving around Mount Shasta actually took up my entire day. Beautiful area.

Thanks for reading and for your support. My trip is drawing to an end and it was so much fun relaying it to you. Thank you to all who took the time to respond and comment.
xxxx

Lake Tahoe

Ladies, for all of you still dreaming about your ideal Gino in gold chains and V-neck t-shirts padded thick with chest hair... For my girls who pine over Bieber-ish pipsqueaks in flipped-up baseball caps and pants hanging down to there, or who fantasize about riding in a pimped-out Honda with gold-toothed Snoop-Dogg wannabes...  Have I got the place for you!  (And boys, lots of fake boobs, fake platinum blondes and orange tans drunkenly showing off their underwear here!)

Oh, I'm kidding. (Nope. I'm not.) Woohoo, it's the Fourth of July in Lake Tahoe!

I don't think I've ever traveled anywhere that was at once so immensely beautiful and so appalling.

Despite my kidding around (I'm really not, though), Lake Tahoe is worth all the teeth-gritting traffic it can throw at you. As these photos will show you, it's a stunning area in which to find oneself. Put frankly, it's beautiful. The water is so incredibly blue; it's as though God had too much Windex on his hands and dumped it all here. 

Emerald Bay, one of Lake Tahoe's more natural assets.

Lake Tahoe is the USA's second-deepest lake and one of its highest-elevated as well. And it's huge: you could spend a good 4 hours driving around its cliff-hugging roads. It is rimmed on all sides by beautifully lush, green mountains (which in the winter provide hundreds of acres of skiing in over a dozen resorts) and has plenty of pristine, sandy beaches to satisfy its summer visitors.

My first day was spent running away from the crowds, hiking one of Maggie's Peaks. 

Granite Lake

Beautiful day, in the end. 

View of Lake Tahoe, Granite Lake and Cascade Lake from summit of Maggie's Peaks.


Hike #2 for today, Cascade Lake.

I know it looks like a tan, but it all washed off... Pure dirt.

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One possible reason for all the ''cheese'' around here: The eastern half of Lake Tahoe lies in the state of Nevada. Their busy but frustration-free half (thanks to a 4-lane highway) caters to all the gambling, strip poles and neon needs that one could possibly have, although aficionados would agree that it certainly doesn't hold a candle to Vegas. 

The Californian half of the lake, however, is much busier and is unfortunately serviced by a narrow, two-laned road that is hopelessly choked with traffic on its best days. When I arrived on July 4th, it took me 3 hours to drive 11 miles - I was fit to be tied!  I do realize I was here at a busy time, but I had to go somewhere: it was either Lake Tahoe or Yosemite -- I chose the former.

Driving on the Nevada side of things.

 Eager to avoid the crowds, Day Two was also spent on the hiking trails. And why not?  There are so many trails in this area --like Winnemuca Lake, my chosen path for today. 

The wildflowers are out!

You can see the difference between the lakes here; the glacier-fed ones are bright turquoise, like the one pictured here.

Winnemuca Lake. This was my intended stop, but I'll keep going. It's just too beautiful to turn back.

Can't believe the colors when the sun comes out (albeit, this one was taken with my camera's ''Vivid'' setting). 

Round Top Lake, inside a glacier-formed moraine. My friends from the Rockies will recognize the topography; I felt like I was hiking back home.

Woods Lake in the distance.

Fourth of July Lake, not glacier-fed and a beautiful, deep blue. This is where I turn around; I'm getting hungry and I've run out of water.

That was the whole of my two days in Lake Tahoe. Short and sweet. Take my advice and go there; just don't go there on Independence Day.

Wishing everyone love and happiness,

xx