serene certainty

The last few days have been a treat.

 Surrounded by my favorite environments.

Mountains.  Woods.  Water.

Driving through beauty hard to put into words

and

standing on ground that left you stopped in your tracks.

Marvelled by all that I saw ... I could not have asked for a better

way to prepare my mind and soul as I have been lead to the beginning of my

grand adventure.

July 6.Wednesday

We left Grass Valley and made our way to Highway 1.

With a much anticipated arrival for our drive up the coast....we were greeted by overcast, foggy, 62 degree weather.

(Quite a difference from the 100 degree weather we had in Grass Valley for the few days we were there.) 



Looking to the Left over the ocean - low, fast moving clouds were moving East.  Look to the Right - blue, sunny skies shown.  There was still a beauty to marvel at.

With the late start out of Grass Valley and a drive that took longer than expected - we arrived at the Redwoods National Forest near dark.

We finally found ourselves a campground within the park around 10pm, and set up camp in the dark at Mill Creek.

Pretty sure we annoyed the couple next to our site with our late night arrival --- headlights...doors opening...tent pole tingting...whispers while trying to figure out how to cook dinner...

Britt reading directions.. reminding herself how her stove works.

Microwaveable rice ... turned into boilinabag rice.
Worked out just fine.

Our lovely campsite.

With this crystal clear stream running behind the fence.

Where I found a huge Slug (banana?) and Snail.

*

July 7.Thursday.

We hiked in the Redwoods.

6 mile round trip to see Boy Scout Tree and Fern Falls

We continued our trip onto Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.

Along our route we stopped at the 'Natural Bridge'  --- Formed out of lava rock..The Rogue River flows underneath for about 200ft.

and

The Rogue River Gorge.

When we arrived to Crater Lake we decided to drive to the top in time to watch a stunning sunset from the 8000ft  peak of Watchman Overlook.

We were also surprised with snow and 42 degrees...with a windchill that was below freezing.

We made our way down the mountain to the campground... Half of the campground was still covered in snow.  Leaving limited space and a sign that read 'FULL'.

It was nearing 10PM, and our only option was to drive back out of the park a half hour to campgrounds we saw along the way.

About 20 minutes later, we came across a cute little lodging area with cottages.

THey were priced too high..we moved on.

As I continue driving, I hesitate to say, "I don't recognize any of this."

Britt agrees.  And we conclude "I" went the wrong direction out of the park.

It is now nearing 11PM. 

We are tired and contemplate finding a side road and just pulling over.

Brittany then puts the thought in my head of, 'What does a ticket cost for camping in an unmarked area in a National Park?'

We nixed that idea.

I decide we are going to go back into the park (because we had no cash on us to pay the entrance fee, so if we stayed outside of the park...we would not be able to get in) and we were going to pull into one of the spaces in the closed section of the campground and just sleep in our car.

*

July 8.Friday.

The next morning I watched a few of the Park Service trucks drive by as they made their rounds around the campground.....guilty conscience :/ .... I told Britt we should get moving.

When we got back to the top of the mountain ...

We sat in Awe...

Soaking in the beauty and crisp morning air.

THere is a 33 mile road around the lake (A West rim drive and East rim drive).  Due to 15 ft above average snow fall this past winter, the East rim was closed because it was still under snow and would not be open until the end of July!

Snow plows were able to clear the West rim drive after long hours this Spring. (Plowing nearly 30+ feet of snow off the road!)

Our drive continued heading back West toward the Oregon coast.

We made a stop through Coos Bay - Home of running legend Steve Prefontaine.  I wanted a picture by the sign...which coincindently was right next to 'Michigan Street'.

We travelled North up the coast to Florence, Oregon.

Found ourselves a room

and

ate what Brittany called

"Mikals Last Supper"

****

My travels West have been an adventure of their own.

Now my travels back East begin.

My ride will start July 9, 2011.

Back tire in the Pacific Ocean in Harbor Vista Park, Florence, Oregon.

Facing East. On my way to Bar Harbor, Maine.