Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014

Another sunny, clear-sky day in the Bay Area and I am waiting for the bus to the light rail station and eventually my little box of an apartment in downtown San Jose, California.

Staring me in the face is the 4th of July and a five days off work. In my mind, I am not sure what my plans are, but I don’t want to just sit at home and brood and play the “woe is me” game.

A little background. I had the life, or at least I pretended I did for the last 10 years. I had a nice bungalow-style, 4-bed, 2-bath house in Salt Lake City. Recently flipped, with a fully finished basement, an active vegetable garden, fruit trees, a garage, and even a car. I could look out the windows and see the towering snow-capped mountains. A short walk down the road led to a trolley, shops, restaurants, and a really nice park. I had a wife, a crazy Jack Russell, and a job. Life was good, at least good enough. Then in a single day my life was turned upside down when I found out I was not the only man in my wife’s life. I gave up the house, lost the car, the dog, the lifestyle, and I voluntarily left the job.

So, now I am at the bus stop thinking what to do now, freshly single, in a new place, with a new job, and few friends. I did what I do best. Explore.

Thursday, July 3rd 2014

Acting on impulse, I rented a car and took off for the unknown on what would turn into one of the best ideas of my life.

Unfortunately, the start of the trip was typical California with bumper-to-bumper traffic for three straight hours through the dry grasslands and farms of the Central Valley. After finally escaping the crowds I headed north on I-5 toward northern CA and Mt. Shasta. The original idea was to see Shasta and the Redwoods and call it a trip. Those plans changed.

Due to the traffic from earlier, I didn’t reach Mt. Shasta until dark and I couldn’t see anything. So I drove to a rest stop near Grant’s Pass, OR. I had past experience of saving money by sleeping in rest areas, so this was not new and I was prepared. Some people might thing this is gross, but whatever, if you ever go camping, real camping, where there are no showers, then this is the same thing. I saved $60 bucks by laying in weird configurations, in my tiny rental car, with t-shirts blocking out the light from the street lamps.

Friday, July 4th, 2014

I woke up bleary-eyed, but ready to get going at 4:30am. Upon going to sleep there were a few other cars, but now the parking lot was full. It’s weird that you feel safer with other cars around when the person right next to you could be a murderer or something horrible.

The morning was humid with just a slight chill. Thankfully no wildlife other than a few birds here and there. So, with no plans, I got on I-5 and immediately see a sign for Portland. I have never been there, but always wanted to one day. Well this was that day. I immediately tapped my internal map and love of sports and decided to stop in Eugene to see Autzen Stadium and home of the Oregon Ducks. It was nice; Nike nice.

I reached Portland at 8:30am. Earlier that morning, on my Iphone, I discovered much to my delight, that Stumptown coffee would be open on the 4th. As a coffee-lover I was definitely going there, and that was the thought of the other coffee people in Portland. There was a long line, but I was in no hurry with limited plans. So wait I did.

While in the Portland area, initially I was going to visit Astoria and land of the Goonies, but I forgot the thousands of people that enjoy the beach on the 4th. So about 10 miles into the drive I turned around and made a mental note to return in the future. I did explore downtown Portland which was very green, with a lot of parks, and was quite hilly. Living in California I am used to the bums, so the city was really neat and I will return.

Through the haze I could just make out Mt. Hood. I must say I have a fascination with geography and topography, and in particular volcanoes. So, I made this trip about seeing the volcanoes along the Cascades. Mt. Shasta, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and the king Mt. Rainier. I saw each, but only a few of those, and many un-named ones up close.

Now it’s 9 am and my impulse, crazy-idea generator started up. Why not see as much as possible. Four hours later I arrived in Seattle. In my short stay there, I drove over the Tacoma Narrows bridge (wikipedia the history of that bridge), went to West Seattle just so on the way back, over the bridge, I could see the entire city across the bay. I then drove down to the Pike Place Market, by the Space Needle and next to the Mariners and Seahawks stadiums. The most ominous, freakish, but very cool site, and something I have always wanted to see is Mt. Rainier. Mt. Rainier is super tall at 14,000+ feet, about 40 or so miles from Seattle at sea level. Covered in glaciers it was amazing and lived up to my hype.

Upon leaving the area, I decided to see the east side of Lake Washington and Redmond and it was very unexpected with wineries and farmland mixed in with the Evergreen trees. From there it was onto I-90 and over Snoqualmie Pass.

I am well aware from working in the weather that the east side of the Cascades are a desert because all the moisture is wrung out over the mountains leaving very little for the central areas of the state. Oregon is the same way. I didn’t stay there long, but just long enough to watch a guy pass me going about 100 mph and then get pulled over. Awesome.

Getting out of there was a must and I was very happy to make the drive back on Highway 12; back to the mountains, and the canopy of the forest. I am an extensive Google Map user on my phone, and it came through by showing me that by taking 12 I could see Mt. Rainier from the back, and plus drive a more scenic route through the mountains. It didn’t let me down.

First stop, I think was Rimrock Lake, a very long, picturesque lake where I took in a sailboat, the water, the cliffs, and the quiet of the wild. Highway 12 is a great drive because there are several pull-offs to take pictures.

One of these was Clear Creek Falls, a pretty nice waterfall with a nice short hike and with great views of the lake, and valley.

The Mt. Rainier stop didn’t disappoint. Spectacular. A massive beast of a mountain covered in snow and ice and towering well above the surrounding landscape.

After Rainier it was getting dark. I was able to stop and watch a firework display somewhere north of Vancouver, Washington. A good end to a long day.

Saturday, July 5th 2014

Starting a little later at 5 am, I drove back across the Columbia River to Portland, then headed east toward Mt. Hood. I didn’t realize that along I-84, which runs along the Columbia River, that the view would be so amazing. Again, trees everywhere, with the river and huge cliffs on both sides.

I passed this amazing waterfall and at the next exit, I jumped onto Highway 30. Along this narrow, deserted road, I came upon a waterfall called Horsetail Falls. I was the only one there at 6am, and it was wonderful. I walked right down to the edge of the water and all that I could hear was the roar.

I then drove up the road another half a mile to Multonomah Falls. These were unbelievable. About 500 feet tall, a narrow plume of water descending the steep cliff walls. Again just a handful of people were there which allowed for great pictures. There was a small bridge over the lower falls and after a short hike this allowed for an even closer experience.

I then headed up to see Mt. Hood. This volcano is said to have year around snow skiing and I could see the lifts from my viewpoint near the White River. It was amazing with the glaciers contrasting against the green of the forests.

I then drove east into the dry grasslands of central Oregon. To my surprise, I discovered a gorge that I stopped to visit. Crooked River Gorge is 300 feet deep and just kind of there. Very few visitors, but a really neat little find. I stopped to reflect on what to that point was a crazy idea turned into an amazing adventure.

Then heading south through Bend, OR, I reached my next, and one of the most picturesque stops on my tour, Crater Lake. The water in this lake is the deepest, most amazing blue you can imagine. More blue than the sky, it looks fake. I drove around the rim of the lake, taking in several shots before moving on to my next volcano, Mt. Shasta.

Mt. Shasta is in northern CA and stands around 12,000 ft. It is much higher than anything around, so it comes off as very impressive. At the base, where I took the picture, the temperature was 100 degrees F, or 38 C. I still had my sweater on from being at Crater Lake at 9,000 feet and so I was a little warm. The sweater didn’t last much longer.

I had a choice at this point. It was 5:20 pm, I knew it was a 5-hour drive back to my house, and the rental car was due back at 1pm the next day.

Or, I could head back to Grant’s Pass, OR, where I spent my first night, and drop down to the Redwoods and the Pacific Ocean, but then have to drive in the dark through the forest. I chose the latter and it paid off big time.

Taking Highway 199 out of Grant’s Pass is a 1-hour trip through Redwood trees, twisting and turning canyons, a tunnel, and finally arriving at the ocean in Crescent City. Then, heading south, you go back into the Redwoods on an amazingly twisty road that is lined by trees with trunks as big as your car. Zipping by these trees you pop out on a cliff next to the ocean. My timing was exceptional as I witnessed the sunset over the Pacific. An amazing end to a great trip.

Sunday, July 5th 2014

I then drove for 6 hours in the dark, much of it through forests with deer and constant warnings of elk. Thankfully my drive was mostly uneventful. Tired and worn out, but realizing how much fun my trip was, I made it home at 4am on Sunday.

It was an awesome trip with amazing scenery and several places worth visiting in the future. My life may not be the same and starting from the bottom in my 30s was not part of the plan. However, the opportunity to leave on a whim and explore new places and new things is what makes life so great.