I awoke to more rain, but I headed out in my car to explore Lake Tahoe anyway. I headed south on Rt 89, and stopped briefly at a couple of scenic points, but the weather was so gloomy and rainy that I couldn’t find much in the way of photo opportunities, although I was pleasantly surprised that this low-light shot turned out nicely:

Tahoe Leaf

So I found a little cafe in South Tahoe, and sat and worked on downloading and editing photos for a little while. However, even that effort was unsuccessful. I’m having some kind of computer difficulty in the Lightroom application, which is my main tool for importing, keywording, assessing, and editing my photos. The program has frozen, and in the process frozen my laptop a couple of times now, and upon restarting my computer and relaunching the application, I found that my Lightroom library was corrupted. Arrggggh. It seems that on every photo trip I take, I have some at least minor computer disaster. Fortunately, I’ve been backing up everything to an extra external hard drive as I import each memory card, so my files are intact. I’m just having trouble with Lightroom, and I doubt I’ll be able to fix the problem until after I return home. If any of you reading happen to be Lightroom experts, drop me a note and let me know your thoughts. In the meantime, this makes it hard for me to post new photos while I’m on the trip, so that’s why you’re not seeing new work from me on my Flickr site. Trust me, I will add them in time!

After I spent some time at the cafe, feeling frustrated with my lack of progress on all fronts, I headed back to my cabin and had some leftovers from the previous night’s dinner for my lunch, and I did a little more work on the computer, making some notes for my now-long-overdue blog posts. I noticed the sky clearing, and took advantage of the brief window in the weather to head off on a nearby little hike the hotel manager had recommended. It’s a trail on the state line between Nevada and California, on the site where the Brockway Hotel used to be, and it’s a pleasant hike with beautiful views out over the lake. I got rained on just a little bit, but got some nice photos of the dramatic skies over Lake Tahoe in the distance, as the sun lowered.

After my hike, I headed into Incline Village to find some dinner and decided to try a sushi restaurant called Yoshimi. Of course, I had the Flaming Lips song going through my head all the rest of the evening. I was happy with my meal — the sushi actually seemed quite fresh, and I had enough edamame to take for a snack the next day.

As this trip progresses, I’m getting better at editing my destinations, either prioritizing or going with what I find as I explore. It’s hard for me because I want to see EVERYTHING, but that’s just impossible. The more I travel, the more I realize what I can realistically fit in any given day or time. This morning was a good example. I had wanted to visit McKerricher Park and the botanic gardens at Mendocino while I was in the area. However, if I was going to keep to my schedule, I would need to hit the road pretty soon, so I poked around on Sea Glass beach (a fascinating area of beach covered not so much in sand as in tiny bits of glass, left over from the days when that area was used as a bottle depository), photographed some fishing boats in the Noyo harbor, and started on the road to Lake Tahoe.

Heading to Tahoe, I found the higher elevation portion of I-80 to be the roughest, noisiest stretch of interstate I’ve ever driven. I know the Prius doesn’t exactly have a stellar reputation for shutting out road noise, but it was darn hard to hear Terry Gross interview Jon Stewart on the radio over the rumbling of the road as I passed the Donner summit.

I arrived at Lake Tahoe in early evening, in pouring rain. I wasn’t even going to bother looking for camping in this weather, so I checked out tripadvisor.com and found a place in the town of Tahoe Vista called Cedar Glen Lodge — they got good reviews, and I was happy as well. Thanks to the very helpful Martha and Danny, I got a cute little rustic cabin with a kitchen for about $80 a night, and I walked a couple of blocks to a nearby restaurant called Spindleshanks. While the food was pretty good, I have to say the service was lacking. My waiter seemed a bit indifferent to me, and it took longer than it should have for my pasta entree to arrive after I finished my salad. Oh well, at least my entree was big enough to provide me with two subsequent meals after that dinner!

Eureka! Remember how I was lamenting the lack of good iced tea in the middle of the country? I found Honest Tea in a convenience store in Eureka and darn near bought out their inventory. I think the cashier thought there was something wrong with me.

Tired of my usual camping breakfast of oatmeal or Cheerios, I went to Renata’s Creperie in Arcata, where I had a delicious crepe with banana, strawberry, and Nutella, as well as excellent coffee. I then explored the Samoa dunes area and got some pictures of crashing waves and dramatic skies, as well as some details of boats in a nearby marina. The only bad part of the day happened in Arcata, where I found most the unpleasant public bathroom I’ve encountered since the gas station bathroom in Nevada I had to use in an emergency 15 years ago. I’m still trying to erase it from my memory.

I continued down 101 toward the Humboldt Redwoods State Park. I’ve noticed that my little trailer gets more visible reactions from other drivers on the coasts than it does in the middle of the country. A couple of times, people smiled and pointed and waved as they passed me on the highway.

South of the town of Scotia, I veered off the highway to take Route 254, the Avenue of the Giants through the redwoods. The beautiful sunny day was welcome, but not really the best for photographing the redwoods, so I was glad I’d had the foggy redwood experience the day before. Still, I enjoyed the trip, and even drove my car AND the trailer through a drive-through redwood tree at Chandelier Tree, one of the tourist traps along the way. Hey, I’d come 6,500 miles so far on this trip — I’m definitely going to take my trailer through a tree even if it does cost $7.

I continued on Route 101, and as I had planned, headed once again toward the coast on Route 1. Wow, is that one twisty-turny, hairpin-curved highway. It almost made me feel a little woozy. It was a relief to finally see the ocean come into view. I made my way to Fort Bragg for the night, and decided to stay at the Beachcomber motel, which has wonderful views of the ocean and has some very reasonable off-season rates. I had a little bit of time to take a quick trip down to Sea Glass Beach and take some photos as the sun went down behind the crashing waves. I then enjoyed fish & chips and a nice dark beer at the North Coast Brewing Company before calling it a night.

I said goodbye to my friendly hosts at the Aspen Inn and left Fort Klamath to head south, toward the California Redwood country. In the Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park, I stopped at a few of the pullouts to admire the impressive, towering stands of redwoods. But I didn’t want to linger too long, because I wanted to really take my time at the Lady Bird Johnson Grove in Redwood National Park, which I’d heard was especially worthwhile. As I got closer to the coast, it got foggier and mistier, and a light drizzle had begun by the time I drove up the climbing, winding road to the Lady Bird Johnson Grove. Undeterred by the weather, I headed out on the short but rewarding hike through the redwoods. The quiet, foggy atmosphere was almost eerie, but beautiful and awe-inspiring. It’s challenging to photograph there, but regardless of what kind of images I come away with, it’s totally worth the trip just to experience it.

I continued south and ended up in the California coastal town of Eureka, where I found a campsite and then ate dinner at the unique and historic Samoa Cookhouse. This is the last surviving lumber camp-style cookhouse in the region, and it’s quite an experience. They serve everything family-style, so for a party of one, it’s a little overwhelming. Bread (soft and fresh and good), soup, salad, ribs and chicken and potatoes and corn, and then dessert… whew! It’s a good thing I don’t eat like that all the time.

I don’t think this day could have been much better. The weather: perfect. The setting: sublime. Crater Lake is as peaceful and beautiful a place as I’ve seen. The advantage to visiting out-of-season: lack of crowds. The disadvantage: no boats were going to Wizard Island. Oh well, I’ll just have to visit again!

I had another Smalltimore moment, my second in two days. Considering how few people seemed to be in the area, I found this pretty remarkable. I pulled up at an overlook next to another car with Maryland tags, and said hi to the two young men who obviously went with that car since there was no one else in sight. Turns out that one of them used to live in Ellicott City, where my husband used to have a rehearsal space/recording studio.

As the day went on, I felt my throat getting scratchy and my nose started running, but I wasn’t going to let a cold get in my way. I popped some vitamin C, took some nice little hikes and watched the light fade over the lake as I had some dinner at the Lodge.

I woke up to a thick fog hanging over the seashore, so I headed back toward the nearby port town of Charleston, where I suspected I’d find some interesting scenes of fog over the docks as fishermen got ready for their day. My instinct was rewarded as a soupy sunshine started to break through the fog, and I’m sure that made the fishermen happier too — as much as photographers may love the moody presence of the fog, the fishermen hate it. As the sky continued to clear, I headed back to the botanical garden at Shore Acres State Park, which is beautiful. I can’t say I’ve ever had the experience of photographing in a botanical garden when I can hear the barking of sea lions in the near distance. I know I didn’t see as much of the surrounding coastal scenery as I would like to, but I’ll be back!

I ate lunch while looking out over the beautiful rocky beach landscape of Bandon, and then reluctantly, I started driving away from the coast on Route 42, heading toward Crater Lake. It was hard to say goodbye to the Oregon coast. There is so much there, not just for the photographer, but for everyone. Dramatic Pacific ocean views, rocky coastal areas, sandy beaches, lighthouses, tide pools, beachcombing, weathered and authentic (i.e., not touristy) fishing towns, good restaurants… there’s plenty to love.

But at the same time, I’m excited to visit Crater Lake too. I arrived at my first viewpoint at the edge of Crater Lake as the sun sank low enough to throw shadows of Wizard Island on the cliffs on the far side of the lake. I think my jaw actually dropped. This is not just any lake. It’s incredibly peaceful and striking.

I made my way to the Crater Lake Lodge, hoping to find a room for the next two nights because their campgrounds were closed, but this was the one time on this trip I came up completely unprepared. Apparently Crater Lake Lodge is booked months in advance, everything at Mazama Village (the only other lodging in the park) was closed, and there are very few towns less than an hour’s drive away.

The clerk at the lodge kindly called a hotel in the closest town, Fort Klamath, and I secured a room for the night at the Aspen Inn. I had already driven a long way that day, and another 45 minutes on the road was not happy news, but I made my way down the highway to the teeny tiny town of Fort Klamath. The Aspen Inn is a classic old-school motel, and I love places like that. What made it even better is that both of the people I met who work there, Sue and Heidi, are as nice and welcoming as can be. And in a Smalltimore moment, I found out that there was another guest at the hotel from the Baltimore area. Not only was she from Baltimore, she lived in Cockeysville, where I grew up. It really is a small, small world.

I continued exploring the coastal highway and beaches of Oregon, and especially loved photographing the Umpqua area sand dunes late in the afternoon as the setting sun formed shapes and shadows in the dunes. At North Bend, I veered away from the main highway which goes inland, and toward the Cape Arago area. I found a campsite at Sunset Bay State Park, and caught the last bit of setting sun at Cape Arago State Park.

Jamie took an early morning cab to Portland to catch his flight back to Baltimore, and so I found myself solo again. I was so happy to have had that break with Jamie! It was hard to see him leave, but I don’t think I could have done the rest of this trip without that chance to reconnect with him, spend time that was not consumed with finding photographs, and recharge my mental and emotional batteries.

I spent the morning taking care of automotive necessities — after putting nearly 6,000 miles on my car since leaving Maryland, it was beyond time for an oil change, and I also needed new tires. With a sigh of relief to have that done (those treads on the tires were looking rough!), I headed out in the afternoon, making my way south on 101, the Oregon Coast Highway. I visited the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, which was very cool, and the surrounding Yaquina Head area is fascinating as well. Unfortunately, I was on the coast at a time of low tides that were not very low at all, so I missed the good tide pools, but I did enjoy the unusual spot of Cobble Beach, which is composed not of sand but basalt cobble stones. The waves wash over the stones, making a unique rushing sound, and deposit fascinating bits of kelp and driftwood across the beach as well. In the town of Newport, I had lots of fun photographing fishing boats at the harbor, and I sat and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the sea lions barking and jockeying for position on the docks.

I can’t get used to the full service gas stations in Oregon. I keep getting out of the car to fill the tank when an attendant stops me. Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states in the country that don’t have self-service gas stations. At a gas station in The Dalles, I met a pug named Kenny, along with his owners, and it made me miss my dogs! 

I drove along a portion of the Columbia River Gorge, toward Mount Hood. Portland was my destination for the night, and I had lots of time to get there, so I thought I’d try to see Mount Hood along the way. 

It was a sunny morning with high puffy clouds as I headed out, but Mount Hood itself was cloaked in cloud cover. Nonetheless, I got pictures of some vibrant fall foliage along the highway before entering the drizzly, gray Mount Hood area.

Trillium Lake is supposed to be a great place to capture a reflection of the mountain landscape, but the most I could photograph there were the reeds along the shoreline in the gray and mist. 

Driving through Gresham, Oregon, I passed four Starbucks in one mile. I’m not exaggerating. Eventually, I got to the hotel my husband had reserved for us, the Hotel Vintage Plaza. I kicked back and enjoyed the wine hour in their lobby and looked forward to Jamie’s arrival the next day! 

I woke up in my hotel in Mitchell, grabbed one of the enormous muffins the hotel provides for breakfast, and hit the road again. I passed through the little town of Fossil in the pouring rain. I had been planning on checking out the ghost town of Shaniko, but in this weather it just wasn’t even worth it. No cell signal, no nothing. Even in a town, it felt like the boonies, a sensation that was amplified by the rain and gloom. I kept heading north toward the Columbia River.

Eventually, I approached a huge wind farm. It loomed in my windows to my left, right alongside the highway. Finally! A wind farm up close! Too bad it’s pouring rain. So hard I can’t even roll open the window without soaking the car and myself, let alone the camera to get pictures. I was so mad because I really wanted to photograph a wind farm.

But lo and behold, another half hour up the road, I encountered an area of acres and acres of wind farm, and the rain was abating and the skies had gone dramatic with layers of clouds and sun. I can’t believe I shot an entire 4GB memory card full of images of wind turbines and the surrounding rolling hills, but I did. 

Windpower

I arrived in the town of Biggs along the Columbia River as the skies gave way to sun, and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the Maryhill Park, and then took a little tour of the Maryhill Museum, which was a nice surprise. I particularly enjoyed the sculpture garden with the resident peacocks. 

The skies clouded back up as I found my way to a Super 8 in The Dalles for the night.