Day 3, July 6, 2009

 We got up early again and set out on our first "sightseeing" day.  Jacob took the first shift and once again we stopped to fuel up and get milk and donuts and the set off.  As we headed up The Dalles-California Highway along Upper Klamath Lake, we saw a nice mountain off to the west.  Megan looked it up and found Mount McLoughlin on the map.  The website mountainpeaks.net shows it at 9,344 feet tall.  Then, Jacob looked in the mirror and saw a giant hulk of snowy white back behind us.  Mason and Jacob got out to take pictures while Megan looked that one up.  She had to look all the way into California to find out that it was Mount Shasta, and nice 14,104 foot peak.  Then we headed on to Crater Lake.

Mount McLoughlin across Upper Klamath Lake

Mount Shasta from north of Klamath Falls

Crater Lake was great.  We made a few stops along the way for pictures, and finally realized we were driving around and slightly under the rim.  Once we made it to the parking lot on the rim, it was very cold and giant mosquitoes were everywhere.  Literally everywhere.  We couldn't escape them at all.  We made some bathroom breaks and put on some jackets, then waited for the Visitors' Center to open.  Then we walked over to the rim, which is about 1,000 feet above the lake surface.  The lake is absolutely stunning.  To think it is an old volcano that blew apart was amazing too.  And it is also the deepest lake in the United States.

Wizard Island on Crater Lake

Mount Shasta and Mount McLoughlin from the rim

We could have spent far more time at Crater Lake, and would have liked to have taken a boat tour.  Unfortunately, we had a lot we wanted to see and planned to make Portland for our stop that night.  So we stopped at the Watchman Overlook and then took the next road out of the park.

Working our way back to Highway 97, we then turned back north.  Our plan was to stop for fuel and food in Bend, Oregon.  Traffic got crazy as we neared.  Suddenly, off to the left there was a large cinder cone with cars spiralling toward the top, bumper to bumper.  It would have been neat to see but we weren't going to even think about it.  Jacob thinks Bend got its name from the road layout.  There wasn't a straight section of road that we could see, and none of the exits seemed to offer any fuel or food.  We finally just picked an exit, then nearly got lost on one single road that seemed to go every single direction.  It led us downtown, where pedestrians apparently have the right of way and we almost ran over an unfortunate man.  Whoops!  But eventually, we made it back to the highway and headed north toward Redmond.  Then was saw a gas station and pulled off.

And then Jacob made another mistake.  It's full service up there, and they don't like it if you try to pump your own gas.  But that allowed Jacob to try to figure out where food was, except the guy that pumped our gas couldn't speak English.  Luckily, the kids were still asleep and not crying out of hunger, because we were well past our scheduled time to stop by the time we hit the road again and pulled into Redmond.  On the north side of Redmond we found a very busy Taco Bell and stopped.

Off to the west of Bend, but very visible from the Taco Bell in Redmond, there are several pretty mountains.  They are referred to as the Three Sisters.

Mountains west of Bend, Oregon

Megan drove us out of Bend, and pretty soon we entered a much drier region.  We got some great views of Mount Jefferson, and then eventually Mount Hood, which was our next destination.  Mount Hood was shrouded in clouds as we approached.  We made it to Government Camp for some bathrooms, and then tried to figure out how best to view Mount Hood.  We finally drove up to the summit and Megan did an outstanding job of navigating the twisting road.

Mount Jefferson, 10,246 ft ASL

Mount Hood, shrouded in cloud

Summit from lower parking lot of lodge, Mount Hood, 11,161 ft ASL

After visiting the lodge for some purchases and to stretch the legs, we headed back down the mountain.  Jacob forgot to take pictures of the surrounding area while we were up so high.  After descending the mountain, we headed to Hood River.  We missed on great spot for pictures of Mount Hood, but stopped in the town of Mount Hood for a couple that really turned out great.

Mason posing in front of Mount Hood

The best view we actually captured of Mount Hood

The land was very pretty as we neared the Columbia River, but we were in a hurry at that point and didn't stop for any pictures.  Jacob tried to take some but we had so many bugs splattered on the car at that point, they didn't turn out very appealing.  But we finally made it to Hood River and took off along the Interstate that follows the river.  We stopped at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery based on Grandma Becky and Grandpa Gary telling us about it.  It was worth it and Mason loved seeing the Sturgeon and feeding Trout.  He was afraid of the stuffed bear though.

What seems to be the main building at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery

Brynn and Mason in front of one of the many beautiful gardens at the Hatchery

Mason looking at a huge Sturgeon

Mason feeding some Trout

Mason wasn't so sure about Jacob telling him to stand in front of this Black Bear

Jacob, Mason, and Brynn in front of the main building

Jacob decided to drive again after we left, and we took the old highway.  Jacob had read about Multnomah Falls and wanted to try to find it.  The drive was beautiful but we weren't seeing any waterfalls.  Suddenly, we found one.  In fact we found a bunch.  The first one was a pretty undulating falls named Horsetail Falls.  Mason and Jacob got out to look and take pictures.

Mason at Horsetail Falls

We got pretty close to Portland and finally found Multnomah Falls.  It was amazing.  It is the tallest waterfall in Oregon and the third tallest year round waterfall in the United States.  It is spring fed from off a mountain.  You can hike up part way to a bridge going over the brink of the lower falls and then hike up all the way to the top.  Jacob and Mason went up to the bridge for some pictures.  Then we jumped back on the highway to head to Portland.

Mason at Multnomah Falls

Portland was crazy.  We got lost.  We finally found a Taco Bell and the people there were so polite and helpful.  The manager asked where we were from and helped us with directions back to the highway and hotels.  The directions didn't help much, and we wound up driving for a while before we finally found an expensive looking cluster of hotels on the west side of Portland.  We don't think we were in Portland any longer, but who knows where we were.  We stayed at a Marriott with a weight room, hot tub, and pool.  Mason and Jacob swam for a bit and then we went to bed.  But we knew we were pretty close to Highway 26 which is what we wanted to hit the next morning to head to the coast, so all was good.