Going Home
Betty and I planned on seeing Lassen Volcanic National Park and the Oregon Coast.
           So we headed north after the reunion.                                                                                    

 

 

Here's a map of Lassen Park, located in north central CA.  We took the red road around it.

(Click on each picture to enlarge)
 

 

 

Driving up the mountain towards Lassen, the landscape went from arid, semi-desert to greener.

 
As we gained altitude, it turned into forest.
This is July 18, and there is still snow.
And there is Lassen peak.
In 1915, Mt. Lassen's eruption was the news of the nation, much like Mt. St. Helens when it blew.
Scenic view.  It was surprising to go from a dry area at lower elevation to green meadows.
Climbing higher.  I got to surprise Betty with a snowball splattering on her windshield as she sat quietly.
A steam vent area.
 
Beautiful lake below the peak.  Snow in the foreground.
Overlooking same lake.
The road passes near the peak about 1/3 mile from here, and one can hike a fairly short distance to the top of Lassen.  The peak is much closer than it appears in this picture.

 

And then we left here and hit Interstate 5 north.

On the way to Oregon, we passed another famous dormant volcano, Mt. Shasta.
In Oregon, we thought we'd take a short cut along a back road by the Rogue River.  A sign was missing, and we asked some locals if this was the right road to Gold Beach.  They studied the road a while and finally said "yes".  After we traveled a one lane road along a cliff, we encountered a fork in the road that said "Wilderness area" for one fork, and Forest Lookout Tower for the other.  (contd)
The situation did not look good, and we were low on gas if something went wrong.  We turned around and stopped on a turnout with a memorial.  The memorial was to a guy that went over the cliff with his bulldozer.  Then a Forest Ranger came by and looked at our map, and said this road had been closed for two years due to rock slides, and the signs were missing because kids stole them.  Had we proceeded we would have run out of gas in the middle of a wilderness area.  We took a short cut back to the Interstate to take a better road.  On the narrow winding shortcut, we found people picking blueberries.  So we found our own patch up the road.  Delicious!  But we heard a voice.  A hippie appeared and advised we not eat the berries because the state sprays the roadside.  And it messes up his organic garden, too.  He lived in what looked like a little chicken coup, but had a nice little garden.
Seems it's the wierd happenings, surprises, and hardships that make a truly memorable vacation.  And we had more to come.

It had been raining, and this car hit a slick spot and careened from ditch to ditch before he overturned.  The kids were returning from a weekend camping trip, and were out of the car and OK.  They're seated off the road to the right.
There is no better value for an ocean view stay in Oregon than Room 235 at Bandon, OR's, Sunset Motel.  This was the view from our room.  Actually the room itself was so-so, but the view was phenomenal.  For more details on the place, go to
         http://www.sunsetmotel.com/
NOTE:  We were in the "Rustic and Quaint" rooms.  The main part across the street is much nicer, but the poor views, if any, and distance away detracts from the enjoyment.  In fact, those in the main part must go down our stairway to reach the beach, and when one couple found out the views and deal we had, they were very disappointed they didn't stay where we were, even if  "quaint".
    The Sunset Motel prices were very reasonable, considering the view and peak tourist season.
     We could hear the ocean waves while in our room, and hear the Bandon harbor fog horn in the distance.
View from our doorway, Oceanfront room 235.
(Not to be confused with a possible duplicate room 235 in the main part of the motel/hotel across the road).
View to the southwest.  Our grey van is on left.
View to the northwest of our room.
A few steps away was a stairway to the beach.
 
 
 
Betty and Woody on the stairwell to the beach.
This interesting tree stump is about 7 feet tall.
 
One can see lots of sea life at low tide.
 
 
 
 
 
In the center is where Betty and I are staying, and the room with the best visibility (2nd from left) is our room.

Betty is at the top of the stairs taking it all in.
 

Our grey van is parked to the right.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Betty, wishing her knees were in better shape to conquer the stairs. She would love to be beachcombing and filling the van with treasures.
 
We've been to Bandon, Oregons's famous cheese and ice cream shop on an earlier trip, and were looking forward to returning. 

NOTE:  A year later -- 2005, a competing nearby tourist town caused this famous, favorite location to close, causing an uproar among tourists like me.  See:
   http://pnwcheese.typepad.com/cheese/2005/10/tillamook_close.html

 
One can stand around and sample the dozens of different cheese samples for as long as one wants.

Turned out we can buy the same cheese at our local Albertsons.
For Betty's birthday, we traveled on to Lincoln City, OR, and stayed in this studio style motel room.  It was up pretty high on a hill, but it still had a beautiful view.  We both sat in comfortable recliners and watched the sun go down.
Ahh.
But then, the next day, we got "The Call".

Voice mail was indicated on our cell phone.
We called, and they said, "You wouldn't believe all the police, firemen, and HAZMAT at your house."
A policeman had called a friend and said "I'm afraid there's a situation at the Woodworth house.  There's blood running out the garage door and down the driveway, and no one has seen them for several days"
The friend said, "Oh they're out in California on vacation."  "What? Are you sure?"  "Yeah, I just talked to them a few days ago."  "Hey guys!!!  They're OK!  They're in California!"
       While packing, I had kicked the plug loose on the upright freezer.   It thawed and pushed the door open.  There went $400.  A son cleaned up the mess.
     So we cancelled the last day in Oregon and headed home to check things out and fix anything broken when the HAZMAT broke in.
On the way home we stopped by Twin Falls, or Shoshone Falls, Idaho, to the falls that runs mightily in winter but trickles in summer.  They divert it for irrigation all summer.  It is higher and mightier than Niagra Falls ... in winter ... after snow melt ... sometimes.
But I still wanted to see Twin Falls, the falls that isn't there during the summer, and imagine what it would be like in winter when it is supposed to be spectacular.
http://www.pbs.org/idahoportrait/tour/shoshonetour.html
As I took pictures, a motorcylist came up and looked around, puzzled.  Finally, he said, "Where's the falls?"  I explained that a court ruling in 1902 favored local irrigation over tourism, and the water has since been diverted during the growing season."   "He was quiet, and finally said, "I went a long way out of my way to see this." (This is a zoomed in shot of a section).
And that's the end, folks.  We had a great time, at least until "The Call" arrived.

 

        BACK TO MAIN "REUNION 2004" PAGE