Category Archives: attractions

Volcanoes! Up, down, and around Crater Lake.

We made it! We are about 1/5 of the way through the journey...

We made it! We are about 1/5 of the way through the journey…

Riding by lava flows.

Riding by lava flows.

Oregon continues to amaze me.  Truly, it’s not just Portland hipsters and the sunny coast – it is long miles of uninterrupted forest roads, volcanic peaks, lava tubes, and the spectacular Crater Lake.   Since we last updated, near Bend, we have climbed up three mountain passes, spent a night in a hotel (wow!), circumnavigated Crater Lake, reached 4000 miles, saw a river disappear underground into a lava tube, and descended into the heat of southern Oregon.  We also saw another of my math friends from college, and said goodbye to Jason’s cousin Ray.  Next up: a ride through the coastal mountains to the ocean, and then more miles south.  Before then, some stories and lots of pictures!

Oregonian Chipmunk.

Oregonian Chipmunk.

Bend, OR is one of my all-time favorite towns.  As I said in a previous post, it is jam packed with friendly folks.  Also, delicious pizza.  We left early to climb out of Bend and into the Cascade Lakes region: a high-altitude series of lakes jam-packed with campgrounds.  Originally we had hoped to do a long day through this region, but we decided to stop early and enjoy the afternoon at Little Lava Lake.

Cooling off has never looked this good.

Cooling off has never looked this good.

Narrowly averted disaster.

Narrowly averted disaster.

The next day we got up early because Ray wanted to try for a super long day of 85 miles.  The morning riding was wonderful in the cool of morning on roads with almost no traffic.  We nearly had a mechanical disaster when we realized Ray’s rear rack was falling off.  Finally, we got to use our supply of spare parts and tools!  It only took a few minutes and a spare screw before we were back on the road.  After about 60 miles of riding we arrived in the small highway town of Chemult and decided to call it a day.

Absurd drink size prices.

Absurd drink size prices.

The town was a riot, and because there was no campground we got a two-bedroom room in the local lodge.  It was actually really nice, and the small-town grocery store had a decent selection of food along with some bizarre decoration.  The travel center across the street had a horrifying pricing scheme for fountain soda drinks.  See picture!

Chemult general store.

Chemult general store.

 

 

 

 

 

We climbed up and up and up into Crater Lake National Park.  Crater Lake is found in the collapsed cone of the ancient Mount Mazama.  About 7,700 years ago the mountains cone collapsed and formed the deepest lake in the US.  It fills only from rain and snow, and thus has some of the clearest, purest water in the world.  We stayed two nights in the hiker-biker sites, and spent a day riding around the lake.  The circumnavigation was amazing for two reasons: first, the scenery was truly stunning, and second, one of my best friends from college was there to ride with us.  Thanks for meeting us Greg!  Also, thanks to our cyclist friend Brian who we met in British Columbia and again in Crater Lake.  I hope we see you again soon on the coast.

Four cyclists riding around Crater Lake

Four cyclists riding around Crater Lake

Our bicycles at the very first overlook.

Our bicycles at the very first overlook.

The pumice desert en route to Crater Lake.

The pumice desert en route to Crater Lake.

Pacific Crest Hikers!

Pacific Crest Hikers

The hiker-biker site was an absolute riot.  It was jam-packed with Pacific Crest Trail hikers.  This scenic trail traverses 2,600 miles from Mexico to Canada along the mountains.  The thru-hikers form remarkable communities and are always super friendly.  Ray had a blast talking with them both nights, and I think they really enjoyed hanging out with him.  Jason and I both hit the sack early, exhausted from the 5,000 feet of climbing that riding around the lake required.

Ray and Aunt Cathy, getting ready to hit the road.

Ray and Aunt Cathy, getting ready to hit the road.

Ray’s mom came to get him from Crater Lake so that they could spend some time in the Redwoods.  We certainly missed him on the loooong descent off the volcano.  The descent lasted for nearly 30 miles!  It was mostly up and down through small towns on tiny roads until today, when we rolled into Ashland.  The most notable occurence was in a tiny town, where an old man told me (Daisy) that I am ‘starting to look like Justin Bieber.’  What?!

Ashland is this little town is known for its nearly year-round Shakespeare festival and a high concentration of dreamers, poets, and artists.  In short, we are so happy to be here!  We are being hosted by a wonderful couple on their farm.  They gave us some great advice on our next few days of riding.  Next, we will head a little north and straight west to reach the Oregon coast.  Coming up: Coastal glory, more hiker-biker sites, and giant redwood trees.

We be fishin’

We caught one!  Ok, really, Jason caught one.  He did great!

Jason's big catch: a 14 lb King Salmon. Cap'n Chris approves!

Jason’s big catch: a 14 lb King Salmon. Cap’n Chris approves!

Luckily, Jason’s big fish bit on the first day.  It was lightly hooked on its upper lip, but Jason was a good fisherman and gently reeled her in.  She weighed about 14 pounds, and we ate her for the next three nights in camp!

Chris cuts the fish

Chris cuts the fish. Note the roe – definitely a girl!

Beautiful trees in our campground site

Beautiful trees in our campground site

Tofino is this little tourist town at the very end of the road on West Vancouver Island.  It is on the edge of the Pacific Rim National Park and a magnet for big waves, surfers, trendy young people, and funky old fishermen.  We spent three full days here with Daisy’s dad, giving us time to reorganize our belongings, rest up, and fish fish fish.

We spent three days on the water, hoping to catch a big salmon.  Unfortunately, the fog was dense over the water all day every day, which made things difficult.  Also, I (Daisy) get sick on the boat, which seems to upset everyone but me.  I just see it as a cost of spending time with my dad on the water:  get sick, feed the fish my already-been-chewed breakfast, then feel good and keep fishing!

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Cap’n Chris navigates through the fog

Cat Face Mountain

Cat Face Mountain

Naptime on the boat

Naptime on the boat

Daisy’s big catch was this piece of kelp.

Daisy loves kelp

Daisy loves kelp

Finally, the other notable event during our time in Tofino happened in camp when we weren’t even there!  Some little animal found our not-quite-closed bear canister full of goodies, dragged it across the campsite and into the woods, untwisted the cap, and had itself a buffet.  We suspect a clever raccoon.  It was remarkable to imagine a creature little bigger than a fat housecat, running away with our big jar of food!

Next time we'll lock the top even when there aren't any bears around.

Next time we’ll lock the top even when there aren’t any bears around.

After Tofino, we zipped right through southern Vancouver Island in about a day and a half.  It alternated between horrendous riding on the side of the main highway (speed limit: 75 mph), and incredible side roads through farmland.  We visited the picturesque Victoria, and took a ferry back to the US.  More on all that later though!

Right now, we are in Port Angeles – in Washington State!!  I am home again!  We will write up a nice summary of our time in Canada, and post it later this week.  Now we are hunkering down to get some dissertation written, riding out to the rugged Washington coast, and then visiting family.

Yukon Wildflowers

In the Dawson City Visitor’s Center, one of the guides gave us a little booklet about wildflowers in the region. I think she probably realized how good of a fit this gift was – considering the number of hours that we stare at the edge of the road!

Most of the flowers below prefer “dry, rocky soil.” That condition exactly describes the gravel shoulder on every road we’ve been riding. So, you can imagine that we’ve been seeing these flowers a lot.

Tufted Fleabane (Sunflower family). It was believed that bunches of the dried plant would drive out fleas. (Luckily we haven't had to test this with our tent!)

Tufted Fleabane (Sunflower family). It was believed that bunches of the dried plant would drive out fleas. (Luckily we haven’t had to test this with our tent!)

Tall Lungwort (Borage family). The leaves of this plant are edible. Instead of making a salad, we added some to our rice and it added a nice almost oregano-like flavor. Eaten raw, the leaves were like a sweet lettuce.

Tall Lungwort (Borage family). The leaves of this plant are edible. Instead of making a salad, we added some to our rice and it added a nice almost oregano-like flavor. Eaten raw, the leaves were like a sweet lettuce.

Showy Jacob's Ladder (Phlox family). The name refers to the ladder-like arrangement of the leaves.

Showy Jacob’s Ladder (Phlox family). The name refers to the ladder-like arrangement of the leaves.

Northern Sweet-vetch (Pea family). This one is known to be poisonous, but there is a flower that looks very similar ("Bear-root" or "Indian Potato") for which the roots are edible.

Northern Sweet-vetch (Pea family). This one is known to be poisonous, but there is a flower that looks very similar (“Bear-root” or “Indian Potato”) for which the roots are edible.

Arctic Lupine (Pea family). Very common throughout the Yukon, and also poisonous.

Arctic Lupine (Pea family). Very common throughout the Yukon, and also poisonous.

Horned Dandelion (Sunflower family). These are slightly different than the ones that probably grow in your yard!

Horned Dandelion (Sunflower family). This probably looks very familiar, but it is slightly different than the ones that probably grow in your yard!

Slow-motion Chaos: one week before departure.

In one week, we will be on the road.  Not in Alaska, not quite, but we will start the four-day ride to Maryland.  Right now though, the Philtron household is a bit of a mess.  This past weekend we gave our first presentation about this trip, took a 60-mile ride with all our camping gear, and got rid of the majority of our furniture.

We had intended to do an overnight on Friday, riding a short 15-miles to a State forest campsite, and then a longer 45 mile loop to get home.  When Friday finally arrived, however, we were toast from a long week of late nights and long hours of work both at school and at home.  We decided to push the trip to Saturday, reversing the direction to enable a speedy return on Sunday (our presentation was scheduled for 11:30).

Picture perfect Pennslyvania

Picture perfect Pennslyvania

The ride away from State College was perfect: sunshine, low-traffic, and tailwind.  We really got in the ‘zone’ and made quick work of the first 30 miles.  Around 3 we stopped for a late lunch / early dinner in a small brewery in neighboring Millheim: Elk Creek Cafe.  They are used to cyclists there, as it is a popular destination for day rides. Jason thoroughly enjoyed his burger.  Millheim is a really cute, tiny little town with one stoplight and lots of old houses from the time when timber barons were the high-rollers of Pennsylvania.

Elk Creek Cafe

Elk Creek Cafe

Once out of Millheim, the wind was straight in our faces, and it was very far from smooth sailing.  I think at one point we had to be in our granny rings on flat ground, just to make progress against the wind.  Despite this, we enjoyed the quiet roads that we had never ridden before.  This part of Pennsylvani is truly a goldmine of quiet, interesting country roads.  You never know when you’re about to find something amazing next to the road.  On this trip, we found a barn being rebuilt, a yard taken over by daffodils, and a really really cute lab puppy.  It was right about when we saw this puppy that we realized we were 15 miles from home, or 7 miles from camp.  The wind was howling.

After a little bit of discussion, we decided that one more night on our mattress was worth the fight against the headwind.

An old barn getting fixed up

An old barn getting fixed up

 

I know, we are supposed to be hardened adventurers who crave the sun, the wind, and the rough stones under the tent.  We are supposed to pick the hilliest route and smile the whole way up.  But… with the departure this close, and with all of our comfortable furniture finding new homes with friends…  well, I can admit it:  I will miss the comforts of our small apartment.  The gas stove.  The cast-iron pan. The mattress, the down pillows, and the internet.  I will miss my 24″ computer monitors, my tennis shoes, and even my dingy little cubicle in the statistics department.

But…  starting next week things will be so different.  Unknown, but familiar and simple.  I wonder what routines we will develop together, and I am so excited to meet new people along the road.  Can you believe it?  One more week!!