Week 16 - Never Say Die

Week 16 | August 17 - 23

Dear Oregon

Quick recap (or you can read Week 15):

I was in Seattle, plans were canceled.

I fled the city at midnight and drove back to Mt. Rainier National Park.

Now you're all caught up!

This week started off slow but built up quickly!

The story picks up at Mt. Rainier NP, headed to Portland to pick up my friend Shelby for a weeklong visit!

We tour the coast of Oregon; Mt. Hood, Cannon Beach, and wrap up the week with a Tillamook Cheese tour!

Next week we move on to spend a few days at Crater Lake National Park.

I took so many pictures this week, it's taking a while to go through all of them!

If you're a regular reader, thanks for bearing with me!

Sunday Aug 17. Day 105

Do it for the amazing views

Mount Rainier NP

I slept in very late this morning. To be fair, I did arrive at like 2 am! 

Sleeping in was good, I had no set timeframe for the day and decided I needed the rest. 

Made lunch and headed over to the Mt. Rainier Lodge. As I got arrived there was a ranger-led talk grouping up and I decided to join them. The ranger gave a good talk about the geology of the area, the history of both the area and of the park, and the glaciers on the mountain. I sat and ate lunch while looking out at the mountain and listening to the talk. 

Someone had told me the hike to the Watchtower had the best views, and it seemed like a doable hike for me.

Though it was challenging. I was at high elevation and climbing steeply higher! It was also the longest hike I’d done in over a month, since I’ve been sick.

Looking at the peak of Rainier along the way it was like an inverse iceberg, the top 10% was obscured. It wasn’t until a gap in the clouds rolled by that I realized how much higher up it went. The rest of the promised views on the hike never manifested. It was clouded in and foggy for most of the hike, and the higher I went the denser the fog.

Felt like crap on the way up, but persisted. By the time I got to the watchtower I felt pretty good, and continued to feel strong on the way down. 

After the hike, I headed out of the park on my way to Portland, OR. 

It was a long drive and I had planned to find somewhere to stop along the way. Spent the night at a rest stop off a highway. It was comfortable though slightly noisy with passing logging trucks. 

Good: Very happy with my decision to return to Rainier last night and do the hike today. Even with obscured views the hike was wonderful and I was thrilled to get out in nature, fresh air, and exercise. 

Bad: Went to a Mexican restaurant named Nacho’s, that didn’t have any nachos. (They did have excellent pork carnitas, though.)

Unexpected: My lungs felt good on the hike and I didn’t cough all day! 

Monday August 18. Day 106

Holy Toledo!

Mount Saint Helens National Monument

As I was driving through the backroads today it occurred to me that for how I often see old rusted and abandoned trucks, I don’t see more semi modern abandoned vehicles like Trans Am’s or PT Cruisers!

Then just a few minutes after pondering that I saw an old abandoned Saturn!

Except it wasn’t rusted because they’re made of plastic. (4 weeks in the future I see a 70's corvette in a field, also not rusted because it's fiberglass.)

I also hadn’t stopped to photograph abandoned cars in a while, and saw a junkyard full of them off the highway. I pulled off at the next exit to spin back around for a little side adventure. I couldn’t get into the junkyard for a closer look, but got some decent shots from the road. 

Driving through Toledo, it also turned out that the exit I got off was a backroads route to Mt. Saint Helen, which is where I'm headed.

I drove to the MSH visitor center and explored for a bit, then I headed out to the volcano itself.

Then on to Portland for the night. 

Good: Went into the Mt. Saint Helen visitors center and took my time reading all about the site and the 1980 eruption. Both the human element and the scientific aspects were fascinating. I was too young at the time to know about this, it’s neat to get to learn more about it by visiting the site. 

Bad: Didn’t sleep well last night and was dragging ass all day. MSH is pretty remote and I didn’t have the energy to drive all the way there (and back). I got close, but will have to be satisfied with the views I got from the scenic overlooks. 

Unexpected: On the outskirts of Portland all the regular big box stores have ‘no overnight parking’ signs. I found a tribal reservation casino with a huge lot and they were welcoming to RVs! Added bonus of 24hr access and restrooms. 

Tuesday August 19. Day 107

Never tell me the odds

Outskirts of Portland

Woke up in a casino parking lot.

That sounds like the opening scene of some movie based in Vegas or Reno. Quickly followed by "Let me tell you how I got here!" or "Rewind to 24 hours earlier!" My visit was not cinematic.

I spent the day at the casino on their wifi, editing photos and catching up on journaling and the blog. Sitting here on the wifi feels like being in the opposite of a library. But they have a free soda tap I’ve been using (a lot). 

An old friend from Philly moved out to Portland a long time ago and we’ve loosely kept in touch. I made sure to include a visit when passing through. The last time I saw her was when I was in Oregon after my cross country bike ride 11 years ago!

Anna made an amazing dinner with loads of fresh vegetables from her garden. I also had the chance to get to know her kids a bit. We chatted, caught up, and reminisced late into the evening.

I’m really grateful for the wonderful visit and meal, thanks Anna! 

After the visit I retired back to the casino for the night.

Live note- It’s 11pm and I am officially caught up on journaling! I’ve got the GBU for the last couple weeks all taken care of. Plus almost all of my photo editing. 

(Note from 3 weeks in the future, that didn’t last long! I took a ton of pictures this week and fell behind on editing very quickly!)

Good: Catching up with my friend and meeting her kids. Plus the homemade meal with loads of delicious veggies fresh from her garden. *chef’s kiss*

Bad: Even with all the pluses of the casino, it’s still a noisy, sad casino. A literal temple to the almighty dollar.

Unexpected: On the list of things I thought I’d experience or places I’d visit, spending most of a day and 2 nights at a Tribal Casino was not on my list at all.

Wednesday August 20. Day 108

Come Sail Away

Mount Hood

Picked up my Philly photography friend Shelby* at the Portland airport. She’s a great planner and researcher, and we didn’t waste any time heading to a tremendous waterfall she’d scoped out on our way to Mount Hood. The waterfall was touristy, but spectacular, definitely worth the visit and the $2 parking fee!

I liked how I picked up Shelby at the airport and we immediately went somewhere and started shooting photos. It was a huge waterfall along the way to Mt. Hood. Shelby had planned ahead and got a timed parking ticket so we could drop right in. It set a good tone for the whole trip - we're going to see a lot of great things and take a lot of amazing photos!

From there we headed to Mt. Hood. Except along the highway we kept catching glimpses of kite boarders and wind surfers on the river. We made a quick decision to take the next exit and went over to a marina/beach to watch and photograph all the water/wind-sports. 

Most fascinating to me was that everyone was riding on hydrofoils kite boarders, parasailers, wind surfers, all of them literally flying on the water! 

Ok, focus! No more distractions! We want to get to the campground before sunset so we can scope out the photo location on the lake for tonight!

We were at a remote campground in the shadow of Mt. Hood. We did make it there with plenty of time to look around.

After dark we walked to the other side of the lake and did astrophotography for a couple hours. The sky was clear and the alignment was perfect.

Good: Picked up another friend for an Oregon Coast photo adventure!

Bad: Didn’t get all the cleaning done in the van that I wanted to before picking up company. 

Unexpected: Shelby outdid herself finding this location with a perfect night sky alignment over Mt Hood and booking the campsite at the lake. 

* Continuing my pattern of meeting people in strange circumstances... I met Shelby at 3am in a field at Valley Forge National Park when we were both there to photograph a passing comet! Then we met up again the next evening (Or maybe it was the evening of the same day) to try again, and had a more proper introduction. We've been hanging out and shooting together since.

Thursday August 21. Day 109

Every Rosé has its thorn 

Mount Hood

Had a nice night at the remote campsite and Shelby got her first #VanLife experience!

On the way out of camp we tracked down an orchard we spotted yesterday. Spent a good while there taking pictures of sunflowers with Mt. Hood in the background, picking apples, and had a lovely relaxing lunch at the winery. 

Next stop was Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast. However, we didn’t get very far before stopping at the Timberline Lodge - the hotel used for the exterior shots in The Shining! (This is also the second landmark from the movie I’ve visited. Ps, I still haven’t actually seen it!) 

Then on to Cannon Beach with the goal of getting there before sunset! 

Cannon Beach is known for the huge rocks at the water’s edge called Haystack Rock, and next to it a few smaller rocks called the Needles. It’s all endlessly photogenic, as I’m finding while going through literally hundreds of photos over just a couple days! 

We checked into the hotel and then headed back out to shoot the night sky from the beach! 

It was a long, full day! 

Good: Waking up to a beautiful serene view of the lake and hills from the campsite. I don’t reserve campgrounds much so I don’t get these experiences. Sure beats a Reservation Casino parking lot. 

Bad: It was cold last night and I gave Shelby the extra blanket! (Note from the future, while putting stuff away after her visit I found an extra extra blanket I'd forgotten about.)

Unexpected: Stopped at an orchard on the way out of camp. Unplanned, it turned out to be a spot Shelby had flagged for good views of Mt. Hood! We picked honeycrisp apples and had lunch at the winery. Including a glass of bubbly rosé and fresh peach cobbler.

In the last 2 astro photos below there are shooting stars to the right of Haystack Rock! They're separate meteors, photographed 20 minutes apart. Both were very bright, brief fireballs that Shelby and I saw happen and quickly checked our cameras to see if we got the shots!  

Friday August 22. Day 110

Goonies never say die

Cannon Beach, OR

We didn’t quite get up for sunrise, but close enough. The golden hour light on the beach was magical. I stood for a moment in stunned silence and tried to just take it all in. Grateful for the privilege to experience this, glad to still be awed by nature, and very happy to have a friend to share it with.

Following the morning shoot we got breakfast in the small town and walked around the tourist shops for a bit. That’s where I realized this beach was in The Goonies and there’s a lot of local pride and association with the movie. 

After being out late last night and up early this morning we decided a chill day was in order. I took a nap and then caught up on some life chores (bills, emails, replying to texts from last week!) I also picked up a few things from the grocery store across the street. Mid-day I saw a small herd of Elk wandering the streets next to the hotel, munching on bushes. I called Shelby to come out from her room to see! She groggily got up and brought her camera. I think she hadn't seen elk before!

The room I was in had a full kitchen and I offered to cook dinner before we ventured out for evening photography. And for dessert there were fresh Marion berries I picked in the afternoon just outside the hotel!

We walked from the hotel along the beach almost a mile to Haystack Rock for sunset. 

Shooting the sun setting between the Needles rocks was great! But just as the sun was setting a young girl playing in the surf wandered into our shot. It's not my beach to tell someone to move, so I did my best to shoot around her, or intended to crop her out of the pictures later. But I got this one shot with her in it kicking the water that I so whimsical. I'm ok with her in it since she's an unidentifiable silhouette.

By the time we walked back to the hotel my feet hurt and my back ached from walking barefoot on the hard packed sand. (Or because I'm getting old, 50/50.) We had some time to kill before going back out for astrophotography. I picked up a pint of Tillamook ice cream and ate it while soaking in a hot bath while watching Star Trek SNW on my iPad. 

I am living my best life! 

We didn't stay out as late shooting as last night. There was smoke or haze in the air that dimmed the sky, and we weren't getting pics much different than last night. Still, its always a treat getting out to shoot at night, doubly so in such amazing place! 

I took SO MANY pictures today! This might have been the most photogenic day of the trip so far!

Basically 3 different batches; dawn, sunset, and night. It took me a few weeks to go through all the pics, sort, and edit, in order to get this blog post up! Whew!

Good: Ice cream and Star Trek in the bath!

Bad: Heavy haze at night disrupted our astrophotography prospects. 

Unexpected: Just how beautiful the beach was. Every time I went out I was in awe.

That wraps up week 16!

Ooof, this post took waaaaayy longer than intended! Sorry to keep you waiting!

It started off being a lot of pictures to sort and edit, but ended up having issues with my hard drive being too full for Lightroom to and apple photos to work. I didn't fix the issue, just kinda worked through it, so the next update will take a little while as well.

As for next week; Shelby and I continue on to Crater Lake National Park, we skirt a wildfire, and I jump off a cliff (those two incidents are not related.)

Then she heads home and I continue on to Lassen Volcanic NP and finish out the week in Yosemite.

Whew!