Sensory Overload - The Roads I’ve Taken

Next Gas 179 Miles on Route 140

Route 140 from north of Winnemucca, NV to Klamath County, OR was a complete surprise. My physiography book says I drove though the northern tier of the Basin and Range Area of the US. "It is distinguished by isolated, roughly parallel mountain ranges separated by desert basins, generally almost flat. There is no run off to the sea." I read that description after I had driven the section and I can attest to the fact that the basins are FLAT! It was a high elevation sage desert. The temperatures were in the low 60’s but come June it will be a very different place. The thermometer will rise and everything will dry up and it will be a different experience to drive it then. There was a 179 mile stretch of road with no gas and it looked like one of the loneliest places on earth! But it was still beautiful in it’s own way. The FLAT basins were endless. One section of road went 30 miles without even a bend in the road. I didn’t see any wildlife but there were caution signs for mule, cattle, elk, and mountain goats.

When I think of Oregon I think of pine trees and I was not disappointed. I moved out of the Basin and Range section into the Columbia Plateau.It was still high desert but the slopes were covered with the huge Ponderosa Pine and other fir species.

Road side plaque with drawing of Mt Mazama

Scientists think the volcano called Mt Mazama used to be at least 12,000 ft high until it blew most of it’s top. What is left is the cone of Wizard Island in Crater Lake. Nothing can prepare you for the color blue of that lake. There were some Steller’s Jays flying about and they have an iridescent blue color that seems to complement the lake.

Back on the road, from Crater Lake to the Redwoods, the shortest route is over US 199. It it a 2 lane highway but it is possible to drive at expressway speeds. There was one 80 mile section with no posted speed limit. Once you hit the California border to the southwest, the highway becomes The Le Mans Racecourse. It is amazing scenery because the highway follows the steep sided valleys carved by the Smith River. The Smith is one of the only large US rivers that has not been damed and it flows relentlessly to the sea. Route 199 takes you from the high mountain plateau to the Pacific Ocean on one heck of a ride..

The next road made me laugh and shake my head with wonder, as I had done so many times along the way. I made the left turn into the Jedediah Smith State Park which is part of the Redwoods National Park. I was immediately engulfed by stately Redwood with mammoth trunks. The light could only filter through and the campground road wound it’s way among the tall trees. The forest felt almost primeval.

My home away from home

Bear Box

This tree is small compared to some

But you can't see it's top

Today was a road of a different sort - a Klamath river tour by fast jet boat. The outside temps were only in the mid 50’s and the boat captain made sure to execute some 360’s where the boat stands on end and produces wonderful waves that get everyone on board wet. The highlight of the trip was seeing a pair of nesting Bald Eagles.

Cloudy but scenic 

This morning I had two impatient Steller’s Jays watching me eat breakfast, They wanted an opportunity to pick up any crumbs I had left behind. But alas, the park instructions are to leave no crumbs and to put everything, including tooth paste, in our locked cars or bear boxes. This is black bear country and the park does not want to let the bears know that there is food available in campgrounds.

The Pacific near Crescent City, CA

Tomorrow I will be hiking through several old growth forests and then on Sunday I will start my slow moseying up the Oregon coast. Just the few pictures I got here in Crescent City tell that I will we stopping at every overlook for pictures.