2014 Big Truck across the NW, Day 16

Day 16 started with the sea lions barking us awake, and after a brief but failed attempt to find them, we encountered one of my least favorite things about Oregon. Full service gas stations.

It makes no sense, and reading the arguments for it (one of 2 states remaining, along with renowned bastion of reason New Jersey) will make your head explode. Either way, at least I get to share the experience of blowing past the limit on the gas pumps (somewhere between $75, $99, $125, or $150 depending on the station, who will all blame it on the credit card company) with the gas station attendant.

We were headed through SW Oregon, which looked a lot like this. What you don't see are cell towers. There is no phone or internet allowed in Oregon, which is why there will be a binge of these posts as soon as we re-enter civilization.

On the way, we passed a cinematic landmark, the Dexter Lake Club - site of this memorable scene.

It wasn't long and we were almost to Crater Lake. As we drove the North Rim road, we could see some jagged formations and started matching them up to the brochure map, and then we got to an overlook that gave us this teaser view.

All excited, we jumped back in the RV, started back on the road, and immediately ran into a construction stoppage with Kimberly's side of the road having nothing but a sheer dropoff.  Not ideal, especially since we sat here for 22 minutes.

When we got going, we saw the reason for the delay. Huge rocks were falling on the road. Seems justified now.

We made it down to the campground (lucky for us we had reserved ahead, as it was full), found a suitable site, and headed back up in the Jeep, stopping first at the visitors center.  Jordan had to trace our route, and we decided after 27 National Parks that now would be a good time to buy the passport book to start tracking our visits.

A quick trip up to the top gave this family selfie opportunity (I'm 5 feet behind them to keep my head to scale with theirs)

and allowed for this ridiculous panoramic view, which is actually insulting to what it looks like in person. I've been wowed by a lot of these kinds of sights, but this one kind of stopped me cold.

If it looks like a fake Hollywood backdrop, it also felt that way from the lookout point. Here's Jordan trying to figure out why Dad has been frozen in this spot for 10 minutes.

Just inside, there were a bunch of educational exhibits describing how the volcano imploded on itself, creating this crater. Here's Jordan learning how the ash likely spread all the way to our previous campsite north of Olympic.

Before we headed around the Rim Road, we noticed this group of bikes, including 6 identical brand new Harleys. Must have been quite the spectacle watching them all get unloaded from whatever trailer brought them up here.

At the next scenic turnout, we encountered this couple from British Columbia & chatted them up about their bike. Turns out they have put 80k miles on it in 2 years (!) of visiting parks all over North America. I'm sure these past 2 paragraphs are not showing any BMW bias I may or may not have.

Jeep poser shot on our way around the crater. You may notice a slight change in the weather.

On our way around the crater rim, we saw this in the distance.

I'm sure you had the same reaction I did.

Around the east end of the crater, we saw the Phantom Ship formation, which seems small but is actually 16 stories above the lake surface (nerd facts you certainly need).

Here we stopped to do a short hike at the Sun Notch (liars) viewpoint. We made it unscathed, but there were some rumblings in the distance and a few flashes that we tried to keep from a certain 6 year old's peripherals.

After we arrived safely back at the campsite, I fired up the grill, made some quick dinner and cruised back up to the top for a sunset view of the lake. I was a few minutes late, but still got an amazing view. Again, crappy cellphone pics do this no justice - the blue of the water is like nothing I've ever seen before.

In the Big Truck, Jordan and Kimberly had successfully completed the National Parks puzzle Jordan had picked out in the gift shop.

While admiring their work, we pulled up the GPS track of our trip around the crater.  More nerdery, but one to save along with the Going to the Sun Road from Glacier and Hurricane Ridge from Olympic.

This campground has multiple bear warnings, so after explaining the bear box to Jordan, it was time to fire up movie night. Tonight's choice - Despicable Me 2, which had our whole RV doing impressions of Kevin til bedtime.

Tomorrow - we attempt the Crater Lake to Craters of the Moon challenge. 12+ hrs, spanning Oregon into Idaho.

2014 Big Truck across the NW, Day 15

Day 15 marked a return trip to US101 and the Oregon coast, seen here just outside of Newport.

This was one of our shortest drives of the trip at right around 3 hours. We were staying at the Port of Newport (sounds pretty redundant), which from our research was a very well kept RV park that looked as though it was a giant parking lot, but was walking distance from our 2 destinations.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by Clay - quite possibly the friendliest and best RV park mgr ever. At 84 yrs old, he's got this down to a science. He introduced himself, immediately remembered all of our names, and directed the rest of the conversation at Kimberly, knowing who was running the show. Here he is leaving after hooking us up with a bunch of discounts and generally being awesome.

As I mentioned, we were walking distance from our main destination - the Oregon Ocean Aquarium. After literally a 5 minute walk, we were there and Jordan was ready to explode.

Once inside, I got a bit reflective and appreciated these words of wisdom - this guy was pretty smart.

A few minutes in, and it was pure excitement. Kimberly was trying to be patient, but we all knew she wanted to see the sharks. Jordan was like the 6 year old version of me whenever we get close to a National Park, so we just let her lead the way.

After a few exhibits (she is very much an experiential learner), we stumbled on the hurricane simulator, and no words were necessary.

By the time we were finished, there was a crowd of people who apparently were waiting for someone dumb enough to try it out. They were in luck.

Next up was the seabird (I'm sure it had a more scientifically correct name) exhibit, where shortly after me taking this picture, Kimberly had a different Puffin buzz her tower, actually briefly perching on her head. One of them found it amusing.

I'll spare all of the details, but as always these places are always one of the highlights of our trip. This was no exception.

Our MO in the big tank was simple - first get a lay of the land and see all the different types of fish, 

then let Jordan give us the rundown on what was coming,

then identify them and check them out up close.

It really started to feel like we were part of some crazy ocean environment, not unlike (you knew it was coming) this master vision of a life on the seas...

We then headed to the feeding of the sea otters, seen here hamming it up for the tourists.

If you see the reflection in the glass, that is not actually NBA legend Kareem Abdul Jabaar,

Instead, it was a very polite, overly comfortable with PDA (he and his girlfriend - hope that was the case - were not making Kimberly comfortable with their antics) hipster who looked like Chubbs.

And if you think I'm making a Chubbs reference without getting the audio gold that is 'Win in the End' stuck in your head, you don't know me.

Following the aquarium, we wandered across the parking lot to the Rogue Brewing World Headquarters, which was also conveniently located here.

You know it's a real beer geek's place when the entrance to the the restaurant and gift shop takes you directly through the brewing operation first.

They had a few beers on tap.

After an excellent dinner, Jordan gave me a detailed explanation of the brewing process on the way out.

We also picked up one of their collaboration brews (done with Voodoo Doughnuts, the place that lured us in yesterday in Portland) for Kimberly to try. Interesting combination.

Finally, upon retiring to our little slice of asphalt heaven, we got this sight looking out toward the Pacific.

At this point, we found out that one of Clay's predictions was accurate. Within a few hundred yards of the campground (sadly, out of sight), there was a spot for the sea lions to beach themselves, so we fell asleep to the not so distant sounds of these guys.

Tomorrow - a trip across Oregon to Crater Lake NP.

2014 Big Truck across the NW, Day 14

Day 14 started with a windblown trip to the river's edge to play for a bit. 35mph winds quickly turned Jordan into a younger version of this.

A few minutes into the playground session, I discovered this guy.

Then someone else discovered him.

Shortly thereafter, playtime was done.  We then headed into Portland for the day. The city had a pretty interesting vibe, with plenty of character. One thing we discovered throughout the day - the 'Keep Portland Weird' slogans all over. People here are trying so hard to be different that they're pretty much the same. A tattoo parlor that also specializes in mowhawks and sells fixed gear bikes would make millions.

Our first stop - Oregon's own Deschutes Brewery. The main one is in Bend (will be there in a few days), but this one is still pretty cool.

We had a great lunch, then head to our prime destination - OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science & Industry). The best way to get there - Portland Streetcar.

Along this route, we were continually hit over the head with indications that Portland is a bike-friendly city. I'm as pro-bicycle as anyone, but it seems to have taken a near militant stance here. Dre - thanks for the clip, this portrays Portland's bike culture perfectly.

We also saw this guy, desperately hoping to draw attention while pretending not to care.

When we got to OMSI, all bets were off as Jordan went on about a 5 hour binge of full nerd activity. I couldn't have been more proud.

Here we learned the finer points of the functionality and importance of the boom, trolley, and hoist. Or just played with giant Legos.

I felt odd when we had to pry her out of a Museum of Science and Industry, and then I had to comprehend what it is about a donut shop that would prompt people (including us) to wait 45 minutes in line.  Meet Portland's own Voodoo Donuts, a place we had first heard about in NW Washington from some locals. 

I have to admit, it's pretty much all marketing hype, but the donuts were pretty good. Not 45 minutes in line good, but still good.

On the way home, the OMSI had taken its toll. Jordan found a nice comfy position in the Jeep and cashed out.

As we said farewell to the grunge/hipster/whole foods/singlespeed culture of Portland, we arrived back at our Columbia River oasis, just in time for this.

Day 15 (start of our 3rd week, unprecedented for these corporate stiffs) looks like Oregon coast, aquarium, and an asphalt RV campground.