Category: Further Afield

Vicki and I visited Lassen Volcanic Park as part of our Cascade Volcanoes road trip even though the highest sections of the park remained closed due to the huge Winter snows of 2023; with extra driving we were still able to explore the Devastated Area and Cinder Cone in the north as well as the Sulphur Works in the south.

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Vicki and I visited Mount Hood National Park on our way north through the Oregon Cascades as the final part of out Cascades Volcano Tour.  We camped just south of the park the night before, then ate at the famous Timberline Lodge Breakfast Buffet.  After that, we checked out some local lakes and waterfalls on our way to White Pass in Washington.  We did a lot of driving that day.

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Vicki and I drove from the eastern side of the Oregon Cascades to the west side via Willamette Pass, visited the Willamette Fish Hatchery on the way, then turned north along the McKenzie River Valley, visiting yet another hatchery.  After spending the night in a campground by the river, we headed into the forest on the McKenzie Pass scenic Highway and day-hiked the Proxy Falls Trail.  The pass was still closed, so we backtracked to the river and visited some extraordinary waterfalls before eventually camping at Santiam Pass.  We vowed to return to McKenzie Pass when the highway opened, and after touring the Oregon Coast we returned triumphant!

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Vicki and I visited Newberry National Volcanic Monument as the second stop on our Oregon Cascades Volcano Tour road trip.  We camped at the Little Crater Campground on Paulina Lake, and did several day hikes.  The first was checking out the Big Obsidian Flow, then later that day hiking the nearby Little Crater Trail.  The following morning we made the more serious climb of Paulina Peak where there were awesome views of the entire Newberry Caldera.  We then drove north to check out the Lava Lands Visitor Center and drove to the top of Lava Butte, where we hiked around the rim of the cone.  Good times.

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Vicki and I visited Crater Lake National Park as part of our Cascades Volcano Tour.  We hiked along the rim trail and enjoyed the deep snow and beauty of the park near Rim Village.  We eventually camped in the nearby national forest as most of the park was closed due the excessive snow from the Winter of 2023.

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Vicki and I visited Lava Beds National Monument on our way to Oregon, as it fitted in perfectly with our Cascades Volcano Tour.  We camped at the monument, explored a number of very fun lava tube caves, climbed up to the top of a small volcanic cinder cone, and checked out one of the chimneys where lava erupted when creating a lava bed.

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We went backpacking to check out the Hole In The Wall on the Pacific Ocean at Olympic National Park, starting from Rialto Beach, on a beautiful day in late Summer.

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We went backpacking to Cape Alava on the Pacific Ocean at Olympic National Park, starting from Ozette Lake, on a beautiful day in late Summer, and day-hiked down the beach to view the Wedding Rocks Petroglyphs.

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We went backpacking to Shi Shi Beach on the Pacific Ocean at Olympic National Park, via the Shi Shi Trail out of the Makah Indian Reservation, and saw a spectacular sunset from our campsite on the soft, sandy beach.

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We went on a fun dayhike at Mount Rainier National Park on the Skyline Loop Trail out of Paradise Park, on a beautiful day in late Summer.

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