Crater Lake, the Coast, and Corvallis
July 9th, 2009 at 9:11 pm (Nature, Travel)
I recently returned from five days exploring southern Oregon, an area of truly breathtaking beauty. I took the Coast Starlight train up the coast to Klamath Falls (a 22-hour trip, and deliciously enjoyable), visited Crater Lake, then drove out to the coast (Gold Beach) and spent some time wandering north to Waldport. At that point I headed back inland to Corvallis, then Albany, and finally to Eugene, from whence I flew back to Los Angeles. I had more adventures than would reasonably fit in this post, but here are some of the moments that really stood out:
- Waking up to see Mount Shasta lit up by the sunrise, outside my sleeper car
- Standing on the rim of Crater Lake, amid snow and sun and distant thunderclouds
- Savoring a shiitake mushroom and green onion omelet in Ashland
- Running on the beach at Cape Blanco
- Climbing up into the Fresnel lens of the Umpqua River Lighthouse
- Hiking Hobbit Trail down to Hobbit Beach
- Dancing to Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin’ Daddies at the Corvallis Riverfront Festival 4th of July celebration
- Hiking through the Peavy Arboretum (Corvallis) with Thoreau for company
- Enjoying blueberry pancakes at the Train House Inn for breakfast on my birthday!
This was an incredible trip, filled with one breathtaking scene after another. Where words fail me, perhaps more pictures can suffice.