Lava and Rain, Beer and Coffee

The Summit Trail at Smith Rocks gave us plenty more opportunity to enjoy the dry weather and unique volcanic terrain that makes inland Oregon so special. Our spell of fine weather was coming to an end and cloud was slowly building up to the west, just like an oncoming NorWester at home.  The trail was relatively easy, just maybe 12km of undulating path. In the few hours we were out we were only passed by three or four mountain bikers, and a couple of trail runners. Chipmunks and lizards ran across the path in front of us. Large raptors glided on thermals. Near the end of the loop we came across a lovely slightly bumbly couple from Georgia walking in the opposite direction. Their friendly nature and need to chat made up for their complete over-estimation of their ability to get around of the track in front of them.  We gave them our map and best wishes, and recommended they go back the way they had come.

Sitting at the picnic table near the car park, eating bags of potato chips for lunch, we realized it would be easy to live here. People walked past on their daily outings, more often than not with their dogs in tow.  Dogs seem to be allowed most places here, usually on a leash.  Runners pounded past doing laps. Photographers with tripods, huge bags of lenses and light reflectors set themselves up on the canyon rim. Massive Blue herons stood frozen in the middle of the Crooked River looking for breakfast. Mule deer nonchalantly looked up from their feeding in the grasslands next to the road.

Coffee at the Redpoint, a climbers shop, was relaxed and friendly. As well as climbing gear they sold excellent espresso, and craft beer from the tap for later in the day when thirsty climbers would be returning from some of the hardest and best climbs in USA.

Click on the photo to get full size and spot the climbers on the wall lower right.

In two weeks in Oregon we have had no exposure to strong political views - most of the local newspapers appear anti- Trump though.  People just get on with their lives, which aren't that much different to lives in NZ.

We arrived in Portland to heavy rain and got soaked on the walk from the rental car agency to the hotel. The little Nissan Sentra rental car had performed well.  Unlike any car we have owned recently, it was really economical.

We ate ribs and pizza at the Fat Head Brewery Bar and again marveled at the huge servings. It is hard to leave anything behind when you are taught to finish everything on your plate.  The locals have learnt to ask for a doggy box and keep the leftovers for tomorrow's lunch. The hardest thing is choosing a drink from the list of around 40 brews. I can recommend the Sorcerer Belgium -Style Dark Strong ale.

Exploring Portland the next day between showers was fun as there was always an outdoor gear shop, cafe or brewery to duck in to. There are more breweries here than you can shake an empty glass at. In fact there are more breweries here than any other city in the world. The coffee isn't bad either.  Or the food selection at the local deli. More types of olive than you can shake a toothpick at.

The Dead Guy Ale was rather nice.

Horacio, our  hipster waiter at Rogue Nation Brewery. Best lunch yet.

The craft selection at the local food store

There are negatives.  We have noticed many homeless people. There is no dole or social welfare here.  There are soup kitchens which provide some sustenance for those in need, and a low income medical scheme. There is a big police presence in Portland and walking the streets at night didn't feel unsafe.

Oregon is well-known for its many food carts.  The home-less guys and their dog have made themselves at home in the corner cart for the night.

Biking in Oregon is cool. There are lots of bike shops and bike trails, as well as bike lanes in town. But cars drivers are very polite to bikers and pedestrians in all of the US as far we can see.  Maybe it is the liability issues or maybe they are taught to be more patient and more courteous drivers.   Hipster bikes are about as common as hipster bar men and baristas.

The ultimate hipster bike - single speed direct drive, no brakes, no suspension, clean lines. Very cool.


               

Coffee is another big thing in Portland.  It is easy to get a great espresso made by a competent and passionate barista. Things have come a long way since the endless cup of drip coffee, although this is still an option especially out of town.

We are staying very close to the largest independent new and used book-shop in the world. Powell's. It takes up a whole block, on several levels, has its own coffee shop and is an extremely interesting option to while away a few hours when it is raining outside.  

One of the hundreds of aisles of books at Powell's.

While Dara's credit card got a workout in Powell's, my first new running shoes in about 20 years got their first workout along the banks of the Willamette River next to the huge bridges, paddle steamers, an old submarine (!) and some very aggressive Canadian geese.

With one day before flying out, we visited the Saturday Market in the Downtown Historic area,  dodging puddles in the steady rain. Tourists carrying distinctive pink boxes emerged from the iconic Voodoos Doughnuts, after queuing in the wet for their treat. https://www.voodoodoughnut.com/doughnuts/ We passed on a selection of local oysters at US$35/dozen at the Oyster Bar, admired the storm-trooper costume worn by the barista at Fuse, and had yet another perfect espresso at Stumptown Coffee Roasters. Stumptown was the first micro-roaster to put Portland on the coffee map.  

Artwork at Stumptown Coffee Roasters

While tourists queue for their special pink box of weird and wonderful Voodoo Doughnuts these poor homeless folk around the corner queue for some breakfast outside a church.

All sorts of food available at the Saturday Market, including momos, one of our favourites from Nepal! But we chose  lamb gyro and falafel gyro from the street carts near the hotel ... along with a group of Air Force cadets. Did I mention it was still raining hard?

 

A final walk around the flooded streets revealed more pearls of USA life.  Free personality and IQ tests at the very modern and upmarket Church of Scientology.  A great selection of cowboy and cowgirl boots at the rather old-fashioned and quaint Outdoor Company shop.  I like the snakeskin ones. Lastly, a sign of what is to come when Jacinda legalises dope in NZ. 

"For the times they are a-changing".

Bye and see you at home in a couple of days

From Alpine Meadows to the Desert

After leaving Mt Hood National Forest we crossed the 45th parallel, just like the marker a few miles north of Oamaru.  It gives a momentary feeling of familiarity.  Then we hit the prairies and traveled through the desert at 70mph to reach Madras where we weakened and had pie and coffee. The Black Bear Diner  https://blackbeardiner.com/menus/ has as it's mission statement "to serve home-cooked meals in huge portions".  They succeeded ...
We waddled out and continued driving south to Smith Rocks National Park. The rocks are a rock climbers mecca. There was no chance of us climbing any rocks after The Black Bear Diner Blue Berry Pie, but we staggered up the aptly named Misery Trail admiring the efforts of the lithe young callow youth attached to ropes and climbing sunny vertical red rock.  The backdrop of the prairies and snowy volcanic cones of Mt Jefferson and the Sisters was stunning. No wonder people want to live here.

Not long to Halloween.

Smith Rocks

Most people take their dogs for a walk. These guys took their remote-controlled cars for a drive up the Misery Trail.

Romantic interlude caught on the Misery Trail with Mt Jefferson behind.

Great views across the plains to The Cascade Range Volcanoes. Rock climbers on the tower on the right working off their pies.

Panorama from the top of Smith Rocks.

We really liked this house overlooking the river below the rocks.

We arrived in Bend just in time for happy hour and "local's night" at the Deschutes Brew Pub. Beer at $3.50/pint and the place was humming. Great beer, as we'd been led to believe as Bend is another craft beer oasis. The locals we sat with were very keen to hear what we and our countrymen (and women) thought of the POTUS. We diplomatically sidetracked, saying we were only observers but democracy was a weird thing in USA.  And in NZ, with Winston holding the country to ransom as we speak. Our new educated and talented friends were very anti-Trump, which is probably consistent with most voters on the West Coast USA.

Bend supposedly is the place to live if you are interested in the outdoors.  111 people move to Portland every day, and many move to Bend.  There is fishing, climbing, skiing, hunting, hiking, arts, wine, craft beer, coffee roasters -- you name it - it's all happening in Bend.  The city was lovely and warm when we arrived and the old Down Town area was lined with trees in autumn colours. People are super-friendly and proud of their town.

The second night we went to Deschutes Brewery for a drink it was again too crowded to get a seat. This time because it was a fund-raiser for planned parent-hood.  Definitely not a Repubican stronghold.

Three Fingered Jack, Black Butte and Mt Jefferson from the A20 highway to the Sisters.

Or first choice of place to explore in the morning was likely to be closed due to the early snow so we went for a walk beside the Metolius River near Camp Sherman.

It was very quiet, the cafes and general store that would be so busy in the summer were closed for winter. There were loads of little summer cottages beside the river, older folk reclining in deck chairs beside sleeping dogs, contemplating life. Deer ambled slowly across the road in front of us and looked on calmly without fear.  The hunting season appears not to have started yet.

We saw a couple of fly fishermen who had caught and released trout, and the river was full of little Kokanee Salmon.

The whole river amazingly emerges from a spring, straight out of the mountainside.

Survey marks for the family surveyors.

Chilling out at the Camp Sherman General Store.

From the Surf to the Snow

The Tillamook Cheese Factory was just off the road to Manzanita and they did free tastings. That alone is probably why they have over 1 million visitors a year. They produce 171,000 thousand pounds of cheese every day! Something for Whitestone to aspire to.

Cheese tasting (or early lunch for Kiwis).

For the surveyors in the family. Surveyors get better memorials than dentists!

The main street of Manzanita.  This laid-back little village was popular with surfers.

A 1km walk through old Douglas Fir forest brought us to Short Sand Beach. Lots of surfers.

First walk I've been on where I have to leave my fireworks behind.

Short Sand Beach

The naming of US towns never fails to amuse us.  We did stop at "Boring".  The coffee was good, after we explained we didn't want the double espresso in the usual 1/2 pint mug.

Our accommodation for the next couple of nights was the Best Western at Government Camp. This  rather dull name was misleading as the town was looking good in full winter snow, and bright lights shining through the windows of vibrant cafes, restaurants and bars. 

A full scale blizzard hit soon after we arrived making driving and even walking a bit dangerous.  Our plans for a high altitude walk the next day were not looking good but there was good news in the form of a Mt Hood Brewing Company bar across the driveway 1 minute walk away in the ankle-deep slush.

So much for autumn colours, it's more like winter.

A selection of beer cocktails at the Mt Hood Brewing Company. We haven't been brave enough to try one.

When the weather cleared in the morning, Mt Hood certainly dominated the landscape.  As much as I would like to have climbed it, the icy roads and 2 feet of new snow brought out my sensible side and we opted for great day walk starting at the famous Timberline Lodge.  This historic lodge was used for all the exterior shots of the hotel in "The Shining".

The area was very popular with ski tourers, most of whom seemed to have dogs. The dogs appeared to have plenty of fun in the snow but couldn't always keep up on the run down. Watch out for brown snow.

There were also quite a few topless ski tourers.

The smoke from the forest fires has blown away.

We reached the top of the Palmer chairlift on the left, half way in height gain to the summit. The Timberline ski area has the longest season of any ski resort in the USA.  This was their opening day and we saw a few good dress up outfits. The volcano is active and I could smell sulphur from the nearby vents.

On a stunningly clear day like this we could see Mt Jefferson on the right and The Sisters to its left.

Mt Jefferson

 "Wendy, I'm home"

The next day, an early morning walk to Mirror Lake avoided the crowds - this is one of the most popular walks in the region and the car park overflows with hundreds of cars.  It was  nice to have the place to ourselves and watch the sun rise. No mirror though due to the wind.

The photographer caught.

No apologies for the number of photos of Mt Hood. After all, we were in Mt Hood State Forest, and it just so photogenic that you try and get it in every photo somewhere. 

The autumn colours mixing with the first taste of winter.

Back to the hotel for a late breakfast. Then it was off on another hike. This 7-mile loop took us a little way along the Pacific Crest Trail, made famous in the film "Wild" with Reese  Witherspoon. The chipmunks around here are known to steal your lunch. We definitely had the worst lunch at the popular lunch spot. Half a peanut butter muesli bar each.

We paid homage to my Aunty Ramona, who died recently at 93 years old, by visiting the Ramona Falls.

It's good bye Mt Hood and next stop Bend.