In Arizona

(This blog report was updated as we travelled each day, so you can drop down to the last post listed on the right if you want to start with the first post of the trip. )

We made it safely to Cave Creek late afternoon yesterday.  All's well, and Beau says hi.  Too lazy to take pics, but will do so in the next day or so.

Going to Binkleys, our fave restaurant here, this evening.  A good way to celebrate the Big Dog's birthday.

Depoe Bay

Yesterday (Thursday) turned out to be very windy and rainy. We had planned to head out and tour some more lighthouses, but decided to stay put. Our room looks over one of the popular "whale-watching" coves in Depoe Bay - as you can see from the photos below, we are at the water's edge.

The first 5 photos showing bright sunshine were taken on Wednesday afternoon, after we settled in.  The location of this B&B is perfect for whale watching.  Two whales came into the cove on Thursday morning ... of course, we missed them !!!  :(

The back of our room has 3 large windows facing the ocean, and two more on the sides.

A nice private patio area

The back of the "Sea Rose Suite"

Sunset on Wednesday evening

This is the last ray of sunshine we saw on Thursday morning ... soon after, the fog and rain came in.

Breakfast was served in our room ... no one'g going to starve here/  Pecan encrusted French Toast, sausage links, potatoes with mushrooms and onions ...

Practiced taking long exposures of the water, to get that "smooth" work ... didn't work out so well :)

Lou got outside for few shots as well

The waves grew larger as the day went on ... it was quite enjoyable hanging out in the room, watching and listening to the waves.  We may have to buy one of those "Wave Machines." 

Another one of Lou's buddies.

Friday morning ... the sun is out!  And, we saw some whales !!!!!  (Unfortunately, those are whales we saw in Sydney several years ago ...)  But, the sun really is out.

  

Once breakfast is served, we will be on our way to the Portland Airport.  Then on to Cave Creek where we'll see Mij and Beau.  Thanks for watching the whales with us.

From Crater Lake back to the Coast

Today we head back to the Coast for a couple of days, then we fly from Portland to Arizona.

Here's my sunrise photo this morning from Crater Lake ... I think it says it all.

We decided to get on the road, as the forecast was only for more snow, so we checked out at 8AM and headed down the mountain.

Loading the car - good thing we have an AWD SUV.

It snowed all the way down Hwy 62 from Crater Lake, but we took it slow and steady with no problem.

Passing by the Ranger Station at the Park Entrance - quite a difference from the bright and sunny entrance 4 days before.

Snow turned to light rain as we dropped in elevation - miles of beautiful forests.

Passing through Gold Hill, one of many picturesque small towns on the trip.

Weather began to clear as we entered Interstate 5, patches of fog on the hills.

Cattle Country ... and STILL GREEN!!!!

A familiar site ... we were back on the 101 HWY, going North, past Heceta Head Lighthouse.

Whoa ... a surprise at the Lighthouse turn out.  A bunch of sea lions basking in the sun.

Time to pull out the telephoto lens ... didn't bother these guys, they slept the afternoon away.

A young seal cavorting in the waves

A bunch of loud ones

One of several concrete bridges along the Coast Hwy

Hard to believe it was snowing when we left Crater Lake.

Where's Bullwinkle?  (Oh yeah, he's a moose)

Passing through Waldpole ... celebrating their centennial this year.

A steel bridge (boo) as we go through Newport.

Whew ... almost 7 hours later and we arrived at our home for the next two nights.  Will share photos of this beautiful spot in tomorrow's update.

A Day for Reflections

No Fire Alarms, no clouds, and no surprises today - just a nice day at the Lake.  We took a short drive to Discovery Point, which is another lookout area where you can see most of the Lake.  After climbing up the snow bank, we were able to get some nice views of the Lake.  It was an absolutely clear and sunny day, which turned out to be good for capturing reflections in the Lake.

First, a glimpse of sunrise out our window at 5:30 am.

Discovery Point, taken after managing not to kill ourselves climbing up the snowbank

Lou at work

Wizard Island (so named because it looks like a Wizard's Hat)

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We drove down to the Visitor's Center - watched a movie, bought a hat, and got our National Park "Passport" stamped (hey - we're into this stuff).  Notice how we don't put too much excitement into any one day.

To give you an idea of how high the snowbanks are.  It will be sometime in July, if then, when all the snow is melted.

Back at the Lodge ... some clouds come in, but the Lake is very still.  We've been lucky to see so many varying conditions during our stay.

Folks enjoying the beautiful day and view.

Another quiet evening in the Lodge. Forecast for tomorrow is for snow - so we'll see if we get out of here. We are supposed to head back to the Coast.

A Four Alarm Day at the Lodge

Today was our first full day at the Lodge.  We planned to relax, sleep in, take a little walk.  I happened to wake early and snapped the sunrise over the lake at 5:30AM:

So much for our plans to sleep in - at 6AM the fire alarm started blaring, and we had no choice but to march down four flights of stairs into the cold morning.

Grumpy folks heading to the parking lot

We couldn't go back in until the Park Service cleared the building, so we walked to the employee "dorms" to try and stay warm.  I restrained myself from demonstrating my ping pong prowess ...

We were allowed back almost an hour later ... the fire truck was still here, and by this time it was snowing again.

We warmed up with some coffee in the lobby, and sat around while short alarm blasts continued to sound.  Finally they got it resolved.   Lots of angry people - we enjoyed the excitement.

A shot of the dining room ... breakfast was a bit late this morning since the chef was in the parking lot with the rest of us.

After a few cups of coffee to warm up, we headed out for a short hike to check out the View Point for the lake at the Rim Village Gift shop area. 

Fortunately, there is a tunnel to get into the gift shop, and also a path over the snow to a nice viewpoint.

The Lake from the Rim Village Viewpoint.  Since there is so much snow, we only have a few places where we can photograph the lake (of course, the more industrious might rent snowshoes, but that is not a good idea for us)

Back at the Lodge, some serious photographers scoping it out

Mom & Pop taking happy snaps to remember the day.

We had a nice dinner, early to bed, and no more fire alarms!