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Oneonta Gorge/Triple Falls
The Oneonta Gorge is considered to be one of the most beautiful areas in the Pacific Northwest. It is laced with many trails along the river, with waterfalls all over the place. But the Gorge is steep and rough, making some of the hikes dangerous. During the three weeks we’ve been here, two hikers fell to their deaths in the Gorge.
However, if you stay on the trails and use some care it all is easily doable. So we selected to hike up to Triple Falls and beyond, a nice hike totaling about 4 miles. Great way to spend a day.
The trail up
The trail does get steep and rough
A look upriver
Some pretty flowers along the path
A view of Triple Falls
To get that picture, you've got to get close to the edge
On the way back, watch your step... it's a long way down!
Pearson Air Museum
Across the street from Fort Vancouver is Pearson Airport, one of the oldest operating air fields in the country. In the late 1800’s, it was a base for flying blimps. In 1905, the first fixed wing flights took off. Among the “firsts” were the first airmail flight, as well as the first trans-polar flight (by the Russians, who landed here).
It was an important base during both WW1 and WW2. In WW1, most of the wood for building aircrafts came from here. In WW2, Kaiser Shipyards built over 500 ships, including aircraft carriers, on the river.
Now it is still operational but includes a nice museum. It reflects on the importance of aviation to our society, and the importance of Pearson Field in particular.
A racer from the '30's
An AT6 Texan, later Harvard as a trainer
Painted red, this Fokker DR1 was the plane used by the Red Baron in WW1
A radial engine
A classy looking biplane
A look down the runway, Mt. Hood in the distance
Leach Horticultural Gardens
Located in the middle of Portland, OR the Leach Horticultural Gardens are a popular spot. They have well over 2,500 of native and local plants on display, and it makes for a cool and pleasant walk through the many trails. And, if you have a camera, well….
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- Spring flowers
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- Some flowers are small and dainty….
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- And some are larger but more subtle….
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- Some are in-your-face color swatches.
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- One of the many ferns, just uncurling as it grows
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- Some leaves even get into the color act
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- And then of course there are the true beauty shots.
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- One of the many trails through the gardens
California Railroad Museum
In the 1830’s, four Sacramento businessmen funded the building of a railroad to the gold mining districts. This was so successful, and profitable, that soon they were building railroads all over the west coast, and eventually linking them to form a transcontinental rail system. This fundamentally changed the way this country grew.
Not only did the rail lines allow for easy travel to the west coast, it opened up the east coast markets for California produce. It was a fundamental reason why the west had the highest population growth rate ever recorded.
The story behind this venture was more fascinating than fiction. Climbing over mountains, descending through valleys, and in extreme cold and heat made for difficult going. It was considered the most difficult engineering feat of its time. To commemorate this, the California Railroad Museum was built where it all started, in Sacramento.
You can easily spend a day here, it is a wonderful exhibit. We recommend it to anyone visiting this area, even if you’re not a train buff.
The very first steam engine. This is number 1, the original.
Engine number 1 was built on the east coast, then had to be broken into small pieces that would fit in a boat hold. It was then shipped around South America, and 7 months later was re-assembled in Sacramento. It worked for quite a few years until newer, larger engines were built that could be transported by the new rail lines.
Very well restored
Some of the work resembles art
The largest locomotive ever built, with 6,500 HP power
Old Sacramento
Since we’re parked near Sacramento, we decided it would be great to visit the Old Town. And, it was. It has been restored and is now a highly visited tourist destination. We actually found a restaurant that served Indonesian food!
We toured a museum and learned more about the history of the area. FYI, this is where the gold rush started in 1840’s. This changed the way of the west forever.
This was also the western terminus for the Pony Express, which originated here. The other end was in St. Joseph, MO near St. Louis. Over 120 riders covered 650,000 miles and only one rider and mail bag was lost to the Indians.
The Pony Express was short lived, as the railroad arrived and took over. Sacramento was a major station in the development of the West.
The original Linotype machine used to print the Sacramento Bee
Early agricultural equipment
Boardwalk in Old Sacramento
More restored buildings in Old Sacramento
Statue commemorating the Pony Express
Friends in Laguna Niguel
We were fortunate to make new friends during our last cruise. Linda and Rainer Romeike live in Laguna Niguel, close to our travel route. So we stopped and visited them for a few days. We truly enjoyed their hospitality, and the time they spent showing us around their part of the world. And Linda is a great cook….
We found a very nice camp site in Casper’s Wilderness. Although we were only 7 miles away from the madness of LA traffic, we might as well have been in the back woods somewhere. The best of both worlds. A nice diversion from our dash across the country.
After this very pleasant visit we drove to Bakersfield, about 180 miles away, of which 100 miles or so were on Los Angeles highways. LA is definitely a car lovers dream…. especially if you like traffic.
Linda and Rainer, our friends and hosts
The beach, viewed from Balboa Island
One of the +/- $8MM homes on Balboa Island
Easter decorations on Balboa
Keeping the landscapers busy on Balboa Island
A tall ship moored at Dana Point
On a hike in Caspers Wilderness Park --- look there!
Traffic on the way out of LA
Ahhh, San Diego…..
Weather: Perfect. Sunny, dry, 76 degrees. And, all in one morning:
Starbucks: Sit outside, read our books, sip a coffee.
Eclipse chocolate: hand made, best chocolate in the Universe. Thanks Stacy and Dallas!
Trader Joes: Yummy foods, and Two Buck Chuck is still $1.99 a bottle.
Pho: Some of the best Pho we’ve ever had.
Wonder what the rest of the day/week will hold in store?
Hand made, best chocolate EVAH!
Too bad this picture is so blurry....
Simply put, a great food shopping experience.
A very nice Pho place, great ambience and food.
Best steak in the USA?
About 35 miles from El Paso, in the middle of the desert, is a working ranch named Indian Hills Ranch. They raise their own cattle, and opened a restaurant 40 years ago. Meat is cut fresh every day, on the ranch. It has been recognized by People magazine as the best steak in the country. The restaurant seats 600 people, and on a typical weekend there is a 2 to 3 hour wait.
The ranch as been used for quite a few movies. There are sets from various movies that are available for view. Als, there are animal pens, hosting a variety of different species. All is free to dinner guests. An interesting place to stay — and eat.
Since we were passing by El Paso anyway, we thought we’d stop by for dinner. What made this especially attractive was free overnight parking. Sure, no utilities, but hey, it’s free! So we drove up, navigated the somewhat difficult and curvy drives, and parked. What a great place to spend some time! It is sunny, dry, about 72 degrees, just about perfect.
Our spot in the sun. High up on the mesa.
Our motor home, in the theme based parking lot
Entrance to the restaurant
Inside the restaurant
Time to dig into this steak!
Where the buffalo roam....
Christmas — on St. Patty’s day?
For years, Romola has been nurturing and caring for a Christmas cactus. It’s called a Christmas cactus since it only blooms once a year, usually right at Christmas. However, Romola’s plant isn’t following instructions. Every year it blooms later. Now, it’s blooming on St. Patty’s day. Good thing for the Irish, I guess.
Maybe life in a motor home, with its constant crossing of time zones, is not compatible with this plant.
Proudly sitting on the dash.
Closeup of the flower.
Moving day….
Well, time to move from Medina (San Antonio area) to Columbus (Houston area). Not a bad drive, only about 3 hours on the highway. We will be here about a week, and will attend another concert at the Festival Hill concert hall. This time, it’s a classical guitar concert, should be interesting. Then, it’s on to Dallas.
This is the hard part nowadays... $3.89 a gallon for diesel!
Oh well, a nice parking spot to spend a week....
Laninga's Travel Blog 