So... let's see. The last time I wrote, I was just about to fall asleep in a Union Creek lodge right outside Crater Lake National Park. We woke up early on Saturday morning and left the lodge around 9 am, feeling well-rested and ready to go. The drive into the park was easy since there was nobody else on the road. When we left the park later on the entrance was jammed with traffic, so it's good we got there so early. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The road up to Crater Lake winds through mountains covered with snow patches and tall trees. When the lake came into view, I gasped. I heard it was blue, but I didn't know it was that blue. In the visitor center, I learned that it was formed by the collapsing of a volcano. No rivers or streams flow in or out of it, so it's one of the cleanest bodies of water in the world. It is the deepest body of water in the United States and has one island called Wizard Island. It sounds like something out of a storybook doesn't it?
We had a delicious breakfast in the beautiful lodge. I had pancakes with marion berry syrup. Speaking of berries, I noticed a lot of places in Oregon selling berry related items. Berries must be a major crop in that state.
After breakfast, we hiked the Cleetwood Trail. Almost all the trails except for Cleetwood and Garfield were closed due to snow. Kind of crazy if you think about it, since it was early July and the temperatures felt like they were in the low 80's.
The Cleetwood Trail starts off on the rim and ends at the lake. It's about a mile one way, very steep, and has many switchbacks. When we got to the lake, there were people jumping off the cliffs into the water. It was funny watching them. Almost all of them came to the surface looking shocked and unable to speak for a few seconds before they crowed "it's so cold!" I stuck my hands into the lake and it was indeed chilly. The hike reminded me of the trail down into the Grand Canyon, except not nearly as hot. Gorgeous views on the way down, huffing and puffing on the way up. Lucky for us, our legs are in pretty good shape from all the steep hills of San Francisco.
We left the park around noon, with a loose idea of where to go next. We decided to drive down the 5 and check out Mount Shasta. I have always wanted that mountain. Once it came into view, I thought of this poem by Joaquin Miller:
"Lonely as God, and white as a winter moon, Mount Shasta starts up sudden and solitary from the heart of the great black forests of Northern California."
Mount Shasta is quite a striking sight.
One of our plans was to stop at a place called Stewart Hot Springs resort in Weed, California. Ever since our amazing experiences at onsens in Japan (hot spring fed baths) I have been trying to chase down a similar experience in California. I had read about Stewart Hot Springs online and it sounded like a nice enough place. Little did I know.
After driving down a typical California country road, we reached the gates of the resort. As we pulled in, we immediately heard the loud drum beat and chanting of a Native American ceremony. They were situated next to a sweat lodge and surrounded by hippies swaying and dancing in time to the music. This put me off immediately because I am very suspicious of people dabbling in other people's spiritualities. It seems inauthentic and disrespectful to me.
Various wooden buildings and shacks were scattered about the rambling property. We found the crystal adorned office and waited in line to speak to the hippie girl behind the desk. A haughty woman cut in front of us and asked the desk girl who was leading the sweat lodge ceremony that night... as if this was something she attended all the time. I tried not to roll my eyes at the lame California hippie-ness of it all. We told the clerk we were interested in possibly staying there and taking a bath in the springs. She gave us a rundown of the pricing and told us which rooms and cabins were still available. We told her we wanted to check the place out and maybe we'd be back to book a room and some spring time.
As we wandered the property we saw them: the naked hippie people. Augh, god. No. Just NO. I noticed children playing near the naked people and got even more agitated. I decided we were not staying there and got in the car, almost backing into another car in my rush to get out of there. It doesn't matter if I spend the rest of my life in California or not... I am from the Midwest and will never be able to accept that naked hippie crap.
We started driving back down the 5 and pulled into the little town of Mount Shasta to look at the map and get our bearings. Yes, it's true that we usually fly by the seat of our pants when we go on these road trips... but I usually do some research ahead of time of where to go and what to see. For this trip, I knew I wanted stay in Jedidiah Smith State Park and see Crater Lake National Park, but I hadn't given much thought to the last day before we drove back. Before the trip, all my time was consumed with something else going on in my personal life.
We looked at the map and it wasn't good. Beyond Mount Shasta, it was miles of the boring part of California - endless stretches of flat farmland. It was either drive back to SF and get home at 2 am or find a place in Mount Shasta. We decided on the latter. We drove around a bit and checked out our options, finally settling on a place called the Strawberry Valley Inn. The owner told us he would give us a good deal since his properties were less than half full. He also told us he was the party planner on the reality show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Ok, whatever you say guy.
We left for San Francisco early on Sunday morning. The drive was long and got pretty gnarly once we hit wine country. Holiday traffic I guess. Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge back into San Francisco was a relief and a letdown. Happy to be back home where my bed is familiar and the bathroom is nearby, disappointed to be back in the cold foggy weather and no longer on vacation with my best friend.
But that's okay. My Wisconsin vacation is coming up soon. I CAN'T WAIT to see my family and relax in that sweet Wisconsin summer heat.
Stay tuned for the pictures from the trip!
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