Yellowstone trip day 4: Bison, Midway Geyser Basin, Old Faithful

On day four of our Yellowstone trip, we drove down from the Madison Campground to Old Faithful, exploring the Midway Geyser Basin on the way.

With a little detour for bison by Fountain Flat Drive:

Bison

Bison

Bison

Midway Geyser Basin:

Midway Geyser Basin

Boardwalk:

Boardwalk

Runoff:

Runoff

Blue thermal pool:

Blue pool

Blue pool

Jenn:

Jenn

Green thermal pool:

Green pool

Boardwalk and geysers:

Boardwalk and geysers

Geysers:

Geysers

Then on to the Old Faithful area; here’s the visitor center:

Old Faithful visitor center

Old Faithful lodge:

Old Faithful lodge

Old Faithful lodge

Old Faithful lodge

Old Faithful lodge

Old Faithful geyser, with a crowd watching it erupt:

Old Faithful geyser

Old Faithful geyser

Back at the campground, and the nearby Madison river:

Madison river

Madison river

Yellowstone trip day 5: to Mammoth

On day five of our Yellowstone trip, our second full day in the park, we drove up from the Madison Campground to the Mammoth area.

On the way, a stop at Gibbon Falls:

Gibbon falls

Gibbon falls

The Gibbon River below the falls:

Gibbon river

Sheepeater Cliff:

Sheepeater cliff

Sheepeater cliff

Sheepeater cliff

Arriving at Mammoth, we saw some elk lazing by a building:

Elk at Mammoth

While eating lunch on some grass, the rangers started getting excited about elk moving nearby, telling everyone to give them space. A female and young elk wandered through the grass where we had been sitting:

Elk at Mammoth

Followed by a bull, who was trying to get them to go back to the others:

Elk at Mammoth

Elk at Mammoth

The elk back by the building:

Elk at Mammoth

The Mammoth terraces:

Mammoth terraces

A nearby bridge and valley:

Bridge and valley

On the way back to the campground, we encountered a bison jam; just a bison slowly wandering down the road, followed by a line of cars:

Bison jam

Bison jam

Yellowstone trip day 6: Norris Geyser Basin

On day six of our Yellowstone trip, the third full day in the park, we explored the Norris Geyser Basin.

An unintentionally memorable hike, as Jenn tripped on a root and knocked me over, gashing my knee. It looked worse than it was, though; I was able to continue without too much difficulty.

The Norris Geyser Basin map:

Norris Geyser Basin map

Emerald Spring pool:

Emerald Springl pool

The Steamboat Geyser; apparently it hasn’t gone off for months, so we were excited to see it erupting; it continued for the entire time we were there:

Steamboat Geyser

Steamboat Geyser

Jenn’s father was excited to see it erupting, since it hadn’t all the many previous times he’d visited the park over the years:

Jenn's father

Steamboat Geyser

Looking downhill:

Looking downhill

Blue thermal pool:

Blue thermal pool

Orange themal pool:

Red themal pool

Another thermal thingy:

Another thermal thingy

Another thermal pool:

Another thermal pool

Puff ‘n Stuff Geyser:

Puff 'n Stuff Geyser

Geyser valley:

Geyser valley

Steamy:

Steamy

Steamy pool and cave:

Steamy pool and cave

Yellow Funnel Spring:

Yellow Funnel Spring

Geyser basin:

Geyser basin

Pool and vent:

Pool and vent

Muddy geyser:

Geyser

Thermal pool:

Thermal pool

Pool:

Pool

Geyser basin:

Geyser basin

Yellowstone trip day 7: Canyon and Grand Prismatic Spring

On day seven of our Yellowstone trip, the fourth and last full day in the park, we had a grand time visiting the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, plus a dusk trip to the Grand Prismatic Spring.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone:

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Waterfall:

Waterfall

Jenn taking photos:

Jenn taking photos

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Waterfall:

Waterfall

Waterfall

Waterfall

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Waterfall

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Family pic at Artist Point:

Family at Artist Point

On the way back, spotted some more bison:

Bison

Bison

After dinner, Jenn, Eliza, and I decided to take a sunset trip to Grand Prismatic Spring. On the way, yep, it’s more bison:

Bison

Runoff from Excelsior Geyser Crater:

Runoff from Excelsior Geyser Crater

Eliza and Jenn on the boardwalk; it was nice to have the place almost to ourselves:

Eliza and Jenn on boardwalk

Excelsior Geyser Crater:

Excelsior Geyser Crater

Excelsior Geyser Crater

Runoff from Grand Prismatic Spring, in the just-past-sunset glow:

Runoff from Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatic Spring:

Grand Prismatic Spring

Reflected moon:

Reflected moon

Grand Prismatic Spring

Jenn and Eliza on the boardwalk:

Jenn and Eliza on the boardwalk

Info signs:

Grand Prismatic Spring info

Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatic Spring

Grand Prismatic Spring

Dusk:

Dusk

Dusk

Dusk

Olympic National Park

On Sunday we took a day trip to Olympic National Park in the Northeast corner of Washington state.

It’s a large park, nearly a million acres, mostly mountainous. We went in the Staircase entrance in the Southwest corner of the park, then skirted the park up highway 101, and went in again at the Hurricane Ridge entrance.

Here’s the Staircase ranger station:

Staircase ranger station

Staircase info sign:

Staircase info sign

North Fork Skokomish River at Staircase:

North Fork Skokomish River at Staircase

An animated GIF of the river:

North Fork Skokomish River at Staircase

A little further downstream, next to the Staircase campground:

North Fork Skokomish River at Staircase

The water was so amazingly clear:

North Fork Skokomish River at Staircase

Some fallen trees:

North Fork Skokomish River at Staircase

An interesting structure:

Interesting structure

Further downstream:

North Fork Skokomish River

Lake Cushman:

Lake Cushman

Lake Cushman

The portion of the road to Staircase outside the park was a somewhat rough dirt road; an opportunity to engage 4WD mode on our truck:

Dirt road

At the visitor center in Hoodsport, an interesting relief map:

Relief map

We had lunch at El Puerto De Angeles in Hoodsport, with a waterfront view from our table of a couple of seals relaxing on a dock:

Seals on a dock

Seals on a dock

A GIF of the seals:

Seals on a dock

I experimented with the iPhone 13 Pro Max macro camera on my margarita:

Macro margartia

A tasty margarita and burrito:

Burrito

After lunch, we headed north up highway 101, and saw a sign for a viewpoint, so headed up a road… that turned out much longer than expected. Apparently the viewpoint was at the top of a mountain. Looking at the map, we still had a long way to go, so decided to turn around, since it was socked in with clouds anyway. The road was quite interesting, with a sea of clouds next to sheer drop-offs:

clouds next to dirt road

clouds next to dirt road

Our truck wasn’t quite so clean after those dirt roads:

Dirty truck

On reaching Port Angeles, we headed into the park again at the Hurricane Ridge entrance… which was using a temporary entrance station in a cargo container while the permanent ones were being renovated:

Temporary entrance station

At a viewpoint on the road to Hurricane Ridge, an info sign:

Info sign

The view:

Viewpoint on the road to Hurricane Ridge

The first of three tunnels as we entered the cloud layer:

Tunnel on the road to Hurricane Ridge

Tunnels on the road to Hurricane Ridge

We drove through the thick fog-like cloud layer for several miles, wondering if the top would be socked in… but no, we saw the sun again as we neared the top:

Nearing the top of the clouds

Nearing the top of the clouds

The Hurricane Ridge visitor center:

Hurricane Ridge visitor center

Awesome views from above the clouds at Hurricane Ridge:

Above the clouds at Hurricane Ridge

Above the clouds at Hurricane Ridge

Above the clouds at Hurricane Ridge

Above the clouds at Hurricane Ridge

A selfie:

David and Jenn at Hurricane Ridge

Above the clouds at Hurricane Ridge

Above the clouds at Hurricane Ridge

An info sign on the North side of the ridge:

Info sign

The view on that side:

Above the clouds at Hurricane Ridge

Above the clouds at Hurricane Ridge

Unicorn Peak looked like a whale breaching:

Above the clouds at Hurricane Ridge

Heading downhill into the clouds:

Heading downhill

Heading downhill into the clouds

Heading downhill into the clouds

We went for a stroll on the dock at Port Angeles:

Dock at Port Angeles

Dock at Port Angeles

For dinner, Jenn had fish and chips, and I had a burger and fries at Smugglers Landing Restaurant on the wharf:

Burger and fries

Followed by “New Zealand-style” Welly’s fruit ice cream from a trailer outside:

Ice cream trailer

The sun had set at that point, so we headed back to Mom’s place in the dark. About 12 hours round-trip, and we only saw a tiny fraction of the park. But it was a great day-trip, a sample of the kind of thing we want to do more of in our new RV lifestyle.

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum and Oregon Coast

My posts on this blog aren’t all about RV modifications and maintenance. Sometimes we do other things. In this case, during our water sanitizing process… so yeah, can’t escape the maintenance stuff.

As previously mentioned, we are currently staying at the Olde Stone Village RV Park, which is next to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum.

They are connected by a walking path, of which we partook on Saturday:

Path to museum

The museum has some planes, including a jumbo jet, parked out front:

Jumbo outside

There’s also an Air Force Two plane outside:

Air Force One outside

The entrance to Evergreen Aviation Museum:

Evergreen Aviation Museum

Wright Brothers plane (reproduction, of course):

Wright Brothers plane

Spirit of St Louis and Amelia Earhart info:

Amelia Earhart's plane

The museum is dominated by the massive Spruce Goose:

Spruce Goose plane

Spruce Goose info:

Spruce Goose info

Spruce Goose info

Spruce Goose info

Spruce Goose info

Inside the Spruce Goose:

Spruce Goose insides

Spruce Goose insides

Spruce Goose nose:

Spruce Goose nose

Spruce Goose wing:

Spruce Goose wing

Jet planes:

Jet plane

Jet plane

Prop planes:

Plane

Plane

Helicopter:

Helicopter

The path between the aviation and space buildings includes an indication of the distances between planets:

Planets

The space museum entrance:

Evergreen Space Museum

Space stuff:

Space stuff

Capsule:

Capsule

Rocket engines:

Rocket engines

Helicopter and capsule:

Helicopter and capsule

Rocket engine:

Rocket engine

Rover:

Rover

Lunar lander:

Lunar lander

Moon buggy:

Moon buggy

Moon buggy and lander:

Moon buggy and lander

Rocket segments:

Rocket segment

Rocket segment

Rover:

Rover

After the museums, we went for a drive, with the vague notion of perhaps doing some wine tasting, since there are a bunch of wineries in the area. But we don’t have any room for more wine at present, so decided to head to the Oregon coast instead.

We went to the outlet mall at Lincoln City, to buy some clothes and a blanket, then headed to the beach:

Lincoln City beach

It was about 15:30, so we thought we’d have a snack or very early dinner at the Mo’s restaurant there, but even at that time it was very busy, with a half hour wait:

Mo's restaurant

We decided we didn’t want to wait, so wandered across the road to an ice cream shop, and enjoyed cones instead:

Ice cream shop

When we got back, we spent the evening flushing out our fresh water. The excitement never ends.

Golden ghost town

While staying at Valley of the Rogue State Park, we visited a local attraction, the Golden ghost town, an Oregon state heritage site.

Quoting from that website:

At its peak, the 19th century mining town of Golden, now a ghost town, was home to 100 people and served as a hub for many others who worked the land in more remote locations. The 1850s mining camp eventually gave way to a town established around 1890. Golden was distinguished by its lack of saloons in the town center, its two active churches and the large orchard established by its founding families. Today, visitors can explore the remaining settlements perched above the valley where miners once toiled.

Golden’s remains include four buildings: a church, a former residence, a shed and a structure that once housed a post office and store. The entire property is in the National Register of Historic Places.

Here are the store and homestead of Golden:

Golden store and homestead

The Golden sign:

Golden sign

Store:

Store

Inside the store (peeking in from outside; it looked very dark to me, but the iPhone works well in low light):

Inside the store

Inside the store

Inside the store

The homestead:

Homestead

Shed:

Shed

Shed

Inside the shed:

Inside the shed

Church:

Church

Church

Church

Inside the church:

Inside the church

Graveyard:

Graveyard

Tombstones:

Tombstone

Tombstone

Tombstone

Metalic remains:

Metalic remains

Metalic remains

Metalic remains

Info signs:

Info sign

Info sign

Info sign

Info sign

Info sign

Info sign

Info sign

Back of the church:

Back of church

Homestead, store, shed:

Homestead, store, shed

Me in front of the store, with my Stetson hat (that I got in Yellowstone):

David in front of store

Oregon Vortex

Another roadside attraction that we visited in southern Oregon was the Oregon Vortex.

To quote from their website:

The Oregon Vortex is a glimpse of a strange world where the improbable is the commonplace and everyday physical facts are reversed. It is an area of naturally occurring visual and perceptual phenomena, which can be captured on film. No matter your education or profession you will find a challenge to all your accepted theories.

The Oregon Vortex entrance:

Oregon Vortex entrance

Entrance and gift shop:

Entrance and gift store

Info signs:

Info signs

Info sign

The main gimmick of this place is that things appear to have different heights depending on where you stand. We had a guide to ourselves, who got us to stand against poles, then reverse positions, and it appeared our heights changed. Certainly not evident in the pictures, but while there, it did kinda feel like it, either through the power of suggestion, sloping backgrounds, or other magic:

Jenn and David

David and Jenn

A feature of the place is the “House of Mystery”; a 1904 gold assay office that slid off its foundation:

House of Mystery

House of Mystery

House of Mystery

Within it, there is just one small level platform, as demonstrated by our guide:

Level platform

Jenn on the platform:

Jenn on platform

Behind the house, another level platform:

Level platform

Another demonstration was a board between our guide and Jenn, where they swapped places again, and felt a height change, though again the camera shows it was an illusion:

Board between guide and Jenn

Board between Jenn and guide

Another demo, with me and Jenn swapping places:

David and Jenn

Jenn and David

The gift shop:

Gift store

Gift store

Gift store

It was an interesting place to visit, and an iconic Oregon attraction.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

While staying at Heritage RV Park, we took an hour drive to Lassen Volcanic National Park.

We’ve been to this park before, but wanted to visit again, even though the park is closed at present, other than the visitor centers at a couple of entrances. If nothing else, it was an enjoyable drive.

For example, here’s a viewpoint on the way to Lassen:

Viewpoint on way to Lassen

Viewpoint on way to Lassen

Getting closer to the park, we saw some burnt trees:

Burnt trees

A little snow on the side of the road as we gained elevation:

A little snow on the side of the road

A snowy peak in the distance:

Snowy peak

More snow by the road:

Snow

The southwest entrance to Lassen:

Lassen entrance

The visitor center:

Visitor center

Visitor center

Relief map of the park:

Relief map of the park

Snowy peaks:

Snowy

Snowy

After going out of the park, we headed northwards, through a tiny town named Manton, which made me think of the creator of the Micro.blog service, Manton Reece:

Manton

Manton

Manton

A couple of narrow bridges:

Narrow bridge

Narrow curvy bridge

Small town Halloween; they were holding traffic to enable the kids to safely cross the highway:

Small town Halloween

Manzanita Lake, near the northwest entrance to Lassen:

Manzanita Lake

Manzanita Lake

Ranger station:

Ranger station

Seismograph:

Seismograph

Seismograph

Museum:

Museum

Museum displays:

Museum display

Museum display

A bridge led to a trail:

Bridge

Stream:

Stream

Trees:

Trees

Burnt trees:

Burnt trees

Fallen tree:

Fallen tree

Burnt trees:

Burnt trees

More trees:

Tree

Trees

Trees and mountain:

Trees and mountain

A selfie with Jenn and me:

Jenn and David