Sycamore Canyon Overlook Trail, Williams, Arizona

Junction: Whitehorse Lake Trail and Sycamore Canyon Overlook Trail #70

While the government shut-down is affecting many services, including the National Parks and Forests, there are still a lot of activities available, if you're willing to walk just a little bit farther from your car, and pack a few snacks and a bottle of water in your daypack. The Sycamore Canyon Overlook Trail, #70, just outside of Williams, Arizona, meets up with the Whitehorse Lake Trail, #33. Another easy day-hike, it has a brief uphill climb, and is difficult to see in some spots. For me, this only added to the adventure. At trail marker 9 on the Whitehorse Lake Trail, take the trail to Sycamore Canyon View. This will make your hike a total of just over 3 miles, unless you have to park outside the Whitehorse Lake Campground and walk in to the trailhead. The reward is a mostly easy, fairly level trail, with abundant opportunities for wildlife viewing (especially with fewer people about) and interesting obstacles, such as these cattle gates, to negotiate.

I was standing right here, when a large hawk rose out of the canyon below and hovered in front of me. Noting his audience, he began to soar high overhead, dipping and rising on the air currents. My heart thrilled and I forgot to breathe for a moment. I sat and watched a small group of hawks dance on the winds for the better part of an hour.

The Dragon Tree

My mind, thus freed from its carefully constructed restraints, discovered this Dragon, cleverly disguised as a tree, apparently waiting either for its rider, or for some hobbit to try to steal its treasure. I was not going to fall for its tricks. The sun was setting, so I reluctantly returned down to the trailhead, mindful of the couple of spots where the trail was not very clear. 10 year old Yak would have enjoyed this hike, but at the time, the guys were in Colorado, so I had to go solo.

If you decide to take this hike, keep in mind that at the top, there are steep dropoffs and no safety rails. Keep young children close. Also, wildlife is not always friendly. Know how to protect yourself. Especially with Forest Rangers not on duty due to budget constraints, make sure somebody expects you back, so someone can alert authorities if you don't show up.

That said, Happy Trails!

Whitehorse Lake Trail, Williams, Arizona

Late in May, I found myself in Williams, with my car pointed down the "south road" (aka 4th Street) out of town. The warm sun, the brilliant blue sky and the seductive scent of pine lured me on to where 4th Street becomes Perkinsville Rd. past the back side of Bill Williams Mountain. At the signpost for Overland Trails and Whitehorse Lake, I made a left. Another left into Whitehorse Lake campground, passed through to the day use area and parked. 

Sycamore Rim Trail Access Map

After changing into my trusty hiking boots, I grabbed walking stick, hat, camera, water and snacks. Okay, so it's only 1 mile from the parking area to the end of the trail and 1 mile back. My out of shape self was taking no chances. Part of my strategy in choosing this trail was that it is easy. The terrain is fairly level, no boulders to climb or streams to cross. It meanders through Ponderosa pine and oaks, so is mostly shady, and stays near the lake. If you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of elk or deer, but be cautious of other wildlife. Puma have also been spotted, along with the occasional bear. I didn't even spot a fish on the day I went, but then, I didn't spot many people, either.

Don't plan on cooling off in the lake after your hike, as it is not aerated for swimming. Fish and Game does keep Whitehorse Lake stocked with trout, so bring your pole and license. Barbeques and tables are available for day use, for a fee, and the campground is right there. You might want to plan a few days at this spot, fishing, exploring the trails and relaxing and enjoying the tall pines, gazillion stars and spectacular sunrises and sunsets. Best time to go is May-October.

This trail is great for families, children, adults getting in shape/back in shape, older adults and experienced walkers. It also joins up with the Sycamore Canyon Overlook Trail which joins several other trails, for a change of scenery and more of a challenge. More info and maps are available at the Williams Ranger District office, right off Interstate 40 at exit 161 map.

U-pick, Seattle EMP and Salty's

Before leaving Portland, OR, we went in search of chocolate covered bacon.  We had heard that it was unbelievably scrumptious, but had no luck in locating a food stand that was open, serving it.  This, however, was a common sight along Highway 97 in Washington.  Produce stands everywhere!  We finally stopped at a u-pick orchard and scored 35 pounds of the most luscious sun-ripened peaches, nectarines and plums right off the trees!  Total damage was less than 50 cents a pound.  What we didn't eat, we froze at our next stop, to be enjoyed by our friends long after we are gone;)

The EMP in Seattle, WA is a quirky museum of music, science fiction and pop culture.  Mostly pop culture.  The "gallery companion" is a must.  For $3 you can rent an ipod with earbuds which will block out most of the loud noise (um, music) inside the museum, and give you a self-guided tour, extra stories about the exhibits, and additional music playlists.  We spent much of our time in the Avatar exhibit.  Pulling up the videos we made in the interactive sections was a bit tricky, later, but with a few emails to helpful museum staff we were able to accomplish it.  We passed on the opportunity to perform live onstage; we were far more entranced with the sound labs, where we could go into a soundproof room and jam to our hearts' content on guitars, keyboards, drums and synthesizers.  There's even a rec room for the little (and not so little) ones to play with  guitars and bongos, make buttons and color.  Afterwards, it was time for cocktails at the Pop Kitchen and Bar.  A non-drinker, myself, I had a rare craving for a virgin margarita.  This seemed to baffle my friend.  I had to explain to her how they were made, and still she eyed me with incredulity.  This just made me giggle more.  You'd think I was the one drinking...

No sojourn in Washington is complete for me, without a bowl of Salty's World Famous Seafood Chowder. The hearty mix of potatoes, bacon, clams, shrimp and scallops, with a generous drizzle of sherry at the table, and a healthy sprinkle of pepper is the perfect way to end a day of sightseeing, beachcombing or shopping.  It was the perfect time of day to enjoy our patio table on the water, and linger over a shared mango sorbet.  After that it was back to our friends' house for a movie, and to rest up for our long journey home.

Oregon's Best for Last - Mt. Hood, Pendleton and its' Woolen Mills

Mt. Hood from back of Timberline Lodge - still has snow in August.

Our last day in Portland, we took a day trip to Mount Hood, our destination, the Historic Timberline Lodge.  Constructed by the Works Progress Administration, during the years 1936-37, the lodge is a masterpiece of old-time craftsmanship.  I highly recommend the free tour of the lodge.  Our Forest Service volunteer guide cheerfully imparted volumes of historical information about the building, as well as pointing out many unique features.  All the rocks and lumber used in the building were procured locally and hand cut and milled on site.  That's not where it ends.  While the men were laboring to build the gargantuan structure at Timberline, the women were ensconced in barracks a few miles away, spinning, weaving and sewing all the textiles to be used in the lodge's rugs, draperies and upholstery.  Men were also handcrafting furniture, light fixtures and other decor for the lodge.  Textiles were made from locally produced flax and wool; rugs hooked from used cotton fabrics; iron railings and lamp fixtures were made from scrap iron.  Mosaics were fashioned from scrap glass and tile.  The creative talents and pride in workmanship of the builders and crafters are still in evidence.

Wall Mosaic in lobby of Timberline Lodge

On our way out of Oregon, we spent the night in Pendleton. The following morning was Sunday, and we attended Mass at St. Mary's Catholic Church.  The service was memorable, in that it was one of the few I have ever attended outside of a Tridentine church, where the women nearly all wore chapel veils and modest dresses, the men mostly wore suits or trousers and button-down shirts, rather than sportswear.  There was liberal use of inscense, and all the music was chanted, as opposed to folksy performance.  The most touching part of the Mass came, appropriately, at communion time.  The Holy Eucharist was distributed, without exception, to those who came up and knelt at the communion rail, with the altar boy holding the paten under the Eucharist, as it was placed on the tongue.  My 8 year old son, having just received his First Holy Communion a few months before, was visibly taken aback, having never experienced this before.  The priest looked at me and I had to nod that yes, he can receive.  It was such a beautiful and sacred experience, that I wondered why it was ever necessary to change the way we receive Holy Communion.

After Mass, though I don't like to encourage businesses that stay open on Sundays, we went to the Pendleton Woolen Mills.  As we would not be back this way for who knows how long, it was now or never.  I got my first Pendleton from my mom when I was in high school.  The quality of workmanship is so fine that they last forever, so I could not pass up this opportunity to visit the factory in person.  We entered the gift shop, and though we could not take an actual tour of the mills, we were able to watch a video about the production of Pendleton's legendary woolen fabrics, and to browse their selection of fine clothing, accessories and yardage.   As much as I would have liked to have brought home a couple of bolts of fabric, the $40-$80 per yard price made me a happy window shopper instead.  From Pendleton it is just a few miles to Washington, but those adventures will take up an entire post of their own.

Pacific Northwest Part 3 - Portland and the Oregon Coast

No luck with any campsites between Vacaville, CA and Portland, OR.  We stayed night 3 of our trip in a motel in Willows, CA and ate a nice dinner at the Black Bear Cafe there.   We stopped for gas just across the Oregon border, and if we thought we were safe from colorful characters, we were immediately proved wrong.  A shirtless young man with shoulder-length dreadlocks came running towards our car with a look of ecstasy on his face.  At the last possible moment he veered off and began singing something incomprehensible at the top of his lungs.  The last we saw of him, he was driving away to parts unknown.

Our first excursion in Portland was to the world famous Rose Garden.  My amateur pictures cannot possibly do justice to the acres and variety of roses there.  The seductive fragrance of thousands of blooms surrounded us and could only have been made more perfect by the addition of a pot of herbal (maybe rose petal?) tea and several squares of dark chocolate.

The Pearl District in downtown Portland, is a must for window shopping, unique souvenirs and artisinal treats.   My friend and I enjoyed the many quirky clothing and jewelry boutiques, stopped in at Lush for a hand treatment and to spy on their all-natural soaps and personal care products, collecting information and ideas for my shop - Mrs. D's Homestead.  We spent just as much time at the Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe, sampling their gourmet cocoas and sinful desserts.

After a day of rest and recovery, we proceeded to take a tour of the Oregon coast, stopping first at the Tillamook Cheese factory for fortification.  Though guided tours are available, we went through the museum on our own.  The high-tech mass production of cheese was interesting to me, however, being a cheesemaker myself, I was more interested in the ancient artifacts of old-fashioned cheese-making science in the display cases.  Somehow 2,000 gallon vats of temperature controlled milk do not seem, to me, like they will ferment and age into the flavorful rounds I enjoy when my cow is lactating.  Although, when she is not, Tillamook is one of my favorite choices, due to its' simple, natural ingredients list.  Exiting the museum, we sampled several kinds of Tillamook cheeses, my favorite being the simple, white, buttery tasting curds.  Of course, we could not continue our coastal expedition without a generous portion of creamy Tillamook ice cream apiece.

When we finally found a spot where we could enjoy the beach, we stopped and spent an hour strolling, building sandcastles, and soaking up the sun.

Nehalem Bay is the place to go for crabbing, crab boils, and general relaxing and people watching by the water.  The bait shop at Jetty Fishery offers full crabbing packages, with license, bait, nets and boat, or you can catch them off the dock if you prefer.  We weren't dressed for a day out on the water, so we had our crab boiled for us and gorged ourselves at the picnic tables in front of the campfire.  After cracking, slurping and sipping for what seemed like hours, we were all ready to take a nap.  So we did, while our fearless driver slurped coffee and took a brisk walk to renew his energy.

The final destination on our coastal tour was Astoria, Oregon, where Captain Robert Gray discovered the Columbia River in 1792 and near where Lewis and Clark camped near the end of their expedition.  The location is marked with a 600 foot tall, narrow tower that can be climbed for a fantastic view of the bay.  Or so I'm told.  I preferred to stay on the ground, and decided I had a perfectly lovely view from there.

   

Pacific Northwest Day 2 - Donner Pass

After driving all day through 115 degree heat across endless Nevada deserts, we reached the turn-off for Reno, which would take us to Lake Tahoe.  Hoping to camp in the pristine pine forests I remembered from my childhood, and wake up to take a dip in the lake, I drove the mountain roads with enthusiasm.  As night fell, the lights around the lake revealed that there was a lot more development here than I remembered.  Every single campground we passed was full.  Finally, we met a ranger at yet another full campground.  He had just come from Donner Pass, 45 minutes away, and informed us that every campground between Lake Tahoe and there was full, this being the last camping weekend before the start of school in California.  He mentioned that there was one site open at the Donner Memorial State Park campground, and if we wanted to chance it, it would be worth a try.  Having few other options, besides pricey motels, we made the drive.

Midnight at Donner Pass can be creepy, if you know the history.  But at least it wasn't snowing...
After setting up the tent and organizing the rest of our camp for morning, we made a camp fire in the fire ring, but decided we were all too tired to eat.  So one by one, we settled into our bedrolls.   When I awoke the next morning, our camp was better than I had even hoped for at Lake Tahoe.  Old pines towered over 100 feet above us.  Donner Creek playfully spilled into Donner Lake, just yards away.  I cooked our breakfast on the campstove while we warmed ourselves by the fire ring.  After cleaning up the breakfast things, we repacked and broke camp.

We drove the short distance to the lake, and made use of one of the park's many hiking trails.  By now, the sun was fully up and the temperatures in the high 70's at our altitude.  Donner Lake was irresistible, so we donned swimsuits and went in.  Though there is really no designated swimming area, we were at a small inlet that was not very busy with boats, and had a very refreshing swim.  The water was clean and cold.  We could see the bottom of the lake up to about six feet.  After drying off in the warm sun, it was with deep regret that I changed back into my clothes, and we left our enchanted campground to continue our journey.  Today we would be visiting an old friend near Vacaville, then travelling through Mount Shasta in hopes of finding another camping spot for the night.

Prelude to the Pacific Northwest

Getting ready for vacation wears me out.  Trying to pack as little as possible and yet have everything we need sets off some lively discussions at our house.  Nevertheless, my travelling companions and I managed to divvy up the labor and circumvent any pre-trip explosions.  The plan, visit family and see some sights in Oregon and Washington over 3 weeks in August.  The mode, a 24 mile per gallon Jeep Cherokee and a newly acquired used tent trailer.  The new (to us) tent trailer was checked out, and minor repairs made.  Camping supplies were reorganized and streamlined into two boxes and a cooler.  Sleeping bags, camp chairs and camp stove were packed.  Personal items were packed, unpacked, and repacked into half the space.  This weary pilgrim fell into bed early to grab a few hours sleep before the epic vacation was to start.  At 2:20a.m., grumbling and threatening bodily harm to a certain travelling companion who begrudged me my last 10 minutes of sleep, I stumbled to the espresso machine and made myself a large double (would that be a quadruple?).  I dressed myself and my son, gathered my purse and book, and packed us into the back seat of the jeep, where we proceeded to fall directly back to sleep.  It was still too dark for any sight seeing anyway.

First stop, Las Vegas, Nevada.  Breakfast buffet at Palace Station.  The cheese blintzes were awesome, but the strawberry sauce I put on top of them was not.  Should have stuck with a dusting of powdered sugar.  Coffee and sausage were plentiful, and after some in our party topped off with ice cream cones, we made our way to Bass Pro Shop for air mattresses.  Unfortunately, we forgot the air pump at home, so had to get another one.  I was in favor of a 12volt that could be left attached, to inflate the mattresses while we set up the rest of our camp, got the fire going, cooked dinner, etc.  I was overrulled by manly men insisting on a bicycle style pump.  Okay by me, I'm not the one going to be inflating the air mattresses anyway.

Now with the sun up, the drive through Nevada towards Reno was alot of gray, hot, dreary desert.  It was too hot to stop anywhere to make sandwiches for lunch (our cooler and other food were in the tent trailer), so we just snacked.  A roadside stand boasted buffalo jerkey, but it was rather pricey, so we opted for garlic stuffed olives instead - yuck! were they sour!  Then we read the label and found they weren't even local...

We stopped again to stretch our legs in Goldfield, Nevada.  While everyone else went over to inspect an ancient Mercedes diesel, I walked around the even more ancient Goldfield Hotel.  Repairs are apparently being attempted on the dilapidated building, but they do not appear to be historically correct, which is a disappointment because it must have been a beautiful building.  I must know: why such a huge hotel exists in such a remote town and what is the story of Goldfield?  I will report at a future date.

The remainder of our first day is spent driving through the unmerciful heat of the Nevada desert.  We finally reach our first camp at midnight, Donner Pass, but that will have to wait until my next post...