I will begin this post where I left off last night.
After blogging, I wander to the theater. I walk in and find a nice couch and watch the very very end of Happy Feet 2. It's cute and inspirational and has cool music. I then wander downstairs to the basement area where the band is playing. I watch and listen to them play an interesting mix of songs that are their own and remixes ranging from the Beatles, to Lady Gaga, to songs with roots in Brazilian Capoeira. They are pretty entertaining. As I watch, I sip on another Rubenator. I see a few random people wander by in bathrobes (The band is right outside of a bar in an open area of the hallway where people's rooms are) and listen to a few kids throw a fit over not wanting to go to bed. I listen to the band play for a while and then wander back to my room. I am kinda tired and I have to drive through unknown treacherous roads tomorrow.
I awake at the bright and early time of 7:45 am and head to the shower. Since the place is an old Masonic Lodge, there are no bathrooms in the rooms. The restrooms are very well maintained though. And no one ever seems to use them. On my way out, I notice that I have a newspaper. For $45 and having no in room bathroom (there is a sink in the room) this place sure is fancy. Newspaper, bathrobes in the rooms, fancy artwork all over.... Anyway, I shower and pack my stuff up. I head to breakfast and get some coffee. It appears in an adorable cup with matching saucer complete with brown and white sugar cubes. Did I mention that I feel fancy? I order the breakfast taco special and read my paper. The front page is about a round about that there is some sort of hubbub about. Apparently no one likes roundabouts except for transportation engineers. I get my tacos and they are missing the fresh fruit. All I have eaten in the last 2 days is beef and french fries/something made of fried potatoes, so I politely request that my fruit be brought to me. A plate of pineapple and assorted melons is quickly brought to my table.
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| Fancy Coffee!! |
I check out and head on my way. My first stop is across the street to get an emergency truck key made. I pay the $2 and place the key in my truck. I then head to the highway. I have taken I-5 from the Northern part of Washington to almost the Southern part of Oregon and I must say, Washington needs to step up its maintenance game. The WA part of the road has kind of sucked. ALL of the Oregon roads I have driven on have been a nice ride, even in the parts that have signs warning of "rough roads". Anyway, I am driving down I-5 yelling at the assholes that are cruising in the left lane. The left lane is the PASSING lane, not the "I am going to drive the same speed as the car right next to me" lane. Come on, I am from Alaska and I even know that. I do a little bit of tailgating and most people get the idea. I talk to my mom for a bit along the way. I drive through some urban areas and then into farm lands. I see sheep. A lot of sheep, even a few black sheep. Some of the farm areas are flooded from all the rain. Anyway, I stop for gas in Eugene before I turn off onto State route 58.
State route 58 is a beautiful two lane road that takes me through several National Forests. The first part of the trip leads me along a creek with vibrant vegetation. Most of this is part of Willamette National Forest I am overwhelmed by all the shades of green. About 50 miles into the road, I decide I should stop and get some coffee just to help me stay awake. I stop at a Chevron. The cashier is friendly and sees I am staring at a notice "route 58 mileposts 56 to 69 winter conditions, chains or traction tires required." He says something and I apologize and explain that I am looking at the weather advisory. He asks if I have chains. No, no I do not. But I have 4wd. He warns me that there is snow ahead. Great, more snow.
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| Nice scenery before the snow hit. |
About 5 miles down the road I start seeing snow on the side of the road. I switch into 4wd. After my incident with the snow bank on the Seward Highway last year, if I see snow anywhere or it is below freezing, the 4wd goes on unless I know that there has been no precipitation recently. I would rather waste the gas and tear up my 4wd then die any day. The snow begins to build until eventually I am in a full out snow storm. It is like this until about mile 68. By mile 69, the snow has let up again. However, the 4wd stays on since I still see snow around. Apparently I am over the pass and now in Deschutes National Forest. The trees are now mostly evergreens. Still pretty, but not as novel since I see this kind of stuff at home. The road stays pretty clear but the terrain is still snowy as I approach state route 97. Actually, the sun makes an appearance for a short while. For the second time on my whole trip, I pull out my sunglasses. (With the exception of when I arrived in Bellingham, it has been raining and snowing somewhat constantly since I have gotten to the lower 48!) Their use is short lived.
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| Ewwww snow. But its pretty |
I turn onto SR 97 and about 10 miles down I see warning signs: "Wreak ahead watch for flagger". I find the flagger and stop. For about 15 minutes. A semi has hit some ice and jack knifed into a snow bank. No way in hell am I taking off my 4wd now. I am finally permitted to pass. I head into another national forest: Winema. Shortly after, I hit a passing lane. I hate it when people pass me. However, I know the speed at which I am comfortable driving and will not exceed it. I see a black SUV coming up through the line of cars. They are about to pass me when they change their mind. The road had started to get slushy again. I don't know if they saw the slush and decided to cool it or if they saw my license plate and thought "hey that's a fuckin' T Rex from Alaska, maybe we should follow it since it must know about snow." I like to the the latter personally. Regardless, they follow for the next 15 miles as it gets progressively more snowy again. About 20 miles out of Klamath Falls, the snow again dissipates and Mr. Black SUV blows by me. Ok buddy, that's fine with me.
I am out of the forest at this point and the geography of the area is fascinating and beautiful. There are many different rock formations all over and a lake on one side of the road. I wish I remembered more from Geology. I arrive in Klamath Falls, a cute little town of 20,000. I cruise through downtown and take the scenic route to my motel. I find the place, and for $35, it doesn't look too sketchy. It is actually surprisingly nice. I check in and ask the clerk about places to eat. He suggest the brewpub next door. I grab my stuff and head to my room.
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| Out of the forest and into the....? It's pretty! |
I decide to take a walk down main street before it gets dark. Ya know, to "experience" Klamath Falls. It's nice. Nothing out of the ordinary for a small town. I see lots of places to eat and decide to eat at half of them. I walk to the door, and then walk out. Eventually, I decide to eat at the brewpub by my motel. I figure I should take the opportunity to try local brews even though after walking by a Mexican place I really want a margarita.
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| T Rex needs a bath... no use in washing it until I am out of this snow/slushy shit |
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| Klamath Falls Main Street |
I walk in and take the only available seat at the bar. No need to take up a whole table with just me and I might meet a local at the bar or something. I order the local Heff, my go-to beer when I can't make up my mind. It's not bad but I think I like Moose's Tooth Heff better. And after the Rubenator, nothing will be good anyway. I order the salad and breadbowl/soup combo. Like I said, I have not been eating enough veggies and I know it. It all comes out at once; my food takes up three spots at the bar. The middle aged guy next to me comments "they could have spaced it better" I agree and spread my plates out even further. He laughs, apparently he meant they could have spaced them out better time-wise but is amused by my interpretation. We then talk about traveling. He has done a lot of traveling in his day and has plenty of recommendations for me. He has lived in the area for a few years now and knows the bartender, who is into the outdoors and has been to Tahoe a few times so he asks him for some advice for my trip. He tells me to take the route I was not planning to take. It is longer, but the terrain and weather will be better. Good thing I talked to him. Half way through the conversation, I order the special, which is a dark beer. The guy (whose name I never got) is again amused that I would order a light beer and then a dark beer. Eh, I am not picky they are all good, so long as they aren't too hoppy. (even then, hoppy can be ok) Around 7:30, I excuse myself and head back to the motel.
My room is freezing. So I decide to take a hot shower and leave the bathroom door open to warm the place up. The actual heater is only minimally effective. I then decide to write my blog post. Damn, the internet needs a pass word. I put my clothes back on and open the door to ask the office for the pass code since I can't find the phone in the room. I let all the warm air out. I get the internet log in. Log In: Jesus, Password: Christ. Cute. I get back to the room and deadbolt and chain myself in for the night.
And here I am, now under the covers so I am warm, writing my blog. If I get up early enough I plan to make a short detour (on the way just a different way than I am ultimately planning to go; I will have to cut over) to Lava Beds National Monument. I like volcanoes. And they are supposed to have some cool petroglyphs too.
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