Crater Lake and Coastal Redwoods

I have to say that I am loving being a third-year resident, in contrast to my many months spent as an inpatient slave my first two years of residency. My inpatient and call schedule was a bit "front-loaded" this year, so I have had so many free weekends this spring (just two calls [acting OB chief] left) to be able to travel (before I look forward to 5 months on OB next year...)!

This weekend, Kelvin and I decided to do a "northern" trip to explore Southern Oregon/Crater Lake National Park, and also see some of the California coast. While I was lucky to have Kelvin to do the driving (I absolutely hate long drives but am happy to navigate), the scenery, from start to finish, was absolutely breathtaking, as you can see from the numerous pictures below.


Our view of Mt. Shasta (14,179 ft) on our drive up the I-5 North to the CA/OR border


I could not snap enough pictures!!

Vista point (with sun going down)

We stayed overnight in Medford, OR (in the Rogue River Valley), before heading out on Saturday the further 70 miles to Crater Lake National Park. The park, which was founded on the volcanic crater of Mt. Mazama, is the sixth oldest national park in the U.S. and houses the gorgeous lake, which, at 595m deep, is the deepest lake in the U.S.

The elevation is 7000-8000 feet at the caldera rim, and most of the rim trail is closed between July and October; however, the park is open year-round for the winter activities snowshoeing and cross-country skiing (assuming the roads are clear enough to reach the rim). Since I'm not sure how much free weekend time I will have next year, we decided to just go enjoy the park, winter-style, on the 7-8 feet of layered snow.

Sign at entrance to the one open visitors' center

Kelvin, southern-CA boy, by the snow-wall

Views from snowshoeing around the rim

Wizard Island sits in the middle of the lake

Don''t these look like postcards? :)

Some self-portraits...

... until we broke down and asked someone to take a picture of the two of us :)

Snow-angel ...

... and a face plant? :)

From Oregon, we returned back to California via the coastal road 101 through the hundreds of miles of Redwood forests. A John Steinbeck quote summaries my feelings about these trees, which I believe is one of the most spectacular sights in the world: "The redwoods once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always...from them comes silence and awe. The most irreverent of men, in the presence of redwoods, goes under a spell of wonder and respect."

This was my second trip to the redwoods, my first being during my first intern vacation; however, I had never seen the northern most parts that stretch to the Oregon border and it was Kelvin's first time to see the coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), trees which have been around for 20 million years, live up to 2000 years, and grow up to 370 feet high. They are truly amazing.

These two pics give a sense of how massive these trees are:

We camped in Prairie Redwoods State Park (Elk Prairie Campground, which was appropriately named by the wild elk that wandered by our campsite)

Today, we drove the remainder of Hwy 101 in northern CA and through the Avenue of the Giants, seeing more great trees.

This gives you an idea of the expansiveness of one tree's root base

Founders' Grove

We had to go to one drive-through tree park; you can see Kelvin in my Prius going through the Chandelier Tree)

I took a picture in the same tree when I went solo in 2007. We obviously can both fit easily in this hollowed trunk!

What a great trip! The natural wonders of California and the west coast never cease to amaze me. Come visit, and I will show you :)