Today we start in Redding and head to Albany. We picked this location as it enabled us to visit some amazing places on the journey.
First stop was to drive to Mt Shasta, and then head up to Klamath Falls, a place I only know about because Intel named a chip after it.
Come to think of it a few of the places we visited have inspired Intel chips, so they have definitely done them a favour in making these places recognisable to foreigners. We still haven’t visited Pentium or DX2-66 yet though.
When we first entered the area, we stopped at the first Tourist Information centre and asked the hot chick behind the counter (aged between 60 and 70) where she would visit if she had only one day. Immediately she named two places.
1. Lava Beds National Monument
2. Crater Lake.
I asked about the ‘legendary’ Klamath Falls and she explained that there are no waterfalls there and she thought it was pretty average.
The massive benefit of doing this type of trip is that you can take detours at any point because you have no schedule to stick to. On her advice, I sneakily reprogrammed the GPS to take us to the Lava Beds. By the time my wife discovered this, it was too late, we were nearly there.
This turned out to be a smart decision. As we drive along the road towards the main attraction, we were surrounded by the most amazing lava field. It was as if the volcano has just stopped flowing and everything froze!
A bit further on and we reached the caves. After being screened for bat infections, (a strange process which involves answering the question”Have you had any direct contact with bats with white powder on tier nose in the last two weeks?”
I wasn’t sure, but my wife and kids assured me that I hadn’t, so we were able to visit the caves. I asked the guy behind the counter which caves he would visit if he only had 2 hours and he said Skull Cave and Valentines Cave. The first because of the ice and the second because it is formed from a different volcanic source and therefore totally different.
There are lots of caves and it is very hot. We had a bit of a picnic in the sweltering heat and then headed to the car for the short drive to the Skull Cave.
Skull Cave is very cool. Yes, literally very cool, as it descends rapidly until you reach the bottom of a set of stairs. Here the bottom of the cave contains an ice floor!
We emerged from Skull Cave and headed to Valentine Cave, so called because people get married there. Ok, so that’s a lie. I have no idea why it is called Valentine Cave.
The cave itself is very smooth, unlike the rocky lava filled Skull cave. It descends at a much lower rate, though goes on further. Much further. We eventually gave up after the ceiling started to drop and one of the kids banged her head. Ooops.
Back out of the cave and we headed to Crater Lake. You may have never heard of Crater Lake but it is absolutely spectacular.
It is reputed to be the cleanest lake on the Earth and looking at it’s serene blue glow, I would be tempted to agree. The lake only fills with snow or rain, so no rivers or other means – hence it’s purity.
It formed after a volcano collapsed and then a smaller volcano erupted later on within the crater. This created a seal at the bottom and enabled it to fill with water. There isn’t that much to do there apart from stare at it, but to be honest, it is such a n amazing vision, you wouldn’t want to do much else.
I believe that you can get a boat tour, though as the sides are all cliffs I am not sure how they get into it, maybe with a winch.
After an exhilarating day, we headed for Albany.
Portland Hotels cost a fortune and we have a car.