Week 4: Pacific Northwest

Tuesday 15 June

Steep street up Telegraph Hill, San Francisco

Golden Gate bridge seen from Telegraph Hill

Bay Bridge to Oakland, from Telegraph Hill

San Francisco harbour

The harbour at sunset

We drove over into Marin County and camped in Mt Tamalpais State Park.

Wednesday 16 June

Muir Woods

Looking vertically upwards in Muir Woods

We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge, back into San Francisco

San Francisco Chinatown

After a lazy day in San Francisco we set off north and camped in Colusa, CA, next to the Sacramento River. On a sandy beach by the river, the VW sank up its axles in soft sand and we spent half an hour digging it out.

Thursday 17 June

In Klamath Falls, Oregon, this man gave us a guided tour of a timber mill

Crater Lake, at a height of 6000 feet, was cold and cloudy

The campground in Crater Lake National Park was closed because of snow. But we managed to find a patch of clear ground above the lake to pitch our tent.

Friday 18 June

Here I am at our emergency camping spot in the snowfield

By morning the cloud had gone, and Crater Lake was a beautiful deep blue

An island in Crater Lake

Another view of Crater Lake

Lunch stop at Diamond Lake, with Mt Thielsen in the background

Another view of Diamond Lake

We reached the Pacific coast at Reedsport

We drove up the coastal road US101, passing Cape Foulweather

After driving through Portland, we followed the Columbia River to Bonneville, Oregon, where we camped.

Saturday 19 June

Bridge over the Columbia River, viewed from The Dalles Dam, with Mt Hood in the background

Forest campsite, somewhere near Spokane, Washington

We were directed to this campsite by a State policeman who had pulled us over for speeding. When we told him how much we admired his beautiful country and explained that we were foreigners looking for a campsite for the night, he turned very friendly, forgot about the speeding and gave us directions to a delightful campsite.