The wonders of Mother Nature

The first thing we do when we are camping is open the door of the tent and check out the color of the sky, hoping that it would be of a beautiful blue color, announcing a great day ahead of us. That's of course if it does not rain and lately, it has been luckily the case. That morning, as we opened the tent's door and gazed into the sky, we were a little confused. There were apparently no clouds but the sky was not blue either. Maybe it was still too early and the mountains were still in the early mist? As we started riding and that the day was getting warmer, the haze was getting even thicker, giving the surrounding pine trees a mystic feel. A forest fire!... we got it after finally smelling the typical burned wood smell. Hopefully the wind was going to blow in the right direction today to get this out of our way.

Crater Lake: a volcano and a stunning lake
We entered right at lunch time Crater Lake National Park and were planning to enjoy our picnic lunch right on the rim of the volcano to enjoy the view of the lake. This volcano had erupted a long time ago and the crater had collapsed, giving birth to a lake that had been filled over the years by melting snow and rainfall. Given that it is today the deepest lake in the United States, you can only imagine how much snow and rainfall they get in the area. Well, we were there on a somehow sunny day given the surrounding haze due to the fires. We took our picnic and started climbing towards the rim: we were told that the waters of the lake were so blue that the lake looked like pure sapphire, reflecting the edges of the crater. As we finally saw the lake, we could not hide our disappointment: it was quite hazy and you could not see much of it! We could still guess how beautiful this lake can look like in the full sparkle of a sunny day. As we finished our picnic and went back to our bikes, a ranger broke the good news: the wind was blowing in the right direction and the lake should clear up a little in the afternoon.

All cheered up, we started riding the loop road around the crater: it was so fun that the road would be enough to make our day. We decided to stop though and take a hike to the top of Watchman Peak and hopefully enjoy a clearer view of the lake. After much effort in the blazing warm sun, we reached the top and got our reward. The view had quite improved and we could finally appreciate the grandeur of the sight that we tried to capture with our cameras. Further on the loop, another sight caught our attention at the end of a little trail: the Phantom Ship. Not only was its name really poetic but the form of the rock, standing out in the sunlight was just unique with the surrounding blue waters around it. We stood there for a while, admiring what nature had created and then finished the loop to finally head out of the park.

The giants of the Redwood Coast

The next day, as we crossed into California (and are actually still laughing that we had to go through an agricultural check point as if we were entering a different country), we rode on Redwood territory. These are huge trees from the Sequoia family but their bark is red and they grow taller but not as thick as the Giant Sequoias. These big boys can grow very old as the elders are about 2,000 years old and can be as high as 370 feet (aboyut 115m). As they were bordering the road, we felt like we had been transformed into midgets riding mini bikes: the scale was just not right! (find Caroline in the picture). We could also smell the sweet and dry pine scent around us, making this one of the most relaxing ride we had, despite some treacherous turns and slow RVs. At the Simpson Reed Grove, we took a short hike to get closer to the giants and multiple times, our jaw fell open looking at the height of the tree, or some big fallen log or remaining roots. This definitively was no ordinary forest. Around the trees, given how much shade they create, we could see unique plants and mushrooms that only grow in this area. We did have a hard time getting back on the road as it felt so right and peaceful there. We were glad though to still be able to enjoy the sight of these trees on the roads we took further south on the Californian coast. It was a nice cooling transition from the ocean view we also got to enjoy along the road.

Our eyes still filled with images of these two unique National Parks, we were amazed by the beautiful things nature can create: a deep blue lake in the depth of a volcano crater surrounded by stunning mountains and endless forest of big red giants. We knew that along this trip we would see nice things and so far, Mother Nature had been the star of it all, with incredible creations. We feel blessed we could witness some of its beauty and hope that we, as humans, will strive to conserve and protect them.