It's deep, it's BLUE

 We just returned from a week-long visit to Crater Lake National Park. Descriptive words, such as awesome, beautiful, gorgeous, magnificent, spiritual come to mind - but those words just do not do justice to the spectacular vision Crater Lake is...

It was quiet. Peaceful. Restful. AND mosquito free. Yes, we had been warned. We were DEET prepared...didn't see bug one the whole week. September is the month to go if you want to be relatively kid-free as well. We live next door to six (6), yes that's right- 6, children who are for the most part -- great kids (aka, not obnoxiously noisy). So when we pulled in and were about to select a site, I glanced across the road and there were not 1, not 2, but 3 child sized bikes and a bus that had been graffiti'd in ways that only the stoners of the 60's would truly appreciate...I recoiled and said, ah, NO. My week in God's country was for rest, relax, and to rejuvenate...not to listen to small people having non-quiet moments.

So, if you are a camper, RVer or tenter...Crater Lake is for you. The spaces are large and there are some with electricity and are of different sizes so large rigs are few and far between.  If you are not one of the above, the Crater Lake Lodge is available as well. However, reservations are difficult to come by unless you book almost one whole year (10 - 12 months) in advance.  There is a NP campground for tents only that is very reasonable...$10/night. We were near the other motel, a 'motor inn', however I have not a clue as to the nightly rate.

Crater Lake Lodge

our site

Trolley tour 

Park Administration Building

Tickets for Wizard Island tours are available until mid-September, as we discovered too late to get one so as to visit it, but the boat did take us close. Two different kinds of WI tickets...a 3 hour romp or the all day (6 hours) version...only 6 a day of those are sold. So plan according. You can hike to the top, bird watch, sunbath or fish. No boats are allowed on the lake other than the tour company. And you don't need a license to fish either...they encourage fishing and lots of it. 

Wizard Island

As our tour boat captain stated...it is 1.1 miles down to the boat ramp. It's 11 miles back up. Be prepared to walk. stop. walk. stop. drink water. walk. stop. repeat often on the way back up.

Vidae Falls

Short, easy hike to Vidae Falls...you actually don't even need to get out of the car to see this from the car. It's not this view, but you can see it.

Phantom Ship

The Phantom Ship can be seen, close up, from the boat tour as they take you right up to it and stop.

Inside Watchman Tower 

Watchman Tower

The Watchman Tower hike was around 2.5 miles rd/trip and although much of it is switch backs it is also steep. And totally worth the view once you get there...this is simply breathtaking on a clear day.

Panoramic from Watchman Tower to the North/NW

We did see some wildlife during our stay...mostly birds and ground squirrels. On our last whole day we did happen to see a deer not far from our campsite. And it was posted for bears, however we saw no evidence that they were in the area. (They are faster than I so I pay attention to my surroundings. Nope, not one spotted.)

No TV, radio or internet. Well, you could buy wifi at the convenience store near the entrance or at the lodge. We were able to call out and get messages when up on the rim...actually that was just fine with us. There was a time, not so very long ago when you had to stand outside in one of these to make calls anywhere.

It's called a 'phone booth'...ancient history now. Although we did see a smaller version of this at the convenience store/gas station.

~Ciao

Big Easy ~ and it was

 

We have left the 'Big Easy' after a 10 day visit and are headed south and the Gulf, for warmer weather, some kayaking and maybe just sitting down on the sand. This post will be more photo, less history....New Orleans, or as a local ~ Naw-lins is better known than many of the spots we have toured, therefore I have less to say. As many of you know I adore churches, art and nature...so I found some of that here. I'll include a few "not to miss" activities as well.

 

We stayed across the river in the Bayou Segenette State Park, and took the ferry from Algiers - 3 min crossing and it is FREE, drops you near the FQ, so it was perfect for u.. Using the ferry gave me such joy and recall of the fond memories of growing up with the Puget Sound ferry system. There is a small parking lot that charges $5/day M-F, a bit more on the weekends but it was so worth not having to drive across and attempt to find parking, as there are quite a few pedestrian only and one-way narrow streets. The state park had nice large spots, free Wi-Fi and laundry...it also gives you an idea of the dike system that protects much of the area, as a dike lurks nearby on the access road to the RV parking.

 

This short video is of the Natchez tour boat leaving the harbor just as we docked.
  

 

Another beautiful church, St. Louis Cathedral, which you can see from the ferry as you cross the Mississippi...and the state museum has buildings on either side.

 

One of the wings is dedicated to Katrina ... included in the display was the piano owned by Fats Domino - shown here at his home

and here, cleaned and displayed as it was found.

 

And there is Mardi Gras...who hasn't heard of MG? Second floor of the museum is devoted to this with collections of invitations, dance cards, costumes and all the paraphernalia is a part of the celebration.

 

  

 

 

Friends suggested doing a few things while in New Orleans....eat at Muriel's -

 

Check that...it was elegant, delicious and swanky! We hit the oft mentioned Café Dumont for the beignet experience...check ! We found a great lunch at El Gato Negro, near the French Market...some of the best Mexican ever! Homemade tortillas, salsa and the fish tacos - the bomb!



It was suggested we drive across the "causeway" of Lake Pontchartrain .... now I truly dislike bridges, mostly high bridges, or bridges that have grating. The irony is that I live in a town with lots of bridges...I hold my breath and just drive across...but this bridge is 24 miles long and at times one can not see land, it is like driving across the ocean. I counted down the

 

mile markers as we crossed and was extremely happy to hit land and drive around for the return.

 

National World War II Museum was an unexpected treat...the 4D experience of the movie "Beyond All Boundaries" was unique. The buildings and exhibits are remarkable, the WWII veterans sharing they experiences and the interactive maps and displays makes for a full day.

 

I wanted a souvenir of our trip here...I found this at the Flea Market - Jennies - with instructions for both good and evil. Isn't she beautiful? A voodoo doll...<grinning>

 

 

New Orleans is a lovely city, with many historical buildings, feisty historical figures, great food and music.

 

This sign, found on a garage door gave me a moment of humor and the knowledge that someone has a sense of humor about their neighborhood. 

 



 

Next up, our Swamp Tour in Patterson, LA.

~Ciao

Touring the Big 'RED STICK'

We spent just a couple of days in the Baton Rouge area...don't miss the Louisiana State Museum...it's both informative and beautiful. It's also located very close to the state capitol buildings and downtown BR. The first floor is in a historical layout, covering the state as a whole.



 

                    Calaboose slave door (jail) Fairview Plantation below.     

<and from Huey Long's home an interior door.

As part of the state history of slavery, is this collection of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" book covers.                                   

 
 

 

 

John James Audubon,

 ^ the naturalist, 

spent time drawing some 167 birds while living on a plantation in the 1820's.

Upstairs, the 2nd floor is designed to inform you on the 5 distinctive cultural districts that make up Louisiana. It's more about the food, the arts, the music, and the social aspects of  each cultural section of Louisiana. Mardi Gras is well represented, as is the music scene.  Pete Fountain's clarinet is just one of the many instruments you will see here.

 

Not far from the museum is the beautiful and massive St. Joseph Cathedral. I am not a catholic, but I love the architectural of old churches and am always a willing photographer once on the grounds. Both inside and out I am, one of those gawkers, and will sit down to take in the beauty, peace and grandness that each holds.

 

 

 On our way out the front door, I happen to turn around and looked up ^ where I saw these organ pipes. That made me want to attend a service here, just to hear the sound of the organ, especially during this holiday season.

My fascination with all things southern began with first reading 'Gone with the Wind' as a young teen, living in the PNW. Like most teens, I lived in my head much of the time and was enamored with the romantic side of well-to-do life of the "southern belle" (the realities of the harshness of that life were not recognized until much later)...which answers the question about 'why' touring yet another plantation. This one is state owned/operated and there is a small fee to do so, but frankly, just the 28 acres of gardens would have been tour enough...go in the spring when all of it would be in bloom. We did see camellia, roses, gardenias in bloom - spring would have been a more desirable time for the massive hydrangea, magnolias, roses and other shrubs that form the gardens. The house has been restored to it's 1850's origins.

Built in 1834, the owners actually planted the live oak allee in the 1820's in anticipation of the house to come. The photo below is from the carriage drive, approaching the house.

 The entrance into the front hallway is beautiful - the walls are covered in a hand-made/hand-painted linen paper, depicting a French countryside theme. It is the original wall covering, and 90% of the furnishings are original to the home time period.

 This photo (below)  is of the butler's pantry, where slaves brought in prepared food to plate for meals and served in the dining room just beyond.

This is the children's room, complete with toys that were discovered in the attic during the restoration of 1956 - 1964.

 Four unmarried granddaughters of the original home owners lived out their lives here. The house was never updated with modern conveniences, like running water, heat, indoor toilets or a kitchen.

The last, Miss Nina, died in 1955 and used this 1850 created indoor shower by her grandfather. Rain water was collected and piped into the large overhead container, the rope pull dispensed the water into a tub (the one here was put in during restoration in 1956). This "shower room" was added to the master bedroom (right) when the addition to the house was done in the 1850's.

Miss Nina and her sisters cooked in the kitchen house out back (right) and used oil lamps and utensils, shown below.

>The stairs go up to the slave qtrs. and down to the butler's kitchen>
both steep and narrow.

Now to the "historic" formal gardens of the plantation.  Mrs. Turnbull began to design them in the planting of those live oaks back in the 1820's. Working each day on the design, acquisition, planting and upkeep; with meticulous notes and journals, her records were used to renovate and restore the gardens in the late 1950's to the original design. Three summerhouses, like the one in the photo below grace the gardens. One had climbing pink roses covering one side of it.

Hydrangeas line the walkways, pecan, magnolia and camellia trees cover the grounds. In the more formal areas, hedges line the walkways...it really is lovely to stroll through and admire, even in December.

Rosedown did have a doctor-in-residence after  a son died of yellow fever in 1843. There is no family cemetery or church on the property...those are in nearby St. Francisville, a few miles down the road.

 

Lastly, we didn't tour this building as we discovered it just the day before we left...the Old State Capitol Building which is now the Political History Museum. Looks inviting.

~ Ciao