Another Road Trip - Redwoods, Coast, and Crater Lake
The past couple of years have repeatedly brought me into contact with some of the most extraordinary places I have ever seen. I’ve also done more intentional road tripping than I would have dreamed on those road-weary bus tours. But it turns out if part of the goal is to pull off the highway to snap a photo or hike to an overlook...that makes for a perfect travel style in my book.
This summer took me to two places I have heard about for years, and never had the chance to see: the California Redwoods and Crater Lake.
First we drove almost the entire length of the Oregon coast. Highway 101 clings to cliffsides and crosses extraordinary bridges. We stopped to scramble on sand dunes and to view insane offshore rock formations. Beautiful all around.
Not to mention all the little oddities of roadside attractions and small towns...both in Oregon and Northern California.
When you start getting close to the redwoods, you are already driving through insane forests and these beautiful mountain passes. You start to think ‘we must be there, the trees are massive.’ But then you arrive, and you really ARRIVE, and the trees will just blow your mind.
I learned about the Redwoods in second class, as a wee lad in Ireland. I remember feeling fascinated by the idea of the tallest trees in the world. The real place lived up to that sense of wonder.
As if all of this wasn’t enough, our return trip took us to Crater Lake. What’s not to love about a massive lake in the center of a dormant volcano? That’s about as good as it gets.
All this road tripping has added significantly to my collection of American landscape photography. I got inspired and have completely redone my landscapes section of my prints store, and have some shots I’m really proud of for sale. I kept some old favorites, and added images from this trip and from my winter adventure in ghost towns and Arches National Park. Check them out, tell me what you think, and let me know what you’d like to see more of. - Landscapes -
Criss crossing the Western US...there’s still a whole lot more to see.
