The reason we didn’t linger any longer was due to a front of very poor weather rolling in. So what to do when caught in the grip of fog, rain and even the odd snow storm in June? Head to the Pacific Northwest of course, butt of almost all rain and cold weather jokes in the U.S! At least now we know why. We crossed from California into Oregon and headed straight for Crater Lake. Again very self-explanatory it is a crater inside a lake inside a crater. We had seen photos of the volcanic crater rising from the turquoise waters taken from the outer crater rim and they looked amazing. Milada had also seen the lake from the air when flying over. Unfortunately we found the crater rim under several feet of snow and the lake itself hidden in thick fog. We felt lucky that it lifted for a brief moment in order that we could snap a quick photo.
The weather was not any different further north at Mt Hood, the highest point in Oregon at 11,239ft. Used as part of the setting for The Shining, Timberline Lodge sits just under the summit. We had planned to do some trekking around the mountain but instead were greeted with the sight of about 200 skiers racing down the slopes at us. Nevertheless the snow covered scenery was beautiful, just a shame that back down at the bottom the famous view of the mountain from Lake Trillium was mostly obscured.
We gave up on the famous forests of the Oregon outdoors and headed for Portland, the state capital. Touted as one of the U.S. best small cities, often mentioned in the same breath as Austin, I was perhaps expecting too much and ended up slightly disappointed. Sure, the downtown area would be a pleasant place to work and live, the rows of food carts lining the streets would certainly liven up lunchtime, but it seemed to be a real magnet for the drunks and dropouts of the entire state and is surrounded by ugly industrial buildings and a spaghetti junction of motorways. The main highlight for me was browsing Powells Books, a real goldmine of secondhand books, all well arranged and reasonably priced. If there was one I didn’t already own I would have bought a Chuck Palahniuk.
With two Czechs in the car now our subject of discussion often turned to beer. Maligned around the world for the sweet pissy lagers they export such as Bud and Miller it comes as a surprise to find that America has tonnes of great small breweries producing dozens of really good ales. Like many wine-producing countries they only export the crap stuff. Every region has its own local brews and sometimes the choice is so wide it is hard to pick one out to try. A couple of the ones I really liked were Mirror Pond and Fat Tire. There are also a number of beers available more or less across the country that may be found in Europe, some of the best of these were Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Anchor Steam Beer and the more widely known Sam Adams Boston Lager. And what was the name of that great little brewery up near Yosemite?
The weather refused to improve as we drove into Washington, in fact it probably got even worse. Our first stop was at Mt St Helens, the volcano that erupted violently in 1980. The landscape around the mountain is now scarred with lava flow and giant volcanic rocks. Particularly telling in the visitors centre was the series of photos taken the day before, during and just after the eruption, the absolute change to the shape of the land was astounding. The Johnston Ridge Observatory Visitors Centre is named after the resident volcanologist, David A. Johnston, who witnessed and then perished in the eruption. His last words are etched on a mural at the centre, broadcast by radio just seconds before the lava reached the ridge “Vancouver, Vancouver, This is it!”. I suppose the only positive that can be taken is that if a volcanologist could how they wanted to go, that would probably be it. We spent one day trekking around the base of the mountain, visiting a couple of waterfalls and viewing the crater through the trees. The next day we went up to the Observatory where we were able to see a little bit of the crater under the low clouds. At least we saw more than those arriving late in the day who sat staring out at a wall of fog.
The highest point in Washington is Mt Rainier, elevation 14,411ft. Of course we met more snow here, most of the trails were still under up to 10 metres of snow in the last week in June. The week before we arrived a ranger had died attempting a rescue of a group of stricket climbers. Even in good weather the climb requires a lot of technical skill. The temperature hovered just above freezing at the Paradise Visitors Centre so we were content with a just a short stomp through the snow. Further down the mountain we took a longer trek through the forest to see some more waterfalls. It soon became repetitive, every time we asked a ranger for tips on trekking in Washington or Oregon they pointed us towards some nature woodland trail or a trip to a waterfall because the main alpine hikes were still snowed in, I guess they get used to it and have a lot of alternatives prepared.
We left the mountains and drove to Seattle. Infamous for raining almost every day we arrived to blue skies, and looking back could see Mt Rainier shining in the distance. After a week of nothing but rain, snow and fog in the countryside we arrive to sunshine in the city. Surrounding the city is the pretty coastline with views across the Puget Sound to the Olympic Peninsula and we spent a couple of nights at campgrounds right on the water. North of Seattle in the town of Everett is the home of Boeing and the production lines for their wide-bodied aircraft, the 747, 777 and new 787 Dreamliner. I took the Future of Flight tour around the centre, which includes the worlds largest building by volume, where all three production lines are housed. Within the compound are something like 17 canteens and six posh cafes (it is said that Starbucks turned down the offer to set up there, with 35,000 employees on site they probably made a mistake). There are nursery facilities, medical centres and even a private security force that issue speeding tickets. I learnt all this from my scouse tour guide, a jovial guy with a beard and dark sunglasses. It was like being guided by Ringo Starr. He also told me about all the innovations on the 787 – the much bigger windows that don’t have blinds but rather the glass just dims, the difference in cabin pressure that should ease those ear pains, the chevrons on the engine casing that reduce noise and the aerodynamic wings that improve fuel economy. As you can imagine it was a fascinating journey of discovery.
In Seattle itself we explored the area around the Pike Street Market – where the traditional fish, fruit and flower stalls sit amidst the art galleries and souvenir shops. A highlight is to watch the fish mongers chucking fish around, even funnier when one of the throws goes awry. The other area of Seattle we visited was the Seattle City Center, home to the once-futuristic looking Space Needle and Monorail. Also here is the Experience Music Project, set up to showcase the history of the Seattle music scene. I was really looking forwarded to visiting but as we arrived I started to feel vaguely sick. How would Jimi Hendrix have felt about the Hendrix Pop Cafe and Bar? And what would Kurt Cobain think if he knew people were being charged a sizeable to see his old notebooks and watch some MTV footage of Nirvana? Even worse were the Pink Floyd and Beatles t-shirts and badges in the gift shop. Both great bands but what connection do they have with Seattle? In the end we left disappointed without paying the admission fee. It is just one of the examples of when America takes something that is pretty cool and unique and stuffs it all up by making it a giant commercial machine. Similar to Cirque Du Soleil in Las Vegas, around the world they are seen as a very unique, very creative production, in Vegas there are half a dozen shows or more, each one getting more tacky than the last.
This was the final stop on our U.S road trip, we will miss the 64oz drinks and the chilli cheese dogs from the truck stops. We will also miss driving in the U.S as it is so easy and generally drivers are so kind and courteous to one another. I think Ian McEwan summed it up perfectly: “The country had lived en masse with the automobile longer than any other. People had wearied of the car as a racing device, or penis or missile substitute. They stopped at suburban crossroads and politely negotiated with glances who should go first. They even obeyed the 15 mile an hour speed limit around schools.” This is all very true although it should be noted that there are a lot of Sheriff cars cruising around, keeping an eye out for dodgy drivers. However this is another of the aspects I like about the U.S. On the whole people still show a very healthy respect towards the police force, much more so in my opinion than in the U.K and many European countries. I don’t want to say it is because they are all carrying guns around but whatever the reason, it is a good thing. On the other hand all the news channels were recently covering the untimely death of Rodney King, someone who we would never have heard of were it not for the brutality of the LAPD, so it is obvious that both sides need to find that balance I guess.
So on a typically drizzling Seattle morning we slipped out of the U.S.A on the Victoria Clipper. We watched the distinctive Seattle skyline disappear in the fog of the Puget Sound. We past the San Juan islands on the way to Vancouver Island, Canada. I am really amazed at how much we have enjoyed this visit to the U.S. Before I never expected it to compare to either Australia or New Zealand but in fact I have enjoyed it more than both! OK, so maybe it would have been different had we spent a couple of weeks in Georgia and Alabama rather than Utah but what has been great is not only that there are so many things to see here but that everything is on a much grander scale as well, so many amazing National Parks and other historic sites of interest. I used to laugh at how few Americans own passports but now I can understand a little bit. With this much to see and do you could easily fill a lifetime of summer vacations and never get bored.
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