Postcard from Lassen

The Journey Continues…

After the disappointing visit to Crater Lake and a long day’s drive, I found myself holed up in a cheap hotel in Redding, CA. After a bad night's rest (and accidentally leaving my favorite pillow behind), I head out just before sunrise. My destination this day was Mt. Lassen Volcano National Park...due east of Redding.

A little background: I spent the vast majority of my life in Northern California. From early childhood on, I saw most of the beautiful sites this part of the world offers. I spent the majority of my youthful summers in Yosemite, along with several trips there as an adult. I had also been to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, Muir Woods, the California Coast, and much more. But, in my entire life, I had never been to Lassen…and this trip was about seeing new places.

Mt. Lassen is classified as an active volcano, having last blown its top in 1921. Its been quiet since then, but one never knows. It sits in what most people might consider to be the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. But in truth, it is the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range. This range stretches north into Canada and includes such spectacular volcano's as Mt. Shasta, Mt. Adams, Mt. Baker, Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, and, of course, Mt. St. Helens.

To be honest, I am not sure where the southern Cascades end and the Sierras begin. I do know that geologically speaking, the two mountain ranges are very different. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

There is only one paved road in Lassen with a Northern and Southern Entrance (I found out later that there are some unpaved roads into the park). I came in from the north and was immediately greeted with the site of Manzanita Lake, fresh with some beautiful morning light. After a few shots I continued on through the park. It is not a big park, but it is certainly quite beautiful and has some very unusual elements.

The north entrance brings you in at a lower altitude (around 5,500 ft.) so one is quite a bit below the mountain. But as you keep going,  the road starts climbing higher and higher. In he end, you are 1,500 feet below the summit at an altitude of 8,500 feet.

I took this photo at Upper King’s Creek Meadow, at an altitude of 7,500 feet. Obviously this is King’s Creek as it meanders down from Mt. Lassen. It is one of those photos that just works better as a black and white image…with the creek leading your eye up to Lassen Peak.

One of the most interesting features of the park is how the mountain changes as you go around it. The view from the north is so incredibly different than the south face. Of course, all of this has to do with volcanic activity.

Along the highway, I ran into hot springs and steam vents...sure signs that this is an active volcano. There were other places on the south side of the mountain that belied the volcanic nature of this place, such as the correctly named, “Bumpass Hell.” I did not hike down to it…maybe some other time.

At the southern entrance, I made a short but informative visit at the visitor’s center. By then, I had seen all I had come to see. I originally thought about camping here, but eventually decided against it.  I was happy with my photos and none of the trails on the map excited me enough to spent a second day here.

By the time I reached the southern end of the park, it was still early enough to go somewhere else.  Frankly, there were many more destinations I was more excited to see further down the road and I had a long, long way to go.

So I eventually hooked up with Highway 395 on the east side of California and headed south. Next stopping point: Reno, NV.  This was not a destination, but a waypoint for a good night's rest. I already knew my next photographic destination.

Stay Tuned!

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page

Postcard from Crater Lake

The journey continues:

So where did I leave off last time? Oh, that’s right…I was in Mitchell OR for 3 days and two nights. I had seen and photographed what I came for, so it was time to move on.

I got up early, said goodbye to Henry the Bear, and headed west…first stop being Bend, OR. It was a nice drive through Central Oregon, but as soon as I entered cellular signal territory, my phone went crazy. Both my brother and son were calling, panicked that their calls had gone unanswered for three days.

I smoothed out their ruffled (and worried) feathers and told them all was well and that there was no service of any kind in the Twilight Zone. From that point forward, my son insisted I check in with him every day while on the road…a command that continues to this day when I travel.

In Bend, the first stop was Starbucks to get a real cup of coffee, something that was missing from my diet for the last few days. It tasted so great! For all you folks still left in Mitchell, you should try it sometime. It beats the hell out of anything brewed in your lovely little town.

From Bend, I headed south then west, up into the backside of the Cascades. My destination…Crater Lake National Park. I had not been there since my parents took me there way back in my pre-teen days. I remembered its beauty and the deep blue colors of the lake that sits in the crater of a long-extinct volcano.

The Park sits quite high in the mountains, but the van just kept chugging right along. The plan was to see and photograph the lake and camp out at one of their campgrounds.

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. It was a bit chilly at those high altitudes, but that was OK as I was prepared for it. But upon arrival, I discovered the Park Service had shut down all the campgrounds the day before. Whoops! But I was not worried as I knew I would find something somewhere along the way…or so I thought.

But the big disappointment of the day was the light. It was about the worst quality of light any photographer could imagine. In that light, the lake looked absolutely horrible. The temptation was to leave the camera in the bag. But I eventually did take a few shots of the lake to prove I had been there…knowing I would never show them to anyone or use them here in the blog.

Well, I kept that promise, until I discovered the art of digital sketching. I created the sketch you see here as it does not show the horrible light that day, only the barebones black and white outline of Crater Lake and Wizard Island. It turned out quite well. Sketches can be the essence of simplicity and still be very appealing.

So back to the journey. What to do? Stay here and wait for better light…maybe the next day? That would mean a cold, miserable night in the van as there was no place to set up my tent. Sadly but inevitably, I made the decision to go south, to lower elevations and see what I could find. I am sad I could not spend more time there, but that is the way it goes sometime. Sometimes the photography gods are not very kind.

So I headed South, stopping here and there to take a few photos, eventually hooking up with Highway 97. I wasn’t sure where I would stop, so I just kept going and going and going. If you can believe this, my final stop for the day was in Redding, CA…a long drive to be sure. But I knew the town well enough to know where there is decent lodging and a good meal. Tomorrow would be a new day with a new destination, and there was already a plan floating in my head for the next stop.

Stay tuned for more…

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page

Postcard from Painted Hills

2008 - It was a journey of discovery…of new places, of art, of photography, but mainly of myself. My wife and I had separated…she headed east. I put the majority of my belongings in storage, loaded the remainder in my van, and headed south. It was time to start a new life.

I decided not to stay any longer in my hometown of the previous 16 years. A town of 7,000 people was not a place for a newly single man. Plus, there were too many memories.

I needed see new things, new adventures, new challenges and a new place to put down roots. Washington State was not that place. My initial final destination was Tucson, AZ, having visited there a few months previous and liking it a great deal. But if I found somewhere better along the way, I was willing to make a change. But all that is for later.

For now, I was headed south with a van load of stuff. As I travelled along highway 17 through towns like Moses Lake, Warden, and Othello, I knew I no longer belonged there. This was now alien country. I could not wait to get to Oregon Border. And eventually I did.

My first stop was going to be the Painted Hills, in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. I had seen photos of it and wanted to see if for myself. As the drive took up most of my day and there was no room for a bed in the back yet, I stopped at a hotel in Mitchell, a small town in Central Oregon, population 160 people.

Mitchell's history resembles many small towns in the Northwest...a thriving community (with two houses of ill repute) that suddenly died when the logging industry went away. It's only alive now thanks to the tourists who visit nearby Painted Hills. When I arrived, I found Mitchell had no cell or Internet service. (You can read all about my adventures in Mitchell in a blog I wrote back in 2008. It includes the story of Henry the Bear, a bedroom with one electric plug that did not work, and all the town’s people who told me their life stories, even though I did not ask.)

I spent two glorious days photographing the Painted Hills, as well as other parts of the John Day Monument. I traveled and hiked all day long. Mostly there was great light and the views of the painted hills were amazing, especially at sunset.

This photo of the Painted Hills is just one of several. You can see the best ones at my Painted Hills Album on Flickr.

Surprisingly, as I lay in my hotel room in Mitchell, I didn’t think much about leaving my old home town, the separation, or anything related to that. I was too focused on this new adventure, of starting life over, and all the places I was going to see for the first time. In short, I was excited for the days to come. That past was past. Only this moment and future moments were important.

More to come…

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To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com…or visit my Flickr Page

Postcard from Washington DC

A few years ago, around the Memorial Day weekend, I took a one week trip to our Nation’ Capital. I stayed with my Stepdaughter Kristen who happened to be living there at the time. It was a great visit, not only to be with her again, but to see the sights.

Besides DC, we also ventured south into Virginia to see the Civil War battlefields of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Then north into Pennsylvania to see Gettysburg. Needless to say I was deeply moved by those sites, more than I can express here. And, being a national holiday weekend, I got to see Civil War re-enactors at all the sites. Now that it something you seldom see out here in the west.

Although it was a whirlwind tour, I did take time to explore DC and see all the famous sites. Some of the photos I took there have already shown up here. I don’t believe this one has been shared here before.

It was a beautiful late afternoon on the Mall. I managed to capture this image of the Washington Monument at sunset. Thank God for some clouds to make the sky interesting.PS: It was originally a film image scanned to make it digital.

I wasn’t sure if I would like DC before I got there. It turns out I liked it very much. The parts I visited were all very beautiful and interesting to boot. My first night there, Kristen and I had dinner at an outdoor café right on the Mall. Good food, good company and a marvelous view. Can’t beat that combination.

I’ve spent most of my life living in the West, so this adventure allowed me to get greater acquainted with our heritage. As a bit of a history buff, I did enjoy seeing all the sights and capturing the feelings that go along with the history of America. I think I have spent much more time in Europe capturing my European roots and their history stretching back to the Roman Empire.

Sadly, I have not been back to DC since. Too bad for me. I would sure enjoy another trip to explore this city, its history, and its surrounds in greater depth.