California (and Oregon), Here I Come?!?
As I contemplated driving to the Southwest national parks this fall, I considered adding the parks I missed in California. However, the extra mileage and physical wear and tear to me and my car, the Silver Bullet (SB), didn’t seem feasible, even to me. Then, Uncle Sam’el came to the rescue. I received a notice on my Amtrak app that the train service was offering a 50% discount on its USA Rail Pass. The pass restrictions that come with the standard $500 price usually turn me off, but the timing of the half-price offer was perfect because it gave me the option to travel from Washington to Los Angeles using only two of the ten segments that come with the pass. Even the restrictions–starting the first segment within four months of purchase–would be workable. Plus, if I don’t use all ten segments within 30 days of beginning the first segment–another…
Day 9: Heading South(west)
Sunday morning. Before leaving the Portland area, I went to a Missouri Synod Lutheran church to worship. On one hand, it was wonderful to be able to sing very familiar hymns and to be able to sing as I have been unable to do in a while. On the other, it was a curious thing to watch the minister, who clearly was leading a more contemporary version of the standard service, give a sermon based on very conservative beliefs–ones I guess I’ll never reconcile with my fellow Missouri Synod Lutherans. Still, folks were very gracious and welcoming. One lady even tried to recruit me for the choir until I told her I was only in town for the day. Sunday is not a good day for sightseeing. Most things are closed. By this point, it was nearly noon, so I decided to head south towards my next major objective: Redwood…
Day 8: When It Rainier(s), It Pours
Saturday morning, but I got off to an early start in the hope of beating the crowd into Mt. Rainier National Park. First things, first, though. I discovered you don’t enter one of these parks low on gas. There’s usually no gas station inside, and you can potentially be miles away from one. So, I gave RB a half-tank (at $4.16 a gallon, I wasn’t going to fill her up). (A side note: when I left Des Moines, I filled RB up at a gas station that charged $3.39 a gallon. It’s going to be a long time before I complain about our prices again!!!) Mt. Rainier is HUGE. Much of it seems to be geared to the climber and the hiker, but there is plenty of roadway for the auto tourist. The red lined route I drove is below, going from the yellow highlight on the left to the…