Driving Journey: Day 2: Diamond Lake & Highway

By the time I got past the Cascade Lakes Highway it was after 3pm and I decided to leave Crater Lake for the following day. So instead I briefly visited Diamond Lake, which is immediately north of it.



Then I took the West Diamond Lake Highway around the western side of Crater Lake. I came across this small river which the photos simply don't do justice to. Just imagine a perfect day with warm, though not hot, weather, blue skies with a few clouds, and this scenery abound. Magnificent!




Then, before heading down Hwy 62 to Klamath Falls, I took another side road to capture this overview of the Umpqua National Forest.

Driving Journey: Day 2: Cascade Lakes Highway

Rather than head directly down Hwy 97, instead I chose to explore the Cascade Lakes Highway.

Driving Trip: Day 1: Washington State

Having never driven through central Oregon before, that was one of my goals for this trip. To get there I first had to head down to Yakima, Washington in order to link up with Highway 97.

Thoughts about the Port Mann Bridge

A few years ago Kevin Falcon spoke to a professional group I belong to. He explained that the main purpose of the bridge was to facilitate truck traffic leaving the Port of Vancouver and venture out to the rest of North America. This is not a "sexy" issue that most British Columbians care much about though . . . no matter how much new income it might bring into the province.

As for the toll, it is just sooooo typical of Canadians to want something for nothing, isn't it? Falcon also said to our group that the primary reason for the toll is to lengthen the usable time of the bridge before congestion clogs it up too. This fact of life is yet something else that the average person does not appreciate.

To make everyone happy though, I have a suggestion: A 10 lane bridge will mean 5 lanes each way. Make 3 of them Express, which will be electronically tolled, and 2 of them will be free. Allow people access to the Express lanes several kilometres back in both directions. Provide angled cut-ins - only from the free lanes to the toll ones - every 500 metres or so. If people still want to wait 30 or 60 or more minutes for the free crossing, that's their prerogative.

Trip Photos: North Dallas

The hotels in Dallas available through Hotwire were plentiful and unbelievably inexpensive. We stayed at the Westin Park Central in North Dallas, just off of I-635.

Trip Photos: On I-35 from San Antonio to Dallas

50 miles northeast of San Antonio we came upon the Prime Outlets Mall near San Marcos. I couldn't care less and would have passed by it at high speed but it proved to pretty much be mecca to someone else in the car! The mall's claim to fame is to be rated as "The 3rd Best Place to Shop in the World". I will admit that it was pretty darn big!


I spent much of my time enjoying a coffee in the shade at the Starbucks there. Note the Texas star above the sign.
A bit further on we stopped for gas.
I captured this photo to give an indication of the rolling countryside of southern Texas.
And I finally found the "tough looking truck" with a Texas license plate that I had been searching for since our trip began!
There were dozens of these large bugs all over the outside wall of the gas station.

Getting to Whistler: Time for an Alternative Route?

Highway 99, the only direct route to Whistler, is currently blocked do to a large rockslide between Lions Bay and Squamish.If this happens during the 2010 Olympics, it'll be a disaster. Thinking to the future, perhaps it's time to pave another route, a dirt road that emanates from Harrison Hot Springs and heads up to Whistler. I don't know if it goes all the way but it definitely goes a long portion up there. Imagine the beautiful vistas that will be opened up to the general public along Harrison Lake!

Oahu's Windward Side

Last Saturday we rented a vehicle to explore all of Oahu. We started with the Southeast portion, also known as the Windward side.
Via the Internet, I booked a mid-sized car at Alamo - just $105 for 4 days. When we got there, they gave us this vehicle, a Chevy HHR panel van. It was absolutely perfect for Hawaii, tempting me to buy a surfboard and wood paneling!
On Hwy 72, just a bit past Hanauma Bay, we came across these majestic views.


Continuing on, we arrived at Makapu Beach Park.
Eventually we made it to Kailua and Kaneohe. Then we took Hwy 61 (aka the Pali Highway) back to Honolulu. There's a scenic viewpoint above the tunnel that offers these spectacular views.