Oregon Caves National Monument
Driving solo the Redwood Highway along the northern California border is an experience in itself. The road winds through towering trees and dense forest. This is the kind of drive where discovery is around every bend.
As I made my way towards the Oregon state line, I turned inland toward Oregon Caves National Monument. Here are marble caves tucked high in the Siskiyou Mountains.
The monument sits just north of the California border, in southwestern Oregon, surrounded by forested ridges and cool mountain air. It was designated a National Monument in 1909 by President William Howard Taft, protecting a cave system that is unusual for its formation in marble rather than limestone.
The drive up from the highway climbs steadily into the mountains. The forest thickens and the sense of isolation deepens. It is easy to realize why these caves remain hidden until the late 19th century when they were rediscovered by a hunter.
The drive itself was memorable: the Redwood Highway winding through California, crossing into Oregon and climbing into the Siskiyous.
Read More From Nancy
Crater Lake National Park
I visited Crater Lake National Park on one of my solo excursions. It was one of those places I wished I had shared with someone else. The color of the lake matched the bluest of skies as I walked along the rim, a blue so intense it almost felt unreal. There are no rivers flowing […]
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Fort Vancouver was once the administrative headquarters and principal supply depot for the Hudson’s Bay Company’s vast Columbia Department. From this location on the north bank of the Columbia River, the company directed an enormous fur-trading network that stretched from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific and from Russian Alaska south toward California and Hawaii. […]
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve was part of our 2014 trip to Alaska. We drove into the Wrangell area, and what I most remember is the vast and distant everything felt. This is not an easy part to access. Roads are limited and distances are long. Most of the park is still reached by small […]
