48 posts

Vera Smirnova

California, USA Website

From Oregon to California

Oregon road trip, day 7 While we were enjoying green Oregon, there were peculiar for this time of year thunderstorms near the Bay Area and along the interstate I-5 which sparked many fires. We did not expect the fire season until September, but... For the last day of fresh air
⸱ 2 minutes read

Willamette National forest

Oregon trip, day 6: Proxy Falls and Dee Wright Observatory Belknap Hot Springs where we stayed is located close to the intersection of roads 126 and 242, and the scenic road 242 is definitely worth driving on, even with its curves. It follows the path of an 1860 wagon route.
⸱ 4 minutes read

Sahalie Falls and Belknap Hot Springs

Oregon  trip, Day 5. After two wonderful days of kayaking, swimming and hammocking on Big Lava Lake, we hit the road again, this time to Belknap Hot springs. On the map they look pretty close to our camp, but due to the rugged mountainous terrain there is no straight road,
⸱ 3 minutes read

Cascade lakes, Oregon.

Days 3 and 4 :  Lava Lake camping and Cascade scenic bypass. Deschutes National Forest and the Cascade lakes offer a lot of possibilities for camping either in wilderness, for backpackers, or more comfortable campgrounds suitable for tents and RVs. This time we did not plan to go backpacking and reserved
⸱ 3 minutes read

Crater Lake

Oregon road trip, day 2:  Crater Lake After checking out of our hotel in the morning, guess where we went? Of course, we went on a quest for a good cup of espresso! I looked up coffee shops in Klamath Falls on Google Maps and found four places. However, to
⸱ 4 minutes read

Road trip: Oregon, Day 1

The idea of exploring Oregon in the summer has been hanging in the air for a while now. So far we’ve gone up North only once, in the wintertime. This year the summer here in California is exceptionally hot and dry, so having gotten tired of yellowish-brown grass on
⸱ 3 minutes read

Road trip: Point Reyes

Among all of Mother Nature's wonders which California presents to her visitors and locals, the weather is definitely worth mentioning. Especially for visitors, who oftentimes descend from their plane wearing shorts or a sundress and at most carrying one or two warmer garments in their suitcase. I would
⸱ 6 minutes read

Napa Valley in summer 2020

It's been exactly four months since we started living under the "shelter in place" order... Fortunately, the "place" now is not limited to one's home, so one can jump into the car and push the pedal to the metal. Without breaking the
⸱ 6 minutes read

Mono Lake

It is very interesting how the writer's mind works. Or, rather, how a subject sometimes makes its way into a seemingly well-planned narrative all on its own. I was working on a new post about Mono Lake in California's Eastern Sierra, pulling out some historical and
⸱ 6 minutes read
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