We decided on Crater lake this year, opting to go somewhere different after two Montana trips. Crater lake seemed like a good choice and we can visit Joyce, Kim and Ron on the way.
We left early Monday am and made good time to Bend Oregon. The house was easy to find. Joyce gave us the grand tour. The house is two A frames side by side that are connected by a structure in the middle of the two. The structure is a kitchen, bathroom and garage, so they seemingly have their own places. It is a nice set up for them.
We spent time cathcing up wtih Joyce. Ron came home from a pickleball tournament and he got ready for dinner. We decided to go to the Bend food trucks for dinner. The trucks border a roofed structure with tables and beer and wine service. How nice to have a place to sit and eat and get a beer if you want? We do not have that in Seattle.
Dinner was good, then we went to Picnic Butte. Its in the middle of town, rises 1000 feet mayve and you can see everything!
After that we went home. Kelsey and I stayed up with Joyce talking and waiting for the star to come out. They finally did and it was very bright.
The next am we had breakfast and hit the road. We got to Crater lake around 2 and quickly realized it was cold! There was a LOT of snow at the North entrance. We got our campsite, set up the camp then went to have dinner. We just missed lunch, which had the Trout dish I wanted. Dinner had no Trout!
The food came out burnt to a crisp! It was all we could do not to laugh! We picked the burnt off, not wanting to take a chance at what they would bring back if we sent it back!
There was a trail head at our camp site for a creek trail so we walked down to the creek. We spotted a marmot.
That night we FROZE!! It was super cold. I hardly slept. We got up and made a fire to keep warm till the sun reached our camp.
On the second day, we visited the visitor center, checked out a trail to a flower garden. We then went to the Pinacles. It was amazing. We had lunch at the Rim Village and saw the lake view point. We went to Sun Notch trail to check out another view We saw another Marmot.
on Wednesday evening, we decided to go drive to the view points best for sunset. Minutes after the sun went down, we were swarmed with bugs! It was horrible! so many bugs! The sunset was nice and we had a good time. Even found cell service there!
The final day, we did the big hike down to Crater lake . We were really psyched up about it . hearing people talk about it . One family said it took 2 hrs to drive to it, 1 hr down and 2 hs up! We figured our whole day was gone.
We packed all the water bottles we had, and our swim suits. The trail down was steep. Its unlike most hikes where you start at the bottom and go up. Here you start at the top and go down.
We made it down in 20 minutes, oh, and the drive was less than an hour. We changed into our suits and eased into the icy water. The water temp was 56 degrees, slightly warmer than Puget Sound. e swam fora bit, but mostly sunned on the rocks. The water is so amazingly clear. It was great to finally be on the shore, after looking at the lake from days from above.
The hike back up was tough, but we took lots of breaks. We made it in 45 minutes.
That night after the hike, I went to get water. I left my 99 cent water bottle outside the bathroom and came out and it was gone! LOL! I guess someone needed it ore than me. I brought plenty of water and even took some home. Weird thing was, I was feet away, the windows open, I never heard a peep! Stealth water mission!
The trip home was fine. We stopped in Portland on the way home checked into the Hilton. We played black light mini golf and went to Voodoo doughnuts.
Can't wait for next year!
