We left Yellowstone and headed for our next destination, Crater
Lake, Oregon to meet our friends a mere 850 miles away. We drove through a
small piece of Montana then Idaho stopping just short of Boise for the night.
The
next day we continued our drive into Oregon. For some reason we expected to hit
lush pine forests upon crossing the Oregon border. Little did we know that
southeast Oregon is a desolate desert that looks very much like the Mojave Desert.
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| Thirsty cows crossing the road looking for water and another bald eagle |
After about 5 hours of driving through this and nearly running out of gas in
the middle of nowhere, we made it to the tiny town of Burns in Southeast Oregon
to stay the night. It seemed a bit of a waste, staying a night in this random,
dry town, especially when we would’ve killed for an extra night with family or
friends! Though there was not much to do
here, we were able to catch up on cleaning and organizing the motorhome and
laundry. And the boys invented a game…put
on a life-vest and play dodge ball with a soccer ball!
It was pretty hysterical until Brady fell
down on a wasp. In retrospect, it was
random moments such as this that we discovered how much we love being on the
road.
When we arrived to Crater Lake, we were able to choose our
own campsite. We were early enough to
score not only the most beautiful and spacious spot on the edge of a canyon,
but also the only site with cell phone reception! Here, we met up with the Fast family (friends
from the boys’ school), and it was great buddying up with familiar faces!
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| Brady and one of his bows, buddies Eli and Ty, and Charlotte with a case of "puppy love." |
Crater Lake boasts some of the cleanest air
in our nation, and the 1900-foot-deep lake (deepest lake in the US!) is also
one of the purest lakes, given it is filled entirely of rain and snowfall (they
receive an average of 44 feet of snowfall per year! And not a single river enters in or out of
the lake, therefore no pollutants are brought in), creating a majestic crystal
blue color. Sounds pretty amazing,
right? Well unfortunately for us we
missed out on this clarity due to multiple forest fires in southern Oregon! The ash in the air worsened during our stay
and by the time we left we felt like we were suffocating!
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| Smoke in the air |
Despite our disappointment we had a blast
with our friends! The dads dared a
15-mile run up to the rim of the crater. The next day, we drove everyone in our RV around the crater rim, and
dropped the moms off for their turn:
Kristin and I hiked a steep trail down from the rim to the lake (1.2
miles down a 750 foot descent), and we were thrilled to dive into the freezing
cold water. We were so invigorated by
this that we did it twice! When I opened
my eyes, I got a glimpse of crystal clear, cobalt blue water.
The dads occupied the children by taking them
for a walk in the woods, where Charlotte had a great idea to build a “lean-to.” The moms were pleasantly surprised at what a
great fort they built, complete with bark-tile floor!!
Back at camp the kids got a little dirty
making bows-and-arrows,
playing baseball and uno, roasting marshmallows,
and entertaining Gucci.
It really was a shame that we couldn’t enjoy
the “100 miles of visibility from the rim and the best star-gazing this side of
the Mississippi” but this still was a trip to remember! (And it gives us a reason to go back one
day!) Plus the kids earned a Jr. Ranger badge with their friends! Super cool!
