Crater Lake, Oregon

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.

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! 

 

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! 

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!