An Impressive Sight at Crater Lake

We woke to a cold, damp morning in the Redwoods, and the depressing weather made us eager to leave the area.  Each mile we traveled away from the coast, brought us closer to the giant trees and away from the fog and by the time we reached the main road, the car's heat had warmed us up.  We stopped once to hike among the old trees that resided near the Newton B. Drury Parkwary in Prairie Creek Redwood State Park, which got our blood flowing before we set out for Oregon.

The 4.5 trip from the Redwoods was rather uneventful and felt long after a not-so-restful night's sleep.  We did manage to find a beautiful spot to have lunch in Grants Pass, OR just over halfway to Crater Lake,  The Tap Rock Northwest Grill offered us good food and a wonderful outdoor balcony overlooking the Rogue River.

 The Tap Rock Northwest Grill in Grants Pass, OR

The Dungeness Crab BLT Chopped Salad

Colin's Dungeness Crab BLT Chopped Salad was delicious and my BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado) was also very good. I'm not sure why, but the picture of my meal somehow disappeared from our camera.

We finally arrived at the Mazama Campground near Crater Lake around mid-late afternoon and secured our campsite shortly thereafter. We quickly set up our tent, hoping the slightly warm air and sun would dry the dampness from the morning, and I managed to get a nice, long, warm shower in the "upscale" campground shower facilities.  It was refreshing to be clean and I was ready to check out the lake.

Our campsite at Mazama Campground near Crater Lake

Our first view of the lake was unbelievable. People had told us that seeing Crater Lake is similar to the Grand Canyon - the beautiful images you see in photographs do not compare to the beauty and experience of seeing it in person.  We definitely felt that experience.  Even as the sun began to set, the crater's enormity and vivid blue waters were breathtaking.

Our first view of Crater Lake 

 Circumnavigating the lake near sunset

The "ship" formation in the lake

In the hour it took us to circumnavigate (one of Colin's favorite words from the trip) the lake, it got chilly as the sun dipped into the horizon.  The forecast predicted overnight temperatures in the upper 30's, so we dressed in several layers and zipped our sleeping bags together when we went to bed in the tent.  I was very grateful for our warm sleeping bags and even more grateful that we have ones that can be zipped together.  The only thing I lacked was a hat!  The dry, cold air was actually a better experience than the damp warmer weather in the Redwoods.  For some reason, I usually feel colder when it's damp than when it's cold and dry.  It also helped that we were better prepared for it to be cold.

We woke to beautiful, clear blue skies on Wednesday morning, the 4th day of our trip. Our early morning rising in the campground allowed us to spend a long morning exploring the lake.  The first stop we made was to Crater Lake Lodge where we enjoyed some breakfast, coffee, and warming up basking in the sun on the rocking Adirondack chairs, taking in the beauty of the lake.  The lodge was beautiful and the view from the lobby could not be beat.  Unfortunately, rooms were booked when we tried to reserve them and they were a tad bit out of our price range. It was still nice to enjoy a morning acting like we belonged there!

The lodge's lobby

Beautiful reflections during the morning sun

The lodge has quite a view! Glad we got to enjoy it!

Once we were sufficiently warm and full, we made our way to the northeastern side of the lake to hike down the the boat launch and swimming area.  The 700 foot descent down the crater's edge was very steep and there were many warnings at the trail's start.  The switchbacks made it easier on the knees, and going down is always easier than going up.  Each time we looked down into the water, we were awarded with views into the clear blue-green water.  Sometimes I felt like I was back in New Zealand hiking in Abel Tasman National Park.

Once we arrived at the water's edge, we threw off our socks and sneakers and got our feet in the water.  Some people near us swam in the water, indicating is was very cool, but it felt really nice with our feet in the water.  The air temperature quickly reached the upper 70's/low 80's, providing us with the most dramatic temperature change of our trip.

 Cooling down

Enjoying the warm air and cool water

Not far from where we enjoyed the shallow water, we found a group of people cliff jumping into much deeper water.  It was fun to watch these people of all ages have the courage to participate in such an exhilarating activity.  We watched as a mother and her son counted to three before jumping in together.

The "cliff" from which people jumped into the refreshing water

By late morning, we were ready to start our journey to Portland.  Stay tuned for those details!!

What is the most impressive place you've been?  Were you able to take photos that did the view justice?

Where was the coldest place you've ever camped (and what was the temp)? How did you stay warm?

What to Do in and Around Portland, Oregon?

Here is today's question of the day...

What awesome things do you suggest we do and visit during a few days in and around Portland, Oregon?

Coastal Route or Crater Lake?

One of the most difficult decisions we are currently making is whether to take the coastal route north from Redwoods National Park to Portland, or to go inland to Crater Lake National Park.

Crater Lake, OR

Port Orford, OR

I really want to see Crater Lake, but when I see images of the Oregon coast and hear about camping right on the ocean, it makes the decision so difficult.

What would you do??

Share your tips for our upcoming adventure

I have been so excited to share the news that we have booked flights for a trip to northern California and the Pacific Northwest! Colin and I have been talking about this trip for a few months, trying to find the best time to go, and we finally found dates that worked for us.

We will have 15 and a half days to explore northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia/Vancouver.  As I read through the travel books on the area, I look forward to all of your suggestions on places to visit and things to do while in the area.  We have a flight into San Jose and a flight back from Portland, but the days in between have yet to be filled.  My initial itinerary has us spending a few days in San Francisco, followed by a drive up the coast of California to the Redwoods. From there, I'm torn between heading inland versus staying on the coast. I think it'd be cool to check out Crater Lake, but I also really want to see the Oregon beaches.  We will definitely be visiting Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, but I would like to see some of the national parks that are around the cities.  Some of the parks I'm interested in (based on travel book reviews) include Olympic National Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, Mt. Hood National Forest, and we can get into all of the national parks for free with our America the Beautiful Pass.  But every day we spend in one of the parks, or driving to a park is a less day we have to explore the cities.

I can't wait to get some use out of our National Parks Pass

Here is my challenge to all of you, my friends, family, and blog readers who have some knowledge of the area: please share any amazing things to do, places to see and stay that I should consider on our journey.  


We will likely camp in some of the parks, and look for airbnb.com room rentals and hostels in many of the places where we go. We'd like to keep our itinerary fairly flexible so we can spend more time in places we love and avoid places where weather might dampen our experience (pun intended) as we go.

I look forward to your suggestions and can't wait to share our experience with you later in August and September!

For now, I'll leave you with the process for booking our flight:
For the past 7-9 weeks, I've been checking flight prices every Tuesday and Wednesday, looking for a good deal from Raleigh to San Francisco (and surrounding airports) and back from either Seattle or Portland. During most of those weeks, roundtrip flights were ~$499 per person.  About 2 weeks ago, that rate went up and I got nervous that we hadn't made any plans.  These past two weeks, I've struggled to not look at flights daily.  I think flight searches are monitored and can cause prices to go up, so I kept waiting until Tuesday to look again.  With Raleigh flights hovering in the $530-$550 range this week, I extended my search to other airports in the area.  This search proved fruitful when I found a flight from Charlotte to San Jose (near San Fran) for $135 and a flight from Portland back to Charlotte for $153.  That's right, the roundtrip flight came out to $385 per person. Even if we park at the Charlotte airport for 16 days, at $5 a day plus the cost of gas ($35 a tank), the $885 we'll spend flying through Charlotte is still less than it would have cost us to have one less day on our trip and fly out of Raleigh.

I will admit the process can be tedious, but being able to take a great trip every year is worth it and Colin and I are overdue since we didn't get to take a "vacation" to a new destination since 2010. That year we were so lucky to visit New Zealand/Australia for the Christmas and 2009-2010 New Year, and then use miles to go to Cabo San Lucas for a wedding just 3 months later!

Thank you all for reading the blog.  And remember to share with me your suggestions for our trip. I can't wait to hear them since so much of my joy comes from the planning!