2023-09-11 Oregon Trip to Visit Family and Friends

  

Crater Lake, Oregon

Diamond Lake RV Park

Jeeps - 6

Steps - 8,015

W30 was the space we had. Great spot. We were surrounded 
by a circle of pine trees. 

            

Today was our first day to explore Crater Lake. Weather was in the 70's, and the sky was clear and bluer at 7,000 feet. It was a 20-minute drive to the North entrance. I wondered why the flag was at half-staff....duh, today is 9/11. Along the roadside were piles of brush and wood in a tee-pee shape. We asked the ranger at the gate, and she said they are small burn piles the rangers will burn when it snows. 

 

Tee-Pee Burn Piles

It was a six-mile drive to the lake, pretty pine trees, flat and rolling pumice meadows that were a different landscape than we had experienced before. We came in from the North entrance and took the West Rim Drive. Views of the lake are spectacular. We stopped at Watchman Lookout for our first good look at the lake. I was stunned at how gorgeous it was, and B I G. I was not sure what I was expecting, but it was breathtaking. 

One of the Pumice Meadows. See the cabin in
the middle? Not really; it is a huge rock. I had to
get the binoculars to check. 

View from Watchman Lookout

From Watchman, we headed to Rim Village or the lake's Southern end. The first stop was the visitor center to get my Passport Stamp and stickers. We purchased stickers for my two passport books, a tee shirt, and a keychain to make into an ornament. I did not like their Christmas ornaments, so I will make my own from the keychain.

We decided to have lunch at the lodge. It is a fantastic old building, built in 1909, and has had many renovations over the years. One unique thing was the entrance wall into the bar and restaurant. The wall was made of whole pine tree bark (See the photos to the side and below). The window seals were trimmed with the same total pieces of pine bark. We had a great view of the lake as we ate. We had nothing exciting to eat: Caesar Salad for me and Burger for Barry. The waiter informed us they would shut down for the winter in 40 days. 

 

        

    

                                     

Does watching the bubbles make you thirsty?

After lunch, we hiked the Garfield Trail for about a mile. The last stretch was vertical, and I decided not to push myself. We returned because I did not want to irritate my hips and bursitis. Crazy views, tons of bees, and grasshoppers. The grasshoppers were so loud. A lot of the time, we were the only ones on the trail and stopped to listen to the grasshoppers. It was the most incredible sound. Then, a squirrel would chime in every now and then. There were a few wildflowers still in bloom to photograph. The hike was great, and I am proud I made it as far as I did. 

      

 

We drove the East Rim Road on the way back to camp, but you can only go so far. The park has been working on this part of the road this year. We found the trail you must hike down to get the boat tour to Wizard Island. It is almost a vertical hike and switchbacks down to the shore; then, you load into a  boat with no shade cover. We might have considered it, but the hike down was too much for my hips. We turned around, headed back, and stopped at another turnout for one last look at the lake for the night. We watched a Clark's Nutcracker try to steal nuts that stupid humans were feeding the ground squirrels; it was very entertaining. 

The photo in the lower right corner is the ramp
to the lake once you hike almost straight down

Clark's Nutcracker

Clark's Nutcracker

Trying to act shy

We decided to drive to Diamond Lake Resort for dinner but made a wrong turn and drove for fifteen minutes. We could not get any reliable GPS signal, so we turned around and headed back. We took the correct road to the lodge. It was only 3 miles from our campground...LOL! It is a funky little place. Lots of little cabins right on the water, paddleboats, fishing boats, kayaks. They have a beer garden on the lawn next to the dining room during the summer.

Fascinating History of the Resort

Barry playing in the icy water

Enjoying the sunset on Diamond Lake

The restaurant was busy, but we got a great table with a view. Our dinner was fried calamari, Barry had chili, and I had French Onion soup. Barry's beer was an IPA from Bend, Crux Brewery, and my drink of choice tonight was a strawberry margarita. 

Back to the RV for showers and bed. My hips did great today. My PT is working. 

Good Night, All. 

Copyright © 2023 by Jacqueline Threet Henderson, Jacqueline's Jaunts. All rights reserved.