From the Redwood Forests

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Camping in the middle of a "city" finally revealed its drawbacks. During the night, we heard endless trains going by. And, obviously, they all needed to blast their horns at 2am. To get rid of all the cars that were CLEARLY on the road....

So when we finally woke up (around 7am or so) we decided to just get on with the day. We drove to Crater Lake (this time with gas!) and entered the park. The park ranger informed us that only 8 miles of roads were open, which disappointed me a little bit, but we got the point. We drove past 6-8 foot high snowbanks, and then, at the very end of the 8 miles, finally viewed Crater Lake. It is amazing.

Crater Lake is a former volcano that finally used up all of its magma and lava, leaving nothing to support its ridiculous height. It therefore collapsed, creating the deepest lake in the United States. And the only way to view it is from pretty high up, giving it an even more miraculous view. I was extremely impressed.

Leaving Crater Lake, we drove down some long roads that were lined with very tall trees - just pines, not the redwoods yet. I was still impressed with their heights, especially since they shaded the entire road. we drove past the Rogue River several times. That's another cool place. I wish we could have spent more time there.

Then we finally entered California. We drove down some really twisty, windy roads. The views were spectacular but the roads were a little scary. We made it onto US-101, the famous road, and got views of the Pacific Ocean and some really tall redwoods (yet still not on the Avenue of the Giants). I can't wait for the next few days, when we hit the REALLY tall trees and the SPECTACULAR views of the Pacific and the cliffs. Tomorrow will be an adventure!

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